The Dark Side Has Cookies.....

[HauntedGabe]

Any kind of voucher can be debated on either side. Having been a BOE member in a sucessful school district we are fortunate to have a chunk of involved parents and the money to have solid infrastructure, up to date cirriculum and plenty of tech. Everything but fine arts but I digress. It is easy to rant but it is difficult to change a culture.

How would you follow through with "demand parent involvement?" Taking more money away from public schools will never help make a school better, it means less dollars per student and less dollars for the upkeep of the buildings. It is another hit for the students left behind. It is very difficult to compete against schools with tuition. They are funded differently. My nieces college prep school is $25,000.00 a year. Some of these families gross less than that. No way can our good public school system model that private school. The one thing private has going for it is they can toss special ed kids out which is eating up funds to each school. If a parent is not involved in a private school they can either buy their way out of involvement or get tossed. If a child is trouble in private school, they can get tossed. Public schools do not and should not have that luxery. Private schools can cherry pick their students, public cannot. I see the good and bad in NCLB. It has sweet goals that have little chance in heck of ever being realized.

If you have transient students you can't ever make progress because the base line keeps changing. If you constantly have an influx of new ESL students the schools fail to meet AYP. While NCLB is working well in my district just because of the demographic and funding, NCLB was an immediate failure in a chunk of all districts across the country because there is no system to handle the realities of road blocks for teachers and administrators. How does a teacher teach the student that is absent more than attending? It is the schools responsibility yet seriously how do you teach the student that isn't there?

How do you teach students whose classroom is filled with students that speak five different languages?
How do you teach the student who needs help at home and their parents are working 2 or 3 jobs? Or are junkies. What about the homeless, their kids are in school but have no home to do homework in let alone a computer? Solution for many people of means is to bypass those schools and send their kids to a private school and good for them. But would those same private schools take in the students and shoulder the burden of educating the less fortunate students? Would they give it their best and teach in five different languages? Some private schools do take in token scholarship students but not nearly the amount that could use a break in life.

I am curious though how you follow through on the demand of involvement of parents. I've been involved in our schools for years and have yet to hear the solution. How do you accomplish that?
I'm really curious. I'd say offer up the administrators from the private school for a year and see where the administrator is more successful at the private school or the failing public school.

[Evilduckqueen]

I'm starting to wish that we had just eloped, or only chosen one bridesmaid. If anything else happens, I will only have 1 bridesmaid.....

[Keasmom]

I'm starting to wish that we had just eloped, or only chosen one bridesmaid. If anything else happens, I will only have 1 bridesmaid.....

Well, maybe that will make it more personal and cheaper.


DH and I got married in front of his moms gorgeous fireplace with 20 people, total. No attendants, homemade cake, it was awesome.

[HauntedGabe]

The Disney Store. Maybe celebrating 25 years of existing but someone hit the Corporation with a stupid stick.

[Keasmom]

The Disney Store. Maybe celebrating 25 years of existing but someone hit the Corporation with a stupid stick.

That made me laugh. But I agree.

[HauntedGabe]

Giggle, ya. Ship in 7-9 days. I wait almost a month, I have some patience, sometimes. Call. Oh those are "special" so we are NOW anticipating 6-8 weeks. It is a hoodie and a TShirt for goodness sake not some rare crystal piece. From 7-9 days to 6-8 weeks??????? Other corporations have figured out how to notify customers that what they ordered is back ordered but the Stupid Stick knocked that notion right out of TDS heads. Oy!

[HauntedGabe]

Candy is Candy.

[trickster]

April showers - not good! Roll on Summer!

[trickster]

Too many early shifts!

[trickster]

The darkside is it's meant to be summer, not winter!

[trickster]

Not enough hours in the day

[trickster]

Ugh! Having to go back to work after 3 weeks holiday!

[trickster]

I have to work until 02:15 in the morning when I get to work later!

[trickster]

Toooooo many bouncing smilies in signatures are annoying!! lol!

[Veritas]

Good thread bumps Trickers!