Do school board members get paid? Blogger Comment: No they do not. The law does allow per diem per meeting.
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To the parent who feels the need to serve as a watchdog in defense of his or her child at school, remember that the law (In loco parentis-in place of the parent) states that teachers and administrators serve in place of the parent during the school day and have not only the right but the legal obligation to provide proper care and control over the children that are in their schools and classrooms. Parents have an obligation to support this process. If they cannot, then perhaps they should consider home schooling their children or better yet, placing them in a boarding school program. If a parent has a concern that is reasonable, then this should be addressed to the teacher and the building administrator for the purpose of seeking a solution. It is parents who lack appropriate training and State Licensure while insisting on involving themselves inappropriately in the running of our school programs who are creating more problems than they solve. If you have a problem with a teacher or administrator, School Board Policy provide an appropriate avenue to pursue your complaint.
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Oh my goodness, Mr. Parent! I just hope that I do have your child in my classroom. I look forward to him/her acting like a normal kid, who might need to have his/her coat-tails pulled to get back on task. If I need to discipline the child, rest assured that I will do so right then; I will NOT call you first. However, I will show infinite respect for your child using skills that I have honed during my decades of teaching; perhaps you could use a modified tutorial session, instead! Regards to your wife, too.
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Congratulations watchful and vocal parent! You have educated your child that any and all battles will be fought by their parents. You have taught your children that teachers and school rules have no value. Will you inform the police department of the same? Are all experienced teachers prejudiced against Hispanics? Is it you that is prejudiced? Having taught in all black school I have had the race card pulled on me before. I politely inform the parent/child that I do discriminate against any child who chooses to break the rules! I discriminate against rule breakers by enforcing consequences!
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Here's one possible solution to the discipline problems facing schools today. http://consilience.typepad.com/teachers_lounge/2006/12/simple_yet_comp.html
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Teachers, maybe you've heard of Madeline Hunter...maybe not. Her work is an inspiration for all teachers, as she was helpful when I hired her as a consultant, for three years, in a federal project that contributed much to the formulation of methods of accountable management of curriculum. Her 'Mastery Teaching', and guide to lesson-planning, should be familiar to all teachers. Insights are available on the Internet... just look up Madeline Hunter. (Some of what you'll find are modern interpretations and applications of her principles. These may, or may not, be helpful.)
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Anyone here who, A) wants to do more than bitch and moan and, B) cares about LCPS becoming a flagship public school system and wanting some great ideas on how to get there? Check out the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's High School Education page at http://www.gatesfoundation.org/UnitedStates/Education/TransformingHighSchools/default.htm. Also, take a look at the recent "Skills of the American Workforce" report by the NCEE athttp://www.skillscommission.org/. We have to quit focusing on the minutiae, folks, and get to work educating our kids!!!! The Gates foundation especially emphasizes that countering the problems in our American public education system cannot happen without implementing one important strategy: reduce the size of America's schools to create a sense of connectedness, mutual goals, community, and caring between educators, students and parents, so that focused educational strategy's can have the most impact on kids. At the risk of sounding naive, I have to agree with them. I am more and more convinced that if we would just cut the size of the middle and high schools in half, or created smaller learning communities within our existing schools, we would see the positive effects almost overnight (in "school time"). With the LCPS high schools at 2200 and the middle schools at 800, we can barely manage the crowded atmospheres at lunch time, much less find a way to make kids feel like more than one of a big, anonymous, crowd. But create a smaller environment within the schools and something great can and does happen. For example, take a look at the middle School Magnet programs: I bet they have fewer serious discipline related distractions than the general populations at those schools, not because the kids come from "better families" but because there is a sense of community within the groups in the magnate. The teachers (who probably have a little better job satisfaction as a result of all this) know the kids, the teachers know the kid's parents and vice versa, and there are a shared set of goals they all are moving toward together. I know as the parent of a child in Sierra's Science Magnet that I am much far more appreciated, welcomed, and informed by my child's teachers than I was at her two older brother's "regular" middle school, where I never knew what the heck was going on until some big problem reared its head. As a result, I try and volunteer more, etc. because I seem to be wanted and my time seems to make a difference. In all my kids elementary years at our neighborhood school, I felt this way, which kept me connected and contributed to terrific elementary experiences for them. Why do you think we all want our bright kids in AES--it means someone is designated to keep a watch on your kid and shrinks the feel of school for all involved. What if we could create this kind of experience all over the schools in town? We accomplished some good things a few years ago when we innovated by creating school choice and open enrollment--why can't we do that again with a comprehensive effort to make our schools feel like small communities to our teachers and students?
posted by LCPS1 @ 5:28 PM
6 Comments:
From a watchfull and vocal parent. I don't worry about my kids getting out of hand being that they all are honor roll students and have never been in trouble so therefore are as normal as can be but the fact of the matter is that "some LCPS teachers" are far from being trustworthy IMO and therefore I have every right to be watchfull of "any teacher" that is instructing my child. If you feel offended because I have stated this I really don't care and maybe you are one of those with "something to hide". The truth is some teachers feel the need to yell at students or ridicule them and I for one will not allow that because over the years my kids have had their share of loudmouth teachers and teachers that liked to ridicule or single out students as well as take domestic problems/stress to the classroom. My kids are well informed as to what teachers can and can't do with/to them and realize that they have to follow the rules at school as well and have every right to ask questions if unsure about them. If anyone thinks that there are not teachers that are prejudiced need to "wake up" to the real world. After seeing that LCPS has had it's share of sexual offenders in it's ranks in years past the trust that was once there has now vanished. To the teacher that has honed their skills during their decades of teaching. Good for you, but it still does not mean that you are not a wolf in sheeps clothing or what goes on behind your classroom door. It is due to teachers like you (Mr. or Mrs. "I will not call you first) that I shall keep on being a watchfull and vocal parent as any responsible parent would(being retired military I have all the time in the world) so take your offer of a "modified tutorial session" and put it in your pocket to put it nicely. It's not about fighting my children's battles, it's about protecting their rights and you are darn skippy I will call the PD should any LCPS staff "cross the line" in thier treatment of my children should I think it is questionalble enough to warrant an investigation. It's good to know that my children have teachers that are understanding of my view and who they are to call should the need arise and that their will be consequences for failure to do so. I am just making sure that my children's rights are not trampled on by any LCPS employee or treated in a questionable manner which is my right. In other words leave the disciplining of my children to me and just "do your job and teach" and I will continue to being a watchfull volunteer and vocal parent and not leave "anything to chance". IMO the LCPS system needs an overhaul and a superintendent that weed out the bad apples/teachers and parents need to be in the classroom with their kid's more to see what is going on. I value my kids far too much than to let anyone in the LCPS system treat them in a questionable manner or trample on their rights so I don't feel I am wrong in that aspect or as far as discipline is concerned and besides LCPS staff has a long way before it regains my trust again if ever. Until next year! Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays whatever toots your horn.
I agree with what I read on the link posted earlier. Yes, the majority of students are good kids who are eager to learn. We need to refocus our attention on them and put the students who don't want to learn in an alternate school environment. My daughter and her friends were approached by one of our principals during breakfast-he thanked them for being good and not causing problems. As a mom, and as a staff member at that school, I appreciated that comment. (No he did not know she was my daughter until I mentioned it later) It made those kids feel good that someone noticed them for doing what they were supposed to do. Unfortunately, that happens all too rarely. I try to thank students who are doing their job, but all too often I have to spend hours monitoring, redirecting, and documenting behaviors of students who don't want to be at school. I am so tired of having to tell the same group of kids over and over to do their work, get out supplies, stop touching others, quit cussing, etc. I spend most of my day doing that because by law I am required to make sure they are given every opportunity to succeed. Meanwhile, there are about 30 other students who want my help, but they have to figure it out on their own. I don't think it is fair to those who want to learn. Why should they suffer because I have to spend all my time redirecting a behavior problem? (BTW, I am an EA, I am required to service 32 students in 7 different classes without singling them out, which means I have to provide the same level of service to the entire class. Most of the students want to learn. I am required to give them all the same attention. But the ones who don't want to learn have figured out how to monopolize not only my time but the teacher's time as well) I do long for the good old days of school being a place to learn and not a dumping ground for kids who have never learned how to behave properly.
As a parent who has had four kids go through LCPS, can I just say that for the most part, you can safely give the benefit of the doubt to teachers/principals in terms of discipline. I can count on one hand the number of "bad" teachers my kids have had, and even they were influenced by my meeting with them, volunteering in the classroom, etc. Very, very rarely this was NOT the case, so I found I needed to step in and advocate for my son or daughter at a higher level. But at some point, especially when kids are in middle and high school, the kid has to learn to accept the consequences of his or her behavior, and that we all have to deal with people in our lives who aren't ideal in terms of being "nice". When my daughter, who had nothing but wonderful elementary teachers through 5th grade entered middle school, it was a bit of a culture shock, especially in terms of more responsibilities, strict adherence to rules, due dates, etc. This kid who had never been in trouble in her life now had to sit in lunch detention a couple of times for forgetting permission slips, or was punished as part of the whole class because two or three kids were talking. She was outraged, and wanted me to do something to intervene. Even though I empathized with her frustration, and thought some of the things the teachers did were a bit petty, I tried to help her deal with the situation by learning what it took to be successful, encouraging her to be respectfully assertive with her teachers when she needed to speak up, but NOT by bailing her out of important learning opportunities. She toughened up quite a bit that year, got better organized, and is now a better student for it. I have found that if you work WITH the school, rather than in an adversarial position, you can create a great outcome for your child, and teach him/her that they truly have control over what happens to them.
Best is to do PREVENTION.
See:
www.ClassroomManagementOnline.com
I have seen lots of complaints from teachers about kids behaving badly and their frustration with parents who don't do anything or even defend their kids. But what about parents who normally support and back up their children's teachers, but find that their child has one who really is inappropriate to students? Does anyone have a suggestion for a parent when a good kid gets mistreated by a teacher (eg., teacher screams in their face, calls them lazy or a liar or is mocked in front of the class for asking a "dumb" question)? How do we confront this teacher without making things worse for our child?
Three candidate names were submitted for consideration to be Director of Secondary Instruction. Joyce Arranda was not one of them....
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