TAKS

Oh -- THIS is a can of worms! I agree with you, Doug.

And I stand by every word I said. Oh, wait a minute, KD said that.

As though any of the kids will stay home & study for a standardized test...

You have to spend that much time on it now, if the jrs. dont pass it by the time school ends as srs. they dont graduate and it looks so bad with bad test scores. It is difficult to reach some kids because they just dont give a sh**. There has to be something but as a teacher the TAKS is outta control.

You can play on Good Friday, but you can't play during the week of TAKS?

KD,
You are so right and at the same time so wrong. Old Indian once said "Walk a mile in these moccasins and then tell me what you think"

TxMom knows what I mean!

This is a dicey subject. TxMom and I used to discuss topics like at HS baseball games. We avoid situations like this by choosing to homeschool our children. Before dismissing that as substandard education, know that my son was homeschooled through 8th grade (attending HS to be a HS athlete) and is now a student at Dartmouth.

Anyone else see the DMN article on Sunday outlining the obstacles and hard stance LISD takes toward home school students that try to transfer into public schools? Had they denied my son admission they would have lost out on counting another LISD graduate who became an Ivy League student.

Unfortunately, school administrators create a lot of bad press for the front line employees - the school teachers.

Swingdoc -- I have great respect for school teachers and huge respect for those like you that carry many extra responsibilities with too little compensation. I still believe that teachers have a unique opportunity to influence lives.

Those of us that are commenting on this subject are disturbed with "the system", not those that have to implement it. I think I have a pretty decent understanding of WHY all this is done --- but IMO the process needs to be refined.

As I said...a can of worms!

Hi DGB!
Like your son, many home schooled kids come into our school system well prepared, but it has been my experience that many are also behind. It takes a special parent/child relationship to make it work at home and some parents just aren't up to the task.

School systems are held accountable for kids whose parents pull them in and out of our system at will. More and more we have parents who decide to home school whenever their kids have to face consequences. After awhile they realize they're having the same problems and return them weeks, months, and even years behind. This hurts everyone...home schools, public schools, etc. ...and is becoming a disturbing trend.

Our school system works incredibly hard at what they do and always tries to make decisions that are in the best interest of the children they serve. IMHO the problems are not with the school systems, but with the politicians in Austin and/or the parenting skills at home. In the middle, struggling to deal with it all, are children and their local school districts.

quote:

IMHO the problems are not with the school systems, but with the politicians in Austin and poor parenting at home.

We are very nearly in complete agreement here. I would add a qualifier.

"the problems are not solely with the school systems..." I tend to believe that education starts at home, regardless of the delivery mechanism of the education (public schools, private schools, home schools, etc...) Our family just practices that belief to an extreme.

Nice talking w/ you TxMom. Maybe I'll see you around town. I think I'll be at the MHS/LHS game tomorrow night with a preacher friend you know.

My last post on this subject ~ I swear. Those decisions that are made are tough and what seperates a great school system from a not so great school system is parents that can grasp the idea that when decisions are made they are made for reasons that are best for the majority of students. That doesn't mean that the decision will be best for your child....but it will be best for most. It's like coaching HS baseball..Parents have what we call blind love for their son (and what good parent wouldn't) and he is the 1 item on the family's agenda where old coach has 75 kids names on his agenda. He, like the school administrators have to decide what is best for the larger group. Is public education perfect? Nope, but neither is every company that our hsbaseball posters work for either or there wouldn't be a top 10 list as well as a top 50 and a top 100.

This is JMHO.

As a professional educator in the public school system I would like to go on record as saying, Praise God, for the opportunity to live in this great country where we are afforded the opportunity to school our children in any venue we seem fit.

We can home school, private school, public school or charter school our kids. However, with this decision comes the realism that we have guidelines to follow within our choice of program.

We know that public education does TAKS testing. We know that home schooling has the choice to do as they deem fit for their students, etc... with the other programs.

As in baseball, we may not agree with the coach, but rules are established and guidelines are in tact that we must abide by. Unless we are the governing factor, we don't make the rules, we just play by them. Fortunately, as parents/taxpayers we are also the voice that can have them changed.

Personally, I love teaching and wouldn't do anything else. Give me my students or give me death. Okay, maybe not death, but I'm one of the lucky one's who after 20+ years in public education hasn't burned out. Gotten frustrated with the system, yes, but not burned out.

Well, we're not advocating the abolition of the public school system (I'm working hard on my alliteration) --- but the inconsistencies in implementation are frustrating. Many of you in the business are heroes in my mind. Doug makes some good points though --- repeated phone calls to remind people to feed their kids properly and make sure they get good rest? Seems like we're being taught to apply common sense, which is somewhat insulting for some.

I am a firm believer that if you teach critical thinking skills, knowledge follows.

If you teach names, dates, etc., that information will be lost within the school year.

And the standards of "passing" the TAKS is so low...well, I'll stop there instead of opening myself up for harrassment.

Keller ISD is a prime example. They had a very good district, with high scores and kids that actually learned something.

Now, we have a "high performing" district, but we have kids that graduate within the top ten percent of their class that have to take remedial classes when they get to college. The TOP TEN PERCENT of a very "High performing" district. That to me is absolutely AMAZING.

The Real Estate Agents have promoted the KISD as such a "high performing" district, that we have tripled in size in 10 years. Look at any subdivision being built in N. Ft. Worth, and they all have on their billboards "Keller ISD".

The district is not the same as it was 10 years ago. They have lost their focus, and mainly teach the test, so they can continue to hang the banners on the schools and continue to sell Ross Perot's real estate in North Ft. Worth.

Again, as stated by other people, it's not the teachers fault. It's the administrations fault. It's the legislators fault. It's the voters fault.

I have 3 friends that are teachers that got out of the business mainly because of the TAKS test.

BTW, my kid is in the top 10 percent of his class, and if he needs remedial classes once he gets to college, he's gonna come home and learn how to build scaffolding.

My only concern with TAKS is making sure the scores are posted in the DMN.

I live in Garland and my 8 year-old is in the 3rd grade (one grade farther than I made it). Last year at a parent-teacher sit down the principal of the elementary school told my wife and I that K, 1st & 2nd grades were basically preparation for the TAKS testing beginning in 3rd grade. Pretty much said they really don't start keeping score until 3rd.

Sounds strange to me and had I known that ahead of time we could have home schooled him until then. Now I'm gonna have to pull some strings to get him into a private school....I hope they don't hold his lineage against him.

Maybe I can trade Jesuit my kid for two of their varsity boys to play on our DBAT team????

Simple...Follow the money. If a district gets $$ for a positive test percentage, thats what they'll
force feed my kiddos, then we can worry about how to prepare for future years.

Very good point made here. What really bugs me is how all the teachers at my school do is sit around and make sure we don't cheat, [and they purposely will set us up with an english teacher when we're taking the math portion so that they're too uneducated to help us... lol] and they get pampered with the gift baskets, the donuts, the sandwiches from the deli, etc. I don't see them suffering over taking 3 exit level tests in 3 consecutive days!

quote:

Originally posted by Laura:
Very good point made here. What really bugs me is how all the teachers at my school do is sit around and make sure we don't cheat, [and they purposely will set us up with an english teacher when we're taking the math portion so that they're too uneducated to help us... lol] and they get pampered with the gift baskets, the donuts, the sandwiches from the deli, etc. I don't see them suffering over taking 3 exit level tests in 3 consecutive days!

Laura,

I feel nothing but sympathy for you when collikar reads this.

quote:

Maybe I can trade Jesuit my kid for two of their varsity boys to play on our DBAT team????

DBAT,

Make sure one of them is the Clare kid!!

He's a player.

quote:

Originally posted by T-Bird Dad:

quote:

Originally posted by Laura:
Very good point made here. What really bugs me is how all the teachers at my school do is sit around and make sure we don't cheat, [and they purposely will set us up with an english teacher when we're taking the math portion so that they're too uneducated to help us... lol] and they get pampered with the gift baskets, the donuts, the sandwiches from the deli, etc. I don't see them suffering over taking 3 exit level tests in 3 consecutive days!

Laura,

I feel nothing but sympathy for you when collikar reads this.

haha.. that's ok.

quote:

Originally posted by Laura:
Very good point made here. What really bugs me is how all the teachers at my school do is sit around and make sure we don't cheat, [and they purposely will set us up with an english teacher when we're taking the math portion so that they're too uneducated to help us... lol] and they get pampered with the gift baskets, the donuts, the sandwiches from the deli, etc. I don't see them suffering over taking 3 exit level tests in 3 consecutive days!

I must be doing something wrong. I have yet to receive a gift basket, deli sandwich, or donuts during TAKS. Of course, do you know how much I would have to run to get rid of all those calories?

As far as you being set up with an English teacher during the math portion of the TAKS, the teachers are merely trained facilitators. We're only allowed to go over the TAKS directions. Not the directions on how to answer a question, just the directions for taking the test. UGH.....

I missed the question...hmmmmmm......HS Baseball Web... Although this is a very TAKsing issue. As for being able to play on Good Friday....separation of Church and State.

quote:

Originally posted by UpnIn:
separation of Church and State.

Then why is it a UIL rule that you can't play on Sunday?

KD:
Good News, no TAKS next year for our BOYS,,,, YIPPEE.....

quote:

Originally posted by KellerDad:

quote:

Originally posted by UpnIn:
separation of Church and State.

Then why is it a UIL rule that you can't play on Sunday?

Because they (UIL) set the rules. The TEA ultimately sets the test schedule and the rules. It is too bad the educational process gets in the way of the "student-athelete".