Pay kids and Parents to go to school.........Amazing!

[JustRalph]

This is foolish and one of the dumbest things I have ever heard. This is the result of the "self esteem" generation. The abject failure of Public Schools is quite possibly the greatest failure in the country. And it shows. Now we are going to reward the parents?

Read it and weep...........take the poll too

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/15/paying.grades/index.html

Tired of watching kids fail in school, the education activist came up with a plan. She called a meeting with the parents and told them she'd pay them $25 just for showing up.

"Ten dollars isn't dignified, $30, that's too much," says Wiley. "But $25, that sounded real good. Real good."

At the first meeting in May, parents introduced themselves and explained why they had come. Wiley says she was struck by the level of pain of the parents.

"One father stood up and talked about how he wanted more for his children, how he was second-generation special education and how his children were coming through special education, and how he wanted to break the cycle," recalls Wiley.

By the time introductions were finished, most people in the room were crying and realized they were not alone.

~much more at the link~

[OTM Al]

As a graduate of public schools and a proponent of education, I can freely say that if we put the kind of resources into public education that we are putting into Iraq we just might not be having these problems. Investment in education is investment in the future well being of this country. As long as teachers are paid substandard wages and schools are inadequately supplied public schools will continue to be found lacking.

[Tom]

And I can say if we put education into the private sector, it will the best possible scenario. Throwing oney at it will not improve it. Public schooling fails in many places and it has nothing to do with resources.

[DJofSD]

This part of the article resonnated with me:
"Our parents are disconnected. They're disconnected from a system that doesn't respect them," says Wiley. "They're disconnected from a system they don't have a positive relationship with, so we've got to reconnect our parents."

Wiley's program, the Education Brain Trust, runs daylong seminars that show parents how to work with teachers, help with homework and support their kids. Parents are given a T-shirt, a tote bag, food and provided with on-site babysitting.

The parents are required to sign a commitment letter agreeing to have at least four positive experiences in their child's classroom, including attending parent-teacher conferences and supervising an hour of homework a night.

"We talk about turning the radio down, turning the music off, getting the people out of the house, no card games at the table," says Wiley. "I'm talking about you sitting down reading with your child, I'm talking about you showing your child how important homework hour is to you. That's what we ask them for and that's a lot."

Having a son in public school, I was happy to involve myself with the teacher and the classroom when I could for the first two years. The third year was a different story. While the teacher was a pleasant enough person, when I voluntered to help, I was told it was not needed. This year I think it will be different and for the first time I have access to lesson plans and homework assignments via the internet plus the teacher has made her email address available to the parents.

I think we are dealing with a huge disconnect of the parents from the educational system and at the same time a lessening in the value of education. How that happened, I can only speculate. But given that, something has to change.

If this teacher can get the parents off their collective butts, good for her and it will be good for the children. On general principles I'm a little unsure about the method but the motivation begins at home and if this is what it takes this time I'm willing to compromise a little and say the ends does justify the means.

The kids and the future are the prize. Keep your eye on the prize.

[wes]

substandard wages!
substandard minds have took over our society!


I have seen the decline in the public school systems. Not only in learning but the destruction of schools and the grounds as well. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make the horse drink. Same with school children. You can't teach some children. Why bog down the other students trying to teach the unteachable. The Civil right of this country has crippled our society. ML said he had a dream. I'm not sure what his dream was. It's for dam sure it was not what we have here in America today. We have JJ and others to thank for trying to meet some dam quota. Hell are all our children just a number for one race or another of people to Quote. It time that all races of people wake up to the fact. There are dumb asses in all walks of life. It has no color selection or preference. Only those who are running the show does.

Yes I am 70 years of age an witness to it all.

wes

[DJofSD]

Throwing oney at it will not improve it. Public schooling fails in many places and it has nothing to do with resources.I agree with that. Look at the spending in terms of how much money is actually spent in the classroom and how much of it goes to administration and other expeditures not directly related to the classroom.

[delayjf]

Talking to several teachers I work currently work with. Another problem not yet mentioned is the lack of discipline in todays class rooms - Teachers cannot control their students and when they fail, the parents blame the teachers.

[RaceBookJoe]

The entire education system needs to be overhauled. I think todays kids need to think about goals earlier and point towards it. Nothing against calculus, except that it wasted 9 months of my life. Today's children need classes that can support them throughout their life. Unless they have a photographic memory, most of the crap they learn is forgotten quickly...so was it really learned. Kid's are different today than in the 70's/80's when I was in school. Technology has made everything too "instant". I remember having to walk to the library, and once i got there had to figure out that damn dewey decimal system to find the book I needed....if some other schmuck hadnt beaten me to it. I teach piano/guitar and notice that my homeschooled children are my best and most focused students....which goes back to a needed overhaul of the system. Pay well trained teachers adequately to do what they are supposed to do. rbj

[OTM Al]

Pay well trained teachers adequately to do what they are supposed to do. rbj

I think that sums it up pretty well.

[Tom]

Add to that, clearly defined standards and levels of acceptable performances and failing performances, to the standards, not a curve, with all testing done by third party, certified examiners. And throw in a public review of each teacher's performance to obtaining the goal of 100% passing grades on ever test. We need to turn out educated children, capable of thinking, outcome based performances. And end tenure.....no teacher is any better than the last class they taught.

[RaceBookJoe]

Seems like we keep pumping out lawyers also, maybe gear our children into the areas of science and engineering. Who knows, maybe they can come up with a new alternative energy, instead of worrying about who to sue.

[OTM Al]

Its not that we are pumping them out Joe, its that the kids are going where they think the money is. This country has always been all too willing to honor the football player, but the kid that studies is just called a nerd. Other countries have much more respect for academics than we seem to. Friends of mine were honored by their schools and respected by their peers for doing well in school. Should we wonder why the vast majority of kids doing graduate work in the sciences aren't from this country? And its not like they are taking the places of qualified US students because those just aren't there. They are applying to business school and law school. This is why education is always on top of my list when judging candidates for office.

You are right though that we don't do enough to get kids into science. That's why I say the schools need to have the money to have the labs so kids can do science. And to learn other skills for those that won't be going to college. I was lucky that my public high school was big and very well equipped. We had an astronomy lab on top of the chemistry and physics labs we had available (I assume we had biology labs to, but I never liked that subject). We also had a wing that was devoted to industrial arts, with a full auto shop and rooms designed for drafting classes. So kids there had choices to pursue academic skills as well as skills that kids that weren't going to college could use. Some schools out here don't even have enough room for the students to learn in. Its no wonder that the kids there fail when they never had a real chance to start with.

[PaceAdvantage]

As a graduate of public schools and a proponent of education, I can freely say that if we put the kind of resources into public education that we are putting into Iraq we just might not be having these problems.Does EVERYTHING have to tie into Iraq?

Perhaps being in Iraq will prevent a couple of these schools that you want to divert "Iraq money" into from being blown up in the future....food for thought....

[OTM Al]

I thought for a while when I wrote that as I figured this would be the exact response. In this case Iraq is relevant because we are talking about government expenditure, in which case the spending on Iraq is massive, hundreds of billions of dollars. A tenth of that money spent on education would bring far greater returns than what we are doing in Iraq. And I'm sorry but the logic of your statement about blowing up schools is standard fear mongering propaganda. By that same logic we should attack Canada because doing so may prevent someone from there committing terrorist acts here.

[Tom]

It is not how much the government spends on education, it that very fact that government is involved. Government = failure. They cannot run acceptable schools and never will. They are government, and they cannot do anything right, cheap, or efficiently. My premise is education is costing far too much now. We should be spending a lot less. Significantly less, and we should be getting far better results.

[robert99]

Wadhwa's evidence to the House Committee gives the a somewhat rosy view of the extent of the challenge from India and China - let alone the rest of the World. I presume, Engineers as practical people may more likely come from the public school system.
Class discipline with full parental support is absolutely firm in those countries and they realise it is Engineers, who are honoured, that are going to develop their countries - not lawyers and politicians talking about it.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Burnette/?p=125

[Tom]

We have a cancer in this country - it is called liberalism. It is really a mental illness. Educated people who think for themselves is the LAST thing the democrats want. Why, O'Bama's own local district's STUDENTS just revolted in protest over the pathetic education Barry's party was giving them.

[pktruckdriver]

OTM Al

Really a tenth of the Money spent in Iraq, wasted revenue, for sure.

Throwing money at the Education of our kids has never really happened, now has it??

If we had the money in education that we spent in Iraq I have to believe , without a doubt , teachers get better pay, as well as others in the Education Group being paid well, new schools, new equipment, smaller teacher to student ratio, and teachers being held up to stricter standards should be no problem since they are well paid for what they are doing, but this will never happen, why?? Do we just not care anymore, I guess so.

What about your kid?? What do you do for them?? Do you really care??

Answer those questions and all it does is seperate the rich from the poor, ...

How about we switch the defense and education budgets just for 1 year??

[JustRalph]

OTM Al

Really a tenth of the Money spent in Iraq, wasted revenue, for sure.

Throwing money at the Education of our kids has never really happened, now has it??

If we had the money in education that we spent in Iraq I have to believe , without a doubt , teachers get better pay, as well as others in the Education Group being paid well, new schools, new equipment, smaller teacher to student ratio, and teachers being held up to stricter standards should be no problem since they are well paid for what they are doing, but this will never happen, why?? Do we just not care anymore, I guess so.

What about your kid?? What do you do for them?? Do you really care??

Answer those questions and all it does is seperate the rich from the poor, ...

How about we switch the defense and education budgets just for 1 year??

That is so off base. There is no difference in test scores in places where twice as much money is spent. It has nothing to do with Money available to the schools. It has to do with the students and the motivation from home.

Tell me why Asian Students do so well, no matter what school system they are in?

When minority groups scream about culturally biased testing being a problem, the Asian Students still score higher than anybody else. How does that happen? Because Asian families make education a priority. End of story.

[JustRalph]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLDb2V86Ei0

This video reminds me of this threadLLDb2V86Ei0

[DJofSD]

Thanks, JR. IMO, one of the all time best comedy programs. The only thing missing from that gem of a routine was one of the not so subtle put down of the LSE.

[PaceAdvantage]

And I'm sorry but the logic of your statement about blowing up schools is standard fear mongering propaganda. By that same logic we should attack Canada because doing so may prevent someone from there committing terrorist acts here.Not my point at all, and your Canada reference is downright silly.

If you wish to cite Iraq as the be all - end all of gov't waste, that's your prerogative. There are PLENTY of areas in gov't where money could be easily diverted away in order to better aid education in this country. Iraq would certainly not be at the top of my list, especially as long as US troops remain on the ground there...