I'm not qualified to be a teacher. I leave that to the professionals on the "factory line". The same way I leave the doctoring to the professionals.
I definitely don't blame the teachers. Lots of teachers are incredible. It's the system I don't agree with.
And I do have the education qualifications. Maybe I should have mentioned that.
I think homeschooling co-ops are the best bet if you're going that route. I am qualified K-8 plus science 9-12 and French all grades. If I were to homeschool I'd want someone else teaching senior language/comp sci/math because I'm not the best teacher for my kid in those subjects as I'm not qualified.
5 years TTC 2 c/p's 2 failed IUIs/1 cancelled IVF 1 failed IVF 1 failed FET BFP 12/1/15. We said goodbye to Tiny 1/4/16 Fresh cycle #3 2/16 8R/7M/5F BFP 5/12/16 We said goodbye to flutter on 5/27 and poprock on 5/28 BFP 8/30/16 We said goodbye to Samuel 10/3 (Trisomy 16) Moving on to Donor Embryos BFP 12/20/16 We said goodbye to Turtle 12/30
There also quite a few school taking on problem or project-based learning. Often classes are mixed grades and it seems like an awesome way to learn, to me. Not all of them are private either - I have a friend out west currently working at one
There also quite a few school taking on problem or project-based learning. Often classes are mixed grades and it seems like an awesome way to learn, to me. Not all of them are private either - I have a friend out west currently working at one
The public school system that my kids would go to if we stay here has theme schools and centers of innovation with multi-grade classes.
There's a middle school of 70 kids at the zoo, a science-based K-8 school with multiple greenhouses and laboratories, an Economicology school, and a middle school at the arboretum. There are also leadership-track programs, and a public Montessori.
ETA: The only downside is that it's super competitive enrollment for the theme schools, and the other "normal" schools in the district are hit or miss. It's a public city school district.
So basically your kid either is super smart and you get into one of the good schools, or you're screwed and you get to scramble to find a private school that works with your budget, and most of the private schools here are HEAVILY religiously based.
Last Edit: Aug 20, 2015 12:13:44 GMT -5 by NariaDreaming
5 years TTC 2 c/p's 2 failed IUIs/1 cancelled IVF 1 failed IVF 1 failed FET BFP 12/1/15. We said goodbye to Tiny 1/4/16 Fresh cycle #3 2/16 8R/7M/5F BFP 5/12/16 We said goodbye to flutter on 5/27 and poprock on 5/28 BFP 8/30/16 We said goodbye to Samuel 10/3 (Trisomy 16) Moving on to Donor Embryos BFP 12/20/16 We said goodbye to Turtle 12/30
@admis that sounds amazing. Is public Ed that bad in the states? I'd say the large majority of kids in Canada go to public school. I do t even know where the closest public school to me is.
I definitely don't blame the teachers. Lots of teachers are incredible. It's the system I don't agree with.
And I do have the education qualifications. Maybe I should have mentioned that.
I think homeschooling co-ops are the best bet if you're going that route. I am qualified K-8 plus science 9-12 and French all grades. If I were to homeschool I'd want someone else teaching senior language/comp sci/math because I'm not the best teacher for my kid in those subjects as I'm not qualified.
This is what MH would like us to do. (homeschooling co-op) I'm certified secondary social studies but have been a home bound teacher for grades k-12 for students who are unable to attend school. We have a fairly large and supportive local co-op so I would feel more comfortable having someone better skilled at certain fields teach.
Of course I told MH that I'll discuss the matter further once we actually have a child.
@admis that sounds amazing. Is public Ed that bad in the states? I'd say the large majority of kids in Canada go to public school. I do t even know where the closest public school to me is.
I think there are some definite flaws in the public education system in the states - but one of the biggest issues in my opinion is that it's very hit or miss as to each district, and even amongst schools in the same district. For instance, the school district H and I are live in is excellent, rated one of the best in the state. Just 2 hours to the south, in an area with a much higher population, we have friends who are considering selling their home and moving because the schools in their district are all rated so poorly, and they aren't sure they can afford the private schools close by.
@admis that sounds amazing. Is public Ed that bad in the states? I'd say the large majority of kids in Canada go to public school. I do t even know where the closest public school to me is.
I think there are some definite flaws in the public education system in the states - but one of the biggest issues in my opinion is that it's very hit or miss as to each district, and even amongst schools in the same district. For instance, the school district H and I are live in is excellent, rated one of the best in the state. Just 2 hours to the south, in an area with a much higher population, we have friends who are considering selling their home and moving because the schools in their district are all rated so poorly, and they aren't sure they can afford the private schools close by.
That is definitely how it is here. Our school districts are by county and there are huge differences in schools within the district. When we purchased our house, we could've bought a much bigger and nicer house with more land for the same price just a few miles north or south of where we bought but the public schools are not good there. Unfortunately, in my county, if you want good schools you're pretty much left to choose between 2 areas. Private school and homeschooling are not options we even want to explore so we chose to be where the good public school is.
Post by goldenlove3 on Aug 20, 2015 13:23:05 GMT -5
We had two school districts in the city I grew up in. One is awful and the other is good. In the city next door, there is only one district but one high school is ranked high and the other is bad but with an amazing football program. When we were house hunting, we had to make sure we were in the better school district. It's such a pain and crazy how much they range within a few miles from each other.
A lot of time it's through standardized testing. And from what I can gather from all my teacher friends, this is a whole other issue...
Hahah yeah I won't even get into that can of worms lol well that sucks. Might be a stupid question but does it matter? Like when applying for universities or colleges do they care what high school you come from or just what your makes were/extra curriculars are?
A lot of time it's through standardized testing. And from what I can gather from all my teacher friends, this is a whole other issue...
Standardized testing is bullshit. It does nothing but hurt students and teachers. There was a HUGE scandal in Atlanta about teachers fudging test scores because students weren't up to the county standards (which are ridiculous). It was a whole thing. A few teachers are going to prison for it.
Public schools in my district are TERRIBLE. If we still live where we live now by the time our children go to elementary school, I would like to homeschool them through at least 1st grade. Once they get a good foundation we can get them into the "gifted" program which improves their quality of education. Hopefully we will be able to move to a better district by then, though. In my city, you either move to "the islands" (same county, different district), pay for private school, or homeschool if you want your kids to have a decent education. It's a big problem. I have students from local high schools in the college courses I teach and I cannot explain to you how horrible the writing I've seen is. It was a huge shock to me. I could go on and on about this, but I won't.
TLDR: I'll homeschool for a couple of years if we still live in our current district because the education in our district is shit.
I think there are some definite flaws in the public education system in the states - but one of the biggest issues in my opinion is that it's very hit or miss as to each district, and even amongst schools in the same district. For instance, the school district H and I are live in is excellent, rated one of the best in the state. Just 2 hours to the south, in an area with a much higher population, we have friends who are considering selling their home and moving because the schools in their district are all rated so poorly, and they aren't sure they can afford the private schools close by.
That is definitely how it is here. Our school districts are by county and there are huge differences in schools within the district. When we purchased our house, we could've bought a much bigger and nicer house with more land for the same price just a few miles north or south of where we bought but the public schools are not good there. Unfortunately, in my county, if you want good schools you're pretty much left to choose between 2 areas. Private school and homeschooling are not options we even want to explore so we chose to be where the good public school is.
Same here. The district in the city is mostly bad with a few great schools thrown in. I mean, I went to one of the "bad" high schools and turned out just fine, but if you're not self-motivated like I was, you're not going to do well.
We moved to a northern suburb with pretty good school and decent housing prices. For great schools, we would've paid more for less house. The middle and high schools we're zoned for aren't great. Middle of the road at best. But closer to us (drive-time, at least) are the best middle and high schools in the district and maybe even including the district just north of us. The middle school is a college prep middle school. If we end up having kids and we stay where we are, we'll be requesting a transfer. Or hoping the zoning changes between now and then, which of course it will.
A lot of time it's through standardized testing. And from what I can gather from all my teacher friends, this is a whole other issue...
Hahah yeah I won't even get into that can of worms lol well that sucks. Might be a stupid question but does it matter? Like when applying for universities or colleges do they care what high school you come from or just what your makes were/extra curriculars are?
In my experience, it didn't matter. But then again, my grades and extracurriculars were good. I would say it makes more of a difference for the students. If you didn't get a good educational foundation in school, you're going to be hurting when you get into college classes because even though your grades may have been fine, the educational standards weren't there and you're not up to snuff. Or, like me, you excelled in a school that didn't challenge you, so when you get to college, you don't even know how to study because you've never had to before. Which can also hurt you.
Ok another question: good teachers can mitigate the effects of poor funding etc. so why are the teachers bad at these schools? Is there merit based pay or something where the better schools can afford to pay those teachers? Or are they allowed to fire sub-par teachers and then those teachers go to crappier schools? Here we are super unionized so aside from having relations with a kid or posting something brutal on FB you can't really lose your job and pay is determined solely by your place on the salary grid.
That is definitely how it is here. Our school districts are by county and there are huge differences in schools within the district. When we purchased our house, we could've bought a much bigger and nicer house with more land for the same price just a few miles north or south of where we bought but the public schools are not good there. Unfortunately, in my county, if you want good schools you're pretty much left to choose between 2 areas. Private school and homeschooling are not options we even want to explore so we chose to be where the good public school is.
Same here. The district in the city is mostly bad with a few great schools thrown in. I mean, I went to one of the "bad" high schools and turned out just fine, but if you're not self-motivated like I was, you're not going to do well.
We moved to a northern suburb with pretty good school and decent housing prices. For great schools, we would've paid more for less house. The middle and high schools we're zoned for aren't great. Middle of the road at best. But closer to us (drive-time, at least) are the best middle and high schools in the district and maybe even including the district just north of us. The middle school is a college prep middle school. If we end up having kids and we stay where we are, we'll be requesting a transfer. Or hoping the zoning changes between now and then, which of course it will.
They start prepping for college in Middle school?!?! Holy crap!!
A lot of time it's through standardized testing. And from what I can gather from all my teacher friends, this is a whole other issue...
Hahah yeah I won't even get into that can of worms lol well that sucks. Might be a stupid question but does it matter? Like when applying for universities or colleges do they care what high school you come from or just what your makes were/extra curriculars are?
For most universities, I don't think what high school you come from matters much. Maybe with some of the more prestigious universities it would, but mostly it's your grades, extra curriculars, etc.
Same here. The district in the city is mostly bad with a few great schools thrown in. I mean, I went to one of the "bad" high schools and turned out just fine, but if you're not self-motivated like I was, you're not going to do well.
We moved to a northern suburb with pretty good school and decent housing prices. For great schools, we would've paid more for less house. The middle and high schools we're zoned for aren't great. Middle of the road at best. But closer to us (drive-time, at least) are the best middle and high schools in the district and maybe even including the district just north of us. The middle school is a college prep middle school. If we end up having kids and we stay where we are, we'll be requesting a transfer. Or hoping the zoning changes between now and then, which of course it will.
They start prepping for college in Middle school?!?! Holy crap!!
Oh yeah, college readiness is a big thing all the way down to the middle school level, at least in Texas (or the districts I've been in in Texas). The district I first taught in even had an advisory period program, "Plotting the Course." It was all about discovering what interested you, what your career goals were, and what you needed to do to get there. I was big, personally, on reminding my students that not everyone has to go to college. But ultimately, the program was about college readiness.
Ok another question: good teachers can mitigate the effects of poor funding etc. so why are the teachers bad at these schools? Is there merit based pay or something where the better schools can afford to pay those teachers? Or are they allowed to fire sub-par teachers and then those teachers go to crappier schools? Here we are super unionized so aside from having relations with a kid or posting something brutal on FB you can't really lose your job and pay is determined solely by your place on the salary grid.
It's really a mixed bag. Poor districts have high teacher turnover rates. They also get a lot of brand new teachers. Then there are the tenured teachers that have given up because of higher up admins making bad decisions.
Teachers could also not be getting compensation for materials. Maybe it's a problem with administration and they're forced to teach a horrid curriculum. There are literally schools where teachers get a script and they have to stay on it and not do the fun engaging activities.
There is a school in MA that is state run because the district completely failed. It lost all accreditation. It's bad.
Ok another question: good teachers can mitigate the effects of poor funding etc. so why are the teachers bad at these schools? Is there merit based pay or something where the better schools can afford to pay those teachers? Or are they allowed to fire sub-par teachers and then those teachers go to crappier schools? Here we are super unionized so aside from having relations with a kid or posting something brutal on FB you can't really lose your job and pay is determined solely by your place on the salary grid.
Salary grid is pretty much it here. Texas teachers don't have a union. But for the most part, what I experienced was that sub-par teachers who had been there a while weren't let go. They were allowed to continue with their outdated methods that just weren't working anymore.
It's also been my experience that the better districts do tend to pay higher salaries, but they're extremely difficult a job in them.
They start prepping for college in Middle school?!?! Holy crap!!
Oh yeah, college readiness is a big thing all the way down to the middle school level, at least in Texas (or the districts I've been in in Texas). The district I first taught in even had an advisory period program, "Plotting the Course." It was all about discovering what interested you, what your career goals were, and what you needed to do to get there. I was big, personally, on reminding my students that not everyone has to go to college. But ultimately, the program was about college readiness.
What grades are middle school? Here is generally 4-8. I can't imagine doing college prep with my 10yo lol its crazy how different Ed is from place - place.
Oh yeah, college readiness is a big thing all the way down to the middle school level, at least in Texas (or the districts I've been in in Texas). The district I first taught in even had an advisory period program, "Plotting the Course." It was all about discovering what interested you, what your career goals were, and what you needed to do to get there. I was big, personally, on reminding my students that not everyone has to go to college. But ultimately, the program was about college readiness.
What grades are middle school? Here is generally 4-8. I can't imagine doing college prep with my 10yo lol its crazy how different Ed is from place - place.
Ok another question: good teachers can mitigate the effects of poor funding etc. so why are the teachers bad at these schools? Is there merit based pay or something where the better schools can afford to pay those teachers? Or are they allowed to fire sub-par teachers and then those teachers go to crappier schools? Here we are super unionized so aside from having relations with a kid or posting something brutal on FB you can't really lose your job and pay is determined solely by your place on the salary grid.
Salary grid is pretty much it here. Texas teachers don't have a union. But for the most part, what I experienced was that sub-par teachers who had been there a while weren't let go. They were allowed to continue with their outdated methods that just weren't working anymore.
It's also been my experience that the better districts do tend to pay higher salaries, but they're extremely difficult a job in them.
My neck of the woods it's because of attendance/count days. Since state funding is based on how many butts are in the seats on count days, if you have a large population of disadvantaged students, you tend to have higher absenteeism rates. Which means less state funding.
5 years TTC 2 c/p's 2 failed IUIs/1 cancelled IVF 1 failed IVF 1 failed FET BFP 12/1/15. We said goodbye to Tiny 1/4/16 Fresh cycle #3 2/16 8R/7M/5F BFP 5/12/16 We said goodbye to flutter on 5/27 and poprock on 5/28 BFP 8/30/16 We said goodbye to Samuel 10/3 (Trisomy 16) Moving on to Donor Embryos BFP 12/20/16 We said goodbye to Turtle 12/30
Salary grid is pretty much it here. Texas teachers don't have a union. But for the most part, what I experienced was that sub-par teachers who had been there a while weren't let go. They were allowed to continue with their outdated methods that just weren't working anymore.
It's also been my experience that the better districts do tend to pay higher salaries, but they're extremely difficult a job in them.
My neck of the woods it's because of attendance/count days. Since state funding is based on how many butts are in the seats on count days, if you have a large population of disadvantaged students, you tend to have higher absenteeism rates. Which means less state funding.
And it becomes this nasty cyclical thing
Oh yeah, as far as funding goes, it's all about butts in seats. Which is a crock of shit.
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