Governors Work to Improve H.S. Education

[Trillo]

By BEN FELLER, AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON - The nation's governors offered an alarming account of the American high school Saturday, saying only drastic change will keep millions of students from falling short.

"We can't keep explaining to our nation's parents or business leaders or college faculties why these kids can't do the work," said Virginia Democratic Gov. Mark Warner, as the state leaders convened for the first National Education Summit aimed at rallying governors around high school reform.

>snip<

The summit is the governors' fifth on education, but the first devoted to high schools. The original governors' education summit, organized by the first President Bush in 1989, is credited with spurring a movement of basing student performance on higher standards.

>snip<

Among the more high-profile governors who did not attend Saturday were two Republicans: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (news - web sites) of California and Jeb Bush of Florida, the president's brother.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=533&e=4&u=/ap/20050226/ap_on_re_us/governors_high_schools">more...

[MichiganVote]

1. Education to America: Your children are not in school

We've been telling you and telling you. Children enrolled in public schools are not attending school and they are moving from school to school over and over again. That results in a disruption of the curriculum they are supposed to be in school to learn.

For too many, when they are in school, they don't pay attention because they would rather be playing video games.

[tblue37]

2. And if a teacher dares to actually

require work from them and actually give less than stellar grades for poor work--or fail someone for doing no work at all--then the parents are outraged, and the administration will cave to the screeching parents rather than backing up the teacher.

As long as teachers have no authority in the classroom and are under siege from parents who don't want their little snookie-pie's feelings hurt, then those kids are going to remain ignorant and incompetent.

And then I get them in college classes and they can't read, can't write, can't think their way out of a wet paper bag, don't think they should be required to attend class, but are quite certain they desrve an "A" and I damned well better give it to them.

Remember the Piper, Kansas, case, where the 10th-grade teacher was forced to raise the grades of the students who had plagiarized a research assignment, because the students' parents were so angry she had failed them for palgiarizing? Well, I actually ran across a web page commentary that blames the teacher for being so unfair to her students! He sees her as an example of "educators who act like law enforcement agents":
http://www.humaneparenting.com/Commentaries/com022302.htm

At some point in their lives these kids will be held accountable, and their parents won't be able to save them from getting fired from a job or suffering some other consequence from their ignorance and irresponsibility. These parents are not doing their kids any favors.

[MichiganVote]

3. Yup. I hear ya'.

[Trillo]

4. Perhaps they'll consider "Schools shalt do no harm"

Of course, that's my personal bias from experience. 30-years later I still dream about the private-school HS injustice. I can control my conscious thoughts, but that insidious sub/super-conscious keeps bubbling forth.

[SoCalDem]

5. Until school is no longer seen as "daycare" for working parents

and as "Social Club for teens", nothing will change.

What would work, is taking schools back to a time when they DID teach. (metaphorically).. There HAVE to be some educators still alive from "back then"..Let THEM help set a national curriculum...and STICK to it.. PAY TEACHERS WELL, and back them up.Parents with misbehaving kids could just have "their money" and let them take those little twerps elsewhere.

Schools were NO NONSENSE..There were strict dress codes (and or uniforms)..There were REQUIRED subjects in abundance, and electives in the minority. Electives were "rewards" for students who did well enough to be able to "afford" them.

Sports and extra curricular activities were JUST that.. EXTRA..It's infintely easier to teach a smart kid to play basketball, than it is to teach a good basketball player how to be smart:)

Not ALL kids are college bound, and they need to be learning real skills or they will forever be wearing a paper hat and sensible shoes.

Society needs all kinds of people, not just college grads. There is no reason why high school could not be extended and extra year for specialized training for the ones who are not headed for college.

Trades are sometimes offering jobs that pay higher and have better job security than "professional" jobs. Plumbers, carpenters, landscapers, electricians, auto mechanics, furniture makers, etc are NOT BORN.

If we turn out 18 year olds with no appreciable skills after clutching them for 13 years, it's OUR FAULT.and our shame:(

[rppper]

6. note the last paragraph of the article.......

" Among the more high-profile governors who did not attend Saturday were two Republicans: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (news - web sites) of California and Jeb Bush of Florida, the president's brother."

i don't know about cali's schools, but florida schools are a mess. that last blurb says a lot more than is written.....

[SoCalDem]

7. California schools are a mess too.. It's a damn shame

Ours used to be the best:(

It's no wonder that kids do not want to become teachers these days. They are caught in a neverending trail of paperwork, and are second-guessed at every turn..by parents, adminsitration and students..

Teachers used to be respected members of society, and now they are seen as babysitters and secretaries:(