With Turnover High, Schools Fight for Teachers

[elSicomoro]

I've been thinking about going to teach at our local community college...could be a good experience for me and the peeps to be taught, especially since I rule.

Seriously...I'm about to lose my fucking mind delivering pizzas. That's a job to nowhere, and my home business is nowhere near profitable (or even really together) at this point.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by 9th Engineer

Not an issue at all. If some extra money means my kids won't have to sit there teaching themselves math while their teacher has to cater to some delinquent who doesn't give a rat's ass, then it's totally worth it. I can't solve the problem anyway, if can shield my kids, I will.

A little careful selection when you're choosing the neighborhood you want to live in will accomplish the same thing for free. Keep in mind that "some extra money" will range anywhere from $6,000 to $20,000 a year, assuming it isn't a boarding school.

[Ibby]

Originally Posted by jinx

Been there, done that, homeschooling now.

You trust LJ more to teach your kids than a teacher?
Well, at least your kids'll have an... ample vocabulary.

[yesman065]

Originally Posted by 9th Engineer

Not an issue at all. If some extra money means my kids won't have to sit there teaching themselves math while their teacher has to cater to some delinquent who doesn't give a rat's ass, then it's totally worth it. I can't solve the problem anyway, if can shield my kids, I will.

I know where you are coming from 9th - the problem is a little reality sets in - the cost is very prohibative. I moved out of state to get into one of the best school ditricts in the region. I paid more for my house, my property taxes tripled and I'm still waaaay ahead on the cost end. Most importantly my kids have/are getting a great education(s). I drive further to work, deal with other issues and pay income taxes in two states blah, blah, blah - my kids are getting a great education! There are alternatives, thats my point. They just require some innovative thinking sometimes.

[piercehawkeye45]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/opinion/29wed4.html

With 50 million children set to return to school, districts all over the country are still scrambling to fill teaching positions and are having an especially difficult time finding qualified applicants to fill shortages in vital areas like math and science. These shortages will persist and the education reform effort will continue to lag until states, localities and the federal government start paying much more attention to how teachers are trained, hired and assigned.

The problem was underscored by a front page article in The Times this week by Sam Dillon, which describes shortages so severe that some officials were seeking to fill positions by scooping up any warm body they could find. Better overall salaries and financial incentives for teachers who work in demanding areas are necessary. But the country must also adopt measures that increase the supply of high-quality teachers — especially in math and science — while cutting down on the distressingly large number of teachers who bail out of the profession early.

Public colleges and universities, which rely heavily on tax dollars, are a good place to start. The government should require them to turn out more high quality teachers of all kinds, especially math and science teachers. Ideally, the enrollments at these colleges of education should be based not on whim, but on projected need. The states should find ways to reward colleges that turn out excellent graduates, while shutting down diploma mills. The states and localities should also develop comprehensive plans not just for hiring, but for mentoring and retaining teachers as well.

Beyond that, large urban districts, especially ones with particularly needy school districts, need to abandon union work rules that give senior teachers the right to change schools whenever they wish — even if the receiving principal doesn’t want them. That forces out less senior teachers in the receiving school, a bumping process that can continue well into the summer. It both frustrates younger teachers and prevents school administrators from making timely hiring decisions.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I wonder how many of, "the distressingly large number of teachers who bail out of the profession early, bail out to get away from the increasing load of bullshit, like peanutbutter patrol, in addition to their teaching duties?

[Aliantha]

A lot of teachers are getting out of teaching because they're tired of bringing up other people's kids. They're tired of having to teach things like basic manners.

That is an issue.
It was also discouraged to call parents in to discuss it with them.

[roost]

Originally Posted by yesman065

w-w-what???? I thought they just needed to be "educated" Weren't you touting that in the spanking thread?? Why is it different here?

You are both right in your own way.
It really depends on the needs of the child.
My Son has Impulse Control Disorder, which is not understood in the medical community, so how could it be understood in the class room.
Autistics are starting to get their own classes now, but a school could not focus on all disorders that exist.
At the same token, special education classrooms are being filled with children whom are in an infintile stage. Why are we paying for babysitters in an educational facility, but it is mandatory to be provided.
Some teachers simply need more instruction to deal with behavioral disorders, but currently the focus is on ADD/HD.

In public school my Son was developing violent habbits.
Now his KG teacher was unopen to new ideas so he was pulled and kept home for a year to undevelop those habbits.
He was placed in first gr. at a different school, and his teacher was great, but he was too distracted by the social aspect and lost interest in learning.
Now we use virtual school, and he completed 2 grades last year and is currently in 4th at age 8. He enjoys learning and we are able to help develop his social skills, while improving upon his academics and his refound love of learning.

As for school funding, what ever happened to fundraisers.
We always had fund raisers while I attended school.
And some problems go right to the communities unwillingness to pay higher taxes.
In 1800s the community that used a school payed for the school

[Aliantha]

Yeah, they should have more lamington drives.

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by sycamore

I've been thinking about going to teach at our local community college...could be a good experience for me and the peeps to be taught, especially since I rule.

Oh, come teach here! Come on, it'll be fun (for me!)

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by jinx

Been there, done that, homeschooling now.

The home-schooled students we see are generally better equipped, and tend to excel almost effortlessly. Do you think it's because of the one-on-one, or the fact that parents know better than anyone their own kids' learning styles?

[kerosene]

I don't have too many complaints about our local schools, here in Golden *yet* but I have considered homeschooling before. I can't seem to get past the fact that the social environment is very different and has to be somehow supplemented. Jinx, I am sure you have some way of doing this with your kids. I just don't know how I could provide enough of that without being a complete social butterfly, myself. (I am very shy in real life.)

[roost]

You pick the place and times and let the kid do the rest.
Go to your local library. Chances are your kids friends already do.
Ours has thursday after school movies, pj parties, and once a month home school book club.
Also 14 of his own class mates live on our block.

Also visiting parks after school allows them to meet up with friends.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

Do you think it's because of the one-on-one, or the fact that parents know better than anyone their own kids' learning styles?

I think a large part of it is because by definition, parents who homeschool are parents who care. Kids with parents who care will do better whether they are in public school or not.