With Turnover High, Schools Fight for Teachers

[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.

[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.

[Aliantha]

Yeah, they should have more lamington drives.

[lumberjim]

Originally Posted by Ibram

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

I'm the music teacher and occasional phys ed instructor. which is to say that jinx does ALL of the work. I'm busy getting the money.

Originally Posted by roost

My Son has Impulse Control Disorder, which is not understood in the medical community, so how could it be understood in the class room.

we used to call that 'being a dick' I still get that some days. only the days that end with a 'y' though.

[roost]

Originally Posted by lumberjim

I'm the music teacher and occasional phys ed instructor. which is to say that jinx does ALL of the work. I'm busy getting the money.



we used to call that 'being a dick' I still get that some days. only the days that end with a 'y' though.

Excuse me!
I think some on here are making very wrong comments on an issue involving children.
Could you please rethink your comment?

[9th Engineer]

Well Impulse Control Disorder is really an umbrella term covering many different disorders. Kleptomania, pyromania, and Intermittent Explosive Disorder would all be considered impulse disorders, but the term itself is too vague by itself to really mean much.
Most are abnormal extensions of what we might normally experience playing a sport for example. There is a buildup of intensity and energy which is released as pleasure after the touchdown or goal is scored. The difference between the person acting like a dick, and the person acting under these impulses is that between actions the person may feel ashamed or frightened of their actions, only to be irresistibly drawn to them as the tension builds again.

[roost]

Originally Posted by 9th Engineer

Well Impulse Control Disorder is really an umbrella term covering many different disorders. Kleptomania, pyromania, and Intermittent Explosive Disorder would all be considered impulse disorders, but the term itself is too vague by itself to really mean much.
Most are abnormal extensions of what we might normally experience playing a sport for example. There is a buildup of intensity and energy which is released as pleasure after the touchdown or goal is scored. The difference between the person acting like a dick, and the person acting under these impulses is that between actions the person may feel ashamed or frightened of their actions, only to be irresistibly drawn to them as the tension builds again.

Actually it includes multiples of the disorders that fall under the category.
Several phsychologist believe it could be linked to the serotonin level in the brain. Serotonin from foods can not get to this area. A serotonin reuptake inhibitor is available, but it may disturb the rest of a childs development, so we will wait till he is 12 to take the neurotransmittor test, which I hear can be inconclusive.
There are also several non related disorders which have similiar symptoms, which makes it very important for these children to be constantly monitored.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by roost

Excuse me!
I think some on here are making very wrong comments on an issue involving children.
Could you please rethink your comment?

Here, I'll rethink it for him ...

A great deal of harm is done by pathologizing people, especially children, by deciding that bad behavior is part of a disorder or disease over which they have no control.

Yes, there are such people in existence.

But not at the rate at which they are currently identified and excused for criminal actions.

[queequeger]

Originally Posted by wolf

Here, I'll rethink it for him ...

A great deal of harm is done by pathologizing people, especially children, by deciding that bad behavior is part of a disorder or disease over which they have no control.

Thank god someone said it. I would have, but I have a short attention span... I mean ADD. Best bet is to try raising your children before excusing them. I don't mean 'punish them sternly for their mistakes' but for god sakes, if you're the kind of parent who asks your kid for permission for things, you're not allowed to wonder why he's a dick... I mean, :ahem: has a Disorder.

But, same caveat as wolf: there ARE people who have these disorders, they're just over diagnosed to the extent that it's pretty commonly a big joke.

[roost]

Originally Posted by wolf

Here, I'll rethink it for him ...

A great deal of harm is done by pathologizing people, especially children, by deciding that bad behavior is part of a disorder or disease over which they have no control.

Yes, there are such people in existence.

But not at the rate at which they are currently identified and excused for criminal actions.

I could not possibly count the number of mothers who claim thier child ADD/HD, when in fact it is a child who needs nurturing.
And boys are no longer allowed to be just boys.
My sons KG teacher held back at least half of her male population for not being socially ready.
How this hurts those children in the academics.
There seems to be a point where the childs natural love of learning dwindles away and they get caught up in a very emotional world.

[lumberjim]

Originally Posted by roost

Excuse me!
I think some on here are making very wrong comments on an issue involving children.
Could you please rethink your comment?

no, sorry, I meant it. did you just say, "won't someone think of the children?!" cuz...pleeze.

Originally Posted by wolf

Here, I'll rethink it for him ...

A great deal of harm is done by pathologizing people, especially children, by deciding that bad behavior is part of a disorder or disease over which they have no control.

Yes, there are such people in existence.

But not at the rate at which they are currently identified and excused for criminal actions.

dammit wolf...i was being subtle. do you have to explain it so succinctly?

sorry, roost.....Impulse control disorder is bullshit. just like SIDS. it's a blanket excuse for an asshole kid. toughen up and discipline the little fucker. actions have consequences. If your kid can't understand that, he/she needs to experience some pain and/or loss.

i dont care if you think im a dick. i had the impulse to tell you what i was really thinking.

[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.