Problems byond the paddle

Despite all the propaganda of how well things are going, the fact is
that America's schools have an unnecessarily high turnover in teachers.
The burnout rate is phenomenal. Difficulties range from chronic
health problems among faculty to teachers popping stress pills as if
they were breath mints.

Critics of American public schools have described the process as a
13-year prison sentence for a child whose only crime is being born in
America. As with prisons, the process is designed to psychologically
break children into obedient workers content with *gold star* rewards
from the boss and patriotic soldiers willing to die to preserve the
perceived glories of the father/motherland.

America's public schools are actually so out of touch with reality that
they are responsible for creating a counterrevolutionary home-schooling
movement out of sheer parental frustration!

Improving America's schools is not about paddling or not paddling. The
problem is really much more systemic. Removing the paddle from an
individual schoolhouse has about the same non-effect on the
*all-important test scores* as building a new school.

Opinions wrote:
Despite all the propaganda of how well things are going,

I rarely see such claims. I see much more, poorly supported at that,
against the American education system. You should get familiar with
Berliner and Biddle's book, The Manufactured Crisis, Myths, Fraud, and
the Attack on America's Public Schools.

the fact is
that America's schools have an unnecessarily high turnover in teachers.

Didn't bother to read the many sources I cited right here in this ng
recently that said pay, and administrative support shortfalls were the
major concerns, along with overloading teachers by both too much to
teach and forcing them to teach subjects they weren't trained for?

The problem with PS lies more in the administration than any other
area. **** for pay, **** for bosses. I hear it all the time.

The burnout rate is phenomenal.

Low pay, and overwork will do that too yah.

On the other hand, when I was an employer I promised and delivered two
things to my workers: OVERWORK, and very very high pay.

Magic. They produced like mad. And high quality. Happy campers all. And
the pick of the crop of workers, too.

I take it that most teachers really love what they do. Now if only they
could be compensated and have better adminstrative decisions. I have a
silly hunch the two are connected....what the public will provide in
funding, and the quality of administration.

Difficulties range from chronic
health problems among faculty to teachers popping stress pills as if
they were breath mints.

Little kids are virus and bacteria factories. I don't recall teachers
being any more prone to using meds than any other segment of the
population. In fact I hear they are far behind the medical profession
in that matter.

And athletes. And the military.

Critics of American public schools

And of course we only want to listen to the critics. After all, they
can't possibly wrong or working their own adenda, personal and
political.

have described the process as a
13-year prison sentence for a child whose only crime is being born in
America.

Your alternative to public schools would be ... ?

As with prisons, the process is designed to psychologically
break children into obedient workers content with *gold star* rewards
from the boss and patriotic soldiers willing to die to preserve the
perceived glories of the father/motherland.

Actually thats a pretty fair description. But not for US schools. But
then you could be right.

Isn't it amazing that such a system spawned things such as the
environmental movement, war protesters even back during the Veitnam
era, and still. I recall that a lot of folks that were for freeing the
slave were publically educated.

So too with women's sufferage.

Reform of the system housing and treating the mentally ill.

Our force of doctors, engineers, pilots, scientists.

I wonder how many escaped being encarcerated in the public school
system. Do you know?

In fact, we seem to keep, despite the huge number of children attending
public school, being at the forefront of so many important areas of
social and national progressive accomplishment.

Oddly, it's the product of the private schools that have come into
power in recent years that seems to be setting us back. How is it they
produce so many right wing estremists?

But of course, we have the system ... our government system that allows
us these experiments from time to time, and corrective measures to get
back to sanity.

America's public schools are actually so out of touch with reality that
they are responsible for creating a counterrevolutionary home-schooling
movement out of sheer parental frustration!

No, actually the homeschooling movement, which I've been an activist
for 40 years now, and know it's history and antecedents well, came out
of many things not revolutionary at all. It's only recently, with the
more strident attempts of right wing extremists such as you pushing
their way in that what is essentially a liberal movement (don't believe
the religious right...they are not the founders or the major population
of homeschooling) from the 1800's, that we see some
counterrevolutionary homeschooling efforts.

In fact, the common denominator of all the families I dealt with over
the years, from all across the country was neither political nor
academic (waaaay too much diversity for that to be the rule) but
something far more basic.

Parents found it was fun.

Yes, just that simple. The found they loved being with their kids. Joy
was, and is the driving force behind homeschooling.

The recent spate of fear driven withdrawals are based on nothing the
schools are doing or not, but on the media and propagandists.

For instance, schools provide a time and place where children are safer
from injury and death than outside the schools. Yet parents withdraw
because of the "violence in schools."

Check the data. Schools not only are safer, but they continue to be
MORE safe over the years. The population goes up, but the rate of
violence in schools, despite the media screaming otherwise, and
featuring the rare violence, goes down.

Even the year of the Columbine shootings was overall a very safe year
for school children. In fact another record low year.

Improving America's schools is not about paddling or not paddling. The
problem is really much more systemic. Removing the paddle from an
individual schoolhouse has about the same non-effect on the
*all-important test scores* as building a new school.

The data shows you to be wrong. Both in those states that have long
barred the paddle and states that only more recently have. Even states
with the paddle protected in law, but where they do not apply it, yep,
better behavior and better academics.

The wonder of this all is that you can fabricate and feel no obligation
to provide proof.

While I post with citation that shows you to be wrong, including
quotes, and source and you have nothing to say in response other than
to simply repeat your lies.

It's the way taught by European fascists.

Public school is not for everyone, but neither is private school, or
homeschooling.

And I keep noticing that despite years and years of propaganda we still
produce top scholars coming out of our colleges. Scientists, business
people, health workers. Where ARE these folks coming from, I wonder.

And where did they go to school?

Obsessive, if you want to try some truth for a change, there is a
criticism of Public Schooling that is valid and needs attention. It has
to do with race and class.

Does the word "disparity" ring a bell?

The reason other nations beat us overall in test scores is simple. We
have great public schools, but we don't have universally great public
schools. Theres are consisten accross their country. Ours? Well, it's a
shame.

I tend to think the support of this disparity comes from folks such as
you, or have you been lobbying to make all schools equally funded by
enrollment rather than unequally by geography?

0:-

Improving America's schools is not solely about paddling or not
paddling. However, schools that paddle have significantly lower
performance scores than schools that do not paddle.

Perhaps respect for children has more effect on children's academic and
social performance that you would admit.

Eliminating paddling doesn't eliminate all problems in our schools.
However, it is certainly a step towards better schools for our children.

Public support for our schools in terms of tax dollars might be helpful.

LaVonne

Opinions wrote:


Improving America's schools is not about paddling or not paddling. The
problem is really much more systemic. Removing the paddle from an
individual schoolhouse has about the same non-effect on the
*all-important test scores* as building a new school.

The question is what are the alternative? When you can't control the kids
anymore, it will lead to situation like this:

http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_349184051.html

Doan

On Thu, 15 Dec 2005, Carlson LaVonne wrote:

Improving America's schools is not solely about paddling or not
paddling. However, schools that paddle have significantly lower
performance scores than schools that do not paddle.

Perhaps respect for children has more effect on children's academic and
social performance that you would admit.

Eliminating paddling doesn't eliminate all problems in our schools.
However, it is certainly a step towards better schools for our children.

Public support for our schools in terms of tax dollars might be helpful.

LaVonne

Opinions wrote:


Improving America's schools is not about paddling or not paddling. The
problem is really much more systemic. Removing the paddle from an
individual schoolhouse has about the same non-effect on the
*all-important test scores* as building a new school.