by "Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
Published 06/08/2017 at 08:48
by "Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
Published 06/08/2017 at 08:48
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STARS: 1
Story in today’s New York Times.
And a view from the Houston area where this took place.
The teacher had worked for the district for ten years.
31 flavors of stupid.
"Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
06/08/2017 at 08:57, STARS: 0
“Most likely to cry about every little thing, because [that student] is very emotional ... There was another one about this kid. His was kind of like a joke because all his friends would call him, ‘Little homeless Indian.’ And [the teacher] told him, ‘Most Likely to Become Homeless in Guatemala.’”
... yeah...
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
06/08/2017 at 09:07, STARS: 0
Sounded like she hated her job and perhaps this class and this was her big middle finger on the way out to them all. Classy... hope none of the kids are too affected by it long-term.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
06/08/2017 at 09:12, STARS: 0
Wow, I almost wish my son had gotten this much of ANY kind of attention during Kindergarten. /s
We made the decision to go with a very small private school next year, fingers crossed and wallet opened.
"facw" (facw)
06/08/2017 at 09:14, STARS: 0
I’m glad they figured out this was unacceptable eventually. Their initial response made it seem that they didn’t consider this a significant problem. I don’t think you need to fire everyone who fucks up (still not clear from what I’ve read if this teacher was being racist or just extremely dumb), but either way there should have been an immediate realization that this was not cool, and that fact is the most worrying.
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
06/08/2017 at 09:37, STARS: 0
funny yet sad.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
06/08/2017 at 10:08, STARS: 1
Good luck. In Louisiana, those who can afford it do the same. The public schools have been consistently ranked low despite spending more per capita than many other higher ranked states. From what we’ve seen, the private school kids score well above their public school peers on national tests. Unfortunately, it does hurt the wallet. No go-fast parts for me!
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
06/08/2017 at 10:29, STARS: 0
I hear you...around here (in AL) it varies widely among communities. Our elementary school is pretty solid, but we just didn’t see the “passion” from the teachers and staff, they all seemed like they were looking out for themselves more than the kids. It wasn’t a bad choice, but we’re not taking chances during the formative years, since this is where the kids’ work ethic and love for school happens (I hated school growing up in FL, which percolated into my high school, college, and professional life)
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
06/08/2017 at 10:42, STARS: 0
What the fucking shit?!?!?!
Sorry, couldn’t restrain myself from cursing there.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
06/08/2017 at 10:54, STARS: 1
We haven’t been lucky with teachers, but just avoiding a lot of the distractions found in the public school goes a long way. my daughter loves school, my son doesn’t. They went to the same school and had many of the same teachers
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/08/2017 at 12:21, STARS: 0
That the teacher is no longer employed seems like an appropriate outcome to me. And she’d been around for ten years according to the story in the Houston area story, so there’s a good chance she was tenured.
Hasta la vista, Baby
.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/08/2017 at 12:25, STARS: 1
#getvouchers
As a public school teacher, and IMHO, your best investment is your time and attention. Read to him relentlessly. Talk numbers to him relentlessly. (Literacy/Numeracy) Ask him why he thinks certain things happen. Ask him how he thinks someone feels about events he witnesses or that he is aware of. (Critical Thinking/Emotional Intelligence) These are the questions that, I don’t care how much a school costs, there simply is not enough time to ask.
Didn’t mean for that to come across as a lecture or sermon; apologies if it did. I am being earnest.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/08/2017 at 12:27, STARS: 1
Yeah. The most likely factor in that achievement gap is a more homogenious group of students in the for-pay schools.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/08/2017 at 12:29, STARS: 1
I had poor, lazy, abusive teachers and I
hated
school. I was a social outcast. I also did not have the emotional support I needed at home. I just hope your money will be well spent. You can do a lot for your child at home.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/08/2017 at 12:30, STARS: 0
And it’s getting worse in the Distraction Department. Public Education is broken. The slice of students in the public school classroom who are reached by traditional teaching means is getting thinner every year.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/08/2017 at 12:32, STARS: 1
If a teacher is tenured, the district cannot just up and fire her like the POTUS can fire an FBI director. The union has to put up its fight and all of that. The teacher is African American, for whatever that is worth to the Race Question. I charge that teacher with Agravated Stupidity.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/08/2017 at 12:36, STARS: 1
That’s an interesting analysis. I hadn’t considered that the lady was simply jaded. It’s too bad that it takes something so spectacularly inappropriate to get a teacher out of a classroom.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/08/2017 at 12:40, STARS: 0
I’d have put it differently, but I think it’s safe to assume that I feel largely the same way. As I say in a comment above, it’s too bad that it takes something as horrendous as this to get a bad teacher out of a classroom. #collectivebargaining
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/08/2017 at 12:40, STARS: 0
I do not see it as being in any way funny.
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
06/08/2017 at 12:43, STARS: 0
Truly...
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/08/2017 at 12:49, STARS: 1
I’ve been teaching for fifteen years, and I started late. I enjoy discussing the topic because most people will argue over solutions when they do not understand the nuances of the problems. But I can tell you what is the largest problem: organized labor. Second largest problem, and it’s a very close second: politicians. Any problem you name could be solved by one of those two groups, and every problem could be solved if the two groups were interested in working together, but doing so amounts to relinquishing
control
, and can’t have
that
.
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
06/08/2017 at 12:52, STARS: 0
It’s very sad.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
06/08/2017 at 12:53, STARS: 1
Not at all...he was academically bored after doing kindergarten twice — first in a class of 11 at a very affordable Christian school, then again (due to his young age) in a class of 17 at our local elementary school — which is generally upper - middle - class kids from college - educated households, but also still reasonably diverse enough to not be culturally insulated. So it wasn ’ t some case where I didn ’ t want him “ falling in with the bad kids ” or anything like that. We just noticed that the behavior of the kids who have their parents ’ money on the line was a lot better than otherwise.
The new school we ’ re going to is really small (220 kids from K - 5) and also pretty affordable since the attached church pays a lot of the overhead. But it ’ s not free, so that ’ s a further motivator for us. But they voluntarily publish their Stanford scores (amazing) and maintain the highest standards and low overhead — old building, most of the teachers are on prior jobs ’ retirement and have 20+ years of experience. Ie, they do it for the love of the job.
We do a ton of work at home, which in part is to our detriment
—
he had his
“
sight words
”
100% completed (for the year) in the first 9 weeks. From that point on, his boredom ended up getting him in trouble and the teacher didn
’
t have a lot of resources (or willingness) to help him along.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/08/2017 at 13:42, STARS: 0
My experience is almost exclusively with students and families at the other end of the experience spectrum and that informed my reply. With regard to engaging him because he is too advanced, and thus bored, I have little to offer in the way of unsolicited advice. It can be bad for those students when they shut down out of boredom. Again: apoligies if I come across as lecturing or sermonizing. I have a lot of passion for my proffession and we don’t know each other.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
06/08/2017 at 14:52, STARS: 1
I’m right there with you. The discussion today was about scheduling and planning. It started with something he wants - a new lizard. The reptile show will be in town this weekend, but he isn’t ready for it. So we had the chance to talk about what he needs to do today so he can move the aquarium back into his room so he has a place for it to live.
It really started with him not having underwear to wear this morning. Why? Because he didn’t get his laundry sorted and put in with the loads that were done this past weekend.
It’s all about him taking responsibility for his own success and depending less on his parents. He’s determined to learn some things the hard way. I just hope he’s careful with his zipper today. :)
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
06/08/2017 at 14:59, STARS: 1
We ran into the same problem. The worst teacher just made them put their head on the desk if they finished ahead of the class. That prompted a long discussion with the principal.
In the end, we decided to move our son into an advanced program at the local private high school. He will be taking courses with the high schoolers while wrapping up the last of his requirements for middle school.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/08/2017 at 15:04, STARS: 0
And he can take community college courses while concurrently enrolled in high school. Or take just the necessary stuff and finish high school a year early. Two of my three daughters did a combination of those things. (I love interacting with my daughters’ educators. I don’t tell them what I do until later on.)
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
06/08/2017 at 15:04, STARS: 1
Agreed. In the effort to treat everyone equally, the advanced kids are being held back by the slowest kids. When one of my son’s teachers wouldn’t let them read ahead or bring other work into her class, we had a long talk with the principal. The next year, they implemented “advanced” classes that moved at a much faster pace.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
06/08/2017 at 15:08, STARS: 1
That’s the plan for both of my kids. My daughter is already ahead of the game. She should have nearly two years of college credit by the time she graduates.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
06/08/2017 at 15:37, STARS: 0
No worries, I don
’
t have a kneejerk reaction to unsolicited advice, I consider everything (including the notion that you were most likely coming at it from the perspective of the kids who are struggling to keep up, which is far more common). I just feel like the teachers miss a lot of opportunities to engage in other methods, like Montessori
—
maybe
have my son, who is a year ahead of most of the other kids academically, teach other kids phonics and reading. He
’
ll get better along the way and hopefully learn patience with others AND unburden the teacher a little. But that
’
s not in their
“
bag of tricks
”
and everyone is fearful of lawsuits, accusations that they
’
re not doing their jobs, maintaining their NCLB standards, etc.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/08/2017 at 16:09, STARS: 1
Yes, all of that. I know that in my case, my bag of tricks is rather limited, having to do with how I was prepared, but more to the point, how I was NOT developed. It takes seven years to fully fledge as a teacher and the vast majority of teachers are totally on their own for 6-1/2 of those years. Or all seven. Most districts have done completely away with master teachers, teacher mentors, or anything like it, for the purpose of increasing teacher salaries.
HERETIC! You are saying that teachers should make less money! OFF with your HEAD!
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/08/2017 at 16:11, STARS: 0
There ya’ go. That’s a good way to peel off the top layer, but we don’t have means to peel off the bottom layer because too much is lacking at home.
"jkm7680" (jkm7680)
06/08/2017 at 16:31, STARS: 0
I’m starting work at a small private middle school pretty soon.
IMO it’s a much better education. Your son will get the individual attention that kids need to thrive.
"jkm7680" (jkm7680)
06/08/2017 at 16:39, STARS: 0
I don’t understand why a teacher would ever do that.
I start in a couple months, I’d never dream of pulling that shit.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/08/2017 at 16:43, STARS: 0
It boggles the mind.
"jkm7680" (jkm7680)
06/08/2017 at 16:45, STARS: 0
Yup, I can’t think of what would be going through said teachers head that told him/her that doing that is acceptable.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
06/08/2017 at 20:55, STARS: 0
I hear you. I taught at a university for several years and served on the academic affairs committee. We were responsible for dealing with students struggling academically. I’ll try to make this short as it’s easy to talk about thus at length. After finding myself as the lone dissenter in several committee decisions, we had a frank discussion about our goals and objectives.
I learned that it was the general opinion of the committee and of the university at large that academically challenged students should be given every opportunity, even if they had no real chance to succeed. A student entering in the fall could fail all of his courses and be placed on probation. If he failed again before the following fall, the rules required expulsion. However, there was a loophole. For probationary purposes, the summer semesters were included. Successfully passing a single summer course lifted the probation and the student was re-admitted for the following fall semester. This gave the student two more semesters of full time enrollment, a fall and a spring, before federal financial aid rules cut off funding for the student.
The other members of the committee would not take action against a student because they saw this as the one opportunity for that student to spend time living away from the terrible life that was waiting for them back home. I felt like they were taking funds away from other students who had a better chance for success and giving them to students who didn’t have the will to extricate themselves from a bad home life in favor of something much better.
I did my required two-year rotation on that committee and left the university shortly after. But that’s a story for another day.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/08/2017 at 23:44, STARS: 0
Big discussion topic(s). What did you teach?
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
06/09/2017 at 08:51, STARS: 0
I taught geospatial courses at either end of the curriculum. For freshmen, it was Intro to GIS, GPS and Remote Sensing. For seniors, it was advanced geospatial analysis. I had several other courses sandwiched in between.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/09/2017 at 09:38, STARS: 0
I have a nephew who is harnessed to a startup — how many years until it’s not considered that any more? — that sells a precision GPS unit that gets used on crop harvesters, fishing boats, and other places.
I had an interview once with a company who dealt with sattelites. They showed me a screen on a computer that showed a dot in the middle of a sort of circle, but they acted like I wouldn’t understand if they tried to explain to me what the plane of the circle was.
I am waiting for WWIII to start with the Earth’s major powers quickly destroying each others’ sattelites and filling near Earth orbit with debris and rendering it unusable and untraversable.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
06/09/2017 at 10:07, STARS: 0
Farming is falling into two categories - the small local farmer and the big corporate farmers. The latter can afford some really amazing technologies that use geospatial information to best utilize every square foot of the field. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precision_agriculture
There would have to be a lot of debris to take out the GPS satellite network. Even if it were to happen, we would probably just switch to ground-based technologies. The coverage wouldn’t be as good at first, but it’s a functional alternative. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa-and-the-u-s-air-force-test-a-new-ground-based-gps/
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/09/2017 at 12:28, STARS: 1
In an ideal world we treat the kids with equity, not equally. That means we differentiate our instruction to support the children at different levels. I am not good at that. I was never trained. I was a student smarter than many, but the public education factory wasn’t a good fit and I just goofed around and made a nuisance of myself. Which is sort of interesting because many of the annoying things my boys do in the classroom I can’t get too upset about because I’d have done, or probably did, the exact same things.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
06/09/2017 at 12:30, STARS: 0
Vis-a-vis debris, I was imagining many smallish missiles knocking out the sattelites and the resulting debris field creating massive problems for future ventures, if in fact there were a future.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
06/09/2017 at 13:38, STARS: 0
It’s not likely to ever happen. The GPS constellation is in medium earth orbit which is fairly difficult reach. Space is really, really empty and it would take a LOT of really small, fast-moving debris to shut down space operations.
Even if they did, there are plenty of people working on land-based positioning systems. Some of the more interesting ones are using existing signals like wifi networks and cell towers as the signal source. Back when GPS was new, it often took several hours to relocate a GPS receiver which had been turned off for a while. The extra time was required to download the GPS database which is used to approximate the time and location of the satellite constellation. Phones get around this by downloading the data through the cell system which has a higher data throughput rate. They also use wifi to locate the phone. Companies have been mapping wifi router locations for years. By checking which networks your phone can see, the phone can be located more precisely.