My daughter was in the fifth grade at Nickajack Elementary in Smyrna this past year. She has attended Nickajack since the second grade and has been an A/B student the entire time.
This year, I was told she needed extra tutoring for math and reading to pass the CRCT test. I was surprised, since I was never told she was having a problem in any area, but I signed her up for tutoring anyway. She had an A/B average all year long plus extra tutoring and still did not pass the CRCT test! When I asked why, her principal told me the CRCT "doesn't always align" with what teachers are teaching.
Why don't the teachers know what to teach? It is my understanding private and home-school students also are required to take the test. There are reports that 45 percent of public school students failed all or part of the CRCT. Where is the front-page newspaper article and TV news story comparing the CRCT test results of public, private, and home school students? Are the CRCT failures limited to just public schools? If so, why?
I am a single parent who has been forced to drop everything and our summer schedules so my daughter can attend summer school, re-take the CRCT test, and be allowed to move up to the sixth grade. This has been a time-consuming process and a major inconvenience. More importantly, my daughter is very upset because she doesn't know what she did wrong. She asks, "Why are they punishing me like this? I did everything they asked! I'm a good student! Why should I work hard to get As and Bs when it doesn't matter?"
What do they expect me to tell her? These educators are always making excuses and blaming someone else. I have been repeatedly frustrated by the reluctance or inability of school staff - including the principal! - to even tell me what my daughter needs to work on.
"I don't have those records available… We'll have to talk to her teacher… I don't know which teacher she had…"
Eventually, they said there wasn't a problem and they were surprised she didn't pass! They suggested she work on the areas they had just started to study one week before taking the CRCT!
They claim to be concerned "about the children" and then deliberately and cruelly inflict the emotional scars of failure upon an innocent child! Our children do not deserve to be used as pawns in political games being played by the education establishment! As a single parent with a very limited income, I don't have a lot of options. If I had some kind of school choice voucher option, I would be finding a school - public, private, whatever - that knows how to teach children what they need to know.
I don't know who is the more dangerous threat to the future of our country: international terrorists or these professional educators. In 1983, the National Commission on Education said, "If a hostile foreign government had imposed this system of education on the people of the United States, we would rightly consider that an act of War."
Enough is enough! I am sick and tired of the public school system holding my child's education hostage. Teachers, administrators, the school board, and the politicians spend all their time pointing fingers at each other - and nothing is getting done!
Sherri Green
Smyrna
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If a principal can't either give you an answer immediately or find out and give you a response within a day or two, he/she shouldn't be a principal! You are your child's best and only advocate... keep up the fight!!
Private schools do not take CRCT. CRCT measures how well your child learned the curriculum that was alledgedly taught. CRCT means nothing to anyone outside of Georgia public schools. Look at her ITBS scores which are nationally normed and you will be able to see how she is truly doing.
A hostile foreign government did not impose this education system on you or your child but a lot of local, state and federal politicians did, declare war on them and do not vote for them in the fall put new faces in your local, state and federal government and just maybe they will hear you and your child when you tell them you have a problem. KEEP FIGHTING FOR YOUR CHILD.
Private and home school students do not have to take the CRCT that is why you don't see any information about those students.
and this is why Doc should be hired in Cobb. he wouldn't put up with this!
Do you know how many students are at the elementary school? Don't talk to the principal, talk to the teacher! The principal has 800+ students, 100+ teachers. The teacher has only
It's a government school. What did you expect? Qualified Teachers?
Thanks for being one of the few, concerned parents. Keep it up!!!
Amen to Sherri - I am so glad my children are grown and out of this mess. Go get 'em girl - you are absolutely right
Yet another reason to either to dump the government school system and let private education (through private schools or home schools) compete and give us a better product. And we still think public educators are underpaid? If I had the same work ethic that the majority of public school teachers had I would be laid off or fired in short time.
It's a goverment school. Nuf said.
It's a goverment school. Nuf said.
Without a doubt the best action I took all year was moving my son to a private school. I never knew how much time is wasted or how little is expected of students in public schools. Public schools teach to the lowest common element which is pretty low these days! The private school teaches to standards and pushes students to meet or exceed those standards. It is a fundamental difference.
No parent that truly cares about their child/children should entrust their education to public schools. Do whatever you have to to get them in to a private school.
You got it right! Do what it takes to get your child in private school.
Welcome to public education, your tax dollars hard at work. If more people cared like you seem to, instead of treating the schools like a babysitter for junior until mom and dad can get them out of the house maybe we could make someone listen.
Government Education at its finest! Voucher system would solve this woman's problems.
If your child has an experience like this, and you want to pull them out for private school, you're a bad parent because you're supposed to keep them in the public school and work to make the school better. Seems to me that's like asking a restaurant that fails their health check to ask their customers to clean up the problem, when the responsibility is on the owner and manager of the restaurant in the first place! Kids only get one shot at the elementary years. Why aren't we concerned with making sure they learn all they can, instead of worrying about politically correct theories and curricula, and making sure little kingdoms and substandard teachers are preserved?
Hmmm...judging from mom's writing skills, I think it's safe to say that she is a product of a failing public school system as well.
Sherri, get the most precious thin you have out of those hideous government indoctrination centers. NOW!
Your not making sence. Our Public School Teacher's work hard, long hours to educate you're children. The principles are dedicated toward all the children receiving the best education that the school can give. The problem is that President Bush and the Repbulicans has decided what is supposed to be tought and what they think is importent which is not necesarily what is best for the children and this causes the problems you talk about.
Id suggest you find a small private school. There are two on Spring Rd, one near Atlanta Rd and one near Cumberland Blvd, both are reasonably priced, (about half of what most private schools charge) and both are quite good.
I bet if the CRCT test involved Global Warming and Bush is evil questions then she would have passed, because that is what they are teaching in schools nowadays, not the 3R's.
Don't forget the Huge part the unions play in this travesty.
I find it interesting that Sherri places much of the blame for her daughter's failure upon the shoulders of the educators at the school. As a former classroom teacher, and current teacher educator, I have witnessed widely the inability of teachers to enact change that they know would work in educating children appropriately because of the actions of those far above them (and no their principals or school boards). Educators are no longer in control of the educational system, control lies with the state and federal politicians and government employees who know nothing about how or what to teach students. So, Sherri, stop blaming the teachers and go after those who are really at fault!
Get you children out of government schools and into a private facility. This is about expectations. If you expect a unionized government school system to excel, then you will be disappointed. You get what you pay for, except when it comes to taxes.
We all know the solution. School choice vouchers. Our public school systems need competition!
Your daughters future is being destroyed. I suggest you look for alternatives.
The most valuable thing you can spend on your child is time. You absolutely HAVE to review everything your child is learning in a public school. There is no accountability in public school systems, else teacher's unions would NOT exist. Look at what's happening with Clayton County! I hope and pray that everything will start to take a better turn for your child. The realization of that, though, will not be until you step in and do what the teachers have and will not -- invest the time needed in your child to get them where they need to be to pass.
Is their goal to teach or pass students? Sounds like they aren't teaching what they are supposed to and the children are suffering. This is why with one semester left I got out of the Teacher Education Dept at my university. The public school system is a joke.
Your daughter was taught a curriculum which you have no control over, then subjected to an arbitrary exam for which she wasn't prepared. The most important lesson here is that her education is YOUR responsibility. The "public" schools are GOVERNMENT schools, so why do you expect anything else? The good news is that it's not as hard to teach her as the teachers' unions want you to believe. Check with the homeschoolers in your area (they aren't hard to find -- look for the smartest kids in town) and they can help.
I am not at all surprised by the total lack of understanding or caring on the school staff's part. We spend more per capita per student than the top 16 western governments but the USA ranks near bottom in all categories. Incompetent school staff, boards and teachers unions are the primary culprits.
School vouchers mean competition for your child's dollars - which means a better school environment and education because the schools would have to be accountable. When you are "trapped" in the Govt School system, your child is the one paying the penalty. I hope you are able to find an alternative you can afford. But on a larger level, I hope a broken system can be completely thrown out and revamped. We can't keep being one of the stupidest nations (of the 1st world countries) and survive.
Fire off letters and calls - as many as it takes to get an intelligent, authoritative response - to your state education department. Tell them exactly what you were told. Cue your local board of ed in on what you're doing, too.
And this surprises you? American schools have been in scandalous decline for decades. In order to preserve a child's self-esteem (as has been the case here), kids are not being subjected to any serious critique of what they do. Parents, who adore the feeling of a successful child, never question the glowing reports they receive. And then, when an objective standard arrives and the coddled child fails, there's all this outrage. You have been deceived by a government agency which has been failing at a constant, steady rate for many, many years, but which collectively flies into an apoplectic rage if you dare question the sanctity of its work.
I used to teach in public high school (not in Cobb). The truth is that everyone involved knows that the system is nuts. Most teachers really do the best they (think they) can, but the Georgia tests don't correlate well with the curriculum the teachers are required to teach. For example, the GA HS graduation test is given in the Spring of Junior year. A teacher following ANY county's official curriculum will not have covered all of the material in the test by the time the kids take it. Teachers in public schools are CONSTANTLY forced to decide between doing the best thing for the kids, and doing what they're told. I rarely saw signs of intelligent life in school administration, and the higher up you go, the less likely you are to see it! They get more and more involved with balancing the budget, and less and less interested in the kids. To be fair, the budgetary process is JUST as nuts as the testing situation: in most counties, if the cost of diesel fuel goes up, OR the value of houses goes down, the schools' budget is cut. This comes from the politicians, who have chosen to allow (or encourage) this situation to develop and persist. FYI: I no longer teach in public school, and we send our child to a private school. I highly recommend you spend 100 hours of your unpaid time investigating and figuring out how to get your daughter into a private school. Too many people make the terrible mistake of saying "I could never afford it," and their children suffer. If you investigate seriously, you will find that there are some schools that are not as expensive as you think, and there are scholarships. There are other ways of getting money for school, and there are probably things you could cut out if you decide it's important to you (e.g.: I have no cable and a 15+ year-old car). Studies show that a FAR higher percentage of public school teachers send THEIR kids to private schools than the general public. It's not because they're wealthy; it's because they know how important it is! There's a single lady on my block who teaches in public school; her kids attend private school. Make a serious effort to find a way!
It would be easy to dismiss this as another "not MY child" type of letter, but the fact that an A/B student needs tutoring to pass a standardized test is disconcerting. Teachers are usually given a bad rap for just "teaching the test" ie covering only those subjects that the students will encounter on the state exam. Sounds like her teachers couldn't even get that part right. Our government schools are making our children dumber and dumber. And yes, the good things that teachers do don't make headlines in the newspaper. But it's hard to argue when our students are falling behind those of other countries, and can rattle off the cast of "High School Musical" but cannot tell you when the Civil War was fought. This is complicated by a newer, disturbing trend of education majors coming from the bottom pools of their graudating classes. Garbage in = garbage out. As Ms. Green says, a voucher system would be ideal, but as long as teachers unions exist, that will never happen. The last thing public schools and public school teachers want is competition, or anything else that will threaten state funding and job security.
the curriculum should match the testing. duh! nicely said sherri
Gov Perdue has just passed a bill which creates vouchers for special nees students in Georgia. It's a start. Push for expanding this to any student who needs the financial help!!!
I suggest you follow Neal Boortz' advice and either home school your daughter or put her in private school. It will require sacrifice on your part but I bet you will not have to sacrifice any more summers or family plans if you do this. Remember the teachers union advocates for the teachers and not the students. It it apparent that the principal is incompetent and only looking to protect his/her own well being.
What percentage of those who consider themselves poor do you believe wish that they had a voucher system or school choice in one way, shape or form? The answer is 70%. Who do the poor generally vote for? Democrats. Who is opposed to school vouchers? Democrats. Who is in favor of education choice? Republicans. Are you getting the picture? Like the president of a New York City teachers union said: "When students join the union, I will care about the students" Until then, it is only about the teachers.
This is absolute nonsense on the part of the teachers and principal. As an educator in a public school in Florida, I can tell you with 100% certainty, that the standards should always align with what is being taught. If this child failed because the material was not taught, this is the fault of the school system. The ethics and practices of these educators should be borught into question immediately. An A/B student should not fail a test for no reason. Big D is exactly right about you being your child's best and only advocate. I hope everything works out for her.
Seriously, what do you expect from government educators? They are barely educated themselves. For them to say they they don't know who her teacher was though is outright mismanagement on their part. You entrust your children to them and they do not know what classroom they are in? I moved from Woodstock, GA to Utah where there is actually a decent educational system. Children are required to learn, and the educators and administrators actually know where all students are all the time. What an amazing concept! They can tell you where a particular student was on any given day. Georgia should try keeping track of our most valuable asset, our children.
I found this very interesting. Since I was told last year, "Of course your daughter did well on the CRCT test...that's what is being taught in the classroom." I'm not sure I know enough about each side of the story but I would like to know these things: 1) Are the children only being taught what they will need to know on the CRCT test? And based on this article, are they even being taught that. I've been in the classroom and there isn't enough time in the day (somehow) to teach them what they may need to know and still make the children want to even come to school. I wonder why. 2) What happened to learning social interaction and school being interesting and fun for the kids as they are learning? Who has time for that? If we are only teaching for a test taking at the end of the year, there is no surprise more and more people are home-schooling their children. I beleive in the public school system but I also agree strongly who this article and not wanting my children to be held hostage by one test score at the end of the year!
Beautiful...I couldn't have said it better.
Ga. Homeschoolers do not have to take this test - Homeschoolers are tested by ITBS or other standardized testing in 3rd grade, 6th grade, and 9th grade. The results are kept private and are not reported to the school board.
You are not the only parent who's fed up with the "new" system of government education that comes with public schooling. Unfortunately, things don't seem to be looking up for our children's future. I recieved several calls and notes this year from my daughter's kindergarten teacher stating that my daughter didn't "feel" like finishing her classwork and didn't know how to make her finish it. My daughter can finish her homework in 20 minutes (difficult material), but cant do the same work in school within 1 hour!? If she can do the work at home without her parents over her shoulder (no yelling, begging or pleading), why can't she do it at school? As an instructor, during school hours, their duty should be to get these kids to learn. Not give up the second the kids don't want to do something. Sad thing is, there are parents that don't want the teachers of yester-year that dive a damn about their student's education and its these parents that are suing school districts and getting these educators to teach with caution. It's time for the rest of us parents who care about our children's education to get the government out of the classrooms and give these teachers the authority to punish unruly students and reward good behavior without worrying about leaving the bad children out.
I live in Smyrna and I find it appaling that my tax dollars are apparently paying for obviously incompetent school administrators and teachers. Schools these days seem to teach with more of a political agenda than concern for core curriculum. This is why we need teacher accountability in schools, and vouchers so that parents like you can remove your kids from shoddy eductators like those who apparently inhabit Nickajack Elementary.
For God's sake people, HOMESCHOOL!!!!!! Let the public schools go to Hell where they belong!!!!!
Ever wonder why educational institutions - particularly higher ed schools (colleges, etc.) - instituted "grading on a curve"? It's precisely because of the inept education being offered by our Public School System. Since students can no longer hit fixed standards of learning, grades are assessed based on the average of the class. As class averages go down, the grades remain constant because they are based on those averages. And we wonder why the educational standards of Amerca keep declining compared to the rest of the world.... Everyone - except the student - shares the blame here (Teachers Unions, Tenure, Administrators more concerned about Political Correctness,...). Homeschooling is a great option, but not everyone can do this, for various reasons. My fear is that we have mis-educated so many generations of Americans that few people care - or are even aware - of what a crisis we face. -
At least this parent is concerned. Too many parents are not. The schools today teach political correctness, not academic excellence. Teacher unions are concerned only with their personal self-interests and their social theories, not with education. We need more parents to get involved with their childrens' education. That is the one prospect that the unions fear most.
The government will never compare the scores of their own schools with private schools. The government would look bad. Good luck with the test.
Sherri's daughter is really not an A/B student. The schools now a days give an A and a B to nice kids good kids but not an A student. The schools are more interested in being nice and being liked. Many teachers are worried about not being shot or bad mouthed. The schools also teach intolerance to America. Cobb county schools where I teach have a Curiculum call "The History of Hate and Intolerance in America". No wonder we have people like Michelle Obama that hate this country. Point out the bad and you will see it. Point out the good and that too will be seen. Oh well I am very sorry for Sherri's daughter. That is the new America.
I completely agree Big D. It is very amazing how incompetence breeds incompetence in a large organization. Especially when it is a government organization, with LOTS of union members and “tenure”. Consider this, if you were able to take your daughter out of “Public” school, the school you took her out of would LOOSE funding. If enough people took their children out of the public system, then they would have to cut teaching positions, which would cause the teachers union to loose PAYING members. Of course, because of UNION rules, they would have to dismiss according to TENURE. Likely, loosing the youngest, hardest working teachers in the system. Then, if the trend continued, they would have to start closing pubic school facilities, putting administration and public works positions on the chopping block that would reduce the tax burden far beyond a voucher system. However, they would suffer the DISDAIN from the NEA because of the UNION lob losses that diminish the NEA coffers. In a nutshell, follow the MONEY!
What we forget is that these are not Mathematics majors from college that are teaching your children. These are “Education” majors, who are generally some of the lowest performers themselves on standardized tests. Education majors generally score in the lowest percentile of all college applicants. Don’t take it personally, they may be doing the best they can.
I would suggest that Ms. Green hie herself to Christ the King Catholic School or another such school in her neighbourhood, and talk to them about bursaries. That is, Catholic schools will help her to afford a decent education for her daughter where she will actually be taught something besides how to have great self-esteem and put condoms on cucumbers. If she cares as much about her daughter as her letter seems to say, she will do this without waiting another minute.
Amen. Low income students are hit the hardest by our current system. Vouchers are the answer. Not to replace public schools, but to hold them accountable. If public schools compete for students then everyone wins!
You and your neighbors should demand a refund on your property taxes.You have to right to voice your disapproval during school board elections, PTA meetings.
Sherri, I wish you the best of luck. I recommend you read "Somebody's Gotta Say It" by Neal Boortz. It won't help you much in your current situation but it will bring light to what is happening in our government schools. Brandon
Government at work. The bureaucracy is more important than actually getting results. And these are the people that want to run our health care?
Maybe we need to let the kid's run the system. At least they would'nt let politics get in the way of what is right!
The biggest punishment here is you sending your child to a government school. Stop depending on the government to educate your child, because you just got a good dosage of reality that the government is doing a shoddy job at it. Take personal responsibility for your child's education, be a parent, and ensure she's getting taught the things she needs to, so she'll be more successful in her life than you've been in yours.
Wow, I am truly sorry for you and your family Mrs. Green! I hope you consider homeschooling your children. I pulled mine out years ago because of what they were not teaching my children about the history and Constitution of this great country and the open hostility towards our Christian belief. We will pray for you and hope you find a resolution.
A bit of a hard situation, but hang in there. My wife and I have eleven children between us. The oldest child (who is now 24 and very successful) actually attended government (public) school for about six months. My wife couldn't take the amount of #@!% that went on and the lack of a quality education. She pulled her out and our children have been homeschooled for 18 years now. The second oldest is 21, has his own business, is incorporated, licensed, insured etc. and has been for several years now. The government has done nothing to our educational system but ruin it (along with the NEA)! I am so very, very grateful to my wonderful wife for making the decision to homeschool(before we met) and to sacrafice. We are a his/hers/ours family and there was a time when my wife had to provide income to her children alone AND homeschool them. It can be done! I hope you can gain some support..... friends, church, relatives, other homeschoolers......? We live in the best country on this earth and there is a way... no matter what..... your child depends upon you.... NOT the government! If you have to send her to government school make sure you hold them accountable! Document everything and go after them.... it sounds like you are a very good and loving mother, and that your child does quite well. Hold the school officials accountable.
Lady, you're part of the problem, too. "Emotional scars of failure?" How about teaching your kid about learning from her failures so she can go forth to succeed? How about teaching/tutoring your child yourself at night so YOU know exactly what she does and doesn't know? How about you move in with family members or friends so you can save money and send your kid to a private school instead of counting on the government to take care of your responsibilities (i.e. the education of your child)?
Sherri - You mentioned school vouchers. The next time you vote, remember that Democrats are against school vouchers. We need school vouchers and we need to break the back of the National Education Association. Also, eliminate the Department of Education and place control back in the hands of the states.
Well written.
I was homeschooled from 1-12 grades. It's not for everybody but I don't think public school these days is for anybody.
This goes to show that Gov. Schools are doing a disservice to us and our kids . You want to know why . Teachers unions are one reason . But My neice is also a teacher and she said that this is her last year because , They arn't allowed to teach what kids need to learn . I'm sending my Grandson to private school where he will get a good education .
The public education industry continually cries for more money for failing schools. Hmmm, if failing schools justify more money, what is the incentive for non-failing schools?
There is no teacher's union in GA.
It would be interesting to see how well the teachers could perform on the standard tests. Those that can do; Those that can't teach and are protected by the union. Performance pay would be the answer.
Public Schools are government agencies. The school board members are politicians, principals are bureaucrats and teachers are simply government administrators. This is especially true in areas of higher population. This is not an indictment of their intentions, but a simple statement of the circumstances. Schools do not teach so much as they distribute and administer curricula. Few of these people are experts in the subjects that they "teach". Parents have an obligation to ensure the best start for their children. Entrusting the government to give children the basic tools to achieve individual success in their lives is not a good way meet that obligation. The government does few things well and the first mission of any government agency (bureaucracy) is to preserve the agency and its employees. Your children are much further down the list.
Vouchers are unfair. If we have to have a public school system, and unfortunately we do, then EVERYBODY should have to pay into it, especially if you have kids. Vouchers are like the hokey pokey; you put your money in, then you take it out. Why should people with no children be forced to pay into the public school system, but someone with kids doesn't?
Preach on, sister, preach on! The same happened to me when my daughter was in 3rd grade. They had barely covered multiplication when they threw division AND fractions at them two weeks before the standardized test because they found out it would be on the test. My daughter actually had nightmares! That was seven years ago. Needless to say, my daughter was homeschooled for four years after that until I could put her in a private school. Standardized testing is the problem!
Perfect !! Very true. Thanks !
Sounds like sour grapes. My kids pass those tests with flying colors every year. Also, homeschooled and private school students DO NOT have to take the test.
Should we be surprised that our teachers lack skills? Consider that Education is often a highly populated Major at colleges/univ. that are frequently labeled "Party Schools" (i.e. large % of alcohol consumption). At least by my observation... and by R Anderson's above... Go watch Animal House and then say hello to the next batch of k-12 teachers
Blame the LCD mentality of the education system, Karl Marx, and the teacher's unions. All 3 are an integral part of our current education system. With less intelligent voters, those who propose idiotic programs will continue to get elected. This is an end result of politicians who want to keep us dumb and voting for them.
Until we can have the option of school vouchers, we must continue to supplement the "education" children get in school. You have said it all very well. I only wish more parents were like you. In fact, there probably are other parents who think as you do but who are just tired of fighting the system. I hope they can be mobilized to stand up and fight for their children to receive a good education.
Teachers, administrators, the school board and the politicians - nothing is getting done! What do you expect . . . they're all government employees. They don't have to perform, they can't be criticized for not performing, they don't have to answer to anybody, least of all the people they are supposed to be serving. And to top it all off, Americans are asking for nationalized (socialized) health care, putting all medical practitioners on the government payroll also. If you're frustrated over your daughters treatment in school, wait till the nurse/doctor tells you there's nothing wrong with your sick child and "we're not allowed to provide that service". Wake up folks, we're in the whirlpool and heading down the drain. Tom C
Thanks for saying that loudly and clearly.
Sherri, my heart goes to you. I am so sorry your daughter has to go through this hideous government school system in Smyrna. Keep up the good fight. Maybe if you can, try to move a better school in East Cobb. We used to live in Smyrna and know what of kind school it is over there. Glad you sacrifice your summer for your daughter. Hope it works out for your daughter's education soon.
Put your kid in public school and what do you expect?
Put your kid in a private school.I have and I wish that I had done it a long time ago.
Would you actually expect a better answer from a public government run school system.
A reply for Mark Dobbs. It is ALL children being affected by these school systems, not just because they are low income. People need to stop throwing out the low income card. The problem has nothing to do with that.
My daughter has some minor learning disabilities but did fairly well at school making B's and C's. She did all the course homework and we spent extra time at home to help her get through it often taking several hours. We also requested and got special tutoring at school and met with the teachers and councilors faithfully each year as required and expected. By 5th grade what we saw was our daughter getting progressively worse. She still did not know all her math tables, could not read above a 2nd grade level, could not spell, properly punctuate or write across a stright line. Often we cold not read her handwriting. When the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship program became available, we signed her up immediatly and she was accepted. We found a private school that specialized on children like her with reading and learning problems. She was tested prior to the beginning school and again she showed only 2nd and 3rd grade levels in reading and math. She did not have as much homework but we still sat with her from time to time to help her with next days reading assignment. My point being that we did not spend as much time as before when she went to government schools. By the end of this past school term, she was tested again and she showed a remarkable improvement. She went from a 2nd and 3rd grade level to 4th and 5th grade level. I got really mad. Not because of her major improvement but because of the fact we had waisted 5 years of her life trying to work within the government school system that had obviously failed her. What a waste of yours and my tax money. The only way we will ever change this is to get in front of all of our board of education meetings and start to demand resignations if results/improvement are not happening inside the classrooms. These beuracrats making thousands more than me and getting terrible results make me very upset. I know I would loose my job if I did not provide a service my company needed or provide an end result that did not help the company to make money. People, we are failing our children putting up with such terrible results and we are also sacrificing the future of our country by producing children who cannot independently learn, reason and make corret decisions. In the end, future citizens will become like cattle, being led by Washington Elitist and the freedoms we take for granted during our lives will be taken away from our children; the sacrifices of our forefathers will be in vain. Please, please, please get involved in making our school systems more accountable to us, the taxpayers. Get angry and start demanding more.
"...the school you took her out of would LOSE funding." "...the teachers union to LOSE paying members." Lose => a loss of something Loose => to be free, escape Not to say that you didn't post a good response, but let's learn to live without spell checkers.
And you thought , all along, that big government public schools were there to actually teach your child something ????? Your child is just another number used to axcess more federal dollars for the NEA union members and their retirement fund. Why do you suspose that NEA is so upset with home schooling/private schooling/or any, other than their own ???? The only other reason your child is in a public school is for a unified governmental indoctrination for stamping out individualism and personal thought. We must have good little subjects, and we must start when they are young. That way, if and when they may get into college, their little heads will be at just the right temperature for the higher learning required for socialism. After all, guess what the political persuation is of most "so called" professors in today's colleges ???
Welcome to the liberal world of education. You can thank your fellow union teachers and democrats who think they know better than you what your child needs to learn.
Perhaps this is again a situation where the public schools are not providing the education that we as taxpayers expect as a return on our investment. If the CRCT is tied to "No Child Left Behind," I am surprised that the teachers don't devote the entire year teaching to that test. Since our overreaching federal government has taken upon itself the duty of "educating" our children (read "our future"), there is no alternative to your school choice without a substantial outlay of capital on your part by moving to a "better school district," enrolling your child in a private school, or making the effort to home-school your child. In an effort to provide some thought to alternatives, I wrote this and this.
Thank you for your letter Sherri. Sometimes these things NEED to be said. For the record, The Talkmaster, Neal Boortz, has been preaching forever that terrorists are not the greatest threat to America, but teachers unions are. Accountability doesn't exist. I have several good friends who are teachers, but I respect none of them for the work they do. One of them is going back to school to get his masters. I asked why. He answered because then he'll get more money. I've seen the level of the work required and honestly it is a joke compared to the finance, accounting, economics, etc classes I had to take in order to obtain my MBA. I digress. The point was well made by Sherri. We need school vouchers (a republican platform issue) and we need to do away with the NEA (National Assoc of Educators)! Vote republican.
Perhaps if these (no kind word found for these 'educators') were liable to civil suit - perhaps 'fraud' covers it - we wouldn't have quite the problem we have today. On Education majors teaching math - the only college lower down on the rung of a university than the college of education is the college of journalism.
This is one of many reasons why my children attend a private parochial school. And why a couple of my siblings have home schooled their children.
I am a math teacher at a community college that sometimes teaches duel enrollment classes at a local high school. What I have seen at the high school level is that we have students that are failing but still feel very good about themselves. This is the product of our school system.
People with elementary age children ask me why I took my child out of public school in sixth grade and home schooled him, then their child gets to fifth and sixth grade with no education but good grades and they want to all the information I can supply on homeschool organizations. We did classes through the University of Missouri and he's been a honor student since! A real honor student- he's smart on more than paper.
Why don't you know that we don't have unions or tenure in the state of Georgia. We do however have a lot of ignorance. Clearly.
sounds like your daughter was a victim of grade inflation - brought on by the educrats "self-esteem" movement AND too many litigious parents. I can guarnatee that her A/B at Nickajack was not nearly as rigorous as an A/B from Timber Ridge or another East Cobb school.
When my son was in high school, I got a progress report indicating that he had missed 12 homework assignments in one class and was doing poorly in the rest. I called for a meeting with his teachers and the pricipal. At the onset the pricipal said how glad he was that would take the time to visit with my sons teachers and be so involved. I told him to "cut the crap, I know I'm a good parent, my question is to whether or not you are good teachers". They were astounded and asked what I meant. I told them that had they notified me of his lack of turning in or doing homework at the onset, it would never had gotten this far. I was told that the union only required them to send out progess reports 4 times a year. I told them that if bare minimum is all they were willing to do, then they needed to find a new profession. I said if they hit my son with a stun gun each time he did not do his homework, how many times would he continue to not turn it in. They said "Mr. Porter you know we can't do that". I said "I am your stun gun. Call me. I'll fix it". They said that they can't call 400 parents each day. I said "let's just say half of your 400 students didn't turn in their homework and you called their parents, how many would miss the next day. I'll bet not many. You may find there are one or two who don't care enough to make a difference, but you will not be calling very many. We place our kids in your care thinking you will take good care of them. We are obviously wrong. You will only do what you forced to do. If I worked at my job the same way I would be fired". They still did't call me. Until there is acountability by the teaching profession, our problem of raising uneducated children will not improve. Our children spend more waking hours at school than with their parents. We must have options (vouchers)or better requirements and dedication from our teachers. I know the courts have hamstringed them with the inability to deal with disruptive and often criminal activities. I also know they are not always paid well, but this was their choice of occupations. We have given them our trust and the most valuable possession we have. Our future. We need to fix what is broke and then dismiss the incompetent. If the union is in the way, get rid of it. We did with the flight controllers.
When was the last time government bureaucracy did anything efficiently? In my opinion Americans should abolish government education yesterday. Let people with children figure out how to get them educated!!
I FEEL FOR SHERRI MORE FOR HER CHILD, IVE BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT. MY GRANDSON DID 1ST TO 8TH IN PUBLIC SCHOOL, H.S. I SENT HIM TO A PRIVATE SCHOOL, HE DID NOT DO WELL WITH HIS PUBLIC SCH. BACKGROUND BUT HE STAYED I DIDNT HAVE THE $$, HE WORKED AT WASHING DISHES, MAKING SALADS, THEN WAITING TABLES, HE PAID FOR HI8 H.S. EDUCATION, I WAS ABLE TO HELP IN $$IN ALL THE EXTRAS, HE JUST FINISHED 5 YEARS IN THE U.S. NAVY HE DID VERY GOOD, NOW MY GRANDDAUGHTER IS GOING TO THE SAME PUBLIC SCH. MY GRN SON SAY GET HER OUT OF THERE THE SYSTEM SUCKS. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ????? NEA IS SOCIALISTIC, THE GOAL IS TO DUMB DOWN YOUR CHILDERN. ITS NOT GETTING BETTER, THE MASSES ARE LISTENING TO THE MEDIA HYPE, AND THE DEMS, HELLO CASTRO, STALIN, CHAVEZ,
This is the reason for Home Schooling or School Vouchers to send kids to Private School!
Amen you said a mouthfull we should get rid of the public school system and go to all private schools. the public school system is broke and there is no way to fix it. the same thing happend to me and my son a year ago and it turned my life upside down and the school will not help you in any way.
About 15 comments down you will see an EXAMPLE of the problem. A Gov't School Teacher posted and mispelled at least 10 words. Now you know the problem. The uneducated attempting to teach the uneducated. Enough said.
Government education at its finest. Imagine how Government Healthcare will work out?????
My child attends a government school. She is exceeded on every section of the CRCT and scored in the 98th percentile on the ITBS test which is nationally normed. Many of my friends educate their child in "private schools" and they are behind my child academically. So be careful....not all private schools are better....some are much worse.
I can understand your frustration, it is one I see in high school all the time. The CRCT is a lot like the GHSGT and the EOCT. The teacher is given a set of state objectives (which you can access at any time on the Ga Dept of Education website)and told to teach it. We are not allowed to look at the test that our students are to be graded on. If we do, and are caught, it is worth our jobs. (They call it test security.) So, with a little research you can find out as much as the teachers, principles and other school officials know about what will be on the test. The only ones who truly know what will be asked is the people who developed the test, which is a special group with the state BOE or contracted out to a test making corporation. It stinks, but that is the way is has been for the 11 yrs I have been teaching. Also, the private schools students are not required to take the EOCTs, GHSGTs, or (as far as I have heard) the CRCTs. So there is no comparison out there to be had. Those students pass based on their grades. Home school students are required to take at least the GHSGTs.
Public School Teacher - Are you serious or are you trying to make a point with all of your grammatical errors? I am rolling. Thanks for that laugh.
Public School Teacher... Your not making sence. Sense or sence? hehe All of my children go to private school and they were the ones to point out your mistake. "Public Education" = Public Indoctrination. Like we said in the Army Max the minimum to get by.
Teachers, administrators and the school board could care less about your childs education. They are only concerened with getting as much money in thier pocket as possible and as many days off as possible. The teachers union and the federal education department need to be abloished and none of those people ever be able to hold positions that have anything to do with educating our childern.
So when will the administators and school boards be held accountable????
Government at work. They can't even teach a child yet we're about to hand our health care over to these people?
Ms. Green Welcome to the real world of government education. It is broken and no one knows how to fix it, because those in charge were also educated in Government schools so they're not smart enough. Do what you can to get your daughter in a private school There may be ways of finding the funding somewhere, or you may have to live on rice and beans but it'll be worth it in the end. Good luck.
This why my child is being homeschool but her mother. My wife, with a masters degree in education, who just happens to have taught in the worst public and best private schools in the metro Atlanta area. We had even discussed it on our first date. Public schools are government schools. Get it through your head and accept it. We moved from Smyrna, GA 3 yrs ago to Upstate NY and found schools here were 1 to 2 years ahead in studies compared to Georgia. Given the choice, my wife is still the best choice to teach our kids.
The American public school system is a joke. We're the laughing stock of the industrialized world. We spend much more money per child and still get horrible results. Is it any wonder why the private schools are booming. For more and more parents, the government school system is simply no longer an option.
The public school system isn't holding your child's education hostage- you chose to put her in a government school, and you got a government result. Why would you expect any different? "It takes a village to raise a child"- but guess who didn't put *her* child in the village's school?
Looking at the comment by "Public School Teacher" only proves the point about the failure of public schools. How many errors in grammar, usage and spelling can YOU find? Sheesh!
To "Public School Teacher": You didn't have to tell us that you were a public school teacher. Your spelling and grammar let us know that. Your grade? F
Are you just now frustrated with the public education system? Your daughter had to have passed the CRCT in 3rd grade in order to move on to 4th – so are you now worried about the system because it finally affected you? I’m sure if you talked to teachers you would see that they are just as frustrated with the education system (if not more). Their hands are tied – they are not the legislators. Also, it is naïve to think that private schools are THE answer. Not all students will be admitted to private schools because they are required to take an entrance exam. Of course private schools are going to out-perform public schools because they are able to choose which students they admit. I admire that you are passionate about your daughter’s education and well-being; however, it appears as though you are misinformed about educational policy. Did you spend as much time studying with her as you did writing that letter?
Please tell me that the post from "Public School Teacher" is a JOKE. If it is not, I feel awful for his/her students and want his/her principal fired.
Let force the voucher to politician.Let give the public school the competition in our tax money.Competition is good to produce a smart student.That`s the purpose of our tax money for education.If the public school cann`t provide a quality learning,we need the alternative way and get the money away from them.They dont deserve that tax money,we work hard for those money.I dont want to see our money into the drain.American People better wake up.The children they producing right now is our future.
You might do better to get your daughter a baby sitter and a home school curriculum than to send her back to a school that is so apparently "clueless."
Well written and full of truth. Our public schools are in a very sad state and to the educators it is just a game they play. I shutter to think what the future holds on those that are growing up and one day will be our leaders. Toopster, your comments are out of line. You sound like a public school teacher, find fault rather than address the problem
I can't think of one program or institution that the government is in charge of that is not a mismanaged disaster. I guess that's why my 4 kids are home schooled. "No Child Left Behind" my butt, the reality is more like "No Child Left Unscathed".
Wow, I'd like to start by stating that I do believe we have problems with the current public school system. However, teachers not teaching all of their students to a standardized test should be the least of the public's worries. I can think of many simpler and more rational explanations for why the teacher's curriculum may not have aligned with material covered on the test. Even only considering the sequence of events as described by the author, one must take a large jump in logic to believe that the author's child was used as a 'political pawn'.
Government schools....(sigh).... When I was a kid..... It's all about learning to take a test and not about being educated. Why have we let ourselves and our children be subjected to this ridiculous system. Haven't we had enough of the government's idea of education? Why do we turn our most precious children over to a government which is neither competent nor effective nor fiscally responsible of doing anything even reasonably well.
I read most of the comments and I am wondering why no one has mentioned the role of the parent in educating their child. When a child can recite the cast of High School Musical but doesn't know when The Civil War was fought, who's fault is that? Is it totally the teacher's fault? I doubt that they learned about High School Musical at school. Kids who go to private school do better primarily because those parents work with the child after school and are genually concerned about their child's education. Has anyone studied education throughout the world? Most countries do not try to educate EVERY child like we do here and many of the kids do not go past 8th grade. Face the facts, if the parents were 100% involved, it would not matter where the child attended school, they would be successful. Education should be a partnership between school, home, church, and in every aspect of life. Keep allowing your children to watch High School Musical, MTV, and playing their Wii for hours everyday and you will continue to see the same results, year after year.
Ladies & gentlemen...Effective immediately, there will be 2 can'ts here. If you can't do the job, you can't stay here....Including politicians, who at times can't do anything right... great job sherri green.....
Whiney , sniveling, nanny state wanting liberal. i qoute "They claim to be concerned "about the children" and then deliberately and cruelly inflict the emotional scars of failure upon an innocent child!" Just whomever said that you or anyone else would never fail? Why didnt you spend more time with your child and help educate her outside of school instead of leaving education up to the government? Your ilk make me sick to my stomach. Take personal responsability and educate your children.
Thanks liberals for dumbing down America.
There is a revolution started. It is charter schools, and other private schools rapidly growing in popularity. The NEA is Clearly the problem here. They encourage the government to make laws preventing them to HAVE to compete for the children. JFK had stood in front of millions to declare that we WILL put a man on the moon, and return him safely to the Earth before the end of this decade. We should DECIDE that we (the people) will make these changes that WE need to become the nation we were meant to be. Our children deserve the efforts we should be putting forth. Remove the NEA, and watch the level of education slowly improve more, and more... If only we would...
If "Public School Teacher says - Your not making sence" is not a joke, the grammar explains quite a bit about the public schools.
Government education at its best
No vouchers. The only thing keeping private schools successful is that the people who sacrifice for a private education actually care about education. They are actually involved. Vouchers would open the door to the majority of people in this state who could care less about education. If the drop-out rate is greater than 50% for the state that would constitute an apathetic majority. Case closed!
The primary reason public schools are so bad is because they do not have to compete with the private sector. The teacher's unions oppose vouchers because then their members would have to be held to higher private standards. Private schools simply wouldn't hire some of the teachers public schools employ. Also, government regulation is a major hinderance to educating children.
Probably the funniest thing I've read in years was written here by "Public School Teacher": "Your not making sence." Spelling AND grammar errors here, PST - you're either not a PST (which makes you a liar), or you really ARE a PST (which makes you incompetent, and a BIG part of the problem - you're probably tenured, aren't you?). "Our Public School Teacher's work hard, long hours to educate you're children." More bad grammar..... "The principles are dedicated toward all the children receiving the best education that the school can give." Total BS - they work for the School Board and are SOLELY interested in pleasing this Board. The students don't even figure into the equation. "The problem is that President Bush and the Repbulicans has decided what is supposed to be tought and what they think is importent which is not necesarily what is best for the children and this causes the problems you talk about." More spelling and grammar mistakes, PST. And - hey, read some history and GET A CLUE - Bush has been President for 7 years, the Repubs in power for only 10. This problem goes back DECADES, to the very founding of the Public School System. Get off your Blame Bush And The Repulicans For Everything Bandwagon and rejoin the REAL WORLD. -
My daughter is home schooling her kids for some of these reasons.
Everyone repeat after me - there are no teacher unions in Georgia. There are no teacher unions in Georgia. There are no teacher unions in Georgia. There is also no tenure (clearly you folks don't remember the hoopla over Roy Barnes HB 1187. There's plenty of things wrong with education in Georgia, but the unions and tenure aren't part of it.
I'm praying that "Public School Teacher" isn't. I'm thinking not, mainly because s/he says something complementary about "principles" (everyone knows the princiPAL is your PAL, right) and I can't picture too many PSTs in this day and age doing that. S/he also refers to "our" public school teachers rather than "we" public schools teachers. So - thanks for the vote of support, but you did more harm than good. If you are a public school teacher, I'm praying that you work for a district other than Cobb.
There is no Teacher Union in GA. So the problem in GA is not the Union. As a teacher the problem I see with many students is lack of support at home. Over half of my students do not come prepared for school. They do bring books, paper or anything to write with. Yes, there are some sorry teachers in the system, but for every sorry teacher there are a dozen or more sorry parents. Don't blame the school system if you do not go to parent meetings, school board meetings, or help your kids prepare for school. Teachers need you to partner with them when it comes to teaching your children.
Public school teacher's grammar is bad and doesn't seem to be able to spell Principal (not to mention the use of prepositions to end sentences). I normally give grammar and spelling a pass in an instance such as this, but come on - "PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER" (says it all, right there).