|
|
|
|
keltic63
the kilted one
|
|
|
Joined: 17 May 2002
Posts: 8574
Location: under the weather
|
| Back to top
|
|
 Posted: 01/15/03 - 14:46 Post subject: the numbers for this building
in an effort to see where we are and where we are headed we got some statistics about this school. the telling factor here is that 84% of the families in this building are low income. It is the "poorest" school in the district. we also had the lowest test scores for math on last years PSSA test (of all 8 elementary schools in this district)
I see the problems here on a daily basis. these kids lack basic skills. 2nd graders don't know how to bounce a ball. 1st graders don't know how to sing, which should be natural at that age. 3rd graders don't know right from left. Motor skills are lacking at all levels. I learned very quickly here that you cannot assume the parents have taught their children anything at all. many dads (and a few moms) are in jail. One kid has a dad dying from a brain tumor so Mom has left because she's tired of playing nurse to him. She's done taking care of him. That little girl was in the office feeling "sick" today.
If parents took responsibility for their actions and their kids, teaching would be so much easier.
|
|
|
|
|
robp
Pyromaniac
|
|
|
Joined: 26 Jul 2002
Posts: 16242
Location: Waiting in line at the beer store...
|
| Back to top
|
|
Posted: 01/15/03 - 17:01 Post subject:
I have friends who teach who echo your thoughts Keltic. It seems unfathomable to many of us in suburbia that kids can be brought up that way.
|
|
|
|
|
coachmarkos
my boys could swim
|
|
|
Joined: 14 May 2002
Posts: 11387
Location: 1st in AFC West
|
| Back to top
|
|
Posted: 01/15/03 - 17:03 Post subject:
Keltic,
I don't know how much you are making, but looking at those numbers, you deserve a raise!
|
|
|
|
|
Erstwhile Lurker
Member
|
|
|
Joined: 14 May 2002
Posts: 4047
|
| Back to top
|
|
Posted: 01/15/03 - 17:05 Post subject:
Anyone ever heard of Maslow's Needs?
|
|
|
|
|
Sahara
Member
|
|
|
Joined: 17 May 2002
Posts: 3345
|
| Back to top
|
|
Posted: 01/15/03 - 17:08 Post subject:
That's terribly sad. It's a shame that the culture of poorer communities does not place priority on children's development.
|
|
|
|
|
kristin31
Member
|
|
|
Joined: 15 May 2002
Posts: 8045
Location: Caught in the crossfire of childhood and stardom
|
| Back to top
|
|
Posted: 01/15/03 - 17:09 Post subject:
That's sad. It's amazing the disparity from one public school district to another; I've noticed it here when I was involved in the corporate "Adopt-A-School" program. It seems so unfair that becaus one person was born to a different set of parents in a neighborhood only a few miles from another that their chances in life even that early should be so much more compromised.
I admire what you do. The kids are lucky to have you.
|
|
|
|
|
copteacher
Adjunct
|
|
|
Joined: 08 Jun 2002
Posts: 20588
Location: Teaching in the Halls of Justice
|
| Back to top
|
|
Posted: 01/15/03 - 19:27 Post subject:
I wonder how many of them can master PS2 or Gamecube games in no time though.
The answer Steve is not an easy one. More money is not the problem necessarily. These kids do need instruction and lots of it. It will take an effort from the school district, the teachers, the parents and the kids to all do their part.
|
|
|
|
|
Sahara
Member
|
|
|
Joined: 17 May 2002
Posts: 3345
|
| Back to top
|
|
Posted: 01/15/03 - 21:12 Post subject:
| rtpd113 wrote: | I wonder how many of them can master PS2 or Gamecube games in no time though.
The answer Steve is not an easy one. More money is not the problem necessarily. These kids do need instruction and lots of it. It will take an effort from the school district, the teachers, the parents and the kids to all do their part. |
The video games are mastered perhaps because the parents use them as babysitters. If the parents were involved... limited video games more time to nuture those developmental skills.
I agree that money won't solve the problem. Parents with money also can neglect their children... buying things to babysit. I dont' know the answer.
|
|
|
|
|
keltic63
the kilted one
|
|
|
Joined: 17 May 2002
Posts: 8574
Location: under the weather
|
| Back to top
|
|
Posted: 01/15/03 - 22:36 Post subject:
| coachmarkos wrote: | Keltic,
I don't know how much you are making, but looking at those numbers, you deserve a raise! |
well, coach, I'm guessing that you're the one who deserves a raise. Fortunately for me, my union has taken care of me pretty well, although I am still at the low end of the payscale because of seniority.
You'll like this story: my first year in this position I did a lesson that included a game song "Bounce High, Bounce Low". there were to be 2 lines of students facing each other and they were to bounce a ball back and forth starting with the first set of partners, then do a diagonal bounce so the ball could move to the next set of partners. 2nd Grade, I had to teach them to bounce the ball. I still teach that lesson, but I do a lot of preparatory drills before we actually play the game. With all of the prep stuff, i still have at least 1 kid in every class who throws the ball instead of bouncing it.
| Sahara wrote: |
That's terribly sad. It's a shame that the culture of poorer communities does not place priority on children's development. |
I recall being poor as a child; my grandfathers were coal miners and railroad workers. The one thing I remember about my extended family was the pride they had in doing something with nothing, making do with what they had, creating beautiful things from common materials, and taking care of their kids. We were never dirty, we were never hungry, and never dared to say that we were bored.
money doesn't always fix the problem, but being poor doesn't have to create the problems that we see in this building. the skills that I work so hard to develop in 2nd and 3rd graders are skills that I had before I entered Kindergarten. I had a 1st grader in the hallway last week because of his behavior, and the whole time i was talking to him i was thinking how much more developed my 4yo is. So the problems are not only financial but also moral, at least in my opinion. Parents are neglecting their children in ways that are not illegal, but certainly unethical. it appears that these kids have had no interaction, no stimulation at all, and their development is just so far behind by the time we get them in school.
sorry for the rant; just feeling the stress of the end of the semester.
|
|
|
|
