anything we can do for our schools?

[Arkteia]

Hi, I just decided to post question/topic I am passionate about. Hope no one considers it politics.
I am not going to quote the statistics (ranking of our schools worldwide - I think you know it). I do not know what to do to improve level of education but here is what I am observing.

1) Teachers salaries - they are disgracefully low. I do not know who is getting less. Erolwhen has posted a thread about teachers' requirements - master's level is required in many states; god knows how much money people spend to get master's education. And then salaries that are peanuts.
2) Cutting teachers' positions. This I can not even comment on.
3) General lack of respect on behalf of schoolchildren - this is what I hear all the time. Parents complaining that schools are not doing enough - when? with what money?
4) Working at a classroom full of 30 kids is quite a test. And then checking homework in the evening, making plans. I suspect there is lots of paperwork, too.

I could go on, and on, and on. Just one example: in our school district, teachers went on strike asking for raise of salaries. Life in our city is pretty expensive. Response in the community? Well, they do not need to LIVE in our city, they may COMMUTE.

School is the only place that doesn't ask for donations and the only place that sends me an itemized list of the ways they used my donations (no one else does it! And I surely never ask for any accountability). No portion of my donations can be used for teachers' bonuses.

So - there are teachers on this forum. Since our voices obviously do not count when decision are made to cut the positions and they can not even use my donations for teachers' bonuses - is there anything I can do for teachers? Personally?

Sorry it probably sounds naive. But this is one of very few things I am really passionate about. My son's friend wanted to be a teacher and he would have made a GREAT teacher. Well, one year at our University made him change plans. Now he is into politics because teachers' salaries are not attractive.

 

[Cehrabehra]

I have nothing to add but I wanted to give you a thumbs up and bump this thread

 

[blackberry16]

I would be happy to chime in as a teacher. In my state the legislature has just announced huge cuts and my district will be cutting 500 jobs for the 2010-2011 school. Already this year I made less than I made as a first year teacher because of pay cuts and we are told to expect more next year. The donations of supplies from parents are less than ever and so even though I make less than ever before I am paying for supplies out of my own pocket. We have no specialists and no extra support. I just got home from a 16 hour workday b/c I had parent teacher conferences before and after teaching all day (we do not get paid for any that time). I love teaching but the situation is getting so dire that good teachers are going to other professions just to take care of their families. Children''s education can only be enriched as much as the teacher can afford to pay out of pocket. How are we supposed to regain our "education supremacy" when everything keeps being taken from the people preparing our future?

Sorry for my soap box, but this is a touchy issue.

 

[blackberry16]

I would be happy to chime in as a teacher. In my state the legislature has just announced huge cuts and my district will be cutting 500 jobs for the 2010-2011 school. Already this year I made less than I made as a first year teacher because of pay cuts and we are told to expect more next year. The donations of supplies from parents are less than ever and so even though I make less than ever before I am paying for supplies out of my own pocket. We have no specialists and no extra support. I just got home from a 16 hour workday b/c I had parent teacher conferences before and after teaching all day (we do not get paid for any that time). I love teaching but the situation is getting so dire that good teachers are going to other professions just to take care of their families. Children''s education can only be enriched as much as the teacher can afford to pay out of pocket. How are we supposed to regain our "education supremacy" when everything keeps being taken from the people preparing our future?

Sorry for my soap box, but this is a touchy issue.

 

[blackberry16]

Woops, sorry it posted twice!

 

[IloveAsschers13]

Honestly... there are a lot of things that are going on that you can't see much further up in our government right now. In all schools, I think that all of things that you mentioned are basically a matter of politics. I really think that even if teachers go on strike, even their principal doesn't have much pull for that- it's the district and the state and the government above all else. I do understand what you are saying about people who don't value teachers because everytime I hear people bashing it, I think to myself, "who taught you when you went to elementary school to get you to where you are today... that's right TEACHERS."

Have you heard of Race to the Top?

This is something that the government has come up with to try and change the way that teachers and schools are evaluated. Previously it was standardized testing, but that's clearly not a well-rounded way to test if teachers are teaching what they are supposed to.

I am in MI and we are REALLY hurting here in the teaching profession. I think that we requested a LARGE part of the Race to the Top money because our schools are closing left and right, and teachers are therefore out of the jobs left and right. Even in Lansing schools are closing. At the beginning of the year, some schools didn't know if they would make it through the school year and had 50 kids to a room

.

Personally I think you should just educate yourself on the way that things work with the education system. I really can't think of anything that you can do to make sure that any teachers keep their jobs. I know you can donate money to the school if you want them to have a specific program and you can fund it, but that's more for the students.

I guess I understand people your son's friend. I mean I understand it's not a large salary, but don't you ultimately do a job because you love it? Teaching takes that and it also takes a lot of time outside the classroom. I guess I wasn't attracted to teaching because of a monetary incentive- I love children.

I second what the poster above said about helping teachers out with supplies and stuff but i guess I thought you meant for teachers to keep their jobs and/or get raises.

 

[VRBeauty]

I can't help with ideas on the political front.

On the practical front, the church that I belong to has been in a partnership with a local elementary school for several years now. Church members mentor and tutor student, help in the classroom, and sponsor music classes at the school -- music is important to our congregation, and it was one of the earliest elements of our school partnership. We've helped sponsor field trips, and once a year we have a "westminster Reads" day where members serve as guest readers in the classrooms. The program coordinator has even drawn the local ballet company into the partnership! You can read more about it here:

http://www.westminsac.org/go/wms/community_outreach/william_land_school_mentoring_program/index.cfm

The school is in a lower income, mid-town neighborhood. The program seems to have measurable results in the form of higher test scores, but I suspect that the immeasurable results are even greater!

An individual can provide the same kind of help by mentoring. Many of the schools in my community have mentoring programs that provide some guidelines or training, and (of course) volunteer screening.

 

[Haven]

This is an interesting post, Crasru.

Would you be surprised to learn that there is a very aggressive group in my state (Illinois) that believes teachers are paid too much, and they post teacher salaries in a public database each year as proof of this. They also have a lot of other content on their website. Funny, huh?

FWIW, I thought I was paid fairly when I taught high school. I don''t, however, think that I or any teachers are overpaid. I think elementary school teachers, especially, are quite underpaid.

As for all of your concerns, I believe that schools and their teachers and students are valued as much as the community chooses to value them. As a community member you vote for the teachers, and for your own children, every time your district proposes a referendum, for example. You support your schools by attending board meetings, by keeping abreast of proposed changes to the budget, and by letting your voice be heard as a community member when you see things with which you do not agree.

 

[Arkteia]

Well, I guess I should just keep on donating. And, maybe, telling people that I have donated. Perhaps one of them would also do the same.

My husband''s company is supposed to match our donations. I have not received proof that they did it (they might have) but I shall be on top of it next year.

It is really horrible how we treat the teachers. I remember us conversing with a couple, he was an engineer and she a teacher. Both in their 50-es, so she was in the top-paid group. And she said that she was earning approximately half of what he was earning.

I may be repeating myself, but you know what surprises me most? I must be on that "donors" list because everyone asks - everyone except for schools and colleges. And they probably need most!

 

[Haven]

Donating is wonderful and generous, but I think the best way to effect change is to act. As I said, if you really want to do something I would start attending board meetings and get involved with the school's ed foundation, or other parent-run organizations.

You might be surprised by how effective a group of concerned parents can actually be when it comes to educational reform within the school. Donations go toward getting supplies in the hands of children, action goes toward changing policy.

ETA: I say the above because it sounds like you are concerned with the way teachers are treated, and with their low pay. Donations won't go toward teacher pay, teacher pay is set in the salary scales. Next time your school is negotiating a new contract THAT is when the teachers can see a pay rise. Contract negotiations will be reported during union meetings and board meetings, you can get involved there.

 

[Arkteia]

Date: 2/19/2010 1:10:06 AM
Author: Haven
Donating is wonderful and generous, but I think the best way to effect change is to act. As I said, if you really want to do something I would start attending board meetings and get involved with the school''s ed foundation, or other parent-run organizations.


You might be surprised by how effective a group of concerned parents can actually be when it comes to educational reform within the school. Donations go toward getting supplies in the hands of children, action goes toward changing policy.


ETA: I say the above because it sounds like you are concerned with the way teachers are treated, and with their low pay. Donations won''t go toward teacher pay, teacher pay is set in the salary scales. Next time your school is negotiating a new contract THAT is when the teachers can see a pay rise. Contract negotiations will be reported during union meetings and board meetings, you can get involved there.

Ah! It is a good idea. Yes, I am mostly concerned about the teachers because some other things can be achieved in an easier way. I shall talk to my son''s teacher about school ed''s foundation and school board.
BTW our district is quite rich - they have rebuilt almost all elementary school. It is the teacher''s part that is lagging behind.

 

[Haven]

I just popped back in to say that I just read about your screen name in Kenny''s thread and I wanted to say that I think it''s hilarious! I''m going to think "Crazy a.s. Russian" every time I see you from now on!

I think it''s great that you''re concerned about teachers. Most teachers I know are extremely passionate about what they do, and they love their jobs despite low pay, if they feel that they are not paid well. We are typically talented individuals who could be working in other fields yet we choose to teach, and most of us are proud of the work we do, and proud to be teachers.

 

[Arkteia]

Date: 2/19/2010 1:30:18 AM
Author: Haven
I just popped back in to say that I just read about your screen name in Kenny''s thread and I wanted to say that I think it''s hilarious! I''m going to think ''Crazy a.s. Russian'' every time I see you from now on!


I think it''s great that you''re concerned about teachers. Most teachers I know are extremely passionate about what they do, and they love their jobs despite low pay, if they feel that they are not paid well. We are typically talented individuals who could be working in other fields yet we choose to teach, and most of us are proud of the work we do, and proud to be teachers.

Yes, I agree. Whatever I am, I owe to my parents and my teachers. I am a very lenient parent and tended to look sideways whatever my son was wearing, saying, what not (he is a student now and looks very much the part). But whenever he would criticize his teachers I would always cut him short explaining that nothing good would come out of people who did not respect their teachers. And you know, he learned! Now he has great relationships with his University professors and I think it helps a lot.

 

[swimmer]

Thank you for this thread Crasru. here are the ramblings of a public hs teacher/administrator who is on vacation this week!

Public schools were not really set up to take donations towards funding teacher, librarian, etc pay, we call them "taxes." But there are other, more politically impactful ways to contribute and maybe I can come up with some monetary ones too...

1. Write a letter to your local paper praising some aspect of the public school that has made a difference for your kid. Things that are praised don''t tend to get cut. Administrators live and die on their press.

2. Attend a school committee/board meeting. Voice your opinion when it is asked for, join a committee that taps into your expertise (sex ed, computers, technology use, scholarship fundraising), eventually run for a seat! Most races have few candidates and it is a bi-monthly meeting in many places (Hawaii is the notable exception as the entire state is one school committee). Strangely enough in my state being a member of a school committee qualifies a person for town employee health insurance...a very very sweet deal.

3. Fund a scholarship for teachers to do professional development over the summer. In a nearby district they fight tooth and nail for that $500 check and yet most who put together plans for taking classes, going somewhere to learn something, do it even when they don''t get the funding. The family that donates it is revered and they have huge clout in the community. Pretty cheaply bought I must say.

4. Donate gently used technology to the schools. Find out what they need by sitting down with the tech director or a tech teacher and see if your friends or friends'' businesses have these items. This is of course totally tax deductible and so is a win win. Recently our robotics club was given a broken roomba (sp?) those kids were ecstatic! Hours and hours of learning, I could barely get them to leave the school or "their robot" on our recent early dismissal for snow day. I work in a comfortable district with tremendous community support, where people think to donate to the school all the time.

5. Visit donorschoose.org and pick a classroom project to fund. Or send a check to a local or needy school designated "for the library" and see how far the librarian stretches that! If you have a particular passion, Russian novels, Indian culture, Women in fiction, designate it for the purchase of books within that theme. The librarian will be thrilled. Many Rotary clubs maintain bookshelves on conflict resolution and intercultural understanding, they have great booklists if you want to donate the books yourself or check out www.facinghistory.org to pick out books to donate. Some families at Xmass have their kids donate the number of books to the school library of presents they want. It is a local church thing I believe, and they have a list of books to choose from, Elem kids donate to elem school libraries, cheaper books, and etc. There are tags in the front of the book cover with that kid''s name and it is fun to see who goes and finds their books in Jan... A nice way to encourage reading and giving.

6. Support candidates and initiatives that fund schools. Protest any foolish idea to cut local taxes. Waste doesn''t get cut, "extras" like snacks for poverty stricken elementary students, night school for technical students, and counseling for teens in crisis gets cut. Politicians of all parties love to come and read to the little kids, but feeding them 2 meals a day and providing the emotional support in addition to the ever growing list of things that we need to teach in a day...that funding never comes through. Something has got to give, and you are correct increasing class size is not helping a thing. I figure with many hs kids, we can either fund a few $5k initiative for after school learning activities, or 30k a year in jail for the next few decades. Yet taxpayers often choose the short term savings in order to pay much more later on.

7. Race to the Top is hopefully going to do good things for MI and other really struggling places. But man the strings are there and the red tape is too. Hard to imagine how struggling districts are going to deal with the reporting rules (every cent must be accounted for) and yet no money is there for hiring accountants. RttT and NCLB No Child Left Behind are not just hilariously named, their measurement instruments are deeply flawed. Do we really want our kids to be awesome standardized test takers? How can every kid be "college ready" by 2012? Do we want that? What does that mean? Isn''t it just lowering the bar instead of raising it? What do I know, I just teach kids...

8. Teachers will continue to not be reimbursed for our out-of pocket expenses. Like most teachers I know, I pay for several kids to eat lunch every day, spend hundreds on pens, pencils, markers, paper, binders, things that some kids just can''t get for themselves. My mom is a therapist and I miss those free Zoloft pens! Ask a local teacher that you trust if you can give her and her friends a "kitty" for covering the supplies for needy kids. Any guidance counselor is going to know a kid who has nothing, living in a car, who just wants a gift card to Kohls or Target. Actually, a gift cart to Target, Sams, Walmart, or the dollar store is like giving a teacher a chunk of gold. Direct presents to teachers are limited by state rules, this is different, giving him or her a discretionary fund would be amazing.

9. For fund matching like a spouse''s job, why not fund a college scholarship at a local school for a student who is in need and wants to go into social services or some helping profession? You donate $300, the company matches, and that pays for a semester of their textbooks. This won''t help teacher salaries, but can inspire a kid who is in that overcrowded classroom and that will help that teacher.

10. Remember that in every "failing school" there are teachers who are winning the war, who are putting in the overtime and having successes. There really are no totally "good schools" and few "awful schools" they are mosaics of the community within which they exist. If the members of the community don''t want to fund their schools, they are doomed to wait for angels dressed in vintage Ann Taylor to rescue them. If they do fund their schools it is easier to get good resources to teachers who feel respected and want to thrive in their workplace, contributing to their community. If you ever hear someone disparage the schools or teachers, ask them where they get their information and counter with your own positive experiences. If you have no positive experiences, get into the school and tutor for kids after school or support a club so that the kids have a good experience and that you can see what is going on there. Volunteer to speak in classrooms, for Crasu, you would be a great speaker in a Psychology class, explaining how the field works, or signs of depression. We are regularly looking for tech gurus, women who work in science, local historians, folks who make the connection between the text and "Real World" to speak and interact with our students. These are easy ways to get involved for those who can''t donate money, but have valuable expertise.

Thanks for reading my loquaciousness! Now I''m getting some coffee and settling in for a day of grading essays! woo hoo vacation! Mostly, I have been around the world and seen schools in around 50 countries, I am very proud to work in an American public school and would not want my kid to be educated in most of the countries that do so well on standardized tests. We work very hard to meet the needs of every kid and yes, sometimes we fail. But most of the time we achieve the mostly impossible in minimal time, with no resources. Just imagine what we could do if we had funds and the support of all communities!

 

[Arkteia]

Date: 2/19/2010 8:38:51 AM
Author: swimmer
Thank you for this thread Crasru. here are the ramblings of a public hs teacher/administrator who is on vacation this week!


Public schools were not really set up to take donations towards funding teacher, librarian, etc pay, we call them ''taxes.'' But there are other, more politically impactful ways to contribute and maybe I can come up with some monetary ones too...


1. Write a letter to your local paper praising some aspect of the public school that has made a difference for your kid. Things that are praised don''t tend to get cut. Administrators live and die on their press.


2. Attend a school committee/board meeting. Voice your opinion when it is asked for, join a committee that taps into your expertise (sex ed, computers, technology use, scholarship fundraising), eventually run for a seat! Most races have few candidates and it is a bi-monthly meeting in many places (Hawaii is the notable exception as the entire state is one school committee). Strangely enough in my state being a member of a school committee qualifies a person for town employee health insurance...a very very sweet deal.


3. Fund a scholarship for teachers to do professional development over the summer. In a nearby district they fight tooth and nail for that $500 check and yet most who put together plans for taking classes, going somewhere to learn something, do it even when they don''t get the funding. The family that donates it is revered and they have huge clout in the community. Pretty cheaply bought I must say.


4. Donate gently used technology to the schools. Find out what they need by sitting down with the tech director or a tech teacher and see if your friends or friends'' businesses have these items. This is of course totally tax deductible and so is a win win. Recently our robotics club was given a broken roomba (sp?) those kids were ecstatic! Hours and hours of learning, I could barely get them to leave the school or ''their robot'' on our recent early dismissal for snow day. I work in a comfortable district with tremendous community support, where people think to donate to the school all the time.


5. Visit donorschoose.org and pick a classroom project to fund. Or send a check to a local or needy school designated ''for the library'' and see how far the librarian stretches that! If you have a particular passion, Russian novels, Indian culture, Women in fiction, designate it for the purchase of books within that theme. The librarian will be thrilled. Many Rotary clubs maintain bookshelves on conflict resolution and intercultural understanding, they have great booklists if you want to donate the books yourself or check out www.facinghistory.org to pick out books to donate. Some families at Xmass have their kids donate the number of books to the school library of presents they want. It is a local church thing I believe, and they have a list of books to choose from, Elem kids donate to elem school libraries, cheaper books, and etc. There are tags in the front of the book cover with that kid''s name and it is fun to see who goes and finds their books in Jan... A nice way to encourage reading and giving.


6. Support candidates and initiatives that fund schools. Protest any foolish idea to cut local taxes. Waste doesn''t get cut, ''extras'' like snacks for poverty stricken elementary students, night school for technical students, and counseling for teens in crisis gets cut. Politicians of all parties love to come and read to the little kids, but feeding them 2 meals a day and providing the emotional support in addition to the ever growing list of things that we need to teach in a day...that funding never comes through. Something has got to give, and you are correct increasing class size is not helping a thing. I figure with many hs kids, we can either fund a few $5k initiative for after school learning activities, or 30k a year in jail for the next few decades. Yet taxpayers often choose the short term savings in order to pay much more later on.


7. Race to the Top is hopefully going to do good things for MI and other really struggling places. But man the strings are there and the red tape is too. Hard to imagine how struggling districts are going to deal with the reporting rules (every cent must be accounted for) and yet no money is there for hiring accountants. RttT and NCLB No Child Left Behind are not just hilariously named, their measurement instruments are deeply flawed. Do we really want our kids to be awesome standardized test takers? How can every kid be ''college ready'' by 2012? Do we want that? What does that mean? Isn''t it just lowering the bar instead of raising it? What do I know, I just teach kids...


8. Teachers will continue to not be reimbursed for our out-of pocket expenses. Like most teachers I know, I pay for several kids to eat lunch every day, spend hundreds on pens, pencils, markers, paper, binders, things that some kids just can''t get for themselves. My mom is a therapist and I miss those free Zoloft pens! Ask a local teacher that you trust if you can give her and her friends a ''kitty'' for covering the supplies for needy kids. Any guidance counselor is going to know a kid who has nothing, living in a car, who just wants a gift card to Kohls or Target. Actually, a gift cart to Target, Sams, Walmart, or the dollar store is like giving a teacher a chunk of gold. Direct presents to teachers are limited by state rules, this is different, giving him or her a discretionary fund would be amazing.


9. For fund matching like a spouse''s job, why not fund a college scholarship at a local school for a student who is in need and wants to go into social services or some helping profession? You donate $300, the company matches, and that pays for a semester of their textbooks. This won''t help teacher salaries, but can inspire a kid who is in that overcrowded classroom and that will help that teacher.


10. Remember that in every ''failing school'' there are teachers who are winning the war, who are putting in the overtime and having successes. There really are no totally ''good schools'' and few ''awful schools'' they are mosaics of the community within which they exist. If the members of the community don''t want to fund their schools, they are doomed to wait for angels dressed in vintage Ann Taylor to rescue them. If they do fund their schools it is easier to get good resources to teachers who feel respected and want to thrive in their workplace, contributing to their community. If you ever hear someone disparage the schools or teachers, ask them where they get their information and counter with your own positive experiences. If you have no positive experiences, get into the school and tutor for kids after school or support a club so that the kids have a good experience and that you can see what is going on there. Volunteer to speak in classrooms, for Crasu, you would be a great speaker in a Psychology class, explaining how the field works, or signs of depression. We are regularly looking for tech gurus, women who work in science, local historians, folks who make the connection between the text and ''Real World'' to speak and interact with our students. These are easy ways to get involved for those who can''t donate money, but have valuable expertise.


Thanks for reading my loquaciousness! Now I''m getting some coffee and settling in for a day of grading essays! woo hoo vacation! Mostly, I have been around the world and seen schools in around 50 countries, I am very proud to work in an American public school and would not want my kid to be educated in most of the countries that do so well on standardized tests. We work very hard to meet the needs of every kid and yes, sometimes we fail. But most of the time we achieve the mostly impossible in minimal time, with no resources. Just imagine what we could do if we had funds and the support of all communities!

Thank you so much! It is the whole plan, and it is wonderful.
I got one more idea: my secretary is a great costume-maker. I can pay her for extra time and she will make costumes for school plays. Not much and not directly related to teachers, but these plays collect money, too.

 

[lulu]

Well, as a start, we could show them respect. I'm tired of hearing parents undermining teachers' attempts to impose discipline. Shouldn't we start out believing that they are professionals who know what they're doing?

In the olden days if I came home and complained about a teacher I can assure you that my parents would not have taken my side. Even if I came home with my hair burned off.

 

[Arkteia]

Re. # 6 of Summer''s posting - I am very happy to mention that our city did vote for increasing taxes for school funding. Thumbs up!