Priorities In Education

[Sunnyyy1]

It's not about the children anymore, its all about money.

[Snapdragon]

I am coming at this from a completely different perspective. I am British born and went to a British public school up until the age of 10, then moved to Belgium and went to an expensive private school. I say "expensive" because it was a school I would not have been able to afford to go for had not the company my father worked for paid for it. It had all the bells and whistles -- and I hated it. My point is that regardless of what school your child goes to, every child is different and what works for one may not work for another. My children went to a Catholic school for four years and are now in public schools. While the schools aren't perfect (and I hate that they teach to the test), both my children have flourished. Kudos to all of you because I think the most important thing is how involved you are in your child's education regardless of where he or she is educated.

[KnoxMom]

I'm not telling you all this to brag. I'm telling because I found out with all my children, especially him, that even young children are individuals. Some are great students, some learn in typical ways, many don't. Most really shine when they find something they are interested in and become passionate about. I wish I would have known that sooner with my sons, because I would have done a better job of advocating for them. I also would have told quite a few people to butt out....

So, find out what your son IS good at and what's he's interested in, do whatever it takes to make sure he gets to do that to the fullest, and don't let anyone judge him for his quirks just because his are on the outside.

I can relate to this... on the other side. My teachers were constantly trying to force me up to the next grade because of my advanced reading abilities but my mother didn't want her 6 year old sitting in a class full of 8 year olds for obvious reasons. So, as an alternative, I was always sent to read with higher grade levels from 1st grade up to 3rd but did the rest of my day with kids my own age. I hated it. I was smaller than everyone and they all called me "skinny minny" bc I was a tiny little thing and obviously didn't belong. Thankfully, when I got to 4th grade my school implemented a TAG Program (Talented and Gifted) where I was able to spend half of the day with advanced learners from all around the school district where we went on field trips to NASA, read advanced books and did awesome science projects. I spent the last half of the day in the regular classroom which was nice because it took little time for me to catch up on the work. It was the best thing that ever happened to me educationally. However, by the time I got to junior high, the school district eliminated the program because of budget cuts. In turn, when I finished my work early I would talk too much and annoy my teachers. Eventually, they started giving me busy work (crossword puzzles, etc.) to fill the time while everyone else finished. I saw this as being picked on by teachers bc I had extra assignments that nobody else had to do. Ultimately I began to hate school and teachers up until high school where I was finally challenged again with AP/IB courses. I've always wondered if my school experience would have been different if I was at a charter school or private school... The next school district over was able to keep the program, but my mother couldn't afford to pick up and move. Sometimes it comes down to where you are. I'm just ready for a final decision on the whole voucher issue. I see the pros and cons of both sides but I feel like there has to be some way to make it more fair. The money will ultimately be redirected away from already poor school districts but the people who will receive it need it the most. You can hardly ever please everyone. Ahhh... decisions, decisions..

[Heidi]

I can relate to this... on the other side. My teachers were constantly trying to force me up to the next grade because of my advanced reading abilities but my mother didn't want her 6 year old sitting in a class full of 8 year olds for obvious reasons. So, as an alternative, I was always sent to read with higher grade levels from 1st grade up to 3rd but did the rest of my day with kids my own age. I hated it. I was smaller than everyone and they all called me "skinny minny" bc I was a tiny little thing and obviously didn't belong. Thankfully, when I got to 4th grade my school implemented a TAG Program (Talented and Gifted) where I was able to spend half of the day with advanced learners from all around the school district where we went on field trips to NASA, read advanced books and did awesome science projects. I spent the last half of the day in the regular classroom which was nice because it took little time for me to catch up on the work. It was the best thing that ever happened to me educationally. However, by the time I got to junior high, the school district eliminated the program because of budget cuts. In turn, when I finished my work early I would talk too much and annoy my teachers. Eventually, they started giving me busy work (crossword puzzles, etc.) to fill the time while everyone else finished. I saw this as being picked on by teachers bc I had extra assignments that nobody else had to do. Ultimately I began to hate school and teachers up until high school where I was finally challenged again with AP/IB courses. I've always wondered if my school experience would have been different if I was at a charter school or private school... The next school district over was able to keep the program, but my mother couldn't afford to pick up and move. Sometimes it comes down to where you are. I'm just ready for a final decision on the whole voucher issue. I see the pros and cons of both sides but I feel like there has to be some way to make it more fair. The money will ultimately be redirected away from already poor school districts but the people who will receive it need it the most. You can hardly ever please everyone. Ahhh... decisions, decisions..

Wisconsin has an open enrollment system. Esentially, you can transfer from your school district to another one as long as you provide your own transportation. This allows my daughter to go to a charter school in the next school district over. She is a sophmore this year. The charter school is project-based. So, with careful planning by the student and guidance by the teachers, the kids are able to plan and implement projects to meet the state curriculum standards. There are 40 spaces in the program, and the kids each have a "cubicle" like you see in offices. Math is structured (they use Kahn Math Academy online). Several students are also taking AP classes online.

My daughter is a completely different girl than she was before this. She SHINES in this program. My son will start next year (he's a 6th grader this year, and it's a 7-12 program). I hope it's the same for him. He's my little "McGyver", if you remember that show. He does not do well in a traditional classroom. He has not been "tagged" (...get it?) as gifted, but he has a very unique mind and it causes him all sorts of trouble at school; mostly not doing his work.

I so badly wish this school would have been around for my older boys...

I think that charter schools is one way that schools can be more competative and customer-service focused. The money is still staying with the public schools (vs. vouchers, which go to private schools). However, the school can better meet the needs of those students who are not "typical".

[SquirrellyMama]

I'm only going to comment on the cursive comments. I have been teaching all of my kids cursive, but it isn't used much anymore if at all. As for signing your name... Have you seen people's signatures? Most of the time they aren't legible anyway. As long as you sign it the same way each time you are ok. I had a dcd that signed his name with the first letter of his name and a line. Even when I sign my last name it is pretty much the first letter, a line and the last letter.

I agree with a pp who said teach it but don't necessarily drill it for any length of time. I think keyboarding is a much better use of time than cursive.

K

[Heidi]

I can relate to this... on the other side. My teachers were constantly trying to force me up to the next grade because of my advanced reading abilities but my mother didn't want her 6 year old sitting in a class full of 8 year olds for obvious reasons. So, as an alternative, I was always sent to read with higher grade levels from 1st grade up to 3rd but did the rest of my day with kids my own age. I hated it. I was smaller than everyone and they all called me "skinny minny" bc I was a tiny little thing and obviously didn't belong. Thankfully, when I got to 4th grade my school implemented a TAG Program (Talented and Gifted) where I was able to spend half of the day with advanced learners from all around the school district where we went on field trips to NASA, read advanced books and did awesome science projects. I spent the last half of the day in the regular classroom which was nice because it took little time for me to catch up on the work. It was the best thing that ever happened to me educationally. However, by the time I got to junior high, the school district eliminated the program because of budget cuts. In turn, when I finished my work early I would talk too much and annoy my teachers. Eventually, they started giving me busy work (crossword puzzles, etc.) to fill the time while everyone else finished. I saw this as being picked on by teachers bc I had extra assignments that nobody else had to do. Ultimately I began to hate school and teachers up until high school where I was finally challenged again with AP/IB courses. I've always wondered if my school experience would have been different if I was at a charter school or private school... The next school district over was able to keep the program, but my mother couldn't afford to pick up and move. Sometimes it comes down to where you are. I'm just ready for a final decision on the whole voucher issue. I see the pros and cons of both sides but I feel like there has to be some way to make it more fair. The money will ultimately be redirected away from already poor school districts but the people who will receive it need it the most. You can hardly ever please everyone. Ahhh... decisions, decisions..

Have you ever read this?


Is It A Cheetah?
By Stephanie S. Tolan
It's a tough time to raise, teach or BE a highly gifted child. As the term "gifted" and the unusual intellectual capacity to which that term refers become more and more politically incorrect, the educational establishment changes terminology and focus.
Giftedness, a global, integrative mental capacity, may be dismissed, replaced by fragmented "talents" which seem less threatening and theoretically easier for schools to deal with. Instead of an internal developmental reality that affects every aspect of a child's life, "intellectual talent" is more and more perceived as synonymous with (AND LIMITED TO) academic achievement.

The child who does well in school, gets good grades, wins awards, and performs" beyond the norms for his or her age, is considered talented. The child who does not, no matter what his innate intellectual capacities or developmental level, is less and less likely be identified, less and less likely to be served.

A cheetah metaphor can help us see the problem with achievement-oriented thinking. The cheetah is the fastest animal on earth. When we think of cheetahs, we are likely to think first of their speed. It's flashy. It’s impressive. It's unique. And it makes identification incredibly easy. Since cheetahs are the only animals that can run 70 mph, if you clock an animal running 70 mph, IT'S A CHEETAH!
But cheetahs are not always running. In fact, they are able to maintain top speed only for a limited time, after which they need a considerable period of rest.
It's not difficult to identify a cheetah when it isn't running, provided we know its other characteristics. It is gold with black spots, like a leopard, but it also has unique black "tear marks" beneath its eyes. Its head is small, its body lean, its legs unusually long -- all bodily characteristics critical to a runner. And the cheetah is the only member of the cat family that has non-retractable claws. Other cats retract their claws to keep them sharp, like carving knives kept in a sheath --the cheetah's claws are designed not for cutting but for traction. This is an animal biologically designed to run.
Its chief food is the antelope, itself a prodigious runner. The antelope is not large or heavy, so the cheetah does not need strength and bulk to overpower it. Only speed. On the open plains of its natural habitat the cheetah is capable of catching an antelope simply by running it down.
While body design in nature is utilitarian, it also creates a powerful internal drive. The cheetah needs to run!

Despite design and need however, certain conditions are necessary if it is to attain its famous 70 mph top speed. It must be fully grown. It must be healthy, fit and rested. It must have plenty of room to run. Besides that, it is best motivated to run all out when it is hungry and there are antelope to chase.

If a cheetah is confined to a 10 X 12 foot cage, though it may pace or fling itself against the bars in restless frustration, it won't run70 mph.
IS IT STILL A CHEETAH?
If a cheetah has only 20 mph rabbits to chase for food, it won't run 70 mph while hunting. If it did, it would flash past its prey and go hungry! Though it might well run on its own for exercise, recreation, or fulfillment of its internal drive, when given only rabbits to eat the hunting cheetah will run only fast enough to catch a rabbit.
IS IT STILL A CHEETAH?
If a cheetah is fed Zoo Chow it may not run at all.
IS IT STILL A CHEETAH?
If a cheetah is sick or if its legs have been broken, it won't even walk.
IS IT STILL A CHEETAH?
And finally, if the cheetah is only six weeks old, it can't yet run70 mph.
IS IT, THEN, ONLY A *POTENTIAL* CHEETAH?

A school system that defines giftedness (or talent) as behavior, achievement and performance is as compromised in its ability to recognize its highly gifted students and to give them what they need as a zoo would be to recognized and provide for its cheetahs if it looked only for speed. When a cheetah does run 70 mph it isn't a particularly "achieving" cheetah. Though it is doing what no other cat can do, it is behaving normally for a cheetah.
To lions, tigers, leopards -- to any of the other big cats -- the cheetah’s biological attributes would seem to be deformities. Far from the "best cat," the cheetah would seem to be barely a cat at all. It is not heavy enough to bring down a wildebeest; its non-retractable claws cannot be kept sharp enough to tear the wildebeest's thick hide. Given the cheetah’s tendency to activity, cats who spend most of their time sleeping in the sun might well label the cheetah hyperactive.

Like cheetahs, highly gifted children can be easy to identify. If a child teaches herself Greek at age five, reads at the eighth grade level at age six or does algebra in second grade we can safely assume that child is a highly gifted child. Though the world may see these activities as achievements, she is not an "achieving" child so much as a child who is operating normally according to her own biological design, her innate mental capacity. Such a child has clearly been given room to run and something to run for. She is healthy and fit and has not had her capacities crippled. It doesn't take great knowledge about the characteristics of highly gifted children to recognize this child.
However, schools are to extraordinarily intelligent children what zoos are to cheetahs. Many schools provide a 10 x 12 foot cage, giving the unusual mind no room to get up to speed. Many highly gifted children sit in the classroom the way big cats sit in their cages, dull-eyed and silent. Some, unable to resist the urge from inside even though they can't exercise it, pace the bars, snarl and lash out at their keepers, or throw themselves against the bars until they do themselves damage.

Even open and enlightened schools are likely to create an environment that, like the cheetah enclosures in enlightened zoos, allow some moderate running, but no room for the growing cheetah to develop the necessary muscles and stamina to become a 70 mph runner. Children in cages or enclosures, no matter how bright, are unlikely to appear highly gifted; kept from exercising their minds for too long, these children may never be able to reach the level of mental functioning they were designed for.
A zoo, however much room it provides for its cheetahs, does not feed them antelope, challenging them either to run full out or go hungry. Schools similarly provide too little challenge for the development of extraordinary minds. Even a gifted program may provide only the intellectual equivalent of 20 mph rabbits (while sometimes labeling children suspected of extreme intelligence "underachievers" for NOT putting on top speed to catch those rabbits!) Without special programming, schools provide the academic equivalent of Zoo Chow, food that requires no effort whatsoever. Some children refuse to take in such uninteresting, dead nourishment at all.

To develop not just the physical ability but also the strategy to catch antelope in the wild, a cheetah must have antelopes to chase, room to chase them and a cheetah role model to show them how to do it. Without instruction and practice they are unlikely to be able to learn essential survival skills.
A recent nature documentary about cheetahs in lion country showed a curious fact of life in the wild. Lions kill cheetah cubs. They don't eat them, they just kill them. In fact, they appear to work rather hard to find them in order to kill them (though cheetahs can't possibly threaten the continued survival of lions). Is this maliciousness? Recreation? No one knows. We only know that lions do it. Cheetah mothers must hide their dens and go to great efforts to protect their cubs, coming and going from the den under deep cover or only in the dead of night or when lions are far away. Highly gifted children and their families often feel like cheetahs in lion country.

In some schools brilliant children are asked to do what they were never designed to do (like cheetahs asked to tear open a wildebeest hide with their claws -- after all, the lions can do it!) while the attributes that are a natural aspect of unusual mental capacity -- intensity, passion, high energy, independence, moral reasoning, curiosity, humor, unusual interests and insistence on truth and accuracy -- are considered problems that need fixing.
Brilliant children may feel surrounded by lions who make fun of or shun them for their differences, who may even break their legs or drug them to keep them moving more slowly, in time with the lions' pace. Is it any wonder they would try to escape; would put on a lion suit to keep form being noticed; would fight back?

This metaphor, like any metaphor, eventually breaks down. Highly gifted children don't have body markings and non-retractable claws by which to be identified when not performing. Furthermore, the cheetah's ability to run 70 mph is a single trait readily measured. Highly gifted children are very different from each other so there is no single ability to look for even when they are performing; besides that, a child's greatest gifts could be outside the academic world's definition of achievement and so go unrecognized altogether. While this truth can save some children from being wantonly killed by marauding lions, it also keeps them from being recognized for what they are -- children with deep and powerful innate differences as all-encompassing as the differences between cheetahs and other big cats.

That they may not be instantly recognizable does not mean that there is no means of identifying them. It means that more time and effort are required to do it. Educators can learn the attributes of unusual intelligence and observe closely enough to see those attributes in individual children. They can recognize not only that highly gifted children can do many things other children cannot, but that there are tasks other children can do that the highly gifted cannot.

Every organism has an internal drive to fulfill its biological design. The same is true for unusually bright children. From time to time the bars need be removed, the enclosures broadened. Zoo Chow, easy and cheap as it is, must give way, at least some of the time, to lively, challenging mental prey.
More than this, schools need to believe that it is important to make the effort, that these children not only have the needs of all other children to be protected and properly cared for, but that they have as much RIGHT as others to have their needs met.

Biodiversity is a fundamental principle of life on our planet. It allows life to adapt to change. In our culture highly gifted children, like cheetahs, are endangered. Like cheetahs, they are here for a reason; they fill a particular niche in the design of life. Zoos, whatever their limitations, may be critical to the continued survival of cheetahs; many are doing their best to offer their captives what they will need eventually to survive in the wild. Schools can do the same for their highly gifted children.

Unless we make a commitment to saving these children, we will continue to lose them and whatever unique benefit their existence might provide for the human species of which they are an essential part.

[Note: please disseminate this widely if you find it useful. Proper attribution would be appreciated, however -- Stephanie S. Tolan] (c) 1996 Stephanie Tolan, Used by Permission.
________________________________________
This page last updated on 11/29/97 by Valerie Bock

[momofsix]

I have not read all the posts, only the op and a couple of others, so forgive me if I repeat someone. From the few I read I'm not with the majority (again!)
I think vouchers for poor kids to go to a private school is a great idea! When I look at what the private schools around here use $ wise per pupil to run their schools vs. what the public schools spend per pupil it's ridiculous. The public schools spend so much more-and the results are terrible in our city public school system.
The biggest argument I here about the money imbalance is public schools have to provide special education. Well, our city private school system has an awesome special education system-so that is no excuse.

My kids go to a private school that we pay tuition for. Our school is really exceptional b/c it was started by some Christian "hippie's" in the early 80's to offer affordable Christian Education to those that would otherwise be unable to afford it. The school has a waiting list and classes are kept intentionally racially mixed. Parents are expected to pay a min. of $500/year tuition, but how much we pay is based on our income. Donors cover the cost beyond what parents can pay.It's the only way we could ever afford it.
plug for out school http://pottershouseschool.org/

We are not "poor" (anymore) but still could not afford the costs of a regular private school. We pay public school taxes just like everyone else-that's just part of living in a community and I don't have a problem with that.
What I do have a problem with is that our schools are failing, yet just a few miles away in the suburbs the public schools are thriving and have all of the latest up to date technology. Our city schools are mostly black/Hispanic students. The suburbs are generally white. It's just another way our country exhibits institutional racism. I'm for anything that gives students and parents that really want something better in education what they need to get it.

[Heidi]

I have not read all the posts, only the op and a couple of others, so forgive me if I repeat someone. From the few I read I'm not with the majority (again!)
I think vouchers for poor kids to go to a private school is a great idea! When I look at what the private schools around here use $ wise per pupil to run their schools vs. what the public schools spend per pupil it's ridiculous. The public schools spend so much more-and the results are terrible in our city public school system.
The biggest argument I here about the money imbalance is public schools have to provide special education. Well, our city private school system has an awesome special education system-so that is no excuse.

My kids go to a private school that we pay tuition for. Our school is really exceptional b/c it was started by some Christian "hippie's" in the early 80's to offer affordable Christian Education to those that would otherwise be unable to afford it. The school has a waiting list and classes are kept intentionally racially mixed. Parents are expected to pay a min. of $500/year tuition, but how much we pay is based on our income. Donors cover the cost beyond what parents can pay.It's the only way we could ever afford it.
plug for out school http://pottershouseschool.org/

We are not "poor" (anymore) but still could not afford the costs of a regular private school. We pay public school taxes just like everyone else-that's just part of living in a community and I don't have a problem with that.
What I do have a problem with is that our schools are failing, yet just a few miles away in the suburbs the public schools are thriving and have all of the latest up to date technology. Our city schools are mostly black/Hispanic students. The suburbs are generally white. It's just another way our country exhibits institutional racism. I'm for anything that gives students and parents that really want something better in education what they need to get it.

I agree with everything, except that the vouchers are not only for "poor" students. It is a lottery system, from my understanding. So anyone can throw their name in...

[Country Kids]

Just read this last night in the paper after reading all the posts on here. Sounds pretty much like it will be a no go though.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20130220/NEWS03/702209818/-1/News

[Bugsworthy]

I didn't read all of the replies. I work at a private school here in Florida that accepts a Parent Choice Scholarship. It sounds like what you are referring to, but it is paid mostly through Corporate tax dollars. In Florida, by accepting the scholarship, private schools can educate children cheaper than the public school and give them a smaller class size. I think the scholarships are great. I've never had my children in the public school, but Yet my taxes are going there. Now, at least my dollars can go where I want my kids to go. Some people say, "Oh, it's taking money away from the public school." Well, so far....do you like how that money is being spent? Do you think they are doing a good job so far? (Some counties do a great job...others...well....)

Ultimately, I feel homeschooling is best. My husband and I both work at the our kids school. If we didn't, I would probably home school.