Unqualified Teachers...

[steamboat26]

I have the same problem at my school, which is supposedly one of the top 100 high schools in the country. My Entrepreneurship teacher knew absolutely nothing about the subject, she just read out of these books, and couldn't answer a single question about anything. I don't know how some of these people get teaching degrees.

 

[gadgetgirl85]

A bit like one of the tutors I have. I feel like I'm teaching him rather than vice versa

 

[iSaint]

A bit like one of the tutors I have. I feel like I'm teaching him rather than vice versa

Maybe s/he's pulling the knowledge out of you without you realizing it!

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Don't even get me started with my school system.

Just for kicks I read the school's budget report for this upcoming school year. They are spending $54,000 installing 18 more interactive whiteboards.

Does ANYONE realize the teachers do not use them. I would say 50% use the LCD/DLP projectors, but maybe 2 teachers use the $1000 + installation specialized white boards, mostly because they don't how to use it and everytime you turn it on it has to be calibrated which takes time.

Urgh.... And don't even get started with me with parking. For the first time ever there isn't enough room for even all the Seniors to park at school. Seniors are guarantied spots if they share a parking spot with a friend.

I am a Junior which means I don't get a parking spot. Even more annoying they completely refinished the school 5 years ago. Its not like they didn't see this coming either, they've known how big the senior class is for 13 years. I have afterschool activities and my parents aren't around to pick me up when they are done (they work 45min and 1.5hrs away). There is no late bus like many school have, walking is not feasible at all, no one lives near me that participate in the same sports. People have parked off campus but the police is cracking down on it because they have nothing better to do.

Why don't they spend that $54k on building a new parking lot. Oh wait, they can't do that, there's no room because they built the middle school on the high school's property.

Umm well about you complaining about the parking lot money is not the only problem. It is also having the space and parking takes up a LOT of space. They do want to leave land open for future buildings. Also they have city codes to follow.

Another thing is schools right now in some ways they are intentionally letting get a little over crowded because if they kept pace with growth as it was right now with in 10 years they are going to have to many schools. We are part of the baby boom echo which means we are a population surge going throw the system but after the echo ends it going to become smaller class size. The reason for the echo is a lot of baby boomers are having kids later line that are hitting the system at the same time people 20+ years younger than them so it increasing the strain on the school system but it not going to keep pace. They know in the not to distance future the US population growth is going to go the way of western Eurp and a lot of other nations which is negative growth.

 

[3nm]

honestly, i think it goes both ways. my roommie was gonna become a HS teacher at LA unified. but he gave up once he found out that it's required to get credentials. he said not only the pay's crappy for what he'd have to do, the no child left behind act's a bummer since most kids have no interest in school. the ones that are really into school would be taking classes at JCs.

i'm just glad that most of my HS teachers were knowledgeable and were very dedicated. this post is making me miss them.

 

[ErikCLDR]

Umm well about you complaining about the parking lot money is not the only problem. It is also having the space and parking takes up a LOT of space. They do want to leave land open for future buildings. Also they have city codes to follow.

Another thing is schools right now in some ways they are intentionally letting get a little over crowded because if they kept pace with growth as it was right now with in 10 years they are going to have to many schools. We are part of the baby boom echo which means we are a population surge going throw the system but after the echo ends it going to become smaller class size. The reason for the echo is a lot of baby boomers are having kids later line that are hitting the system at the same time people 20+ years younger than them so it increasing the strain on the school system but it not going to keep pace. They know in the not to distance future the US population growth is going to go the way of western Eurp and a lot of other nations which is negative growth.

Believe me there is no more land anyways. They stupidly built a new middle school right next to the high school in 1996. Playing fields are already at a bare minimum and freshman sports teams usually have to get bused to the local park.

I just don't understand how they don't forsee some of the issues such as room for expansion when they know how big the class sizes are, especially by the time the students reach high school.

That is true about the baby boom and negative growth, but for the next 13 years anyways the class size is staying generally the same or higher. My town also seems to be rapidly expanding as people move to it as it supposidly a desirable town.

Ahh whatever, in 2 years I'll be out of it.

 

[Coolnat2004]

There are several students at our high school who are taking English Composition and College Algebra at a local university during their senior year, instead of Senior English and a Math at our high school. Maybe you could look into something similar that will challenge you more.

They only offer two classes: criminal justice and speech 101. This gives you dual credit, but obviously the choices aren't great, and it's not guaranteed that the college credit will be able to transfer to another college. The AP chem and bio classes have a class at a college once a week as well, but they don't offer anything like that as far as computer science.

 

[iToaster]

Ok, I'm in high school (in northern KY too Coolnat2004, but I'm sure not the same school). I came over from a private school, and have to say that I am honestly disappointed in where I am. I have found ways to cope with it, but the public school situation is disheartening. I am one of the kids that honestly goes to school to learn, but I can tell there is a major hurtle for these education facilities to overcome. Every one of my classes that could be advanced was, and yet I found that it was insanely easy... I barely had to study for anything and I essentially got all A's. After one year, I can tell that the thorns have their respective roses, but I'm tired of getting harassed by some random kid that really doesn't care about his future. To tell the truth, I could deal with one (and got him good with meh wits), but the fact that there are hundred more of them is just pathetic. It's sad to see these people sit there with their iPods (what a disgrace to Apple) while they could be learning. The saddest part is to see the the teachers just give up on them, I have the utmost respect for my instructors and try to make their jobs easier. Honestly I just want to get out of there, I know there are ways that I can make it to college and beyond and maybe to Apple eventually... but I'm tired of being held back by the unmotivated. I had a lot of good teachers (albeit a few not so much), and I like the effort being put forth by them, but it's just ineffective. Phew, glad to get that off my shoulders, sorry for moving away from the original topic

 

[swiftaw]

No it's not. The square root sign with no sign in front is assumed to mean the principal square root.

That does not mean that the answer of sqrt(some_number) where some_number^2=x cannot be +x and -x if not explicitly defined as such.

No, I know that the square root of 4 is both -2 and 2. However, the square root symbol is presumed to mean the positive square root. This is why if you look at the quadratic formula it the numerator is -b plus/minus the square root sign of b^2 - 4ac

 

[janey]

They only offer two classes: criminal justice and speech 101. This gives you dual credit, but obviously the choices aren't great, and it's not guaranteed that the college credit will be able to transfer to another college. The AP chem and bio classes have a class at a college once a week as well, but they don't offer anything like that as far as computer science.

ap compsci isn't offered? no independent study or something of the sort to then take the exam later on?

I know dual enrollment was sort of frowned upon at my old school (well, we had so many AP classes to choose from too..), but if you're really frustrated you should look into getting administrative approval to do something like that. Although I never did dual enrollment, I did take classes during winter and summer breaks, either for fun or because I wanted to skip a class or be more prepared for it since the very beginning of middle school. And then I dropped out of HS before junior year cause I was sick of the bs, and now I'm just stacking up classes for junior transfer to the university of my choice. In the end, I'm pretty glad I got to take way more advanced classes in everything from chem and calculus to compsci faster than my friends while taking it easy and having fun and time to do all sorts of other things, like going to WWDC while they're still stuck with a month of classes to go... And most of that will transfer to most of the universities I'm thinking of (granted, they're all in California). And all the stuff I did back in ..even middle school... helped.

Credits are all sort of confusing...it's hard to determine what kind of credit you'll get for the classes you take, but you're a senior right now. You're probably gearing up for applying to colleges, and I'm guessing you have some idea as to where you want to go. All you have to do is then look it up on either school's websites (if they're halfway decent..) or call up the respective admissions offices to ask.

 

[Sdashiki]

Thank Bush.

Dubbyah & Jeb



They did it.

 

[Lyle]

Thanks to NCLB, teachers, whether or not they're fit to teach the subject, are caring more about teaching towards standardized testing than anything.

And those teachers "care" about teaching to those tests because their jobs depend on it. Most teachers that I know (including my wife) hate the whole NCLB concept as much as you do, but they aren't the ones who put that program in place -- no do they have the power to do anything about it.

I also had a math teacher last year that was horrible... Since she has 10 year I don't think she was allowed to be fired.

Tenure. She was tenured.

 

[ErikCLDR]

And those teachers "care" about teaching to those tests because their jobs depend on it. Most teachers that I know (including my wife) hate the whole NCLB concept as much as you do, but they aren't the ones who put that program in place -- no do they have the power to do anything about it.

Tenure. She was tenured.

Here they say 10 year, though tenure works too. Once they get the job they have 2 years to work in which they are evaluated. After that they have a 10 year contract with the school.

 

[janey]

And those teachers "care" about teaching to those tests because their jobs depend on it. Most teachers that I know (including my wife) hate the whole NCLB concept as much as you do, but they aren't the ones who put that program in place -- no do they have the power to do anything about it.

Perhaps I didn't make this clear, but I'm not blaming the teachers, because I know they're pressured into doing that because so much depends on how well students do on tests. Every single middle/high school teacher I have had post-NCLB's introduction has ranted at least once in class about it. One of my most favorite teachers would criticize NCLB every chance she got, even to me while I helped her grade papers after class...preaching to the choir.

I'm blaming NCLB for putting everyone, including the teachers and students, in a really crappy position that's an honest waste of time to everyone involved.

 

[Sdashiki]

GO FCAT! floridas test.

Ruining student's, parent's and teacher's lives for over 8 years!




Logic:

FCAT scores = school score (A+ thru F)

Low scoring school = less money (that they need)
High scoring school = more money (that they dont need)

They even, in some schools, give the teachers bonuses for getting their class to pass the FCAT. While incentives are nice, teachers should already be teaching the curriculum to pass their students. A bonus for something you are supposed to do as part of your job is really dumb and another waste of money on an already strapped budget.

In case you didnt know the entire state of Florida has to cut 4% from its education budget, thats 4% from EVERY budget, not as a whole. So every public university etc, has to find 4% to lose.

This is all fallout from Jeb's legacy of

"PRIVATE SCHOOLS ROXORZ!!1!1! PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE TEH STUPID!!1!1"

 

[Lyle]

Perhaps I didn't make this clear, but I'm not blaming the teachers, because I know they're pressured into doing that because so much depends on how well students do on tests.

Cool, just wanted to make sure about that. There's just so much griping out there about the state of the public school system, and how it is obviously the fault of the teachers. Yes, there are a number of unqualified teachers in the system, but for the most part, I think that teachers are doing the best that they can with what they're given.

 

[janey]

Low scoring school = less money (that they need)
High scoring school = more money (that they dont need)

That's not just Florida's problem, that is essentially a national problem further exacerbated by NCLB, which is supposed to reward schools based on performance and improvement. That's if the government even has enough money. And the school/district/state doesn't play with the stats to make certain higher-achieving groups more prominent than the failures..or if they don't manipulate the tests to make them easier.

They even, in some schools, give the teachers bonuses for getting their class to pass the FCAT. While incentives are nice, teachers should already be teaching the curriculum to pass their students. A bonus for something you are supposed to do as part of your job is really dumb and another waste of money on an already strapped budget.

I honestly don't think teachers get paid enough to do all the work they actually do. So I'm all up for the idea of incentives to do their work well.

But standardized tests leave out a lot, and there's hardly enough time in a school year to teach towards a test..for some students, they can't meet even that perhaps-simple standard for their grade, while others won't have a problem finishing the test in a matter of minutes. California's is bizarre enough that the science and math tests are specifically taken based on what class you're in..so if you were in AP calc there wasn't a test that was advanced enough and you got a dirty look from the other people in the same grade as you taking the test for algebra 1. Or something like that.

And then there's taking the california high school exit exam, taken during sophomore year and geared towards an 8th grade level, which 1 out of 10 people in the (california) class of 2007 failed after 6 attempts. A lot of teachers can't even begin to help their classes with that beyond giving a few tips because they have enough problems trying to teach what the district/school tells them to do in the time they're given for their class, let alone a semi-relevant test that is sort of important.

So if this state doesn't even really have much resources to help students with an exam that means the difference between whether or not they get a high school diploma..there sure as hell isn't time to do anything else..arts, sciences, foreign languages...

Cool, just wanted to make sure about that.

Yep. I can see where there might be some ambiguity as to where I'm placing the blame. Certainly not on the teachers (although some are unqualified). Mostly on NCLB.

 

[jng]

Before FCAT, there was MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System). And with MCAS, no passing grade? No diploma.

Teaching to a test is certainly not the right approach, but I find it embarrassing that people fail the MCAS. So there is a need for some sort of system, albeit not in its current form.

I've acquiesqued. Education is really what you make out of it. So if your teacher sucks, it's really up to you to make the most out of it or better year, pursue knowledge on your own, like in the old days.

As for public school vs. private. Bah, you find bad teachers everywhere, public, private, and even universities, regardless of the caliber of the school.

Deal with it.

 

[Sdashiki]

The point of the FCAT and MCAS was to make sure you learned what the Govt. expects a graduating HS senior to know. Which makes sense, they dont want you to get a diploma if you didnt learn basic math and english.

When I took the HSCT (precursor to FCAT) it was simple, even an 8th grader could do it. Though, plenty of my peers still failed multiple times anyway. The FCAT was supposed to raise the standards set by the HSCT.

Problem is, MORE people failed because it was harder. And since money was tied to the test scores all school principals felt the big squeeze from their superintendents (Sword of Damacles style).

So, how do you keep your job as principal? Make sure you get high test scores.

How do you assure high test scores? ONLY teach the test in every curriculum; art teachers, geography, science, dont matter, you teach the FCAT.


I always thought the idea of teaching was to have a set of goals set by the Govt, expectations of what needs to be understood by the end of the academic year. And it was up to teachers to use their personal style to create a curriculum that meets the goals.

Instead you are handed an FCAT booklet and told, teach that.

Its bullplop.

 

[jng]

So, how do you keep your job as principal? Make sure you get high test scores.

How do you assure high test scores? ONLY teach the test in every curriculum; art teachers, geography, science, dont matter, you teach the FCAT.

I'd selectively include only the best students and reject the dumb ones.
That's what my high school does (since before MCAS, etc).

As for teaching to the test, I think that's more so for newer younger teachers. And I don't know about elsewhere in the country, but in Boston, there's a change in the teacher generation as the old birds finally retire and new ones enter. Many of them are young, inexperienced and bad. But many of them are also truly enthusiastic about their job and just love teaching.

There isn't a real mandate to teach to the exam. People, students, teachers and faculty alike know about it sure. There's guidelines etc from the department of education, but how one follows them is up to the teacher. It's not like we're all using the same books, etc...

Janey's right. It's probably a national problem. But the fact that kids fail the MCAS is just sad. They probably shouldn't be in school. And setting standards is important, but won't change the fact that most of the kids failing aren't dumb so much as they don't give a sh*t about school or they have language issues that prevent them from passing. (Boston has many immigrants in its school system who fail). To make matters worse, many of these kids are urged to try harder and pass so that they can get a diploma to then pursue a college degree at a community college or similar program.

Anyway, back to the point of my previous post. There's bad teachers everywhere. Rise up to the challenge and get over it.

 

[ErikCLDR]

In Connecticut we have CAPT Connecticut Academic Performance Test I think it stands for.

Like other states we are encouraged to do well, mostly be if we do well we get more money.

I thought they were insanely easy and a waste of time. I usually do very well on standardized testing.

 

[notjustjay]

I had a technology teacher who was a real sweet man, but was not a very good teacher. He was super friendly, loved to tell stories, the kind of guy that you'd want as a grandfather... but he was a throwback from the 60's transistor radio electronics geek era. I picture him hunched over a HAM radio and talking about superheterodyne receivers.

I took two of his courses, electronics and communications technology. Both ended up being a waste of my time -- he did teach me some stuff, but the class had no discipline. It didn't help that his reputation was well known among the students so my classes were filled with riff-raff that had no intention of learning about technology, they just wanted a bird course. He was also a bad project manager, and I quickly lost my excitement for the supposed group projects of planning, taping and editing our own videos... the project got started but then sort of just fizzled out of existence.

In his electronics course I managed to exempt myself from a month's worth of assignments and lectures by asking if I could use the classroom PC to write a program that would do Karnaugh mapping (which he was very impressed with). That is until some clown stole the RAM and hard drive from inside the PC. Another time his class was the last of the day and I asked him with a sweet smile if we couldn't just take the rest of the day off and go home early. And he let us!

God bless him, wherever he is now. I would love to sit down with him for coffee. I just don't think he has any business teaching 9th graders...