How can schools be better?

[Moon009]

This is a really serious topic because now it seems that in a recession, you need your education now more than ever. So could you please click on this link:

http://www.animepandemic.blogspot.com/

Read the blog and either comment here or there it doesn't matter so long as you comment. I want to know all of your opinions. Oh and don't mind the animepandemic thing, its just my screen name I guess. This blog has nothing to do with anime.

[Pessimist]

The kids are going to spend most of the day getting their education. This includes the trips back and forth between home and school. The time spent at school while paying attention to their teachers and at home doing their homework - of course some kids are more motivated to do that than others. But I see no good reason why kids should not have the right for at least one free school lunch composed of real food.

[Rinshikame]

lol. Just remove tests and give the kids real tasks without any "choice of answers"(i think that test system made for the most stupid)

[DavenIII]

More standardized testing in my opinion, and stricter regulations on how easy they can make the tests....(cause atm they are cake in some places and they really shouldn't be)

[Rinshikame]

lol. test-system education is really a joke) because i can make any test without any knowledge just depending on my luck. XD it's not education...

[Jae Hoon]

First thing MORE SPENDING IS NOT THE ANSWER

Throwing money at it has not done anything.

1. Give every parent a school voucher, first it is actually cheaper using the voucher system for the Gov then it is the current one they use. This will force schools to give a **** and gives kids a better chance of going to a good school. Yes that means zoning restrictions are gone.

2. Get rid of the teachers union, it is a blood sucking vampire at this point. So many bad teachers they can not get rid of. Also teachers need to be paid for performance, the better the teacher the higher the pay.

3. Starting with about 9th grade school needs to be setup like work. Monday through Friday from 8-4, no summer vacation, no spring break, no winter vacation, no vacation vacation. Let them actually get set up for more of a real life work schedule.

4. School Uniforms, they actually do help and makes kids realize alot of jobs do indeed have dress codes.

[Mosinmatt]

First thing MORE SPENDING IS NOT THE ANSWER

Throwing money at it has not done anything.

1. Give every parent a school voucher, first it is actually cheaper using the voucher system for the Gov then it is the current one they use. This will force schools to give a **** and gives kids a better chance of going to a good school. Yes that means zoning restrictions are gone.

2. Get rid of the teachers union, it is a blood sucking vampire at this point. So many bad teachers they can not get rid of. Also teachers need to be paid for performance, the better the teacher the higher the pay.

3. Starting with about 9th grade school needs to be setup like work. Monday through Friday from 8-4, no summer vacation, no spring break, no winter vacation, no vacation vacation. Let them actually get set up for more of a real life work schedule.

4. School Uniforms, they actually do help and makes kids realize alot of jobs do indeed have dress codes.

I do agree with this. The voucher system i am on the fence with, as with the pay for performance. Cause some kids just refuse to learn, or would get bad grades just so the teacher they dont like gets paid less.

[taily]

A novel idea for my school would to be BUY ****ING FANS FOR THE CLASSROOMS AND NOT USLESS 80''-PLASMA SCREENS ON THE CEILING WHICH WE CAN'T EVEN USE.

"Yes you're literally roasting BUT HYUK LOOK @ OUR TEKNOOLOGIE LUL"

[The Million Dollar Prons]

If schools used the teaching methods founded by philantropist L. Ron Hubbard, we wouldn't have a problem with students dropping out.

[DavenIII]

because i can make any test without any knowledge just depending on my luck. XD it's not education...

??? I seriously doubt you are passing Advanced Physics tests based on "luck"

[Rinshikame]

??? I seriously doubt you are passing Advanced Physics tests based on "luck"

Lol. Right now i'm on 3 stage of university,also i'm woking in hacking team+ i'm a leitenant in anti-terror special squad+ i'm getting money from some MMORPG goodies,what i'm selling. I have enough) my brains and physical education. Not only "music,anime and games.'

[Haro!]

First thing MORE SPENDING IS NOT THE ANSWER

Throwing money at it has not done anything.

1. Give every parent a school voucher, first it is actually cheaper using the voucher system for the Gov then it is the current one they use. This will force schools to give a **** and gives kids a better chance of going to a good school. Yes that means zoning restrictions are gone.

2. Get rid of the teachers union, it is a blood sucking vampire at this point. So many bad teachers they can not get rid of. Also teachers need to be paid for performance, the better the teacher the higher the pay.

3. Starting with about 9th grade school needs to be setup like work. Monday through Friday from 8-4, no summer vacation, no spring break, no winter vacation, no vacation vacation. Let them actually get set up for more of a real life work schedule.

4. School Uniforms, they actually do help and makes kids realize alot of jobs do indeed have dress codes.

I actually agree with this. Just from my memory so feel free to correct me, I do believe Germany has a similar system that works quite well.

In my experience, hot girls have always been great motivation to go to school and do well. Heck sometimes I want to go back to high school just for... oh dear I've said too much.

[Jae Hoon]

I actually agree with this. Just from my memory so feel free to correct me, I do believe Germany has a similar system that works quite well.

I believe so yes, I think Sweden's is very similar to that as well.

[Mosinmatt]

I actually agree with this. Just from my memory so feel free to correct me, I do believe Germany has a similar system that works quite well.

In my experience, hot girls have always been great motivation to go to school and do well. Heck sometimes I want to go back to high school just for... oh dear I've said too much.

Man..If they had Hot teachers, I would of payed a lot more attention in school. Even gone in for some after school help....

[DavenIII]

i'm getting money from some MMORPG goodies,what i'm selling.


I never could sell my stuff back when I used to play, just couldn't part with it...it was worth a lot as well...too bad I suppose, I can't play those games anymore I'm too competitive for them.

[goddessofanime]

Beat 'em. Like nuns.

[lav2k4]

School needs to be less tedious, and more engaging. I don't know how to put it, but school to me always felt like some long grind with no payoff. Even in college. It's a ****ing snooze fest, and it needs to be changed. How? I don't know.

[Meggles]

I'm in high school right now (10th grade) and here's what I think:

1. We have a great TV Production/Technology Department: cameras, computers, software, projectors in every one of the 60ish classrooms. Totaling about $70k at least. I am not counting normal computers for teachers.

2. We have ropes courses in our field house. That must've cost at least $50k. And I bet the school has to pay a buttload for insurance. Most of the established sports teams have new equipment provided by the school and have to do little fund raising themselves. I am on the swim team and that's not how it went down for us. We had to raise around $4k on top of our fees to join to pay for buses, a pool, etc. We are a fraction of the size of other teams but we raised more than double what other sports raised. The school covers most of their costs.

3. We have a giant auditorium. It is more high tech, and it is bigger than the local theater. We do 2-3 plays a year and have 2-3 assemblies a year. The auditorium probably costs more than my house.

Also this school:
1. Cannot afford substitute teachers. Instead, we are herded into the cafe, the auditorium(during lunch) or 2-3 classes are jammed into a single classroom and told to be silent.

2. Laid off the entire health department. Health classes are required by the State of Massachusetts. What this means, I don't know. Also, Fun fact: The swim coach was a health teacher, sucks for me I guess.

And they need to be stricter towards students (I know, weird coming from a student). There's a (sad but true) saying here that when you're walking into the school at the beginning of the day, more people are walking out to do drugs, smoke, etc.

We also have a resident Nazi who attacked a gay kid at lunch, then later the same year, he provoked a black kid into a fight and ended up hitting two teachers in the process when they tried to pull them apart. This kid got a 2 day suspension for the first time and a 3 day suspension for the second time, even though he hit two teachers. People shouldn't have to be afraid of Nazis at school, and we shouldn't have to deal with idiots who come into school high, scrawl bomb threats on the walls, pull the fire alarm, and leave bullets in the halls so we can go into lockdown, etc.

Summary (aka the tl;dr): My school district spends money on **** like ropes courses, baseball teams (which never win), and technology which we don't need, but rely on anyway. Therefore, we can't afford fancy things like paper and teachers. And we shouldn't have to deal with idiots getting off easy while they terrorize other students.

EDIT: Oh wow, this is one of the biggest walls of text I've ever written.

[Jon]

Meggles you're only a tenth grader? I thought you were much, much older.;)

Anyhow, my High School wasn't poor or anything but the only money it really put into sports were the Football and Basketball teams, everyone else pretty much raised money themselves. Luckily for me, running is probably the most least expensive sport out there, and we just had to pay for transportation (Coach buses usually, we frequently traveled out of state and school buses are so uncomfortable for long trips) and running shoes, really. The rest was supplied by mother nature.

And they spent a lot of money upgrading computers every SINGLE freaking year. Because Pentium 4 computers with 512mb of RAM weren't fast enough for word processing and internet research, I guess. :lol:

[JoeStrummer]

I agree that no vacations would turn kids into mindless well meaning robots who would do quite well in school. Not that I'd want to be one or anything. Same with the dress code, although I don't think one should ever be put into place, kids don't get bullied if they all look the same, kids who aren't bullied can't handle pressure later in life.

[Trefellin]

I found education very smothering and by fourth grade, my willingness and desire to learn was completely obliterated.

[taily]

And another thing we don't we have bussiness studies till GSCE?

Apoligies to my geography teacher but knowing how to sell, market, bargen, ect. will be a lot more useful in life then knowing about the lifes of tribes in the rainforest.

[Mosinmatt]

2. We have ropes courses in our field house. That must've cost at least $50k. And I bet the school has to pay a buttload for insurance. Most of the established sports teams have new equipment provided by the school and have to do little fund raising themselves. I am on the swim team and that's not how it went down for us. We had to raise around $4k on top of our fees to join to pay for buses, a pool, etc. We are a fraction of the size of other teams but we raised more than double what other sports raised. The school covers most of their costs.


My solution is to get rid of competitive sport teams in High School. You aren't there to play games, you are there to learn. Honestly, some people take High School football WAY to seriously here. If they cut out sports there would be a ton of money left to go around for meaningful things....like learning.

[taily]

^ Learning to play sports :facepalm:

P.E provides excerise, gets ride of restlessness, and frankly is just as valid as reciting the periodic table.

kids don't get bullied if they all look the same

Contry (yeah I can't spell today) to popular belief, Clothing and hair style ect. don't actually play a big part in bullying.

[DavenIII]

Sports teach you how to work as a team, something lacking in schools already.

I don't agree with cutting back there...and trust me...I'm all about cutting back on state and federal spending in general...I just don't think cutting back on school sports is a good idea....ontop of that it keeps kids active...and lord knows we have enough fat kids here.

[JoeStrummer]

He just can't play sports :P

Sure they do, I went through highschool, it was pretty apparent, at least to me

[DavenIII]

contrary (yeah I can't spell today) to popular belief, Clothing and hair style ect. don't actually play a big part in bullying.

True, its more about a kids confidence and self esteem then his clothing that gets them bullied.

[JoeStrummer]

I don't know why'd you say that. Cliques exist for a reason, and theres always going to be unrational hate between them all

[Mosinmatt]

^ Learning to play sports :facepalm:

P.E provides excerise, gets ride of restlessness, and frankly is just as valid as reciting the periodic table.



Contry (yeah I can't spell today) to popular belief, Clothing and hair style ect. don't actually play a big part in bullying.

I didn't say PE, I said competitive sports. Of course PE is important. But competitive sports are not.

[The Million Dollar Prons]

Bullying happens when you make your lunch money an easy target.

When I went to school this guy carried his money in a little pouch. His head had a fateful encoutner with the toilet bowl.

[DavenIII]

I don't know why'd you say that. Cliques exist for a reason, and theres always going to be unrational hate between them all

Personal Experience, I was Ska/punk Skater/Surfer Clothes in school and yet still got invited to Jock parties meanwhile I ate lunch with nerds and played Magic.

[DavenIII]

I didn't say PE, I said competitive sports. Of course PE is important. But competitive sports are not.

I disagree, America's Children need as much physical activity as possible...also...being on a losing team specifically teaches you humility...which is a good thing to know.

[JoeStrummer]

Ska? So you dressed in a suit in class?

So did I, but I mean it's still personal experience to know that all the cliques still judged each other on little things like that

[DavenIII]

Ska? So you dressed in a suit in class?

So did I, but I mean it's still personal experience to know that all the cliques still judged each other on little things like that

Nah..listened to Ska/punk, had a friend (close friend) who did wear a suit, but I wore mostly Pac Sun junk...REALLY baggy jeans (I looked ridiculous looking back)

Point was I didn't exactly fit in with some clicks with what I wore or listened to or did but still had many friends in them, didn't play any sports, was invited to keggers in the woods with the football and wrestling teams, was invited over for {Magic the Gathering} get togethers as well as going into the old abandoned Jr Highschool and smoking up with the druggies etc etc.

I guess Clicks are stronger at some schools then others.

[JoeStrummer]

That's probably all it is, as my highschool had maybe 300 kids in it total. If you weren't on the volleyball team, and I know how lame that sounds, than you weren't cool enough to be anywhere. I'd go anywhere since for some reason people liked me, kinda like how you describe it, but I knew a lot of kids that nobody hung out with. And I wore a suit in school. Ska's always been my bag man.

[DavenIII]

That's probably all it is, as my highschool had maybe 300 kids in it total. If you weren't on the volleyball team, and I know how lame that sounds, than you weren't cool enough to be anywhere. I'd go anywhere since for some reason people liked me, kinda like how you describe it, but I knew a lot of kids that nobody hung out with. And I wore a suit in school. Ska's always been my bag man.

I'm probably more weighted towards punk then ska, but I do like both and definitely like the combo the best.

but...you kinda prove my point, you wore a suit to school and yet people still wanted you to hang out, yet other kids...got ignored.

point is its the KID not the clothes he wears that make him popular or ignored....class uniforms would do nothing to change that...imho.

[The Million Dollar Prons]

Competitive sports are important when I was a kid I smoked all the chumps on the ping pong table.

[DavenIII]

Competitive sports are important when I was a kid I smoked all the chumps on the ping pong table.

I rocked Dodge Ball so hard I had people actually chanting my name from the sidelines.

[Meggles]

Meggles you're only a tenth grader? I thought you were much, much older.;)

Anyhow, my High School wasn't poor or anything but the only money it really put into sports were the Football and Basketball teams, everyone else pretty much raised money themselves. Luckily for me, running is probably the most least expensive sport out there, and we just had to pay for transportation (Coach buses usually, we frequently traveled out of state and school buses are so uncomfortable for long trips) and running shoes, really. The rest was supplied by mother nature.

Lol, yeah. I thought most people on here knew I was only 15. ;)

And yeah, the most popular sports at my school are the track teams (we have one for every season), about 100 people are on track each season. But for some reason we have these amazing tennis courts for our minuscule tennis teams (that never win!), a huge football stadium like area, and a field house which is big enough for the winter track team to practice in (in addition to our wooden gym). Oh, and we have a weight lifting room that average students use for 2 weeks in freshman year, then never see again. If you're on the football team, or are really into sports/working out you can use it though.

[The Million Dollar Prons]

I rocked Dodge Ball so hard I had people actually chanting my name from the sidelines.

Your name actually makes a good chant.
Da-VEN!
Da-VEN!
Da-VEN!

Yeah I'm going off topic in a thread that was advertising a blog.

[Meggles]

And btw, I'd like to add that I'm in favor of sports in schools as long as the school isn't dumping money onto the sports teams while laying off teachers. (which is the situation at my school right now)

[DavenIII]

Your name actually makes a good chant.
Da-VEN!
Da-VEN!
Da-VEN!

Yeah I'm going off topic in a thread that was advertising a blog.

heh...unfortunately that is not my real name, the Chant was my last name.

Frad-KIN
Frad-KIN
Frad-KIN

:P

[JoeStrummer]

Not so much, I mean it wasn't like they always liked me, I just made it that way. I mean there is still that initial approach to not liking somebody based only on what they look like

[Bernard_Monsha]

Two Words:

Shock Collars.

[The Million Dollar Prons]

Two words:

Those crazy exploding collars from that Battle Royale comic book.

[Meggles]

heh...unfortunately that is not my real name, the Chant was my last name.

Frad-KIN
Frad-KIN
Frad-KIN

:P

You should watch who you give your last name to on the internet.... O_o

But my last name would be good to cheer. It has two syllables. :D

[DavenIII]

You should watch who you give your last name to on the internet.... O_o

Meh, want my facebook? I freely give out personal info I got nothing to hide.

[Mosinmatt]

Nah..listened to Ska/punk, had a friend (close friend) who did wear a suit, but I wore mostly Pac Sun junk...REALLY baggy jeans (I looked ridiculous looking back)


Looking ridiculous is part of growing up though. Everyone looks back and says "Dear God I looked stupid."

[Meggles]

@DavenIII:Meh I was joking.

[Holy Knight]

Dear God, where to start ...? There's so much I hated, and still do about high school, that I'm not sure what points to address. So I'll try to keep this short.

My perspective is from the Quebec education system, but I think it can also apply to the American system.

- First, teachers are grossly underpaid. City bus drivers make more than them around here. It's also very difficult to fire bad teachers because of unions (which already have sickeningly high amounts of power over the government).

- The schools are underfunded at all levels. Just last year the UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal) underwent a 400 M$ financial crisis. Basic infrastructures are crumbling because the poorer schools haven't undergone renovations since the 80's or something.

- Not only are the schools underfunded, but new buildings are over-approved. The above UQAM example happened because of some mis-managed construction contracts. Politicians will dole out 70 M$ contracts fro high-tech buildings, but refuse to increase teacher pay.

- HS was a chore. I could have done all 5 years in 3. Not because I'm smart, but because they just didn't push us at all. Teaching was lax, and I never studied. Horrible waste of time.

- CEGEP is nice to have in-between HS and Uni, but that means you get in Uni when you're 20-22 years old, compared to 18-19 for the U.S. It's also a huge money drain.

- Increase tuition fees to the Canadian average. I pay ~1.5k in university fees, which is nothing. Since Uni's are starving for money, the least they could do is increase tuition to ~3.5k.

- Cut out the BS classes such as ethics, religion, geography, history, philosophy, etc. or just roll them up into other classes. What takes them years to teach you, I learned in a few months reading books, and knew more than they could teach. If they deviated from memorizing facts, and instead focused on general ideas, without making their retention an issue, it would make for much more interesting classes.

- School should be about preparing yourself for work, which it certainly does not do. You learn more in one month on the job than you do in a year of schooling. Huge discrepancy.

- Finally, I've observed students are smarter than given credit for. They just need to be given the appropriate skills, work ethic, knowledge, and support to succeed. This means smaller classes and more inter-personal relationships with the teacher, and more useful, practical courses. Math is cool and all, but has zero application in the large majority of jobs beyond the use of static formulas.

I could go on and on, but this should be sufficient. I really, really hate the current system, and I'd love to see it improved. All the department of education is doing here is making surveys and "reforms" that just worsen the situation because they make things more lax. Also, Quebec's drop rate is ~50% (meaning all drops up to completion of HS). So much wrong with the system it's not even funny.

EDIT: Okay, not as short as I'd hoped, but I'm not exaggerating current problems. It really is quite bad, though things still manage to chug along anyway. Maybe that's why the government is ignoring the problem.

[superplough]

High school was a complete waste of time for me

[waltsoph3]

:w00t: FINNALLY! Someone made a thread on this! I've waited a long long LONG time to give those "educators" a piece of my mind.

SO................what would i do to make school better.:shifty:

1. NO DRESS CODES!! I hate em! I had one during my last 2 years of HS. And it wasn't because the parents wanted it either. They did it behind the parents back.
Let students wear what they wanna wear I say as long as certain clothes don't go above a certain length. . Its important for students to just be themselves.

BTW...for any of you that say dress code clothes are cheaper you are full of it. I can shop smarter by going to a thrift shop or a dollar store and get more respectable clothes at a cheaper price. Also not having a dress code will make supervising much easier. Focus on the real trouble makers like fights,drugs, ect.

2. Recess and PE available in every school. For pete sake I can't believe some schools get rid of it. Its important that the students get a break and have some fun before going back in the class.

3. Focus funds on where they truly belong. Its not about making a school's appearance all bling blingy. Its about giving students the best education possible. Focus the funds on the real educational necessities. (books,supplies,computers, after school programs,teachers,nurses, nurse supplies to treat students ) Anything left after wards can go to fixing up the school itself or just save it up for next year.

4. Always make sure you have counselors and a nurse. There around for a reason. You never know when a student needs some help.

5. Police and Weapons control: Ensure the school has metal detectors with police on standby. No matter if its a student or an "unwelcome guest" the student and teachers safety is top priority. Too many people in schools get tragically killed over real frivolous reasons.

6. Try to find teachers with some flair and personality(not talking ppearance here) if possible. When i was in school I actually learned better from teachers that gave you a reason to learn. We need to make sure students will be ready for the real world.

7. In high school if theres a couple in a relationship for pete sake let em kiss when there not in class itself. Its love. Its just kissing. Sheesh.

8. Discipline. For one allow school corporal punishment as an option and only if you have the parents consent to allow it.

As far as it goes with the code of conduct book itself. Deal with it according to what is the appropriate lesson. Some may require just a warning, detention, suspension and others if need be expelled . Basically its decided by common sense here.

9. Make up classes: If students have personal problems ( like being sick, family emergency, ect) and can't make it back in time..allow them the opportunity to make it up.

10: This happened in my school. Yearbooks. We got the books the year after that school year.:(
Make sure year books are available by the end of that same school year so the students can sign them and wish there friends farewell.

11. Time: No year round school garbage. Have school start in September and have it end
in May(unless you have to make them up because of bad weather) School should start at 9:00am and try to end school at 2:30pm or 3:00pm. There would be holidays of course. :)

12. Homework: Do not over do it teachers! Keep it balanced. Give students a chance to relax in there homes and even allow them to go to sleep on time. Especially for kids. When i was in 3rd grade I had this teacher that just crammed us with homework. You were lucky to even get a chance to go outside to play..sometimes i kid you not..i was falling asleep at night to finish it! It was horrible. No kid should have to endure that.

13. Last but not least...rewards. Encourage fundraisers or better yet give the students a goal! If a class reaches a certain goal give them a reward! Also for teachers..they should be respectably rewarded for there time. If they do an amazing job give them a raise whenever you can. Happy teachers will help encourage students better as well.
(can you believe there is actually an organization that is willing to pay teachers to QUIT teaching forever! It was a story on CNN a while back. How horrible is that!? )

And now finally a word from your principle Mr. waltsoph3.

Oh look at the time. Its almost July here and I know some of you are out at the moment so the only thing i got to say to that is...(puts on some sunshades and pushed a button cuing the BGM song)
"SCHOOLS OUT FOR THE SUMMER!!"

Enjoy it while you can...it goes fast. Oh..and if you ever get the chance pick up Tiny Toon Adventures the movie :How i spent my summer vacation . I use to play that tape as a tradition to start off my summer vacation. Its a very satisfying experience. :lol:

[Spike]

I honestly think kids need to be held back a year if they don't do good enough in it and overall average for that grade because to many kids don't know what to really do in life when there given to much freedom to move on to the next grade. I also think a uniform is needed in schools because to many kids walk around with inappropriate clothing.

I really think schools need to add club activities because it helps make them learn what there good at in life and makes them make better career choices and also gives them experience in what club activity there doing for there future. I think the Japanese school system is in much better shape then our school system in Canada and the US. I come from Canada and think our school system sucks because to much money is being put into useless things and not being put to good use like it should be for schools.

[goddessofanime]

Nah..listened to Ska/punk, had a friend (close friend) who did wear a suit, but I wore mostly Pac Sun junk...REALLY baggy jeans (I looked ridiculous looking back)

Point was I didn't exactly fit in with some clicks with what I wore or listened to or did but still had many friends in them, didn't play any sports, was invited to keggers in the woods with the football and wrestling teams, was invited over for {Magic the Gathering} get togethers as well as going into the old abandoned Jr Highschool and smoking up with the druggies etc etc.

I guess Clicks are stronger at some schools then others.

I figured you to be a jock type in school. ^_^

I was in chorus (mostly because all of my friends were and it was a good excuse to get out of class) and had friends mostly in the music geek/stoner/metalhead cliques. I actually had a real bad experience with jocks.

There are many things that I agree with that have been already stated, but you are never seriously going to get rid of cliques and bullying.

Kids are bastards. They're going to flock to people that they know the most. And as for bullying..like I said...kids are bastards.

[Victory]

If schools used the teaching methods founded by philantropist L. Ron Hubbard, we wouldn't have a problem with students dropping out.Yes if schools used the methods of educationist L. Ron Hubbard all would be well.

[Trefellin]

7. In high school if theres a couple in a relationship for pete sake let em kiss when there not in class itself. Its love. Its just kissing. Sheesh.


That's not something that would be allowed in the workplace. Nobody will allow their employees sucking face in the break room. It's not appropriate for work, it's not appropriate for school either.

[JoeStrummer]

It's not only allowed in my workplace, but encouraged. Well not with co-workers I guess, but randoms. Not that kids want to be lifers in night clubs though. Teach Away.

[Shiroiyuki]

1. NO DRESS CODES!! I hate em! I had one during my last 2 years of HS. And it wasn't because the parents wanted it either. They did it behind the parents back.
Let students wear what they wanna wear I say as long as certain clothes don't go above a certain length. . Its important for students to just be themselves.
It's either all or nothing; you either integrate a dress code or you do not, but you cannot go around saying, 'Sure, we don't enforce a dress code but you can't wear skirts shorter than the knee' -- because that would be a dress code.

Waltsoph, students already get away with dressing uber-slutty under the current 'dress codes' schools vaguely enforce (and you want to demolish); free reign would mean belly shirts, tube tops, skanky low rise pants, lingerie, and microscopic skirts.


Um, no thanks.


BTW...for any of you that say dress code clothes are cheaper you are full of it.
Ahh, I think you are blurring the term 'dress code' with 'uniforms'. They are not the same thing.

You can have a dress code without enforcing uniforms. Dress codes are rules (e.g. no skirts/shorts above the knee, no sleeveless shirts, etc.) set up to act as guidelines dictating what children can and cannot wear while attending school. These dress codes may include a uniform, but not always.

Without a uniform, however, children already have a lot of leeway as long as they adhere to the basic rules.

Also not having a dress code will make supervising much easier. Focus on the real trouble makers like fights,drugs, ect.
Teen pregnancy...STD's...more cases of statutory rape....

Not having a dress code at all lets the inherent slut in all high school girls skank it up. Don't wish for that.

Police and Weapons control: Ensure the school has metal detectors with police on standby.

This would be viewed as unnecessary in a lot of schools, cumbersome, and way too costly to maintain.

High traffic, ghetto, or high-risk schools (say in Detroit or Chicago) are probably the only places these extremes are needed. Actually, a lot of schools in Detroit do have these precautions set up (or at least did the last time I was down there)...

In high school if theres a couple in a relationship for pete sake let em kiss when there not in class itself. Its love. Its just kissing. Sheesh.
Up here in them sticks we have one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in America. Girls as young as thirteen have babies, and many more think it is so cool to follow suit. They think it’s a great way to enjoy graduation – having their screaming four year old watching mommy from their grandparent’s arms.

That’s just sick.

How many of those unwed mothers and baby-daddy's do you think were 'just kissing'? Uh huh.

Some may require just a warning, detention, suspension and others if need be expelled . Basically its decided by common sense here.

A little while back there was a student expelled due to bringing 'weapons' onto school grounds. Turned out to just be a paintball gun he was gonna take to a friend's house later that day, but the punishment was just as severe as if he'd threatened someone.

He was suspended/expelled until the next school year. It was determined he never intended on using it on school grounds/harming another student. But they still suspended him.

Why?

Because once a school sets up a punishment system (weapons = 180 day expulsion, etc.), to undermine that system based on individual cases would weaken the power they have over the student body in general. If they would’ve slapped the kid's wrist and suspended him for a week, that would tell other students that using the 'I was only gonna take it to Justin's house, honest' defense would protect them in the event of committing an actual crime.


Make up classes: If students have personal problems ( like being sick, family emergency, ect) and can't make it back in time..allow them the opportunity to make it up.

Most schools do this already. But the student needs to be responsible for himself and either set it up in advance (in the event of a planned absence -- like for an out of state wedding) or get with the principal/teacher afterwards to catch up on late work.

Most teachers understand if a real emergency is going on.

When my mother passed away no one expected us three kids to complete our assignments on time, turn in homework, come to class. Hell, they worked with my brother (who totally milked it by the way) for YEARS afterwards (six in fact) even though he had to repeat his Junior/Senior year twice because he failed to turn in homework, study, and show up for class. There was nothing wrong with him that a good whipping wouldn't solve, but they took pity on him and babied him, and let him get away with a LOT of things that other students would be expelled over.

If you have a real problem and talk to your teachers, usually they are willing to work with you. But as for setting up actual make-up classes so students can catch up -- I don't see that happening.

1. You'd have students starting back up at several different intervals, depending on where they were in the original class when they had to take time off, which would either slow down the progress of those more advanced, or put a lot of pressure on those far behind.

2. Depending on the student volume, this 'make-up class' could be made up of anywhere from 10 -100 students, especially if they know ahead of time that they can skip, make up any excuse, and have another shot at getting credit anyway. Slackers are born everyday.

3. There’s already this neat thing called ‘summer school’ which basically already does this.

This happened in my school. Yearbooks. We got the books the year after that school year.:(
Make sure year books are available by the end of that same school year so the students can sign them and wish there friends farewell.

Those books require time to print. The review process is lengthy and depending on the size can take several months to complete. Someone has to take and sort all the pictures, crop them, add them, make backgrounds for pages, add text, go through and make sure all names/spelling are correct, add interest pages, etc.

We had an actual yearbook staff at my high school, and the class of thirty took two months + to create a final draft suitable for printing. And after all that it was still ugly.

Homework: Do not over do it teachers! Keep it balanced. Give students a chance to relax in there homes and even allow them to go to sleep on time.

Doing #1-30, odds only, does not take that freakin' long to complete -- even if it is a serious study-course. Children have no sense of time management and will sit in front of the TV/computer or go play for HOURS and then scramble to get their homework done at the last second, complain that it takes too long, blame the teachers for giving them so much homework, fall asleep, and end up not finishing.

This is not the teacher's fault. It is the student’s responsibility and if they choose to procrastinate, then perhaps their parents should step in and limit their play time until they can better manage their time.
Teachers should not ease up and contribute to the ever-decreasing ability to function today's children display. It's disgusting how retarded some kids can be.

The other day I was buying groceries and the kid behind the counter accidently hit '$20.00' on his screen instead of 'exact cash'. He seriously SERIOUSLY couldn't figure out what he owed me, even though I kept telling him it was...exact cash. He didn't owe me anything. He really really wanted to give me a five back anyway :lol:

I walked out feeling very depressed.

[Mosinmatt]

Walt...you sound like a whiny High School kid....When you get a little older, you will LOVE the times that the kids are in school.
I cant stand summer here, cause the idiot kids are loose.

[Leader Desslock]

And now finally a word from your principle Mr. waltsoph3.
And that word is clearly not "spelling". Perhaps it should be "homonym". It's definitely "irony". :lol:

[JoeStrummer]

It doesn't matter what a slutty girls going to wear, on the weekends she's still going to get pregnant. I grew up in a hillbilly small town as well, and mini skirts didn't determine who had STD's, maybe it's just cause our town is the pregnancy capital of Alberta...

[animefan88]

Become MUCH more strict! Teach those children some discipline which, from my experience, is severely lacking.

[Trefellin]

Become MUCH more strict! Teach those children some discipline which, from my experience, is severely lacking.

In my experience, the "learn or die!" types of teachers are the ones that students care the least about listening to.

-Great wall-o-text-


That's basically everything I thought about Walt's post but I didn't want to put the effort into addressing each point.

[DavenIII]

It doesn't matter what a slutty girls going to wear, on the weekends she's still going to get pregnant. I grew up in a hillbilly small town as well, and mini skirts didn't determine who had STD's, maybe it's just cause our town is the pregnancy capital of Alberta...

Congrats...you just stole my sig from Prons

[Caster13]

High school sucks. The only people who actually enjoy high school cruise through on their parents money, good looks, and athletic ability.

And after high school or maybe college reality bites them in the *** and they're not able to cope and end up working a crap job and paying child support.

Ok got that off of my shoulders.^_^

[Bernard_Monsha]

Become MUCH more strict! Teach those children some discipline which, from my experience, is severely lacking.

I think that is impossible at this point. 10 years ago it may have made a difference because kids did things like camp, go to church, join groups like the boy scouts, girl scouts, 4h. One time kids actually had some sense of direction and purpose. Now it's all about bad habits and butt luvin.

[waltsoph3]

Ouch. :( Some of you make it sound like every student in every school is gonna do all that bad stuff. I didn't turn out that way growing up.
Isn't that kind of the problem with the way things are today..not giving kids and teens enough trust and faith? I feel its important to give them that chance to earn it.

Besides some things can't be and shouldn't controlled by the school when it comes to a students personal progress. Some things need to be discussed with at home. its the parent's job to do what they can as well.

@ Shiroiyuki

@ the dress code comment.
Opps..i guess i wasn't being to descriptive there. Not bad.lol Sorry about that.
:lol: Of course i want to make sure students go to school dressed head to toe. I also did say as long as certain clothes don't go above a certain length.( so yeah no belly stuff.)
Make sure there at least decently dressed, but still give em some freedom too. Life is too short let em live it.

@ the kissing thing..thats what I meant it as only..a kiss. To me a kiss is an innocent way to express love. Holding hands is fine to. I don't see any harm in that.
Anything else that regards intimate contact in school grounds wouldn't be tolerated one bit.

@homework..believe me sometimes teacher DO give out too much homework in 1 day. Thats how it was in some of my schools. Lets be realistic. One very important thing that students need is to be able to perform 100%. In my later years of school i had to be at school before 7:30am in the morning for the first bell. :mad: Man..that sucked.

Anyways students shouldn't be feeling fatigued . They should be well rested. I hate homework but it was necessary. I didn't say no homework at all. I just believe if a teacher balances the homework..they still will learn what they need to.
Say..speaking of your little money counting mishap..do you personally know the kid counting your change? If not..could it be possible that what i just talked about be a reason why he couldn't function properly that day? I'm just curious thats all.

@ the paintball gun..wow that is a bit extreme.:(
A suspension would have been suffice. If it was a real gun then yeah expelling the person would be the wise choice.

@ weapons control and police
I feel its necessary to have to help prevent unfortunate scenarios like what happened at columbine. :(
Also my enforcement wasn't meant for just students it was meant as a way to protect the school from outside intruders. Its just a precaution. You never know. Better safe then sorry in my book here. lol

In closing..to me the most important thing to do is to make sure that students have a great school experience. You never know one day that student may teach. Anythings possible. lol

[Leader Desslock]

Isn't that kind of the problem with the way things are today..not giving kids and teens enough trust and faith? I feel its important to give them that chance to earn it.
But you're talking about two things, there. "Giving kids trust and faith" is not the same thing as "Giving kids the chance to earn trust and faith".

Schools should allow kids to earn privileges through results. "You perform at X level, you earn privilege X". That should be made clear, and the kids should be held to a performance standard. "Faith and trust" have nothing to do with it; "Perform or live the school life of a non-performer" should be as far as it goes.

@ the kissing thing..thats what I meant it as only..a kiss. To me a kiss is an innocent way to express love.
It's a school, not a cheap hotel. The kids are there to learn. If they want to express love, they can do it on their own time, off school grounds.

Part of what kids are there to learn is appropriate social behavior. In my book, a PDA should earn a revocation of all earned privileges until the parents can be contacted and notified that they need to have a chat with their kids regarding appropriate school behaviour. Period. No exception because he's the head of the football team and it's the day before the state finals.

@homework..believe me sometimes teacher DO give out too much homework in 1 day. Thats how it was in some of my schools. Lets be realistic.
Yes. Let's be realistic. Realistically, kids need to learn how to perform and produce results in the real world, be it the working world or college. No matter how much homework is assigned in high school it's a drop in the bucket compared to what a kid's gonna get assigned in college. Teaching him to budget his personal time, balance priorities and get a lot of work done in high school is doing any college-bound kid a huge favor. And you know what? Those skills are awfully handy in the real world as well.

Kids need to be taught how to take their jobs seriously, and as long as they're in school, their job is to learn.

One very important thing that students need is to be able to perform 100%.
Yes. And holding them to a standard where they're only expected to perform 20% isn't a way to teach them how to do that.

In my later years of school i had to be at school before 7:30am in the morning for the first bell. :mad: Man..that sucked.
So? That's pretty standard. Try waiting outside for that 7:00am bus at 30 below zero, and I might have sympathy.

Anyways students shouldn't be feeling fatigued . They should be well rested.
If they're not feeling fatigued, they're not trying. And since budgeting their time such that they get the rest they need is part of what they need to learn, a school isn't doing them any favors by making their school life a cakewalk.

[Jae Hoon]

I think most people have forgot that people go to school to learn. If going to school and not having these extended vacations make kids a robot, then we have much bigger issues on how we view things. There are still after school activities, holidays off, weekends off and plenty of off time to socialize. We as people are just conditioned to believe whatever society tells us and don't really want to sit and question why.

I can tell you from my own experience the reason I quit trying in school is because I wasn't feeling challenge. Everything was to easy and there was no emphasis on having kids learned. The only emphasis is getting kids through the meat grinder.

I can agree with Desslock's basically good behavior benefits.

A slight amendment to the Uniforms thing. I believe you should give kids a sort of option. They are allowed to wear regular clothes as long as they are appropriate and they do not try to cross the line with it. The minute they do you have to show you are serious. At least then you give kids an opportunity to try to behave and show them their are consequences to their actions if they decide to push the line.

[Rurouni Saiyan]

My mom's a teacher and she can tell horror stories for days. A lot of people would say to base a teacher's pay grade according to class performance. Well, what if the people, courtesy of 'no child left behind', were saddled with the idiots that don't want to learn and should be booted out of the school system in the first place? It would be unfair to the teachers who are actually trying to teach. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. It would be better to take the idiots that don't want to learn and just boot them. Lord knows I had to deal with them when I was in school.

On the same tangent about no child left behind, there was an old piece of wisdom that I came across one day: "hail the best, ignore the stupid." Mental deficiencies aside, if this system was enacted, it would make a stronger group as everyone would fight for top spot, rather than go the no one left behind route, which only helps the leeches. However, I digress.

I remember my mom telling me that if the pay grade/student performance route was taken, she'd be in the poorhouse. I really can't offer any other solutions than what I gave above, but to punish teachers who actually give a damn because of idiots that have no business being in the classroom in the first place is a bit harsh, to say the least.

[Jae Hoon]

I still do not see why you can not do teachers by performance. The argument against it really makes no sense. In pretty much every other job that is how you are rated. Obviously if a teacher has crap kids it will be taken into effect, a school knows who the crap kids are.

[Rurouni Saiyan]

I still do not see why you can not do teachers by performance. The argument against it really makes no sense. In pretty much every other job that is how you are rated. Obviously if a teacher has crap kids it will be taken into effect, a school knows who the crap kids are.

Yeah, but even if the school knows who the crap kids are, teacher still get lumped with them. From that point, there's nothing that the teacher can do that should already be reinforced from home. Teachers are basically getting penalized for being stuck with crap students, as though the school expects some sort of miracle.

[Jia]

If schools used the teaching methods founded by philantropist L. Ron Hubbard, we wouldn't have a problem with students dropping out.

No lol. They make them work in the real work and not go to school :)



Personally I think the school system here (public wise) has gone down the toilet. I liked it better when I went to a private school.

The kind of education is half assed. The teachers (well the ones I've had) didn't really care about us getting an education most of the time they left and went and smoked.

I had the problem of being really unchallenged with the school work, pretty much in a class with students who didn't care/weren't capable of the work we got. (My ESL class being a main one).

Kids really need to understand the importance of good grades or getting a job in the real world and less focus on sports...because let's face it. It's a very low chance of getting famous or rich or whatever.

I think that bullying is also something that is really really bad in schools. Kids can't exactly learn in a bad environment and kids need to learn that the behaviour is not good.

Dress codes recently got changed again - they should have done it a long time ago. We've always had to wear a uniform so I see no point in complaining about it...except the costs.

[Jae Hoon]

Yeah, but even if the school knows who the crap kids are, teacher still get lumped with them. From that point, there's nothing that the teacher can do that should already be reinforced from home. Teachers are basically getting penalized for being stuck with crap students, as though the school expects some sort of miracle.

Again they know who the crap kids are. Look we have upwards of a 50 percent dropout/failure rate in alot of schools. In almost every country that has a good school program the teachers are graded by their performance. This is not a coincidence. Teachers in the US sorry to say are used to having it easy and not having to care about whether they are effective or not.

[grgspunk]

The city schools often represent some of the worst in the educational system in this country--It isn't that there aren't enough schools in the country, it's that there aren't enough schools in the right places and the system itself is messed up. In cities, where the schools tend to perform a lot worse, you hear issues of overcrowding as well as having a higher portion of seriously violent and messed-up students in a single classroom, right?

The problem is that most of the time, parents are required to send their kids to schools in the same district/city they live in. The educational systems in urban areas are at a distinct disadvantage because of this--Since there's a lot more kids as well as a bunch more messed up kids in the city, and their parents are limited to the schools in their city, the city schools are forced to teach a dispoportionate amount of students, they're stretched beyond their fiscal limits, and they bear the brunt of most types of school-related violence due to their high concentration of problem students. This problem gets even worse if a high-population city/district has only one school. If parents could choose to send their child to public a school outside of their district, it would diffuse the student population density of the urban schools and have a lower chance of having a large amount of problem students concentrated in one place (Problem students, like looters, tend to feel the most comfort in doing crap if everyone else is doing it). Furthermore, it would give incentive for schools to actually compete for students--If a parent could avoid sending a child to a school in their own district (even if it's the only one), then that means if that school has a bad reputation, they would lose students and they'd be forced to shut down.

Not to mention, those schools seriously need to cut down on the PE and actually allocate some money into academics. Really, how the hell is an olympic-sized swimming pool (http://myrthapoolsusa.com/news/press/NewsArticlesandPress/a-pool-for-carmel-high.php) going to help students get better grades?

[Jae Hoon]

That is why I said zoning restrictions need to go, there should be an option of what school someone wants to go to.

[Shiroiyuki]

:lol: Of course i want to make sure students go to school dressed head to toe. I also did say as long as certain clothes don't go above a certain length.( so yeah no belly stuff.)
Make sure there at least decently dressed...

Then you'd be applying a dress code.


You can't say 'anything goes' and then stop every girl with a mini skirt and tube top, on the grounds that 'short skirts/belly shirts aren't allowed'. That would be a contradiction.

Either have a dress code or don't have one, it is that simple. Right now you seem to want one without actually having one which isn't possible.
To me a kiss is an innocent way to express love. Holding hands is fine to.

Where the heck did you go to school? Nebraska?

Up here we've got groping, tongues, kissing on other parts of the body (hickies ensue!), and all sorts of inappropriate behavior going on.

Innocently holding hands and stealing love-struck glances while the preacher tells everyone about Mrs. Dewey's recent work with the blind hasn't been 'cool' for almost fifty years.

@homework..believe me sometimes teacher DO give out too much homework in 1 day. Thats how it was in some of my schools.
The most homework I've ever gotten in a single day (in high school mind you), when balanced and managed properly, only took about two hours to complete.

In middle school? Probably more like a half an hour's worth.

Your child gets home at 3 pm from middle school. He goes to bed at 9:30 pm. He's got 5 or so hours to finish the half hour worth of homework.

This should be no problem.

Your child gets home at 3pm from high school. He goes to bed whenever the hell he pleases, mostly after 11pm. He's got a lot more time to complete that homework.

This should be no problem.


It's because children have no time management skills that they think they're being burdened with ungodly amounts of homework. Broken down into reasonable terms it really isn't that much.

One very important thing that students need is to be able to perform 100%.

Perform 100% doing what? Obviously not homework/school work.

Playtime comes after finishing your homework. No excuses.

Anyways students shouldn't be feeling fatigued .

Homework isn't to blame for this. It's poor time management skills combined with TV/Computer/Playtime/Procrastination/Going to bed late that represents the largest cut of the pie.

I just believe if a teacher balances the homework..they still will learn what they need to.

So how does a teacher do this exactly? Call each student and find out the average time one wants to allot to homework?

Hells no.

The first time a child finds out you are willing to cater to them in the event of bad behavior (like offering a child sweets in the grocery store so they'll stop screaming) you are TEACHING THEM that misbehaving and being lazy are going to be rewarded, so they'll continue slacking off and acting up.

Never ever show weakness.

Teachers have their own agendas they need to follow, set up by the school board. They give homework so students learn and follow along at a reasonable rate.

If one student decides that they can't possibly balance homework with their girlfriend, Friday Night Magic tournaments, and air hockey at Brian's house until 11:30 at night, are you saying the teacher must destroy his entire tried-and-true game plan for this one lazy procrastinator?

If not..could it be possible that what i just talked about be a reason why he couldn't function properly that day?

Probably not, seeing as school is out for the season.

I'm thinking it's more he's just one of a thousand uneducated lazy students with a low IQ who spend more time playing with their friends than making something of themselves.


@ the paintball gun..wow that is a bit extreme.:(
A suspension would have been suffice. If it was a real gun then yeah expelling the person would be the wise choice.

Paintball guns can still hurt people, they are still a weapon.

And like I've said, they made an example out of him to prevent worse cases from arising down the road. Lack of authority is a terrible thing to witness in regards to a school.

Weapons control and police
I feel its necessary to have to help prevent unfortunate scenarios like what happened at columbine. :(
Also my enforcement wasn't meant for just students it was meant as a way to protect the school from outside intruders. Its just a precaution. You never know. Better safe then sorry in my book here. lol

And what happens when some pissed off parent thinks it is an invasion of their children's privacy to be monitored so closely for no reason, and sues the school for unnecessary force?

When I used to live close to Detroit we'd have random drug sweeps, where the cops would bring in their dogs and go up and down the hallways to search lockers. You can't imagine the kind of violent protesting parents would do, even though 'it was just a precaution, and meant for the child's own good'.

So? That's pretty standard. Try waiting outside for that 7:00am bus at 30 below zero, and I might have sympathy

Try 6:30 in the below zero cold, with windchills and freezing rain. Then people would drive down the dirt road way too fast and kick up sleet and **** even though three children were standing at the bottom of the driveway (our 110 foot driveway, unpaved).

We were one of the first to be picked up on the long-*** bus route. Rural communities, gotta love that.

[Moon009]

High school sucks. The only people who actually enjoy high school cruise through on their parents money, good looks, and athletic ability.

And after high school or maybe college reality bites them in the *** and they're not able to cope and end up working a crap job and paying child support.

Ok got that off of my shoulders.^_^

Though it may seem like it that's not entirely true. Usually the people who enjoy school are the ones that want to get an education. Good looks and money have nothing to do with it. Yes its portrayed on television like it is, but its not. I'm not the best looking and I'm not rich, I just like school because I learn things, point blank. Athletic ability I would agree on since colleges are offering athletic scholarships for high school players which I think is just really stupid. And I'm not saying this because I suck at sports either. Its just that many high school sports players think they can get by barely passing and still make it to college with a sports scholarship.

[loplop]

First thing MORE SPENDING IS NOT THE ANSWER

Throwing money at it has not done anything.

1. Give every parent a school voucher, first it is actually cheaper using the voucher system for the Gov then it is the current one they use. This will force schools to give a **** and gives kids a better chance of going to a good school. Yes that means zoning restrictions are gone.

2. Get rid of the teachers union, it is a blood sucking vampire at this point. So many bad teachers they can not get rid of. Also teachers need to be paid for performance, the better the teacher the higher the pay.

3. Starting with about 9th grade school needs to be setup like work. Monday through Friday from 8-4, no summer vacation, no spring break, no winter vacation, no vacation vacation. Let them actually get set up for more of a real life work schedule.

4. School Uniforms, they actually do help and makes kids realize alot of jobs do indeed have dress codes.

I couldn't agree with this more. 1, 2 & 4 are things I've said myself for a long time. Especially number 2. The average teacher's salary in the area where I live is $67,727 (taken straight from their website) with the average teacher having been in the classroom for 13 years. However, the teacher's union thinks that's not enough still. Considering the average income per capita for the area is ~$41,000 that notion is just whacked. The teacher's union is threatening to strike if it's demands are not met. I can really see there concern about education here, not. There is a proposal in Ohio to have teacher's salaries controlled by the state with state mandated pay levels depending on experience and testing performance ratings. Needless to say, it's being fought by the teacher's union. . . .

As far as number 3, I think that would be a good idea from the business person side of me. Working in H/R, I see a lot people who are looking for work that have no idea of what a real working schedule is like, and that is from College graduates even.

Several people in this thread have made comments about sports in school. I for one happen to be all for it. There is a lot of things about life I learned from playing sports (football & hockey) in school growing up. One was working within a team for a common goal. That applies to almost any situation in life. Another is the fact that you always need to put your best effort forth all the time to be able to succeed. While I don't think money should be taken from the classroom for it, I still see varsity sports as a very necessary part of school.

[Trefellin]

I still do not see why you can not do teachers by performance. The argument against it really makes no sense. In pretty much every other job that is how you are rated. Obviously if a teacher has crap kids it will be taken into effect, a school knows who the crap kids are.

A teacher can't make a student successful, they can only help. How the hell to you grade pay on student marks with consideration regarding student motivation and ability? What kind of bloated, expensive, ****ed up system would that be?


Up here we've got groping, tongues, kissing on other parts of the body (hickies ensue!), and all sorts of inappropriate behavior going on.

Innocently holding hands and stealing love-struck glances while the preacher tells everyone about Mrs. Dewey's recent work with the blind hasn't been 'cool' for almost fifty years.

I was once suspended after telling a girl that she was the "keenest little lady in the entire school." They made it clear that they aren't going to tolerate sexual advances...

In my school board, there was a handful of incidents involving students having sex in stairwells.

[waltsoph3]

:( seriously..some of you guys call me mr. apocalypses ? You know whats funny about all of this people always complained that i take things too serious growing up. That i needed to lighten up..they were right.

Kids/teens shouldn't be treated like robots 24/7. It never hurts to lighten up every now and then.
but thats just my opinion.

[taily]

:w00t: FINNALLY! Someone made a thread on this! I've waited a long long LONG time to give those "educators" a piece of my mind.

SO................what would i do to make school better.:shifty:

1. NO DRESS CODES!! I hate em! I had one during my last 2 years of HS. And it wasn't because the parents wanted it either. They did it behind the parents back.
Let students wear what they wanna wear I say as long as certain clothes don't go above a certain length. . Its important for students to just be themselves.

BTW...for any of you that say dress code clothes are cheaper you are full of it. I can shop smarter by going to a thrift shop or a dollar store and get more respectable clothes at a cheaper price. Also not having a dress code will make supervising much easier. Focus on the real trouble makers like fights,drugs, ect.

2. Recess and PE available in every school. For pete sake I can't believe some schools get rid of it. Its important that the students get a break and have some fun before going back in the class.

3. Focus funds on where they truly belong. Its not about making a school's appearance all bling blingy. Its about giving students the best education possible. Focus the funds on the real educational necessities. (books,supplies,computers, after school programs,teachers,nurses, nurse supplies to treat students ) Anything left after wards can go to fixing up the school itself or just save it up for next year.

4. Always make sure you have counselors and a nurse. There around for a reason. You never know when a student needs some help.

5. Police and Weapons control: Ensure the school has metal detectors with police on standby. No matter if its a student or an "unwelcome guest" the student and teachers safety is top priority. Too many people in schools get tragically killed over real frivolous reasons.

6. Try to find teachers with some flair and personality(not talking ppearance here) if possible. When i was in school I actually learned better from teachers that gave you a reason to learn. We need to make sure students will be ready for the real world.

7. In high school if theres a couple in a relationship for pete sake let em kiss when there not in class itself. Its love. Its just kissing. Sheesh.

8. Discipline. For one allow school corporal punishment as an option and only if you have the parents consent to allow it.

As far as it goes with the code of conduct book itself. Deal with it according to what is the appropriate lesson. Some may require just a warning, detention, suspension and others if need be expelled . Basically its decided by common sense here.

9. Make up classes: If students have personal problems ( like being sick, family emergency, ect) and can't make it back in time..allow them the opportunity to make it up.

10: This happened in my school. Yearbooks. We got the books the year after that school year.:(
Make sure year books are available by the end of that same school year so the students can sign them and wish there friends farewell.

11. Time: No year round school garbage. Have school start in September and have it end
in May(unless you have to make them up because of bad weather) School should start at 9:00am and try to end school at 2:30pm or 3:00pm. There would be holidays of course. :)

12. Homework: Do not over do it teachers! Keep it balanced. Give students a chance to relax in there homes and even allow them to go to sleep on time. Especially for kids. When i was in 3rd grade I had this teacher that just crammed us with homework. You were lucky to even get a chance to go outside to play..sometimes i kid you not..i was falling asleep at night to finish it! It was horrible. No kid should have to endure that.

13. Last but not least...rewards. Encourage fundraisers or better yet give the students a goal! If a class reaches a certain goal give them a reward! Also for teachers..they should be respectably rewarded for there time. If they do an amazing job give them a raise whenever you can. Happy teachers will help encourage students better as well.
(can you believe there is actually an organization that is willing to pay teachers to QUIT teaching forever! It was a story on CNN a while back. How horrible is that!? )

And now finally a word from your principle Mr. waltsoph3.

Oh look at the time. Its almost July here and I know some of you are out at the moment so the only thing i got to say to that is...(puts on some sunshades and pushed a button cuing the BGM song)
"SCHOOLS OUT FOR THE SUMMER!!"

Enjoy it while you can...it goes fast. Oh..and if you ever get the chance pick up Tiny Toon Adventures the movie :How i spent my summer vacation . I use to play that tape as a tradition to start off my summer vacation. Its a very satisfying experience. :lol:

Best post so far.

[Bernard_Monsha]

Teachers in the US sorry to say are used to having it easy and not having to care about whether they are effective or not.

How does it go? Those who cannot do teach, those who cannot teach administrate, those who cannot administrate legislate.



:( seriously..some of you guys call me mr. apocalypses ?

I have not. I do question your choice of avatar though.

[Trefellin]

I have not. I do question your choice of avatar though.

It is horrible, isn't it?

[waltsoph3]

I have not. I do question your choice of avatar though.

Oh that lol. Thats just a temp one. I'll change my avatar next week. Lol I actually drew this and colored it a while back when I was just getting started with drawing anime stuff. It also wasn't my best work either. lol I've really improved since then. I just thought this week i would try to show some animated expression. lol

@ taily

Thanks man! I appricate that. :)

[Leader Desslock]

Kids/teens shouldn't be treated like robots 24/7. It never hurts to lighten up every now and then.
It never hurts to lighten up within a well-defined structure, I'll agree. But kids need structure, and learning how to operate within a social structure is an important life/vocational skill.

Don't forget - some of us lived through all that new-age, touchy-feely, hippie school crappiculum. And we know from personal experience that it didn't improve schools, nor did it serve the students in those schools' charge.

What it did was reduce our educational system from one that could put a man on the moon to one that would never get the project off the ground because they'd be mired in a discussion of whether the Lunar Module's color scheme adequately reflects the multicultural values of the mission team. Then they'd outsource the project to India, and the Moon Lander wouldn't land on the actual Moon, but there's be someone in tech support telling us why we shouldn't have wanted to land on the moon in the first place.

Now we've got No Child Left Behind. That's not what we need. What we need is a new national educational plan called Leave The Stupid Kids Behind, So That They Don't Slow Down The Ones Who Know What They're Doing. But that plan implies that some kids are better than others (gasp!) so it'll never be approved.

[Trefellin]

Now we've got No Child Left Behind. That's not what we need. What we need is a new national educational plan called Leave The Stupid Kids Behind, So That They Don't Slow Down The Ones Who Know What They're Doing. But that plan implies that some kids are better than others (gasp!) so it'll never be approved.

Perhaps an option between academic or vocational schooling in high school, like in some European countries, would be most effective. "You Go That Way And You... Yes, You Stupid, You Go That Way... No, To Your Left... :facepalm: No, Your Other Left" is probably better than both "No Child Left Behind" or "Stupid Kids Left Behind."

If America's social infrastructure is really that bad, they should rip off other people's ideas. Copy Finland's education system, France's health-care system and Canada's methods of political violence.

[Bernard_Monsha]

Now we've got No Child Left Behind. That's not what we need. What we need is a new national educational plan called Leave The Stupid Kids Behind, So That They Don't Slow Down The Ones Who Know What They're Doing. But that plan implies that some kids are better than others (gasp!) so it'll never be approved.

If it did not say national I would support this.

[Tom Servo]

How can schools be better?
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l37/Corporeal/a79ac097.jpg

[CrossboneGundam]

I find it hilarious that waltsoph is all "NO DRESS CODES!!!111" after posting a weekly Glenn Beck-inspired thread for the past few months.

3. Starting with about 9th grade school needs to be setup like work. Monday through Friday from 8-4, no summer vacation, no spring break, no winter vacation, no vacation vacation. Let them actually get set up for more of a real life work schedule.

Quantity =/= quality. Isn't that the point you were trying to make by saying spending is not the answer?

And the sorts of jobs recent high school graduates immediately to qualify for don't exactly demand a lot of mental exercise, unlike learning (assuming they're getting a decent education to begin with,) how exactly is wasting extra time (and paying extra money to keep those teachers blabbing for four extra hours a day) going to be beneficial in terms of education or cost-cutting?

Nobody's railing against a crisis of high school graduates being lazy slackers because high school didn't prepare them for full-time work. Aside from you.

[animeotaku99]

Here is my idea, and I know some won't like it:
High School and Colleges should not get 3 months off in summer. They are grwoing into adults and need to learn that there is no magic time of year where you don't have to work (unless you're a teacher, lol)
My college, a small private one, had school year round but you usually got a month off between semesters

[The Million Dollar Prons]

I find it hilarious that waltsoph is all "NO DRESS CODES!!!111" after posting a weekly Glenn Beck-inspired thread for the past few months.
.

I think walter is confusing dress codes with mandated school uniforms.

[Trefellin]

Quantity =/= quality. Isn't that the point you were trying to make by saying spending is not the answer?

And the sorts of jobs recent high school graduates immediately to qualify for don't exactly demand a lot of mental exercise, unlike learning (assuming they're getting a decent education to begin with,) how exactly is wasting extra time (and paying extra money to keep those teachers blabbing for four extra hours a day) going to be beneficial in terms of education or cost-cutting?

Nobody's railing against a crisis of high school graduates being lazy slackers because high school didn't prepare them for full-time work. Aside from you.

I'll have to agree with this.

[Jae Hoon]

A teacher can't make a student successful, they can only help. How the hell to you grade pay on student marks with consideration regarding student motivation and ability? What kind of bloated, expensive, ****ed up system would that be?



I was once suspended after telling a girl that she was the "keenest little lady in the entire school." They made it clear that they aren't going to tolerate sexual advances...

In my school board, there was a handful of incidents involving students having sex in stairwells.

One that has proven to work everywhere it has been used.

[Meggles]

I'm sad that everyone thinks that taking away summer vacation (and all holidays in some cases) is going to make schools better. Making school longer isn't going to fix the problems in school. If anything, it will make students more stressed out and it gives us nothing to work toward. When you have a job, you work toward your paycheck. When you're at school, you tell yourself, "Once I get this essay done, it'll be smooth sailing until Winter Break." "Once I finish these exams its summer." Vacations are our payoff for doing all this schoolwork.

Also, we only get 2 months off in the summer, not 3. My school lets out at the end of June and resumes at the beginning of September. Many students don't sit around during the summer. They get summer jobs, they work on summer schoolwork (My AP history class assigned a buttload of work this summer, which I need to complete by the first day of school), and people's parents also consider "summer vacation" to mean "free labor for anything and everything that crosses your mind".

School isn't like a business. Sure, it would prepare us for the real world if it was, but teenagers are too selfish to see it that way. If you send us to school without vacations, we won't want to be there, and if you don't want to be in school, chances are you won't be learning much there. If you make us go to school all the time, we'll get stressed out, we'll get bored, and some people will probably get destructive or violent (that's not a threat, that's a promise).