[TheTrunch]

Long, but I would really love your feedback, please.

I'm retired one year now and it's mind boggling to see what "they" expect from teachers today vs. when I started teaching in 1985.

Honestly, comparing my district's students during my last few years to the students in my first few years ... it seems like the same achievement level. Actually lower in math.

Here in California, the governor has signed into law not allowing suspension for willful defiance. In reality, the schools have been doing that for the past few years anyway. (Ever since the Dear Colleague letters sent out in Pres. Obama's time.)

You know Pres. Bush (Jr.) started that testing with NCLB and teachers were hopeful when Pres. Obama came in, but he doubled down with the Race to the Top.

So, my teachers' association always pushed for salary, but they (and the CTA) always marched Lock Step with the government's testing and discipline and methods. I always felt betrayed that they didn't fight for the children.

Anyway, What would you hope a president would do with all this testing and teaching to the test and No Discipline?

[hiker1]

Go back to discipline. Peer jurys with teachers as well as students. Have the students who misbehave do some type of community service ( like cleaning in and around the schools). They can't come back until service hours are complete. As for NCLB and Common Core, we should get rid of it and go back to how we taught/were taught in the 70's and 80's. That entire generation survived and landed good jobs.

Stop making it daycare. Let's start holding parents accountable for finding a place to house their kids before and after school, giving them food, bringing them in clean and rested, keep them home when they're sick, and discipline them. Let's start holding parents accountable. Start fining them. Threaten them with jail. It's come to that.

[desert flower]

Hiker1, I agree with you 100%!

[MissAgnes]

We need to scrap the primary curriculums, and go back to developmentally appropriate education, especially for K-1. Jamming direct instruction down little kids' throats is NOT helping them learn to read. Kindergarten should go back to learning social skills, letters, and counting. Because that's what 5 year old brains are developmentally ready for. Not finding the main topic of a paragraph!

Go back and fix the individuals with disabilities in education act. Make it harder for parents to sue over every little thing while still protecting rights of disabled children. A bill of rights for all students wouldn't hurt either. Sometimes it seems like children with violent behavior disorders are protected more than all the children they abuse.

Get rid of high stakes standardized testing altogether.

More money for personnel. A school psychologist in every single school. Smaller class sizes, especially in elementary (we have some kindergarten classes with 24-25 students.)

Politicians are awful. They make horrible decision s about education without even consulting actual educators. How about a requirement for every prospective congressman to substitute teach for a week at a low income at-risk inner city school?

[klarabelle]

I worked in a urban school district and had a colleague suggest that parents checks be held up until their children were in school and behaved. He said that would be the only thing to get parents to buy into their childrens' education.

We need to scrap the primary curriculums, and go back to developmentally appropriate education, especially for K-1. Jamming direct instruction down little kids' throats is NOT helping them learn to read. Kindergarten should go back to learning social skills, letters, and counting. Because that's what 5 year old brains are developmentally ready for. Not finding the main topic of a paragraph!

Could not agree more.

[cutecat]

We need to get back to a safer school atmosphere....for all. Students pushing, biting, and scratching teachers with no consequences is NOT OK. It is NOT OK for behaviorally challenged students to continue to hurt others and disrupt the learning of a majority of students on a daily basis. The students with these behaviors need help!!! Mental illness is real and needs to be addressed in our young people. More social workers, guidance counselors and teachers trained in challenging behaviors need to be in our schools assisting our classroom teachers. We have to teach our students that their choices affect others either in positive or negative ways and there are consequences. This is a life skill...and one they will need the most as they go through life. Decision makers need to be in our classrooms and schools and should not have the right to make decisions until they have physically been in our buildings.

[tyrex]

The emphasis on graduation rates needs to change.

We are forced to pass kids and push kids through so they won't drop out.

Have a 30 in the class? No problem, just
do online "credit recovery."

Absent 30% of the days? No problem, just come to Saturday School. You didn't want to go to Sat School? OK, just stay after school and watch Netflix on your phone and we'll call it attendance make-up. Don't wanna stay? We'll just waive your days at admin's discretion.

We need to make the high school diploma actually mean something.

[LaFish]

Well said MissAgnes!

First, I spent most of my teaching in k-1 classes. My perspective is from early education.
I do like how special ed has changed. Early in my career, I did not have any sp. kids. Later, I had 10% of my class were sp. and they really progressed. I was gen ed teacher and co-teacher was sp teacher. Inclusion was working those years.
My friend’s son is in first grade with downs. It’s amazing how he can read and problem solve.

Somehow, there are more problems in all areas. Don’t know the answer. This is a good discussion thread.