tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17445520.post114702072907239839..comments2023-10-15T08:40:40.153-05:00Comments on Sistrunk Journal: Improving low-performing high schoolsDeb Sistrunk Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14072871724975222638noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17445520.post-1148335209957472982006-05-22T17:00:00.000-05:002006-05-22T17:00:00.000-05:00Dennis: I agree wholeheartedly with you. Most of...Dennis: I agree wholeheartedly with you. Most of our teachers are dedicated to the profession and work long hours. Yes, principals and central office administrators should be able to remove any teacher who proves himself/herself to be incompetent. Excellent point.<BR/><BR/>You bring a lot of wisdom to this site. Thank you!Deb Sistrunk Nelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14072871724975222638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17445520.post-1148134527230384702006-05-20T09:15:00.000-05:002006-05-20T09:15:00.000-05:00Just an afterthought, DCS. In my original comment ...Just an afterthought, DCS. In my original comment I argued that the most effective educational reform we could make would be to give teachers the power to remove disruptive and apathetic students from their classes. There is another reform that I also believe should go right along with that. We need to make it easier for schools/principals to remove teachers who are not doing their jobs effectively. I don't believe there are as many incompetent teachers as many in the media would have us believe, but they do exist, and I know it's very difficult to get rid of them. I truly believe that if we would do these two things, the reforms that you are advocating would have a much better chance of succeeding.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17445520.post-1148074764570316802006-05-19T16:39:00.000-05:002006-05-19T16:39:00.000-05:00Thank YOU, DCS, for your input, and thank YOU for ...Thank YOU, DCS, for your input, and thank YOU for visiting my site! We are all going from our own experiences, and one message I'm getting from you is that I've got to be careful about generalizing. I have spent my entire career in small working class towns in Northern Minnesota. I think that what I say holds true for most of the schools in my area. We're not perfect; we definitely have our share of problems, but I think we do a pretty good job. My experience has been that any kid who really wants to get a good education can do so in our schools. But I know that St. Louis is not Northern Minnesota, so when it comes to urban areas like yours, people like me had better be willing to listen to people like you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17445520.post-1148054024666176502006-05-19T10:53:00.000-05:002006-05-19T10:53:00.000-05:00Rose: Absolutely!Dennis: Your comments relay som...Rose: Absolutely!<BR/><BR/>Dennis: Your comments relay some very valid points. Our children must be active learners. They must understand the importance of taking responsibility in their education. <BR/><BR/>At the same time, adults (parents and teachers) must set high expectations for students and engage young people on a daily basis. We cannot expect to see a generation of high-performing learners without school, home and community working collaboratively.<BR/><BR/>You are right about the large number of education reform campaigns we have seen over the decades. Sadly, many of them have had no positive impact on our schools.<BR/><BR/>The Education Trust offers a great website on education reform issues. To check out the Ed Trust site, click <A HREF="http://www2.edtrust.org/edtrust" REL="nofollow">here</A>. The NEA (National Education Association) also posts excellent resources for teachers and parents. Click <A HREF="http://www.nea.org/index.html" REL="nofollow">here</A> to peruse the site.<BR/><BR/>Dennis, it's great to have your input. Thanks for stopping by.Deb Sistrunk Nelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14072871724975222638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17445520.post-1147996242746238282006-05-18T18:50:00.000-05:002006-05-18T18:50:00.000-05:00I'm afraid that what I'm about to say won't go ove...I'm afraid that what I'm about to say won't go over very well with the people who read this blog, but I'll say it anyway. I've been teaching for 32 years, and I don't know how many reform ideas I've seen come and go. They have all promised much and delivered little. They have all focused on something WE WILL DO to get THEM TO LEARN. Kids have to decide for themselves that they want to learn and they want to be successful. We can't MAKE them do that, and I don't think there's any program that's going to do the trick. During my career I've found that there is one factor that is constant in determining the performance of students: effort. Students who try do well, and students who don't try do poorly. One of the reasons we have so many apathetic learners in public schools is that we allow them to be apathetic. I think the most effective reform we could make--at least at the secondary level--is to give teachers the power to remove the disruptive and apathetic kids from their classrooms. And I don't say this because I want to kick a bunch of kids out. I really believe that if we had that power, we wouldn't have to use it very often. If kids know that they have to make an effort and they have to behave, almost all of them will make an effort, and almost all of them will behave. Right now, what they know is that if they don't try, and if they don't behave, we'll come up with another program for them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17445520.post-1147988904621230982006-05-18T16:48:00.000-05:002006-05-18T16:48:00.000-05:00It is really going to take parents, the community ...It is really going to take parents, the community and business organizations as well as the children to make a dent in improving poor performing schools. NOt an easy fix since that has been allowed to go on for so long.Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13037132101026488589noreply@blogger.com