Fed Up Teachers Refuse to Teach Summer School in Texas.....

[MMC]

I have seen how much damage a bad superintendent can do to a school district in our town. We had one who created all sorts of dissension and strife amongst the board, teachers and parents for years. Then she finally quit and received a generous severance package and then moved to another city where she created the same type of problems that she had a long history of creating. Her successor succeeded in improving student performance while bringing all the factions into much greater harmony.

Yeah, Some of the teachers working with my wife are all about the issue concerning Supt. They don't think they should be paid all that money. Or have Secretaries that have secretaries. Bring a School district down and then Get moved to another.

Course mine isn't a CPS School teacher and is Under IEA and NEA. Which she does work in one of the tougher neighborhoods in the South Suburbs of Chicago. So she deals with Special Ed Kids and plenty that have no Discipline.

But then she can also tell ya about kids coming from families that really want to learn. Some preferring to be at school with the teachers rather than at home with their parents.

 

[66gardeners]

Who does?

In Maryland every county as far as I know. My 22-year-old so has dyslexia. He went to twilight school and summer school every time. He is gifted in other ways, however, and got a job at the local power plant through the vo-tech school when he was in 11th grade and still works there.

 

[Slyfox696]

Give me a group of low-level kids any day and I can teach them.

Give me a group of low-level kids who have never been disciplined, have ****ty parents and think they are in charge? No thank you.

Pretty much how I feel, though it also depends on the age of the student. Any student in 8th grade or below I can usually connect with, even the ones who need extra discipline. Fortunately, part of my teaching is in physical education, so discipline is easy to give, without having to involve administration. Plus, it's more common for the unruly ones (at least boys) to enjoy PE, so they are not as much of a problem.

I have seen how much damage a bad superintendent can do to a school district in our town.

Yep, and conversely how much greatness a good superintendent can do for a school district.

 

[Darrell]

Charge tuition for summer school.

They do.

 

[AliHajiSheik]

They do.

I'm looking on the school districts website (Dallas Independent School District / Dallas ISD Home ) but I don't see anything about tuition except to explain the costs associated with college.

Perhaps someone can post the link to the tuition rates.

 

[AliHajiSheik]

They do.

I'm looking on the school districts website (Dallas Independent School District / Dallas ISD Home ) but I don't see anything about tuition except to explain the costs associated with college.

Perhaps someone can post the link to the tuition rates.

 

[Darrell]

I'm looking on the school districts website (Dallas Independent School District / Dallas ISD Home ) but I don't see anything about tuition except to explain the costs associated with college.

Perhaps someone can post the link to the tuition rates.

I live in the Leander Independent School District. You have to pay $150 to $250 for your classes, the prices vary from district to district.

 

[AliHajiSheik]

I live in the Leander Independent School District. You have to pay $150 to $250 for your classes, the prices vary from district to district.

Since the topic and story was about Dallas...

 

[rabbitcaebannog]

How can they solve this problem?[/QUOTE]

My best advise is to treat teachers better. No one should be treated like a doormat.

 

[Darrell]

Since the topic and story was about Dallas...

It still applies to about 98% of the schools in Texas.

 

[clownboy]

From what I can tell searching through their site DISD offers a variety of summer instruction. There are no mention of fees for traditional mainstream courses, but I have found fees attached to the enhanced and enrichment programs. Summer dance for example is $250 and a $20 reg fee.

 

[66gardeners]

I'm looking on the school districts website (Dallas Independent School District / Dallas ISD Home ) but I don't see anything about tuition except to explain the costs associated with college.

Perhaps someone can post the link to the tuition rates.

I can assure you when it is time to enroll in summer school or twilight school following the 1st semester, they inform you of the cost. It runs about $200 per class in Md.

When my son was first diagnosed with dyslexia, he did attend free. He was not required to attend to pass 3rd grade but they offered this class to him to try to get him caught up. That never happened but it was worthwhile for him to attend.

When you get to high school, you have to have a set amount of credits to graduate. If you fail core classes, the only way to graduate on time is to attend summer school/twilight school to make up those credits. There is a fee associated with those. If you have an IEP (individual education program) and are designated as having a learning disability, you may meet the criteria if you income is low enough to attend at no charge.

 

[Μολὼν λαβέ]

Does this comment strike anyone else as dumb? Perhaps if you are performing your job as you should be, you wouldn't need to worry about being monitored more.

You appear to be responding with a critical lack of knowledge about how public schools work in Texas. You can be the best teacher in the world but if you have students who, for one reason or another, can't or don't pass a STAAR test, then that's data indicating the teacher isn't providing for that student's needs.

I agree with the premise that all kids can learn (to varying degrees), but lets face it, some are more capable than others. Then throw into the mix the live-in boy friend or uncle is a drug dealer, or that mom has 5 kids all with different fathers, or that... Well you get the picture.

School districts and the state of Texas have no consideration for that data, just what appears after the STAAR test has been graded.

My school district pays $25 an hour, 5 hours a day, for 9 days of summer school. Students who have already failed the STAAR test twice then take it a third time. Who wants to be evaluated on whether or not those kids pass?

In addition, it's very difficult to persuade a teacher to add more days that extend the school year to the end of June for that amount of pay.

 

[Josie]

Does this comment strike anyone else as dumb? Perhaps if you are performing your job as you should be, you wouldn't need to worry about being monitored more.

Let me tell you a story.

I'm a teacher.

My credentials: Early Childhood Education, B.A. (PK-4), Reading Education, M.Ed (K-12), Reading Specialist endorsement

I'm going into my 10th year of teaching. I'm confident enough to say that I'm really good at it. I've only received excellent evaluations and my bosses frequently use me or my lessons as a model for how others should be. One of my retired co-workers says to people about me, "She could teach a dog to read!" I have taken kids straight from Africa (who only speak a tribal language) and made them into readers and writers. This past year I had several kids in my class who could barely read the word "the" at the beginning of the year. By the end of the year they were flying through 2nd grade level books.

I am performing my job as I should be. And I do a damn good job.

Now here's the problem....

This past year I had a class from hell. Well, half of them were angels..... the other half were pull-your-hair-out, cry-yourself-to-sleep difficult. For some reason, I was loaded up with all the kids that every teacher dreads having in her class. And I kept getting new kids --- and almost every new kid was another problem. I had first graders in trouble all the time -- detention, in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension. My class was infamous around school this year. Everyone would just look at me with pity in their eyes.

When you put that much stress on a teacher, she's probably going to have a hard time teaching, right? When she has a hard time teaching, she's probably going to have some students that aren't doing well because the teacher is so focused on behavior children. When that happens, the students' scores go down and thus, the teacher's score goes down.

I cannot control if my students get to eat dinner at night. I cannot control if my parents let their kids eat sugar and stay up all night long on a school night. I cannot control the fact that many of my students' parents are meth addicts. I cannot control the fact that many of my students are beaten up at home. I cannot control the fact that some of my students are raising themselves while their parents work. I cannot control how and what the child learns in previous years and at home before kindergarten. I cannot control many things.

It's unfair to a teacher to base her evaluation on things that are out of her control.

Now, I think when it was all said and done, I did a pretty bang up job with these kids. They might still be ornery, disrespectful and frustrating, but dammit they know how to read and write. I cannot say that another good teacher would've had the same results.

 

[Gipper]

Big deal. There is an over-saturation of teachers. They're a dime a dozen these days.

Hold out a sign that says "now hiring teachers" and you'll get a dumptruck of resumes overnight.

 

[justabubba]

Big deal. There is an over-saturation of teachers. They're a dime a dozen these days.

Hold out a sign that says "now hiring teachers" and you'll get a dumptruck of resumes overnight.

yes, the supply : demand ratio at work, diminishing the value of good teachers
there was a time, not so long ago, when teachers were in short supply
not unlike another era (mine) when we were pressed to study engineering due to the perceived shortage of such specialists after the sputnik launch. within half a generation our market was flooded with excess engineers, many of them credentialed by inferior schools
more recently this same perceived under-supply impacted the computer administration industry, and i predict we will soon see a similar result in the medical industry. but i digress ...

your post illustrates one of the fundamental reasons why our education system is in such need of revision; much of the public holds little value and/or appreciation for teachers. contrast that with our admiration for professional sports figures and celebrities
then look to the east, in asia, where teachers are venerated - and always have been
and notice also how well their education systems work when compared to those of the USA

 

[Gipper]

yes, the supply : demand ratio at work, diminishing the value of good teachers
there was a time, not so long ago, when teachers were in short supply
not unlike another era (mine) when we were pressed to study engineering due to the perceived shortage of such specialists after the sputnik launch. within half a generation our market was flooded with excess engineers, many of them credentialed by inferior schools
more recently this same perceived under-supply impacted the computer administration industry, and i predict we will soon see a similar result in the medical industry. but i digress ...

your post illustrates one of the fundamental reasons why our education system is in such need of revision; much of the public holds little value and/or appreciation for teachers. contrast that with our admiration for professional sports figures and celebrities
then look to the east, in asia, where teachers are venerated - and always have been
and notice also how well their education systems work when compared to those of the USA

If you want to help differentiate "good" teachers and "bad" teachers, you can do that by throwing out one six-letter word: unions. It might also help if half of today's graduates weren't education majors.

If your desire to work with and educate children is of tantamount importance, then you can't complain when schools become competitive when it comes to salary offerings. Teachers have other benefits aside from monetary compensation - people today bend over backwards for them (as you're doing here). They gain levels of self-actualization. They get just showered with attention, praise, ass-kissing, etc.

Also, comparing America to socialist nations isn't exactly helping your cause.

 

[justabubba]

If you want to help differentiate "good" teachers and "bad" teachers, you can do that by throwing out one six-letter word: unions.

an argument easily overcome
when looking at student performance data, those states with teachers' union tend to do better than those without unions
if that data moved in the opposite direction, it would support your supposition
but it doesn't, which then undermines your argument

It might also help if half of today's graduates weren't education majors.

another weak argument
now, if you want to present that the college training provided to prospective teachers is often inadequate, then we have some degree of agreement
but i would want - expect - teachers to be trained in teaching methods. that seems more logical than placing persons without an understanding of teaching methods in teaching positions
but explain for us why my argument is flawed

If your desire to work with and educate children is of tantamount importance, then you can't complain when schools become competitive when it comes to salary offerings. Teachers have other benefits aside from monetary compensation - people today bend over backwards for them (as you're doing here). They gain levels of self-actualization. They get just showered with attention, praise, ass-kissing, etc.

another instance when you are blaming the teachers - and their union - for the pathetic results of school administration, which mis-allocates resources and is responsible for negotiating the agreements signed by and between the teachers' unions and management
if you were to argue that education management is inadequate for our times, we would again have some degree of agreement

Also, comparing America to socialist nations isn't exactly helping your cause.

two points (well actually, one is a question):
1. why would a country's degree of socialization adversely or positively impact its quality of education?
2. north korea, taiwan, japan, world educational leaders, and locales where teachers are esteemed, would not be found very socialistic

 

[Slyfox696]

Let me tell you a story.

I'm a teacher.

My credentials: Early Childhood Education, B.A. (PK-4), Reading Education, M.Ed (K-12), Reading Specialist endorsement

I'm going into my 10th year of teaching. I'm confident enough to say that I'm really good at it. I've only received excellent evaluations and my bosses frequently use me or my lessons as a model for how others should be. One of my retired co-workers says to people about me, "She could teach a dog to read!" I have taken kids straight from Africa (who only speak a tribal language) and made them into readers and writers. This past year I had several kids in my class who could barely read the word "the" at the beginning of the year. By the end of the year they were flying through 2nd grade level books.

I am performing my job as I should be. And I do a damn good job.

Now here's the problem....

This past year I had a class from hell. Well, half of them were angels..... the other half were pull-your-hair-out, cry-yourself-to-sleep difficult. For some reason, I was loaded up with all the kids that every teacher dreads having in her class. And I kept getting new kids --- and almost every new kid was another problem. I had first graders in trouble all the time -- detention, in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension. My class was infamous around school this year. Everyone would just look at me with pity in their eyes.

When you put that much stress on a teacher, she's probably going to have a hard time teaching, right? When she has a hard time teaching, she's probably going to have some students that aren't doing well because the teacher is so focused on behavior children. When that happens, the students' scores go down and thus, the teacher's score goes down.

I cannot control if my students get to eat dinner at night. I cannot control if my parents let their kids eat sugar and stay up all night long on a school night. I cannot control the fact that many of my students' parents are meth addicts. I cannot control the fact that many of my students are beaten up at home. I cannot control the fact that some of my students are raising themselves while their parents work. I cannot control how and what the child learns in previous years and at home before kindergarten. I cannot control many things.

It's unfair to a teacher to base her evaluation on things that are out of her control.

Now, I think when it was all said and done, I did a pretty bang up job with these kids. They might still be ornery, disrespectful and frustrating, but dammit they know how to read and write. I cannot say that another good teacher would've had the same results.

Wait, wait, wait...are you trying to say teaching ISN'T as simple as sitting behind a desk and handing out worksheets/tests like the anti-education people tend to think?

Nah, that cannot be right!

 

[Josie]

Wait, wait, wait...are you trying to say teaching ISN'T as simple as sitting behind a desk and handing out worksheets/tests like the anti-education people tend to think?

Nah, that cannot be right!

Well, honestly.... most years ARE pretty easy. This was a rare horrible year that comes once in awhile. I've taught for 9 years and I've had 2 horrible classes.

 

[Slyfox696]

Well, honestly.... most years ARE pretty easy.

I can't speak for you, but I wouldn't say any year is easy, just maybe more smooth than other years. It's hard work to teach, regardless of how much I enjoy it.


I had a class from hell my...third?...year in with 8th grade boys PE. The entire grade, boys and girls, were just awful, but I had over 20 boys in half a gym for PE. And these boys loved to cuss and fight and everything else, and when in only half a gym, it sure does make it difficult to keep them away from each other. Worst class I've ever had. The ironic part of it is I get along pretty well with almost all of them now, especially the ones who caused the most trouble.

Such are the interesting times of teaching.

 

[Μολὼν λαβέ]

I can't speak for you, but I wouldn't say any year is easy, just maybe more smooth than other years. It's hard work to teach, regardless of how much I enjoy it.


I had a class from hell my...third?...year in with 8th grade boys PE. The entire grade, boys and girls, were just awful, but I had over 20 boys in half a gym for PE. And these boys loved to cuss and fight and everything else, and when in only half a gym, it sure does make it difficult to keep them away from each other. Worst class I've ever had. The ironic part of it is I get along pretty well with almost all of them now, especially the ones who caused the most trouble.

Such are the interesting times of teaching.

I don't think it's easy either. It's very hard work dealing with the different personalities and widely varied learner readiness levels. Maybe half in a class are prepared for the curriculum and critical thinking skills based on prior knowledge or learning, and personal experiences. I'm basing my statements on working at a title one school though. Not only that but something changes every year regarding delivering the curriculum. Last year we began using CSCOPE. Now that the Texas legislature has banned the CSCOPE lessons, it's off to something else I'll have to learn before the school year begins or I'll have to create my own resources. Our textbook adoption is 12 years old, so not much help there. Not only that but the district blocks many valuable internet resources making the job even more difficult. But who knows, maybe life is different in the burbs.

But hey, we're a dime a dozen, right Gip?

Why don't you throw your resume in the hat since you seem to have the world of education figured out. I had a boss once who appeared to know so much I often told my colleagues he didn't need a set of encyclopedias because he knew everything. You remind me of him.

 

[Josie]

I don't think it's easy either. It's very hard work dealing with the different personalities and widely varied learner readiness levels. Maybe half in a class are prepared for the curriculum and critical thinking skills based on prior knowledge or learning, and personal experiences. I'm basing my statements on working at a title one school though. Maybe life is different in the burbs.

I'm in a title one school too. I don't mean it's easy as if just anyone could do it. It's definitely challenging.

 

[Slyfox696]

Not only that but the district blocks many valuable internet resources making the job even more difficult. But who knows, maybe life is different in the burbs.

As a person who is on the other side of blocking internet resources, I can tell you that, at least where I work, we don't block resources randomly. We always have legitimate reasons, many times legal reasons, for doing so.

If that helps any.

 

[Μολὼν λαβέ]

Now here's the problem....

I cannot control if my students get to eat dinner at night. I cannot control if my parents let their kids eat sugar and stay up all night long on a school night. I cannot control the fact that many of my students' parents are meth addicts. I cannot control the fact that many of my students are beaten up at home. I cannot control the fact that some of my students are raising themselves while their parents work. I cannot control how and what the child learns in previous years and at home before kindergarten. I cannot control many things.

It's unfair to a teacher to base her evaluation on things that are out of her control.

You hit the proverbial nail on the head with those statements. But having armchair, opinionated without all the facts critics, including politicians, blame educators for the many students who do not perform well is really sad and unfortunate.