<p>How many of you put time with inner city kids teaching them math, science when you are not evene a teacher</p>
<p>I quit my job to work in the public schools as a volunteer to improve the experience for my daughter and her peers.
At times I have been in the schools every day , tutoring, fundraising, or just general volunteering with the parent group ( as part of the board) or as a parent-driver of field trips ;)
I am involved with teaching ESL students or other students to improve their reading skills <a href="http://www.readright.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.readright.com/</a>
As a PTA we have raised thousands of dollars to implement this program, which is staffed by volunteers.( You don't want me to teach them math- I have been working to get a similar program started for mathematics however)
( pshaw! 150 hours! I laugh at your 150 hours- haha ha ( note I am being tonque in cheek)- my older * daughter* had more than 2000 HOURS of volunteer time before she graduated from high school and she took year off to volunteer full time with homeless and inner city youth before college.)</p>
<p>I also work at an elementary school as a volunteer tutor with kids whose parents don't have the resources to help them at home.</p>
<p>I am an advocate in the district for parents of students with special needs. I see this as one of my most important roles. My younger daughter is no longer classifed under IDEA, but the parents of students who have physical/emotional/mental, challenges need their voice heard. Unfortunately, it is often all they can do just to parent and probably work outside the home to pay for some of the additional services these kids need. Still the voices of parents who have "gifted" kids, speak loud and clear at budget time, and I am involved so that others who are not as fortunate are not forgotten.</p>
<p>I don't know how many other posts of mine you have read, but my daughter attends a public innercity school. I would put this school and the teachers and students against any school in the country, let alone in the state including those in the suburbs. </p>
<p>Politicians should vote according to their constituients needs.
For example this weekend two fairly well known senators will be coming to my daughters school to talk to students and the community- Sen Maria Cantwell Wa & Sen. Barack Obama Ill.- they want to dialogue about education and what it means and how we can improve it for everyone.
Politicians do listen, it may take them a century to actually get something passed, but they do listen.</p>
<p>So you are saying in my sibling who died beacuse of lack of health care system, it is someone else fault. My parents wept then they moved on with life. They taught me that I have to work harder than other if I wnat to go anywhere.</p>
<p>I better make sure that my kids are not felling that they lack things. Instaed of focus what they got and try to improve from there. </p>
<p>The best writing my parents taught me:
"Best defense against poverty is that you do not become one yourself, so work harder and think how to improve your life"</p>
<p>Do you really think that the African children can "work harder?" Like, are you saying this without jest? Not only are they suffering from many preventable diseases, but they have no access to world markets, can barely produce enough to survive, etc.</p>
<p>And the fact that your sibling died because Americans are too selfish to get a national health care system is really, really sad. Maybe one day we can ensure that all people are insured.</p>
<p>Emerladkitty your daughter did what was best for her. I did what was best for me. You can leave your job and still have your family running sommoth. I can not afford that.</p>
<p>I would like to end this debate with saying you have no right on my money no matter what you think. Similarly I have no right on your money no matter what I think.</p>
<p>I didn't say my family was running smooth-
We are living on less money than we need, but sometimes your priorities demand that you borrow peter to pay paul.</p>
<p>so I hear you saying- that you don't want to pay taxes? I would like to end this debate with saying you have no right on my money no matter what you think. Similarly I have no right on your money no matter what I think.
I disagree- I don't think we pay enough taxes in this country
We need better transportation
better medical care- better access to housing- enough higher education and training to meet the demand- that takes money and that means taxes- or perhaps we should cut taxes that is going elsewhere? ;)</p>
<p>"I would like to end this debate with saying you have no right on my money no matter what you think. Similarly I have no right on your money no matter what I think."</p>
<p>The Government has a right to some of your money (we call it taxes - see the Constitution.) And before you start complaining about the fruits of your labor, and how your selfishness must be protected, keep in mind that you were only able to make that money because the American Government was there to support you. For crying out loud, the currency you receive payment with is issued by the USA (which, don't forget, you love... or else.)</p>
<p>It's really utter folly to consider that the US is anything like a level playing field. My children have music lessons that cost more per hour than some people earn in a day and a half of work. I was born into good circumstances, went to an excellent college and grad school and married good circumstances. My children's opportunities are greater, simply by the benefit of their birth.</p>
<p>Ever read "Nickel and Dimed"? Do you honestly consider that the minimum wage worker can so easily pull him or herself up to that higher level in this generation, in these economic times? Please humor me.</p>
<p>There is some luck and good fortune involved for some people whom make it from nothing, since yes, it can be done. But it is much more common for children of wealthy parents to continue the cycle of opulence, and children of poverty to do the same. And where those children are educated is the beginning.</p>
<p>while some disparge unions , unions have been able to bring low income workers into the middle class. But workers are now losing ground with outsourcing and the numbers of jobs that don't have a union to protect their workers.
We are moving ( like this is a news flash) toward very poor and very wealthy in this country.
Still education is the key- why we have made sacrifices for our children, and others children.</p>
<p>I don't think a school's quality should be judged on whether it is public or private. If you're fine in the public schools, stay there. If you feel have to spend $50000 a year on a private school, then do it. </p>
<p>I live in a place that has the opposite problem of what most people here have. :P The public schools here provide better educations than the private school. Even though I live in a high crime rate city, there are many private school kids transferring into the public schools because the private schools simply don't provide good educations. I know a girl who goes to a private school and she takes three classes: bowling, creative writing, and US History (college is going to be a shock for her, I can't believe the school could be so lax about their students workload). </p>
<p>Sadly, some parents here still think that private is always better than public. Even when their kids are taking three classes a day and the kids in the public schools are taking a full load of advanced classes, they still don't realize that their kids aren't getting a good education.</p>
<p>That is a very unusual situation. At least where I have lived, parents really investigate a school's curriculum and are discerning about the choices (see above post from "zoozermom").</p>
<p>I think that usalover embodies what is great about America: the ability to work hard and get ahead, and get a good education for children, in whatever manner is available.</p>
<p>I think it is highly out of touch to think that recent immigrants can quit jobs to volunteer fulltime or even part time in school. This seems to be more a reflection of the deficiencies of the school, if the assumption is that one has to go broke and have one's family starve to make a school work. We can all be self-righteous about parts of our lives. But compassion for others, especially those sincere enough to express heartfelt opinions on this website will go a lot farther that all of these self-aggrandizing statements about how wonderful someone is for volunteering and/or having a soft spot for African children.</p>
<p>We all have struggles and make contributions to society and to our children and their schools, etc, in some way, some more than others. Hopefully these achievements are not done to lord it over someone else in different circumstances. That sort of defeats the purpose of "public" education, which fosters tolerance for all takers.</p>
<p>I wish you all luck in your quest for education for your children, as obviously your children are all going to schools they like, public, religious, private or homeschooled. But being so judgmental about other's choices really cannot be productive as a value for your children, as it will just perpetuate intolerance at various levels.</p>
<p>This seems to be more a reflection of the deficiencies of the school, if the assumption is that one has to go broke and have one's family starve to make a school work.
I agree that it shouldn't be necessary for anyone to devote that much time to the school system, but he/she pointedly asked me what I did to work with inner city kids- I simply responded to the question
*klp141, allmusic, emeraldkitty -</p>
<p>How many of you put time with inner city kids teaching them math, science when you are not evene a teacher. Last time I counted I have put more than 150 hours. *</p>
<p>I resent it when people imply that the reason kids struggle is because they are not trying/parents not involved- that is not even close to being the whole picture .</p>
<p>The reason ALL kids struggle is definitely not because of a lack of parent involvement, but in some areas it is a factor. I teach in a school with a LOT of parent involvement currently and we still have kids that struggle for various reasons which shows that it's not necessarily always a connection.</p>
<p>However, when I taught in a really poor area we had very poor results and non-existent parent involvement. If we got ten parents to a PTA meeting it was an accomplishment. There were always more teachers there than parents. I taught several students whose parents I never met once, but not for a lack of trying. When you call the only numbers you can find and the service is disconnected your only option is a home visit which is what occurred a lot at that school. I would try to schedule parent conferences and would have one or two parents come total (and those were the parents of the kids making A's usually who I didn't need to see as badly). While this isn't the whole reason that the kids were struggling, it contributed in some cases because the parents did not have education as a priority. We had parents come pick their kids up at that school who didn't know who their kid's teacher was...or sometimes even what grade they were in. When the involvement is that low, it is a contributing factor. We tried everything we knew to do to increase attendance but when I left that school it was still a huge problem.</p>
<p>Our district is looking at closing /consolidating some schools to offer better services and to save money.
One of the schools only has about 200 students in a building that can hold twice as many and doesn't even have a PTA, another building has about 110 students. The school would be able to offer better services to families by economies of scale- my daughter has so many more opportunities by attending a larger school. BUt when ever it is mentioned to consolidate the school, the paper interviews with the very few parents who do know whats going on, and makes it sound like everyone else is heartless to even consider that these kids could recieve a better education if they were in a building with more parental support.
I have been in several kinds of buildings and what I have observed is that some neighborhoods/communities just dont get that involved in the school- however, when combined with another group of parents who are involved, that seems to spur the first group on and show them the way that they can participate. It doesn't necessarily go smoothly and it takes some time, but kids really need adults besides paid staff to be involved, whether it is their own parents who are involved or a classmates</p>
<p>I'd never pay that much to go to a school that ugly. Plenty of schools in the NYC area that are better than Trinity at a cheaper price. I do get a kick out of the "make a donation" on their website.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Plenty of schools in the NYC area that are better than Trinity at a cheaper price.
[/quote]
According to their viewbook, out of about 550 graduates of Trinity in the last five years, 195 went on to Ivy League colleges. That's over 35% of all graduates over a five-year period going to the Ivies. Another 114 went on to Stanford, MIT, Amherst, Swarthmore, Williams, Wesleyan, Chicago, Duke, Oberlin, Pomona, Wellesley, WashU, Michigan and Virginia. Together with the Ivies, that accounts for more than 56% of all graduates during this period. And the "bottom" 44% includes some other excellent colleges too, such as: Emory (14), Tufts (12), Carnegie Mellon (9), Wisconsin (8), Vassar (7), Bowdoin (6), Johns Hopkins (6), Georgetown (5), Tulane (5) and Vanderbilt (5). Add this list and you're over 70% of all graduates.</p>
<p>I'd be interested in the "plenty of schools in the NYC area" that can equal that kind of placement record.</p>
<p>"School's do not matter; It is solely up to the kid."</p>
<p>Right, because all kids have the access to the same means for success. Because we live in a perfect world where equal oppurtunity is ensured for every single human being.</p>
<p>I didn't read all six pages so sorry if I'm repeating something that was already said. To answer the line of thinking of, "I want to give my child the best education he or she can get," I wonder how going to an elite private school versus going to a mediocre public school really affects things. I think there is considerable debate over whether it is the quality of private schools that makes their numbers so great, or rather the quality of the student being that makes the numbers so great, but personally I personally would lean toward the latter thinking.</p>
<p>How greatly the roughly $125,000 really helps the student? I mean if your child goes to a public school versus private school it's not like he or she will be learning what an atom is at a public school while he or she could be learning about string theory at a private school. A private school can teach your child more, but it can't instill ambition in your child which is the ultimate key to success. I suppose parents' like to think that the $125,000 is that much more of an advantage at the ultimate goal: getting into an Ivy League (ahh, just think of the future prestige).</p>
<p>Food for thought: if a couple gave their kid $125,000 to put into a retirement account at 18 and it grew at, say 5% above inflation, their child would end up with $500,000 in today's money at age 48, or $1,000,000 in today's money at age 63.</p>
<p>I will take a shot at this. I do live in NYC and probably go to one of those private schools people are speaking of. There arent many choices I had after middle school. I didnt do well enough for the specialized high schools. my mom recognized I would not do to well in a public school system. Therefore I was sent to a private school. My middle school was a public one and it was really bad. i did well there getting bs and such but it wasnt helping me. Not all private schools are great in the city to say the least but there are some very good ones who do offer very good financial aid/scholarship money. I have to say I am pretty much getting a free ride where I am at. But I would advice against my school since it doesnt offer many aps. that is the downside of going to an all girls school in the city. But there is a very good all girl public school which requires a minium of 95 avg in middle school. I dont know much about that school though</p>
<p>As for pre-k/elementary school let me give you people an example. Let's say your local elementary public school was involved in a scandal where a teacher molested a little girl. You dont want your kids to go there but cant sent them to another public school because of the zone problem what will you do? Seek a private high school.</p>
<p>I am all for public education when it is in the specialized school system or places like beacon but it is very competitive and hard to get into. And there are times when kids cannot succed in environments like this. I swear to god if i told you people some of my horror stories about teachers and such from middle school most will definitly send their kids to a private institution.</p>
<p>Let's say your local elementary public school was involved in a scandal where a teacher molested a little girl.</p>
<p>That isn't a particulary good example- that can happen anywhere from Beverly Hills private schools, to Newark public schools. The difference probably is, it could be more difficult to prove and remove the staff inquestion in a public school, but that doesnt' mean it doesn't happen elsewhere. Pedophiles put themselves where they can be in contact with children, and often wangle to a position of confidence/authority.</p>