An interesting post landed on my Facebook feed about how teachers are expected to meet the needs of every child individually when every child has different educational needs. Its stressful on the teacher, naturally!
As a parent with children in the public school system I have some thoughts, strong thoughts that not everyone agrees with.
I read an article in the local newspaper this morning about how our county wants to raise property tax 3% over our States allotted tax cap for a total of an 8% tax hike. They sighted community events as the reason for the need for the tax hike. Community events that were not around a decade ago. We live in a State with a pretty low tax bracket, we don't have very high taxes and that is a good thing. Low taxes help make it possible for younger people and people with less than stellar credit to buy a house, own property. We don't have fancy, big city amenities but we are comfortable with what we do have like nice roads and good drainage etc...I told my husband not long ago that when we lose our house, it won't be because we can't afford the mortgage, we will be taxed out.
Here is my radical thoughts, go with me, have an open mind here:
Keep the cap on property taxes: That money is supposed to go towards schools, the fire station, our one or maybe 2 little Libraries, snow removal, town roads and the parks. Google says that the taxes also go towards water resources but if thats the case than why is my water/garbage bill so crazy! Raising the property taxes won't do anything different, it will just give raises to people who make more than anyone else in the county already because they work for the government.
Put parents in the classrooms to alleviate the pressure on the teachers: Teachers are expected to teach up to 30 students at a time (our county is less than 30, a lot less) and all of these students are different. Different learners, different needs, different reading levels etc...Kids are not cookie cutter automatons, they are all different. We should encourage their differences by creating an educational environment where each child can thrive. I understand that most households have 2 working parents (thats a priority issue in our federal government) but those households who have a stay home paernt or those who are newly retired can help lighten the teachers load by sitting with a student or 3 and helping them individually on a rotating volunteer bases. Small groups, 1 lead teacher and some adult volunteers. Not only that but take education out of the classroom setting or gear the schools toward more active education, learning on their feet while moving. Hands on, get messy, make mistakes. Teach them practical things they NEED to know. Does a student need to know algebra, calculus, Physics on a high school level? Probably not, those who want to can do online college courses. Kids do need to know how to do taxes, how to buy and sell, add, subtract, multiply, divide, fractions, decimals, percent, practical math for every day use. They need to know how to create a proper sentence, the rules of grammar, how to use phonics to read. If schools brought phonics into the classroom kids wouldn't be stopping mid sentence in a speech in front of most of the school to say, "I don't know that word" before moving on. Science can be learned hands on and History can be costumes and stories. Teach them how to do things that are practical to where they live. We might have less ATV deaths and injuries, fewer farming accidents, more sheds and out buildings, more mechanics and machinists, bee keepers, more younger ranchers and farmers etc..if these kids who aren't from those families already could learn those trades from those families this State will become an economic powerhouse. Make it fun! Parent volunteers can help. Also a small tuition. Take Japan for example, the kids pay a small monthly tuition that covers the cost of supplies. Its small because its averaged out per student. A trustworthy parent volunteer can be put in charge of the treasury, teacher creates a list of needed supplies and parent volunteer team gets together and goes to purchase from Amazon, Target, Wallymart. Teachers can also put a supply list on Amazon for parents. Teach kids how to clean their own school. Each class cleans its own class room, middle and highschoolers split up those classrooms they use and bathrooms, they write what they did in a diary at the end of it, take turns then once a month they can all get together and have a cleaning party where they do the hallways, gyms and lockers. If everyone participates or most of everyone then the work goes fast and you wont need to pay for a janitor. Idealism right. Make it easier to become a volunteer, make it more inviting, something new parents to town want to do.
We live in such a decadent Nation. Everyone takes, very few give. We need to change the culture on the State level. Teach our kids to be others minded instead of self involved. If we teach them to think about not just the feelings of others but the comfort of others as well, they will in turn feel good and be comforted. Less need for mental health diagnoses. Teach them town pride, taking care of something, being responsible for a job teaches them to take pride in work, gives them a worth ethic.
Learning as I go
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