I miss my homeschool calendar! Public school rant

[Tap]

DD13 is in private school.

DD5 is in half day kindergarten.

 

They are in the same school district.

If they had the same day off, I only counted it as one day.

 

Between the two of them, they have.

 

 

 

26 early release days!

37 days off!

 

Out of the entire school year of 42 weeks, there are only 13 whole weeks of school!

 

:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

My friend who has a daughter in public school has mentioned a similar, strange schedule. I think every Monday (?) is shorter by an hour. How are working or even non-working parents suppose to cope with that? Her daughter spends a lot of time in extended day as a result. And she's how I found out they have extended day in the morning times, too.

[TammyS]

My friend who has a daughter in public school has mentioned a similar, strange schedule. I think every Monday (?) is shorter by an hour. How are working or even non-working parents suppose to cope with that? Her daughter spends a lot of time in extended day as a result. And she's how I found out they have extended day in the morning times, too.

 

That sounds sooooo confusing. Life isn't hard enough? What could be the possible benefit of creating such chaos?

[Tabrett]

The school district, where I just moved from, had a schedule that was similar. It was done on purpose. The district wanted very badly to move to all the schools to year-round, but the parents kept voting it down. So...to get what the district wanted, they decided to extend the school year buy two weeks and start a week early and add long breaks after every nine week period. Between holidays and breaks, students rarely went to school 5 days in a row and had very short summers. The schedule has made summer camps and VBS very hard to schedule.

 

Basically, the district decided to schedule year-round school and call it traditional.:glare:

[Tap]

My friend who has a daughter in public school has mentioned a similar, strange schedule. I think every Monday (?) is shorter by an hour. How are working or even non-working parents suppose to cope with that? Her daughter spends a lot of time in extended day as a result. And she's how I found out they have extended day in the morning times, too.

 

Yep, dd5 who is in half day K, had an hour early release every other monday. :banghead:

[bettyandbob]

My friend who has a daughter in public school has mentioned a similar, strange schedule. I think every Monday (?) is shorter by an hour. How are working or even non-working parents suppose to cope with that? Her daughter spends a lot of time in extended day as a result. And she's how I found out they have extended day in the morning times, too.

 

 

My district has had early release Mondays for years (since I was in school and I'm 46). The purpose is to provide the elementary teachers block planning time together. Elementary teachers do not have a free period like high school. Only elementary has early release. This does not mean student have less time at school. When the plan was originally put in place, 30 minutes was added to Tues-Fri, while 2 hours was taken from Monday.

 

Since all the schools in this district, all businesses that involve children have schedules that accommodate. Daycares pick up early on Monday. Some businesses that have activities for kids have classes earlier on Mondays (ballet, TKD, piano lessons, etc). PTAs run a lot of special clubs afterschool on Mondays too. It's no big deal.

 

The that's important is that there's a chance for teachers to collaborate. The three fifth grade teachers can plan a joint field trip. The third grade teachers can coordinate science classes. There really is no time for teachers to collaborate like that without building the schedule around it. So, it wasn't developed as a way to drive parents crazy, but rather a way to make it easier for teachers to provide better instruction.

[Joker]

My friend who has a daughter in public school has mentioned a similar, strange schedule. I think every Monday (?) is shorter by an hour. How are working or even non-working parents suppose to cope with that? Her daughter spends a lot of time in extended day as a result. And she's how I found out they have extended day in the morning times, too.

 

Our district has an early release every Wednesday for all schools, but there are three different start and end times (elementary, middle, high). This year it's not an issue for us, but when younger starts middle and older goes into high school I will be spending a good amount of time picking up and dropping off, and every Wednesday will be an hour earlier. I was hoping to return to work, at least part time, but we don't think it's gonna happen.

[TammyS]

There really is no time for teachers to collaborate like that without building the schedule around it. So, it wasn't developed as a way to drive parents crazy, but rather a way to make it easier for teachers to provide better instruction.

 

What did teachers do before they had this?:confused:

[Tap]

 

 

My district has had early release Mondays for years (since I was in school and I'm 46). The purpose is to provide the elementary teachers block planning time together. Elementary teachers do not have a free period like high school. Only elementary has early release. This does not mean student have less time at school. When the plan was originally put in place, 30 minutes was added to Tues-Fri, while 2 hours was taken from Monday.

 

Since all the schools in this district, all businesses that involve children have schedules that accommodate. Daycares pick up early on Monday. Some businesses that have activities for kids have classes earlier on Mondays (ballet, TKD, piano lessons, etc). PTAs run a lot of special clubs after school on Mondays too. It's no big deal.

 

The that's important is that there's a chance for teachers to collaborate. The three fifth grade teachers can plan a joint field trip. The third grade teachers can coordinate science classes. There really is no time for teachers to collaborate like that without building the schedule around it. So, it wasn't developed as a way to drive parents crazy, but rather a way to make it easier for teachers to provide better instruction.

 

A single day off, every 6th week would make more sense. In our area, they don't give the students longer days, they call the 1/2 day sufficient. With a 6-7 hour typical school day, the teachers have an extra 1-2 hours per day for planning, grading, and collaboration. Add in all the teachers planning days that they have off and I do feel like they have enough time that they can do this outside of student time. I used to work in a public school in the same district, our teachers had more down time at their jobs, that I do at mine.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

What did teachers do before they had this?:confused:

 

Good question! I'm guessing they did it during a time period that they weren't getting paid for.

[bettyandbob]

Good question! I'm guessing they did it during a time period that they weren't getting paid for.

 

 

A lot of teachers I know use this time and their own noncontract (unpaid) time. When you are planning activities for 26-32 children who are performing at different levels and trying to match up with other classes of similar size, it takes time.

[QueenCat]

What did teachers do before they had this?:confused:

 

Did an even more work at night and on the weekends. And didn't get to collaborate, unless they wanted to still be at the school at dinner time.

[QueenCat]

A single day off, every 6th week would make more sense. In our area, they don't give the students longer days, they call the 1/2 day sufficient. With a 6-7 hour typical school day, the teachers have an extra 1-2 hours per day for planning, grading, and collaboration. Add in all the teachers planning days that they have off and I do feel like they have enough time that they can do this outside of student time. I used to work in a public school in the same district, our teachers had more down time at their jobs, that I do at mine.

 

I subbed in our old district, pre-homeschooling. The teachers there would have loved two hours for such things. Contracted (paid) hours were 7:15am-3:15pm. Students could arrive in your classroom as early as 7:30 (bell rang at 7:45). The last of your students left around 2:35pm. Lunch, once you got your kids to/from cafeteria was about 20 minutes. The kids were gone from you for 40 minutes for specials (art, music, pe). During that 40 minutes, you ran to the restroom, returned parent phone calls, leaving you about 20 minutes to get stuff done. The before/after school time was less than an hour, if there wasn't a staff meeting. This was elementary school. The middle/high school teachers all had one full free period a day for planning, plus lunch was longer.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

A lot of teachers I know use this time and their own noncontract (unpaid) time. When you are planning activities for 26-32 children who are performing at different levels and trying to match up with other classes of similar size, it takes time.

 

I wasn't trying to sound critical.

[SheilaZ]

What did teachers do before they had this?:confused:

 

They planned while the kids were at "specials." i.e. PE, art, music, computer lab.

 

My question is what are the elementary teachers now doing during those times? (Asked by a former teacher who planned during specials and had 1 hour and 30 minutes a day.)

[TammyS]

OK, I do get that I don't work as a PS teacher and that teaching a class of kids is different than teaching a handful of your own.

 

But, I can't help but wonder, WHAT are they planning and IS it a good idea? We live in a society where a substantial portion of the population manages to graduate (or not) without a lot of basic skills. Maybe teachers need to plan less of whatever it is they are planning and get down to the business of teaching the basics. I mean, if the purpose of elementary school is to teach reading and writing and beginning arithmetic....there is nothing new in that. WHAT are they planning?

[merry gardens]

Wow. I need to include more teacher inservice days and various other days off into our homeschooling. And more half days. Thanks for sharing.

[Joker]

They planned while the kids were at "specials." i.e. PE, art, music, computer lab.

 

My question is what are the elementary teachers now doing during those times? (Asked by a former teacher who planned during specials and had 1 hour and 30 minutes a day.)

 

Our elementary schools rotate those 'specials' and two to three days a week teachers don't get one (depending on that week's schedule). When they do get that time, it's only 45 minutes. It's actually the whole reason the district instituted early release on Wednesdays, and they later added it to all schools.

[Ghee]

 

 

 

My district has had early release Mondays for years (since I was in school and I'm 46). The purpose is to provide the elementary teachers block planning time together. Elementary teachers do not have a free period like high school. Only elementary has early release. This does not mean student have less time at school. When the plan was originally put in place, 30 minutes was added to Tues-Fri, while 2 hours was taken from Monday.

 

Since all the schools in this district, all businesses that involve children have schedules that accommodate. Daycares pick up early on Monday. Some businesses that have activities for kids have classes earlier on Mondays (ballet, TKD, piano lessons, etc). PTAs run a lot of special clubs afterschool on Mondays too. It's no big deal.

 

The that's important is that there's a chance for teachers to collaborate. The three fifth grade teachers can plan a joint field trip. The third grade teachers can coordinate science classes. There really is no time for teachers to collaborate like that without building the schedule around it. So, it wasn't developed as a way to drive parents crazy, but rather a way to make it easier for teachers to provide better instruction.

 

Interesting, our elementary PS teachers get a min of 30 a day planning time and a once a week grade level meeting DURING the school day. Three of the classes will be at PE and then the other three are all scheduled off to some "special" teacher such as computer, life skills, and library... No parent has to accomodate the teacher's planning, alone or together.

[mama2cntrykids]

My step son is a senior in ps. The first Monday of the month is a two hour late start, but they only have a total of two work weeks off through the course of the school year. One whole week at Christmas and one and two days here and there the rest of the time. This means that they have at least one day off per month (there might be one month where they don't).

[Kathryn]

My step son is a senior in ps. The first Monday of the month is a two hour late start, but they only have a total of two work weeks off through the course of the school year. One whole week at Christmas and one and two days here and there the rest of the time. This means that they have at least one day off per month (there might be one month where they don't).

 

One week!? Our district does two and a half weeks for winter break. They also do late start every Wednesday and have at least one inservice and one early dismissal each month in addition to holidays and a week-long spring break.

[QueenCat]

They planned while the kids were at "specials." i.e. PE, art, music, computer lab.

 

My question is what are the elementary teachers now doing during those times? (Asked by a former teacher who planned during specials and had 1 hour and 30 minutes a day.)

 

Specials were only 40 minutes a day at my childrens school (we didn't homeschool until they were in middle/high school). I subbed there so I know how little time they got to plan/prep.

[LibraryLover]

My experience is that the more you pay, the fewer hours they attend. :tongue_smilie:

 

I loved that about private school, frankly. The vacations were awesome, and each Wed., they were released from school an hour earlier. That was exactly what they needed. (The teachers had various speakers, meetings etc on that day.) I don't see why kids need to be in school for a zillion hours, I really don't. If 1/2 time was an option, I probably would not hs. Not sure, really. But the more they are home, the better I like it.

 

When two of mine went to public high school (by choice), I loved they had breaks/early release. Those AP classes (here) are killers. They needed a little 'down' time. (Which was really only 'catch-up' time.)

Edited October 12, 2012 by LibraryLover

[QueenCat]

OK, I do get that I don't work as a PS teacher and that teaching a class of kids is different than teaching a handful of your own.

 

But, I can't help but wonder, WHAT are they planning and IS it a good idea? We live in a society where a substantial portion of the population manages to graduate (or not) without a lot of basic skills. Maybe teachers need to plan less of whatever it is they are planning and get down to the business of teaching the basics. I mean, if the purpose of elementary school is to teach reading and writing and beginning arithmetic....there is nothing new in that. WHAT are they planning?

 

The lesson plan books at my kids elementary school were in 15 minute blocks. Since I subbed, I saw the insides of many planning books. They are planning the activities that the children will do to meet the standards. They had to have explicit lessons, with the standards being met listed next to them. They do more than reading, writing and math. They do science and social studies too. At our school, those were included from kindergarten on up to fifth grade.

Edited October 12, 2012 by CathieC

[Amy in NH]

Good question! I'm guessing they did it during a time period that they weren't getting paid for.

 

They often didn't.

[Ghee]

Specials were only 40 minutes a day at my childrens school (we didn't homeschool until they were in middle/high school). I subbed there so I know how little time they got to plan/prep.

 

Well, at our school we had 6 classes per grade level. 3 classes went to PE together, and then they shot off to different special classes. Then the other set went to special classes first, and then to PE. That way, the teacher got an hour.

[Ghee]

OK, I do get that I don't work as a PS teacher and that teaching a class of kids is different than teaching a handful of your own.

 

But, I can't help but wonder, WHAT are they planning and IS it a good idea? We live in a society where a substantial portion of the population manages to graduate (or not) without a lot of basic skills. Maybe teachers need to plan less of whatever it is they are planning and get down to the business of teaching the basics. I mean, if the purpose of elementary school is to teach reading and writing and beginning arithmetic....there is nothing new in that. WHAT are they planning?

 

I saw some of what grade level involved. Part of it was **** and moan about another grade/special teacher/administrative aid that they felt wasn't maximizing their potential and better enabling them to teach. Part of it was discussing this or that Pintrest/Youtube/inservice craft they'd seen and just KNEW was the next big thing. Most of the grade levels involved coffee and snacks. It was coffee club and gossip time, it's what the rest of us do for fun (and for free, I might add). I'm not saying the crafts are bad, but why do you need to coordinate stuffing tube socks with soil and grass seeds to make caterpillars across the whole grade level IN PERSON? Put out a note, mention it while you are standing in the hallway or eating lunch... I think they did try to sync their story/wordlist of the week and such, but it never seemed to work as they were all always at different places. I was close to an older teacher and she used to complain about grade level wasting the time she could have been doing actual planning.

 

 

Also, at that school, either the Principal or VP had to sit in on the grade level to address the concerns (aformentioned moaning) and then it had to be "written up" in "minutes" form and submitted to the Principal after it was done. I thought the whole thing sounded like more silliness than I would have been able to tolerate.

Edited October 12, 2012 by Ghee

[Ellie]

DD13 is in private school.

DD5 is in half day kindergarten.

 

They are in the same school district.

If they had the same day off, I only counted it as one day.

 

Between the two of them, they have.

 

 

 

26 early release days!

37 days off!

 

Out of the entire school year of 42 weeks, there are only 13 whole weeks of school!

 

:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:

Which is why it's so silly for states to require homeschoolers to have 180 days of school, and why I have no qualms in checking "present" every day that my dc wake up and get out of bed.:D

[LibraryLover]

Which is why it's so silly for states to require homeschoolers to have 180 days of school, and why I have no qualms in checking "present" every day that my dc wake up and get out of bed.:D

 

Yep.

 

And another reason why I don't freak on the WDW 'school' vacation thang.

Edited October 12, 2012 by LibraryLover

[Girl Power]

Which is why it's so silly for states to require homeschoolers to have 180 days of school, and why I have no qualms in checking "present" every day that my dc wake up and get out of bed.:D

 

:thumbup:

[Spy Car]

Teachers work their butts off lesson planning and grading homework and tests for a room full of children.

 

In contrast I hear a lot of homeschoolers say they put in 2-3 hours a day, so everyday is "early release day."

 

Other homeschoolers mark "present" just because their children get out of bed.

 

Yet it is the school teachers who get bagged on. It think it's hypocrisy.

 

Bill

[LibraryLover]

I knew you'd chime in at the WDW reference.

 

I always thought you were a TV sitcom writer, or reality show producer, but now I think you are an elementary school teacher.:001_smile:

 

Which is totally cool. I would like my kid to be in your class. :) You sound very dedicated, and I respect that.

 

I am all for fewer days, and early release!

 

 

Teachers work their butts off lesson planning and grading homework and tests for a room full of children.

 

In contrast I hear a lot of homeschoolers say they put in 2-3 hours a day, so everyday is "early release day."

 

Other homeschoolers mark "present" just because their children get out of bed.

 

Yet it is the school teachers who get bagged on. It think it's hypocrisy.

 

Bill

Edited October 12, 2012 by LibraryLover

[The Governess]

.

[ChristineW]

Teachers work their butts off lesson planning and grading homework and tests for a room full of children.

 

In contrast I hear a lot of homeschoolers say they put in 2-3 hours a day, so everyday is "early release day."

 

Other homeschoolers mark "present" just because their children get out of bed.

 

Yet it is the school teachers who get bagged on. It think it's hypocrisy.

 

Bill

 

:iagree: It stinks for the OP that the private and public schools are on such different calendars, but I don't see the big deal about early release days. The teachers at my kids' school work hard. Good teachers need the inservice days to plan--and I don't mind that they get a real lunch once a month. The kids move classes for reading and the teachers were meeting daily after school for a while to discuss assessments and divvy up the reading groups. They do work to coordinate lessons so that Mrs. A will do apple graphing on M, Mrs B will do it on Tues, etc and then they all "dissect" the beat up apples on Friday. The district is implementing a new highly intensive math curriculum so the teachers are required to attend monthly training to discuss how its going and to refine technique. Parents are involved at the school so many (if not most) teachers are spending at least the first half hour after school gets out meeting with a parent about behavior, reading, family issues. There are curriculum nights a couple times a year in the younger grades as well as multiple social events that the teachers are expected to attend. The school calendar including inservice days is published every February before the start of the new year so it isn't like anything is a surprise.

 

If CA makes the proposed trigger cuts in January, we're going to be stuck with furlough days again. Now those I do have a problem with! I'm not keen about losing weeks of school which is big part of the reason we afterschool.

 

Christine

[Tap]

:iagree: It stinks for the OP that the private and public schools are on such different calendars, but I don't see the big deal about early release days.......

 

If CA makes the proposed trigger cuts in January, we're going to be stuck with furlough days again. Now those I do have a problem with! I'm not keen about losing weeks of school which is big part of the reason we afterschool.

 

Christine

 

 

Actually they are in the same school district (so big holidays like Christmas/spring are overlapping), but the private school doesn't take as many days off. DD5 has 19 early release days, and 6 days off (outside of Christmas/Spring break).

 

The problem with early release days is the constant changing of schedules. Regular time, 1 hour early, 2 hour early.....there many weeks when she has 3 different pickup times in one week! For us working parents, it is a pain in the tush to coordinate our work schedules with the schools'. The daycares hate it too. It creates problem with scheduling staff and keeping track of student/teacher ratios.

 

Some of the schools do early release and some do late start.

 

I don't have a problem with the teachers having time to plan and collaborate, but it is irritating to have the changing schedule every week. I would much rather have full days off so I can take my child to daycare, and not move her around at varying times mid day.

[Arcadia]

If CA makes the proposed trigger cuts in January, we're going to be stuck with furlough days again. Now those I do have a problem with! I'm not keen about losing weeks of school which is big part of the reason we afterschool.

 

You are lucky. My school district has furlough days every year since recession started in California. I am annoyed though because my district is spendthrift and they just pass a tax measure to pay for librarians.

[Spy Car]

Actually they are in the same school district (so big holidays like Christmas/spring are overlapping), but the private school doesn't take as many days off. DD5 has 19 early release days, and 6 days off (outside of Christmas/Spring break).

 

The problem with early release days is the constant changing of schedules. Regular time, 1 hour early, 2 hour early.....there many weeks when she has 3 different pickup times in one week! For us working parents, it is a pain in the tush to coordinate our work schedules with the schools'. The daycares hate it too. It creates problem with scheduling staff and keeping track of student/teacher ratios.

 

Some of the schools do early release and some do late start.

 

I don't have a problem with the teachers having time to plan and collaborate, but it is irritating to have the changing schedule every week. I would much rather have full days off so I can take my child to daycare, and not move her around at varying times mid day.

 

How are Private Schools and Public Schools in "the same school district?" You mean they are in the same general area? But not the same school district, yes?

 

I get how the conflicting calendars of Public Schools and Private Schools can cause inconvenience to parents who have children in both.

 

Bill

[Spy Car]

You are lucky. My school district has furlough days every year since recession started in California. I am annoyed though because my district is spendthrift and they just pass a tax measure to pay for librarians.

 

You think schools should not pay for librarians?

 

Bill

[bettyandbob]

With regard to the OP having kids in private and public. The schools are not in the same district. By saying they are in the same district, you suggest they are under the same regulatory authority. Where I live a private is not subject to following the district where it is geographically located. It's a private school. So it sets its own schedule.

 

The school where I work part time is the only private school I know of that sets its calendar based on the local district--that is because the school takes contract special education placements. I cannot think of one private school in my area that follows the local district's calendar. Most start the week before. Most have a longer winter break. Some have a longer spring break. Some have spring break at a completely different time. Etc., etc.

 

I have known families that had dc in different private schools or public and private. Their calendars don't mesh. They have to make choices. Like if they go on vacation in the spring, which child misses school. It's a choice you make.

[Ellie]

Whatever, Bill.

 

I think requring homeschoolers to keep attendance records is silly. It's why I can't take it seriously. It has nothing to do with the time classroom teachers have to put in.

 

FTR, at least in California, public school students are counted as "present" on days when school is actually closed for teacher in-service time. If public schools can do that, I can count my children present just because they woke up and got out of bed.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

Whatever, Bill.

 

I think requring homeschoolers to keep attendance records is silly. It's why I can't take it seriously. It has nothing to do with the time classroom teachers have to put in.

 

FTR, at least in California, public school students are counted as "present" on days when school is actually closed for teacher in-service time. If public schools can do that, I can count my children present just because they woke up and got out of bed.

 

The wayI understand it, teachers only get paid for the students who are present on that particular school day (or is it the school gets paid that way.) How does that work if there are no children present? And doesn't counting it misrepresent how many days of school the children actually get? :confused:

[ChristineW]

Whatever, Bill.

 

I think requring homeschoolers to keep attendance records is silly. It's why I can't take it seriously. It has nothing to do with the time classroom teachers have to put in.

 

FTR, at least in California, public school students are counted as "present" on days when school is actually closed for teacher in-service time. If public schools can do that, I can count my children present just because they woke up and got out of bed.

 

 

Absolutely false. Schools do get paid for early release days because they meet the minimum instructional hours required by law. Full-day in-service days do not count toward instructional days required by the state. The teachers get paid for full day in-service b/c they are required to be there, and are expected to be working; the state probably does pay some money toward in-service days but the school does not get $ for students on days the school is closed.

 

However, this does lead to the problem in OP's complaint--schools have an economic incentive to have several minimum instructional days rather than a few full days off.

[Spy Car]

Absolutely false. Schools do get paid for early release days because they meet the minimum instructional hours required by law. Full-day in-service days do not count toward instructional days required by the state. The teachers get paid for full day in-service b/c they are required to be there, and are expected to be working; the state probably does pay some money toward in-service days but the school does not get $ for students on days the school is closed.

 

However, this does lead to the problem in OP's complaint--schools have an economic incentive to have several minimum instructional days rather than a few full days off.

 

:iagree:

 

Yes, you accurately state the way things work here in California. The budget squeeze has necessitated a number of less-than-perfect compromises. I know many teachers now come in and work days preparing for the new school terms without pay because of their professionalism and dedication to their students. The incessant criticism of hard-working and caring teacher kind of burns me after a while.

 

I would hope that home educators would be a little more sympathetic to what it takes to teach 20-30 (or sometimes more) children in a classroom. Proponents of quality education do not need to be antagonists just because they follow a different model. It gets old.

 

Bill

[lexi]

OK, I do get that I don't work as a PS teacher and that teaching a class of kids is different than teaching a handful of your own.

 

But, I can't help but wonder, WHAT are they planning and IS it a good idea? We live in a society where a substantial portion of the population manages to graduate (or not) without a lot of basic skills. Maybe teachers need to plan less of whatever it is they are planning and get down to the business of teaching the basics. I mean, if the purpose of elementary school is to teach reading and writing and beginning arithmetic....there is nothing new in that. WHAT are they planning?

 

Amen! My hubby teaches some college courses and the level of work submitted to him is atrocious! These kids are highschool grads. Needless to say my hubby is SO on board with homeschooling now!

 

I think those kids need some basics! All the extras are great but when you aren't functionally literate, they don't help you much.

 

Now, I'm not being critical of the teachers because theirs is a job that I do NOT want and could NOT do. I'm fine with my own job. I can't imagine an entire classroom of kids at different levels and then the pressure of testing. No thank you!!!!

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

You know, Bill, I really didn't see any posts on here flaming teachers. I saw some genuine questions, and some appropriate, helpful answers.

[Ellie]

So I lied. Whatever.

 

My point is still the same: requiring attendance records for homeschoolers is silly, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the dedication and hardwork of public school teachers. Why you even thought to go this particular direction is beyond me.

[Spy Car]

You know, Bill, I really didn't see any posts on here flaming teachers. I saw some genuine questions, and some appropriate, helpful answers.

 

Public Schools and Public School teachers get disparaged constantly on this forum. I'm sure any members of this forum who have children in Public Schools are high attuned to the attitudes expressed freely on this forum.

 

There are some bad teachers and bad schools out there, just as I'm sure there are some awful homeschool situations, but painting with an overly broad brush slanders the dedicated and hard working teacher who deserve respect. Just like dedicated and hard working home educators might feel hurt when homeschooling is mocked and ridiculed because of a bad homeschooling situation.

 

People who care about quality education for children should not be enemies because they pursue different means to that end.

 

Bill

[Spy Car]

So I lied. Whatever.

 

 

Bumper-sticker worthy :D

 

Bill

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

You know, Bill, I really didn't see any posts on here flaming teachers. I saw some genuine questions, and some appropriate, helpful answers.

 

Public Schools and Public School teachers get disparaged constantly on this forum. I'm sure any members of this forum who have children in Public Schools are high attuned to the attitudes expressed freely on this forum.

 

There are some bad teachers and bad schools out there, just as I'm sure there are some awful homeschool situations, but painting with an overly broad brush slanders the dedicated and hard working teacher who deserve respect. Just like dedicated and hard working home educators might feel hurt when homeschooling is mocked and ridiculed because of a bad homeschooling situation.

 

People who care about quality education for children should not be enemies because they pursue different means to that end.

 

Bill

 

I apologize for not being more clear. I meant I didn't see any flaming post on this thread. Which is why I was surprised you seemed to think teachers were being attacked in posts on here.

[Pink Fairy]

My (teacher) husband hates all these weird days too. Rally schedules, staff development, collaboration time, etc., all eat into teaching time and provide very little benefit that he can see.

 

He had a staff development day--no students--on Monday which was a new low in his 18 year career. His district paid (and probably quite well) for a "consultant" to come in and have the teachers do things like walk in concentric circles while telling each other, "You are awesome!" and "I want to learn more about you!" The weirdest part was the 45 minutes (no exaggeration) they played a game where you made a sound, the person to your left made a different sound, and the person across from you made a third sound. Then the person on their left started it all over. I think the sounds were something like "Wooooooo!" "Zap!" "Kooooow!" They did it over and over and over until they got the pattern of words and order of people right.

 

I don't know whether we should be laughing or crying, but crying feels more appropriate.