Anyone thinking of leaving privates next year?

[Anonymous]

There is a lot of testing or progress monitoring (at the lower grades) in public schools. I am teaching in a D.C. public school with an IB curriculum and we have just as much freedom as teachers do in independent schools (I have taught in an independent school in DC for 7 years).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That is interesting because in the public schools, teachers are required to have a degree in education in order to teach it. Also, public school teachers must take additional coursework every 5 years in order to keep their teaching license. Some of the private schools we looked at employed teachers who did not have a degree in education at all.

You're missing the point entirely. Public Schools have such requirements because the pool of teachers, on average, is of lower quality. Private school teachers-- mostly because they are paid SO MUCH more-- are just better. I don't know what private schools you looked at where teachers had no degree in education, so can't comment specifically on that. However, even in those cases, I would wager that the teacher is extremely effective in class, gets the job done, and is thus retained.

Can a few teachers chime in here?

Private school teacher with a Masters here. Having taught in public, I can tell you private school teachers make far less. However, the trade-off for me is the supportive environment and low burn-out. I'm energized by the children and teaching environment. Definitely worth it. That being said, a child can get an excellent education in public or charter--including in DC. I have first-hand knowledge of this. It is a matter of picking and choosing with discernment - just as you would be with an independent school.

[Anonymous]

I apologize in advance ... I have not read all the responses to this thread and may repeat others.

For our family, we hope that the choice of private over public will provide our child with a small, nurturing environment where she will love learning and be encouraged to explore many different areas (especially the arts and physical education) rather than focus primarily on language arts and math. We realize that she may very well "know" less of those two important subjects early on ... but by the time she graduates from the eighth grade, she will be well prepared for high school in many, many ways.

In other words, we want her to have a well rounded educational experience with a wide range of opportunities that will help her grow into her full potential ... whether that leads to Harvard or UMCP is of no importance to us.

[Anonymous]

I would like to say that I pulled my child out of MC schools this year and he is now thriving at Seneca. The kids are well behaved and the faculty is attentive and focused on education and treating eachother with respect. They work very hard on educating the whole child. Unlike MC, they teach math concepts rather than teach to the test. My child has learned what he is doing now rather than memorizing and doing 2 grade levels ahead in math in MC. He has wonderful friends and the parents are very welcoming. The social studies, science, music, PE and Spanish programs are all excellent as well. The kids get 2 recesses a day and because of the small class size, don't get the ridiculous amount of homework that MC gives. They have more time to do it in the classroom and it is meaningful homework. The price is low but the location and economy calls for that. I highly recommend this school for anyone who wants their child to get an excellent education and be challenged academically as well as be surrounded by kids who have manners and respect one another. And finally, an administration that listens to the parents and does not sweep things under the carpet. I am so happy that I made the move for my child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would like to say that I pulled my child out of MC schools this year and he is now thriving at Seneca. The kids are well behaved and the faculty is attentive and focused on education and treating eachother with respect. They work very hard on educating the whole child. Unlike MC, they teach math concepts rather than teach to the test. My child has learned what he is doing now rather than memorizing and doing 2 grade levels ahead in math in MC. He has wonderful friends and the parents are very welcoming. The social studies, science, music, PE and Spanish programs are all excellent as well. The kids get 2 recesses a day and because of the small class size, don't get the ridiculous amount of homework that MC gives. They have more time to do it in the classroom and it is meaningful homework. The price is low but the location and economy calls for that. I highly recommend this school for anyone who wants their child to get an excellent education and be challenged academically as well as be surrounded by kids who have manners and respect one another. And finally, an administration that listens to the parents and does not sweep things under the carpet. I am so happy that I made the move for my child.

You're new, give it time. The honeymoon will soon be over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would like to say that I pulled my child out of MC schools this year and he is now thriving at Seneca. The kids are well behaved and the faculty is attentive and focused on education and treating eachother with respect. They work very hard on educating the whole child. Unlike MC, they teach math concepts rather than teach to the test. My child has learned what he is doing now rather than memorizing and doing 2 grade levels ahead in math in MC. He has wonderful friends and the parents are very welcoming. The social studies, science, music, PE and Spanish programs are all excellent as well. The kids get 2 recesses a day and because of the small class size, don't get the ridiculous amount of homework that MC gives. They have more time to do it in the classroom and it is meaningful homework. The price is low but the location and economy calls for that. I highly recommend this school for anyone who wants their child to get an excellent education and be challenged academically as well as be surrounded by kids who have manners and respect one another. And finally, an administration that listens to the parents and does not sweep things under the carpet. I am so happy that I made the move for my child.

You're new, give it time. The honeymoon will soon be over.

ITA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, I looked up sample questions from the Praxis. Here are a few:

I'm currently getting certified to be an elementary school teacher. The questions you quoted sound like they come from the Praxis I test -- a test of general knowledge abd basic academic skills -- this is usually required of anyone desiring to enter a teacher education program. It is called a test of Pre-professional skills. It is, sadly, very basic -- and the scary thing is many elementary school teachers trained in years past were not able to pass even this very basic test when it came out years ago. Now, teacher candidates aren't even allowed to enter an education program if they can't pass this test, which is a good thing.

The Praxis II is a subject specific test. From high school math teachers, the questions are all drawn from high school math topics up to calculus. For elementary school teachers, the subjects tests are foundations of reading, writing and grammar, world and us history, civics, economics, grography, biology, physics, earth science, health, and math up to basic algrebra. This is in order to be certified to teach K-6. It's not terribly hard but does require enough background in all those areas to be able to teach content classes up to 6th grade. Some sample questions:

Which of the following is equal to 8 to the fourth?

A.4,032
B.4,064
C.4,096
D.4,128

In the formula x = 10y, if y is positive and the value of y is multiplied by 2, then the value of x is

A.divided by 10
B.multiplied by 10
C.halved
D.doubled

Mount Rainier is located in which of the following mountain ranges?

A.The Cascades
B.The Rockies
C.The Appalachians
D.The Alps

The Divine Right of Kings was a key political characteristic of:

A.The Age of Absolutism
B. The Age of Reason
C. The Age of Feudalism
D. The Age of Despotism

What percent of the seats in the United States House of Representatives are up for election every two years?

A.33%
B.50%
C.66%
D.100%

Which of the following would be observed in a vacuum if a feather and two stones of different weights were dropped simultaneously from a height of ten feet?

A.Both stones would hit the ground at the same time, but before the feather.
B.The heavier stone would hit the ground first.
C.The lighter stone would hit the ground first.
D.All three objects would hit the ground at the same time.

Which of the following laboratory instruments would be most appropriate to use in determining the volume of a large block of wood of unknown density?

A.A metric ruler
B.A triple-beam balance
C.A 200 mL volumetric flask
D.A micrometer

Airplanes generate pressure and maintain balance by:

A. Fast air movement over wings and slow movement under wings
B. Slow air movement over wings and fast movement under wings
C. Air movement that is equal above and below wings
D Air movement that only occurs over the wings

[Anonymous]

Just for fun, can you post the correct answers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just for fun, can you post the correct answers?

Go ahead and give it a try yourself. I'll tell you if you got them all right!

[Anonymous]

C, D, B, C (?), A, D, A, A

[Anonymous]

Bitter much?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would like to say that I pulled my child out of MC schools this year and he is now thriving at Seneca. The kids are well behaved and the faculty is attentive and focused on education and treating eachother with respect. They work very hard on educating the whole child. Unlike MC, they teach math concepts rather than teach to the test. My child has learned what he is doing now rather than memorizing and doing 2 grade levels ahead in math in MC. He has wonderful friends and the parents are very welcoming. The social studies, science, music, PE and Spanish programs are all excellent as well. The kids get 2 recesses a day and because of the small class size, don't get the ridiculous amount of homework that MC gives. They have more time to do it in the classroom and it is meaningful homework. The price is low but the location and economy calls for that. I highly recommend this school for anyone who wants their child to get an excellent education and be challenged academically as well as be surrounded by kids who have manners and respect one another. And finally, an administration that listens to the parents and does not sweep things under the carpet. I am so happy that I made the move for my child.

You're new, give it time. The honeymoon will soon be over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:C, D, B, C (?), A, D, A, A

Pretty good. Just three wrong.

C, D, D (Mt Rainier is in the Cascades), A (Divine Right of Kings was a concept of the Age of Absolutism), D (100% of House of Rep elected every 2 years) D, A, A

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:C, D, B, C (?), A, D, A, A

Pretty good. Just three wrong.

C, D, D (Mt Rainier is in the Cascades), A (Divine Right of Kings was a concept of the Age of Absolutism), D (100% of House of Rep elected every 2 years) D, A, A

#3 & #4 were just wild-ass guesses, but I'm embarrassed by #5 because my reading comprehension stinks (I was thinking Senate). Sounds like I ought to bone up on geography and philosophy. Thanks for the answers.

[Anonymous]

Do all those questions come from the same test? Or are they from multiple subject-matter tests? In other words, if I want to teach 4th-grade math, do I need to know about the Divine Right of Kings?

[Anonymous]

PP- YES!!