Anonymous wrote:I'll say it: there's very little teaching going on..and teachers are taking on far too many non-teaching responsibilities - communicating with parents, student excessive absenteeism, all sorts of socioeconomic cultural issues, behavior and discipline problems, even seemingly minor health and wellness issues (needing a change of clothes for bathroom accidents or weather changes, coming to school sick, hungry, tired) all with limited school resources. Not at all the teachers' fault. Specialists, administration, everyone is tapped out.

+100

Until this changes, there is no way things will change.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the experiment with hiring these Ivy Teach for America types should be declared over. They will just leave anyway, and go off to work for a nonprofit or quit when they marry a banker. What's so great about "gentrifying" DCPS teachers anyway? It used to be that DCPS staff were of D.C. They were from the D.C community and they understood D.C. And they were happy to have a career and lifetime career with DCPS.

Decades of DCPS being little more than a jobs program has proven to be insufficient. "Being of the DC Community" doesn't carry a lot of weight with people who eschew the Barry years (not in a good way, at least).

This has been an underlying tension since Michelle Rhee, who used her big broom to get rid of a number of under-performing teachers and administrators. This resulted in a lot of push-back from those who purported to speak on behalf of "the community" and who claimed she was messing with settled expectations of employment with DCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best thing parents can do to support teachers is to actually parent their children. This includes modeling appropriate behavior (e.g., stop yelling "I'm gonna beat your ass" to your five year old at the playground), read to your child every night, make sure they get enough sleep, don't feed hem crap, don't expose them daily to rap videos and violent games etc. doing less than this means the teacher has to parent your brat instead of actually teaching.

+1. "What can parents do to help?" Parent. Demand respect for authority from children. Swift and certain consequences for unacceptable behavior would solve 93.7% of DCPS problems.

^This x1000 coupled with swift and certain circumstances at school. I'd love to see a "scared straight" program in every one of the DCPS schools.

Anonymous wrote:The best thing parents can do to support teachers is to actually parent their children. This includes modeling appropriate behavior (e.g., stop yelling "I'm gonna beat your ass" to your five year old at the playground), read to your child every night, make sure they get enough sleep, don't feed hem crap, don't expose them daily to rap videos and violent games etc. doing less than this means the teacher has to parent your brat instead of actually teaching.

+1. "What can parents do to help?" Parent. Demand respect for authority from children. Swift and certain consequences for unacceptable behavior would solve 93.7% of DCPS problems.

Anonymous wrote:Ballou has no student who is proficient in math and 2% proficient in English. What's the point of pretending it's a school. Just call it a day care facility and get people in there who can stop the kids from harming each other, even if they can't teach.

That's depressing.

^
The salary isn't worth the mental abuse.

I worked at a "good" DCPS and dreaded work every day. There's no top down support, just top down pressure. Add in the outside in pressure from demanding and sometimes unhinged parents. Makes for an awful workplace.The salary is nice but I can't blame anyone for hitting the road if thats not enough enticement.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where can we see what actually goes on in these troubled classrooms? Can they secretly film the kids in a class?
A lot of talk about how badly they behave, but why don't they film them? Then show the video to their parents and ask them to parent or remove their kid?
There might be some kids willing to learn and nobody can learn in a disruptive classroom.

They behave like this at home! And don't this is not just happening EOTP, take a bus anytime school has let out at Wilson or Deal!

Plus, what makes you think that their parents care either?

Anonymous wrote:Where can we see what actually goes on in these troubled classrooms? Can they secretly film the kids in a class?
A lot of talk about how badly they behave, but why don't they film them? Then show the video to their parents and ask them to parent or remove their kid?
There might be some kids willing to learn and nobody can learn in a disruptive classroom.

They behave like this at home! And don't this is not just happening EOTP, take a bus anytime school has let out at Wilson or Deal!

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the experiment with hiring these Ivy Teach for America types should be declared over. They will just leave anyway, and go off to work for a nonprofit or quit when they marry a banker. What's so great about "gentrifying" DCPS teachers anyway? It used to be that DCPS staff were of D.C. They were from the D.C community and they understood D.C. And they were happy to have a career and lifetime career with DCPS.

Decades of DCPS being little more than a jobs program has proven to be insufficient. "Being of the DC Community" doesn't carry a lot of weight with people who eschew the Barry years (not in a good way, at least).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ballou has no student who is proficient in math and 2% proficient in English. What's the point of pretending it's a school. Just call it a day care facility and get people in there who can stop the kids from harming each other, even if they can't teach.

What actually happens in these classrooms? Are the kids just doing remedial stuff or is the teacher teaching and the kids just f--ing off and not paying attention?

ted

The kids are f---ing off and not paying attention. Teachers are expected to entertain kids. If they are not engaged, it's the teacher's fault. Didn't you know this? That's what IMPACT is all about.

The Chancellor should set an example by communicating to his principals that publicity stunts such as ensuring that all your seniors "apply" for college will be seen as the empty gestures that they are and will be a ding on their performance reviews, not a bonus. What a crock. 3% are reading at grade level but we want them all to think they are prepared for college? It's criminal. What are the counseling staffs in these failing high schools doing when they aren't submitting college applications that are essentially fraudulent? What they SHOULD be doing is helping these young adults find a path to a better future and if you aren't reading at your age level, that most likely means "don't go to college"...yet, at least. Are they helping students find paths that match their interests, such as vocational schools, certificate programs for a specific job or skillset, enlisting?

Anonymous wrote:Ballou has no student who is proficient in math and 2% proficient in English. What's the point of pretending it's a school. Just call it a day care facility and get people in there who can stop the kids from harming each other, even if they can't teach.

What actually happens in these classrooms? Are the kids just doing remedial stuff or is the teacher teaching and the kids just f--ing off and not paying attention?

Anonymous wrote:Where can we see what actually goes on in these troubled classrooms? Can they secretly film the kids in a class?
A lot of talk about how badly they behave, but why don't they film them? Then show the video to their parents and ask them to parent or remove their kid?
There might be some kids willing to learn and nobody can learn in a disruptive classroom.

If their parents even want t be bothered with this info, the parent will just beat on their kid at home. That is heir discipline and that is why their kids are turning around and repeating the same behavior.

Ballou has no student who is proficient in math and 2% proficient in English. What's the point of pretending it's a school. Just call it a day care facility and get people in there who can stop the kids from harming each other, even if they can't teach.