K-12 Public Schools: How Good/Bad In Your Experience?

Tulsa Public Schools are both fantastic and poor in educational performance, depending on the school. I agree with Evan, it is all about the parents/family/community and has nothing to do with socio-economic status or racial demographics.

At the poor performing schools, teachers and volunteers report that the families are completely uninvolved: no PTA membership, no parent/teacher conference attendance, no nutrition at home, no healthy activities or sleep habits. There are even reports that some families denigrate their own children if they try to do well at school, calling them geeks and know-it-alls. It's heartbreaking to my in-laws, who volunteer at some of these schools, to see 5th graders struggling to read at 1st and 2nd grade levels. Primary fault is with the parents/guardians.

On the other hand, the same school system has some of the best schools in the region. French and Spanish immersion and advanced math and science in elementary school. 5th grade student exchange programs to Mexico and France. PTA membership at the 200% level (parents and grandparents all join). Kids in Duke TIP and baccalaureate programs. Guess what? The parents and family are always there, in the background, virtually shadowing their children. Not controlling or manipulating, but supporting and encouraging.

I went to some of the "best" Tulsa Public Schools in by childhood. My kids go to the "best" Tulsa Public Schools today. Today's good public schools are MUCH better that those of my childhood. The poor ones are the same, no better or worse.

 

my early days in education were awful.

my kindergarten testing should have placed me in first grade, but they didn't believe i knew what i was talking about, they thought my mom sat me down and told me what to say... (uh... yeah, she knew exactly what they were going to ask too ) so into kindergarten i went.

i was constantly asking my teachers until about fourth grade when classes were going to be challenging? that sounds to me like a student who needs additional work to do before they just get bored and apathetic. i didn't get anything until 4th grade, when i had the first proactive teacher i'd ever met. they should have put me in middle school math in 5th or 6th grade. instead i wasn't putting in any effort whatsoever and scored highest in my class while sleeping through most of it.

middle school got much better, and in high school i finally had the options to challenge myself, even had the option of taking classes at the local university my senior year. would have loved to take advantage of that but my situation didn't allow it.

DH had a very similar experience in that school system, except he got to be one of the bored and burned out ones. no effort required... he just stopped showing up to class. he's always been interested in physics and i know he could be into lasers or any number of other cool things he likes, but by the time that became an option he was too far out of the academic loop.

that's not the kind of impact i want my schools having on my children.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(M. Oiseau @ May 1 2006, 09:37 AM) [snapback]247905[/snapback]</div>

I strongly disagree that it has nothing to do with socio-economic status. I think that, if you are a single parent and have to work 2 jobs just to put food on the table, then you are in a much worse position to spend 1 hour a night reading to/with your child. I think that the parents can/should always be encouraging, but I think that a lot of parents have a really hard choice to make between spending enough time with their children and paying the rent.

I'm not saying that the proper balance can't be found; I'm just saying that it's much harder for some people than for others.

 

At http://www.msnbc.msn.com/ you can see Newsweek's latest list of the top 1,000 high schools in the U.S.

Anyone see their kid's school on the list? (By way of full disclosure, my son's school is in the top 100, (see "Smug" in Today's New Words) which is why our taxes are exhorbitant)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jared2 @ May 1 2006, 09:31 AM) [snapback]247981[/snapback]</div>

Complete URL is:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7723397/site/newsweek/

I was fortunate to go to a good NY school that emphasized Regents courses. I learned a lot there. Now I have two sons, one in college and one a junior in high school. We're lucky to have an excellent local school district. The teachers put in a lot of personal effort and set high standards. We may be very small, but our schools produce regularly some top scholars and atheletes. My oldest son got into the very competetive Univ. of Washington, in part due to the academic training level of our advanced high school students. So I'd say that some high schools are doing a great job still.

 

Our schools reflect our community. Problems don't fall far from the tree. <_<

 

A lot of our perception of schools (public usually) are from the media...who like to sensationalize everything. From listening to my kids talk throughout school, and given the partial success and partial failure of their education, and attending various school functions...I would say the public schools where I live, kids went to same ones I went to, not much has changed.

Here, kids who want an education get it, those that don't want one, don't.

I feel sorry for kids who have no opportunity for a good education due to the school environment itself. Here, it is there for the taking.

(Midwest city of about 22,000 with below avg. family incomes and struggling schools)

 

It is all about individual motivation. The brightest and most motivated students will find a way to succeed in almost any school setting, as long as they aren't concerned about their individual safety. Those lacking motivation, the bored, and the burned out will gain the mininum education from even the greatest system. Many leaders in both business and government believe that the education of students is analagous to producing a product. The individual mind is nowhere near as predictable as the raw materials used in the manufacturing process. The role of the parent can be crucial in helping the student to develop the motivation necessary to excel in school. Most teachers do their best to motivate kids. My experience in school was good. I would say that today's students have many more opportunities with AP exams and Dual Enrollment in Community Colleges.

 

Individual motivation is very important, especially when you are talking about average schools - not really great and not really terrible. Problems arise when the schools are really terrible. On Long Island, schools range from those with graduation rates of 100% to those that graduate only 20%. In the bad schools, children do have to fear for their safety. Metal detectors are a necessity. Children are very influenced by their environments. If all their friends are learning piano, playing chess and taking AP courses to get into Harvard, they will be motivated. If their friends are hanging out at the mall and taking drugs and dropping out they will not.

 

lol, not even in the top 1060something!

go figure...

 

My kid goes to a very good highly ranked K-12 private school. Steve Case and Barack Obama are alumni along with many others and currently Michelle Wie is one grade above. My niece went to a small PUBLIC school (not much of a ranking, if any) on an outer island and graduated top of her class and received a full FOUR year scholarship to Dartmouth. So you never know. It's the school, but also the parents and the kid along with many factors that contribute to the success and life the child will ultimately achieve.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ghostofjk @ May 6 2006, 03:51 PM) [snapback]250801[/snapback]</div>

For the life of me; I can't figure what the question is that the votes would represent.