1) Right on about problems starting at home, not at school. Being inside a school district, it's easy to see how true this is (and I'm not even in a classroom most days). So many kids have no stability in life, and there's no way you can get them to focus on school when their lives are so chaotic.

2) I concur with the statement that it begins in the home. My husband and I recently debated whether to send our child to a private school or to put him in the public school system. After all the discussion and arguments, we determined that it did not matter where he went, but instead how involved we were with his schooling. I talk to his teacher by note every day. I speak on the phone with her once a week. I do not act like I know everything, I ask her for suggestions on how to change behaviors that are not appropriate.

I see too many children go home from school, say they have no homework (hell, some don't even have a book bag) and know they can get away with it because the parents just don't care. Teachers are not meant to be babysitters, they are there to help our children learn. No voucher program is going to do anything to change that. The changes need to be made at HOME!

3) Dang, only $5 grand. You're a lucky bugger. Go college prep classes!

4) Thanks for the book recommendation, Fritz. I'd like to read it. I taught disadvantaged students for many years. It was very, very discouraging. They don't have good attendance (because their parents don't encourage it), they don't care about school (because their parents don't care), they don't show the proper respect to school personnel (because their parents don't teach them respect), they don't want to work (because that's the role model they've had all their lives), they don't want to listen (because they have too many other things on their minds), they don't dream big dreams (because they don't have any role models who have succeeded).

One of the characteristics of poverty is that those who are poor can't see a way out; they can't realistically dream about a better life than the one they're living. And so the cycle keeps repeating itself....over and over and over.

What's the answer? In my opinion, education....but then you get into the problems stated above. I think things are improving, very little by very little. And I think having a black President would be a wonderful role model for thousands of kids living in poverty. If he can, maybe I can too.

I think NCLB meant well. At least somebody tried to do SOMETHING instead of the same old, same old. But the standards are all too subjective. As you said, two states can have different standards. Then where are we? We've heard of teachers cheating to improve their students' scores; we've heard of "teaching to the test" where it seems that all teachers worry about and try to teach is what is going to be on the next test. In Springfield this year all three high school principals were replaced in order to improve students' scores. I don't think that's all bad. Now they need to shake up the teaching assignments so that the "cliques" are broken up and the three high schools receive a similar education.

But as long as poverty exists, as long as thousands of kids don't have the motivation to succeed or even the will to get to school every day and do the work required of them, then NCLB will not succeed.

5) Fritz, I've never really put too much thought into this subject, but after reading what you had to say I have to agree with you. My daughter is only in preschool and I'm already trying to lay down some sort of foundation for the rest of her school years (taking an active interest in her day, expanding on themes they are teaching there, volunteering at her school so she sees that I'm interested in what is going on) so she knows how much we value her education.

I'm curious about your (and anyone elses) thoughts on what some of the Chicago public schools have decided to do--pay their students for every A ($50), B ($35) and C ($20) they get on their report cards. More details on the programs:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/content/educatio...

6) Boy, Jules, my first reaction was....you've got to be kidding!!! Then when I calmed down and thought about it and read the article, I think at least I would say now that it's worth a try and let's see what happens (as long as it's not done with taxpayer money). We've got to do something to break the poverty cycle; maybe this will work. I don't mean break the poverty cycle by giving them enough money to increase their standard of living, but instead break the poverty cycle by getting them interested in school, working hard, paying attention, having good attendance, SUCCEEDING. Some of them will like the feeling of success and it will carry over into other parts of their lives and help them get through school and then prepare for a career. I'll be very anxious to see the results in several years.

7) RIGHT ON!!!!!!!!!!
First off, NCLB was great in thought, but in practice, it clearly doesn't work for multiple reasons. Illinois is implementing a new program called RtI. It makes teachers and schools accountable to individual students. It looks at individual student success based on both academics and behaviors and requires schools to look at students who aren't succeeding and try to find out why. I don't think it will be the savior of education, but we're getting better.
I couldn't agree with you more about the importance of parental involvement. I don't work in a private school, but our students, for the most part, are very successful, and it's because we have very strong parental involvement.
I would like to see teachers held more accountable, as it frustrates me to no end to see fellow teachers not doing their jobs. I have no solution on how to do this; however, teachers are just as frustrated with bad teachers as anyone.

8) Amen, Mrs. Shoo.

9) Fritz, I agree that Ruby Payne's book is a great one to read. We had to read it as professional development at my school. I have a copy of it on my shelf.

In St. Louis, there is a VTS program (Voluntary Transfer Students) where we take students from the city into the county schools. I commend the parents for taking the effort to get their child into a county school, but unfortunately, most of them don't have the resources to participate in their child's education in our district beyond that. We even provide cab service for conferences, and we also hold events in their neighborhoods, but we just don't see much of those families.

I wish that I could say that our low socio-economic city kids could break the cycle of poverty, but unfortunately, most of them do not. They have so much going against them.

I am very lucky that I work in a district where 99% of the district staff is extremely high quality. Where I taught in Chicago, I couldn't say the same thing. A lot of the teachers are just going through the motions to get paid.

As far as paying kids for grades, I'm pretty opposed to using extrinsic motivation to get kids to learn. Although, I can see where this will motivate urban kids to try a little harder. I'll be curious to hear about how successful it really is. Unfortunately for city kids, they are up against a lot more than middle class families never experience. Most of my city kids are responsible for themselves, and their homes are pretty chaotic after school. Many of them are parents to their younger siblings, share a room with multiple people, stay up late because it is impossible to get to bed at a reasonable hour because of noise, lack nutrition, parents don't have enough education to help with homework, etc . . .

10) Jenn,
My dad was a principal in the Rockwood SD at Marquette HS and had a program where the district bussed in inner-city students to his school. However, my dad said that those kids did not take advantage of the opportunities given them. It just shows that it doesn't what the facilities are, it's something deeper. I have a unique opportunity to teach in an inner-city/suburban school district in south Kansas City. I am a positive role model for my students and I can show them where they could be with some hard work and dedication. I love my school and my job!

11) Nancy I saw something on the news about Jules comment and tried to find it on the web to blog and ask all the teachers on this site what they thought about that. I did hear all the $$ is from private donations--since you mentioned taxpayers $$.

12) They had an article in our local paper recently regarding monetary incentives. These were for attendance, not grades. I'm with Jenn. I don't know how much I agree with it, but I'd like to see how it all works out in the long-haul.

13) In Johnston County,NC last year there were approximately 2,000 graduates from five high schools. Among the 2008 Graduated there were schloarships to many of the local colleges and universities; however, there weren't any big schloarship winners, like to The Ivy League Schhools, Full Rides to NCSU (the Park Schlarship), to UNC (the Morehead Schlarship),and lastly,there were no appointments to the Service Academies. However, there were more graduates maticulating to local Community College than anywhere else. Students that achieve the levels that I have described I consider educated.

14) Beano,
Earning a scholarship is not the same as getting paid for grades.

15) BeanCounter37, what's your highest level of education and what do you do or what did you do for a living?

16) Did you go to an Ivy League school, Bean? Very few students who apply to the Ivy League schools even get in (I believe something like 90% are rejected.)
What's wrong with a community college? That's where I started out, not because I had to, but because I wanted to. Many students do. It's a money issue or a family issue. So many graduating seniors are terrified to start this next phase of their lives, so they put it off by going to a community college. Many of them learn study skills and figure out what they want to do without spending tens of thousands a year. It seems practical to me. But you blast them for it?
I personally think an educated person is one who can write and speak the language that s/he grew up with fluently. It's a person who knows how to censor him/herself with regards to opinions which are different from the majority and opinions that might offend. It's someone who has chosen to take advantage of all opportunities with regards to learning, but it might not include college.
Who's the elitist?

17) Rock on Mrs. Shoo.

18) Yes, rock on.

19) No wonder NCLB was a failure if the was created by "The Hero of Chappiquidick" because as long as he has been in the Congress he has done nothing but help to make the Federal Government bigger and more wasteful.

20) Nancy my wife taught Special Education for 2 years and decided to leave and go back to her former position with a local Mental Heath agency. She taught the group that was classified as "Developmental" the kids were in the first three year age group (Kindergarten and maybe as high functioning as Second Grade). She also, regular Special Ed to children in the grades from first to fifth grades. I had a friend that was a former Assistant Superintendant and he told me that he couldn't stay in a Developmental Classroom but a very few minutes. It takes a special breed of person to be a teacher and I salute all of you; however, I also apologize to all of the teachers for not being able to do their duties every day because they have to the discipling in the classroom that should be taught at home.