Your child gets left behind

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in Geiger's Counter

Thursday, July 30. 2009

Comments (32)

It is interesting that, in economic tough times, Gov. Sonny Perdue has decided to furlough teachers.

Aren’t these same teachers the ones responsible for bringing up Georgia’s various test scores to some level above those of a third world country where they stand now?

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#1 Anonymous on 07/30/09 at 10:28 AM

Amen to that. Finally someone said what most of have been thinking. This post should be read at the white house and at the state capitol.

#2 cats on 07/30/09 at 11:05 AM

I always thought that my kids needed to see that times were tough for their dad and I, it's real life, folks.
My kids packed a lunch to school every single day of their school career until they got their own part time jobs and paid for their own since they thought it was embarrassing to take a lunch.
And they rode the bus. There is nothing wrong with a child learning how to handle himself in the "Battlefield That is The Bus". It's a beginning to facing life.
Oh, and I have never in my life collected unemployment and I'm 8 years from retirement. But I have been known to work 2 jobs if I needed to.
All these hand-outs and self-esteem obviously have not worked in our society. We are saddled with citizens who cannot care for themselves and rely on freebies.

#3 Whoever in ATL-haha? on 07/30/09 at 11:14 AM

Walter,

You failed to mention the final outcome, where anyone who happens to get a college degree decides they have the right to a job, without regard to their qualifications, experience or work ethic. Who needs all that when they have a piece of paper? YCGLB and moves back in with the parents for the duration or their twenties (or thirties).

Not that I agree with all you say at all, but if the responsible parents were in the majority, we all would be headed in a good direction. I won't hold my breath. Thanks.

#4 Anonymous on 07/30/09 at 11:42 AM

in order to make kids wanna learn you have to make the curicculum interesting to the kids being taught.i think it shows a lack of creativity in the teachers teaching style along with lack of parent participation,that keeps lamar counties scores down in the dump.

#5 Enoc Sioul on 07/30/09 at 12:09 PM

Walter,

You bring up some very good points and I agree with most but I do take exception to most of the bones in your schematic. The premise of your argument is that we should hold our kids accountable for the faults of their parents. Some parents just don’t care or don’t know how to learn themselves. It’s not the parents who get penalized in your design but the child. The child didn’t choose their parents or anything else they were born with or without:
- They didn’t choose the economic times in which they were born or if their parents (or
parent ) works for J.P. Morgan or McDonalds flipping burgers.
- Fact, a hungry kid doesn’t learn and any meal they get in school may be their only for
the day.
- Without computers we will continue to fall behind the rest of the industrialized world.
- Below college level classes are paid for by the lottery not property taxes.
- Never give up on a child, especially those that require special education. I had a child
which rode the short bus to school due to dyslexia. Last December she received a
master’s degree from Cambridge University and now is the science teacher in public
school.
- With unemployment in the double digits and the economic times as they are, retooling
the US work force with a better education is our only chance to compete with the rest
of the world. Now is not the time to short change education. Our Governor should
know better and I bet he does.

The cause of most of our social problems is that kids are having kids. If you can stop this….. most all our other problems will just evaporate into thin air.

#6 New to the County on 07/30/09 at 12:19 PM

What a terrific article, Walter! I agree 110% with everything you said. My husband and I received SO many compliments yesterday at open house from teachers who've taught our 13-year-old son for the past 2 years at the LCMS and even from teachers who didn't teach him but knew him around the school. The curriculum does work. Quite well, too because he's a gifted student and never complains that the work is not challenging. Parents, get off your couches and out of your beds and get involved!

#7 Whatever on 07/30/09 at 12:38 PM

Can't get your child to school? YCGLB??? You know Walter some people have real jobs that take them to Atlanta...not just good old Bville....I live in the county and the bus does pick my child up at the top of the driveway and it is not because I am lazy it is because i leave for work at 6:30 am to provide for my family.

#8 anonymous on 07/30/09 at 03:40 PM

I agree with some of your points, but I am not in agreement with the fact that you suggest children that live within 10 miles should not be afforded bus transportation. Would you feel the same if you still lived on Hwy 18 West and your daughters had to walk to Cannafax to the bus stop? Oh wait, you work in Barnesville so I guess you can transport your children to and from school! Many good parents work out of town and are not employed in Barnesville. I guess it is easy to make these suggestions when your children do not attend public school and you and your wife live in Barnesville. Just my opinion, and yes I am entitled to it. Thank you.

#9 yvalentine on 07/30/09 at 05:34 PM

If the meal at school is the only meal that child will get that day, the family needs to be investigated and a neglect case opened. TANF,Foodstamps, and food banks, are just a few means of providing food to families who need it. I understand need (you have no idea how deeply I understand it) but I also understand the duty of a parent to care for and feed their children. If they don't know how, they need to be taught.

#10 getreal on 07/30/09 at 06:12 PM

good points but according to Walter's theory, his children would not ride the school bus if he still lived at that location because it would be within ten miles of the schools, correct? I guess that isn't a problem since they both work in Barnesville. Oh, and his children do not go to public schools. I guess if he had to work in Atlanta or Macon, it might not be so easy to pick up his children. Get real Walter!

#11 Anonymous on 07/30/09 at 06:16 PM

I agree that most children left behind are victims of parents not doing their job, but your suggestions are cruel and rediculous. When my children were in school I once asked a teacher why the kids aren't grouped in classrooms according to their performance level. She told me that was not allowed. I don't know if that is law or a county policy. I believe that would be a good way to work on the basics with children who need it most, While letting those who could excell do so. A lot of smart kids are bored while some kids graduate who can barely read. Classrooms should be as varied as the real world. Always feed them and treat them with respect. We are a civilized society.

#12 Anon on 07/31/09 at 06:05 AM

I see many responses here speaking of our school system as the only way to go and speaking negatively about those who choose to place their children in private schools. I have done both and I can tell you without any doubt if I had to do it over I would NOT put my child in public schools. I will not go into details because most of you have heard it before. However, most parents say they just can't afford to send their children to private schools. I ask you this, is the new car payment, the cigaretts, the beer, the new TV, etc more important than your child?

#13 cats on 07/31/09 at 06:12 AM

Slightly off topic:
I'm reading the book "Teacher Man" by Frank McCourt, the author of "Angela's Ashes".
He had a passion for trying to reach his kids, and battled his way through school admin. BS and apathetic parents, just for the reward of seeing the eyes light up in his students.
I had one teacher and one guidance counselor who changed the course of my life 36 years ago.
If anyone is in the teaching profession, please believe that you CAN make a difference.

#14 Anonymous on 07/31/09 at 11:29 AM

I grew up well below poverty level in the 1950's and 60's. My mother passed when I was 12, my father had a series of strokes from the time I was 10 until he finally passed when I was a teen. I remember not having food or heat for days.

Our family never took any form of aid, I never was on a lunch program. Without any state or federal aid, other than some income tax credits, I educated myself.

My sister and I never thought of applying for Government help. We had clothing help from our church. A nice lady in the Bookmobile would set "old worn books" outside the door where I would find them. Sometimes a dollar would be inside.

As teenagers we even paid for our father's burial (I don't think we stiffed the funeral home on the bill).

The difference today is we have a different social attitude. We depend on help even if we could help ourselves. We changed an educational system that worked, even if we had to earn the money to use it. The only thing that kept me in line was fear that a large teacher would hit me.

It is a lot easier today to get help, but we don't use it. We are lazy and spoiled and blindly follow a political system based on hating the other team and telling half-truths about everything.

#15 Amen to you on 07/31/09 at 03:34 PM

I agree with you 100% on that one. And the fact of the matter is my kid gets picked up by the road not at a drive way... and he loves to ride the bus and socialize with his friends before school.

#16 Paul on 07/31/09 at 04:43 PM

Sending your kid to private school is your choice. I could send both of mine to private school if I wanted to, but I choose not to. My kids are getting a great education in the Lamar County schools, mainly because of one thing that Walter speaks of: parental involvent. Parents should take an active role in their kid's education. My wife and I both have been very involved in our two kids education, and both are doing very well in the public schools. I have seen too many success stories of individuals who have been educated at the public level and have gone on to excel in college and life. I've also seen cases of individuals who went to private schools and didn't amount to anything, so sending your kid to private school does NOT guarantee him or her entrance to Harvard or any school. Kudos to Walter G on a well written article.

#17 H B on 07/31/09 at 07:28 PM

Walter this is one of your better articles.
When I grew up here, children who lived in town did not have bus service. Only those who lived in the country came by bus.
The bus didnt stop at every driveway, but at shelters at intersections. I know this is boring to some, but that is the way it was. Alot of persons worked out of town, a large number worked and commuted to Warner Robins, Griffin, Macon, and Atlanta, the same as today.
I got my self up every morning when called by my mother. since she worked at Carters, I got one call, so I dressed myself, fixed my breakfast, and walked to school. Wasnt bad saw alot of kids doing the same, and made alot of friends.
I either carryed lunch, generally mom didnt have time to fix it, so I bought lunch, and ate in the "Lunch Room" at the school.
The teacher collected the weeks lunch money first thing Monday morning, and you got a ticket each day to eat. Alot simplier than today.

I could go on for a long time. I had no difficulty walking to school, and walking home in the afternoon. I know I had to do homework when I got home, when mom got home from work she wanted to see the homework. Then I could play

I think Walter you are on the right course here, I hope more will agree.

#18 Anonymous on 07/31/09 at 07:32 PM

I agree with most of what you say, but what gets me is, just because my kid rides the bus, doesn't make me a bad parent. It's 2009, things are changing and most of the city of Barnesville asked for "the change", well yall got it!!! I think it's ridiculous that the school system is more focused on what the kids are wearing and not actually caring about what they are learning! I am a very involved parent and I agree that some programs should be done away with, especially those that take away from our kids. I also know that there ARE those parents out there who don't work, could care less about their kids or what they learn because, to them, school is just childcare. I am also sure that I pay school taxes just like "you" do, even when I didn't have any kids and all the monies from the lottery and illegal slot machines down here that nobody seems to mind, are supposed to be helping with our schools! Where is that money going? Hmm, maybe the new stadium that we didn't need or the tennis court that we surely don't need or the new auditorium that is not needed! So, before you complain about the small things like kids riding buses or our kids having cereal and fruit (because I'm sure that YOU would be in complete outrage if it was YOUR child)for breakfast, maybe you can restrain your thoughts and for once, just once,somebody think about the kids!!!!!!!

#19 Angry Teacher!!! on 07/31/09 at 08:50 PM

Walter are you crazy or what? This is not 1902 it's 2009 going on 2010. That's why Japan and China kids are way advanced than ours. There main focus is Technology and if we didn't have the Technology we currently have in the classrooms think where we would be. So before you Judge a poor little school system you should come out and actually read to the kids. MAKE a difference. The problems can be fixed but it's a community effort. There is a saying: "It takes a village to raise a child" REMEMBER That buster!!!

#20 Paul Kilpatrick on 07/31/09 at 10:06 PM

"The Village" doesn't work anymore. Hasn't for a long time and chaos is what is replacing it. As for thinking about the kids, the village is always trying to force kids into cogs that don't fit them to make them obedient servants of our fascist corporate state. Kids just know intuitively that education is a big lie and that is why so many of them sucumb to despair and turn to the drug culture. It all started when Dewey and Santana brought Kaiser Bill's mandatory state education system to these shores. For a little insight, read anything you can find by John Taylor Gatto.

#21 Sheila Tolley on 07/31/09 at 10:24 PM

Which have produced many Village Idiots!

#22 Ad Nauseum on 08/01/09 at 04:29 AM

It's not the money. This phenomenon is not limited to schools--we are seeing a broadly-based triumph of lower-class values in our culture. I am not talking about situational poverty, a place where many virtuous people find themselves. I am speaking of the values of generational poverty. Middle class values have disappeared from a large segment of our culture. My perception is that most people in Georgia really don't see any intrinsic value to education. Where they do see value, it is only in terms of what it can get them.

#23 Clay Lovejoy on 08/01/09 at 07:19 AM

Walter
If you think your ideas have a snowballs chance,you must have been nipping on the Kool Aid. I'm afraid we have gone way to far over the edge. We moan about it, but do nothing.(I'm guilty) Too busy working, trying to make enough money to pay for some of this crap. Our school system is top notch, I wish I could say that for the parents of the students. All that good parents can do now is make sure their kids don't get left behind.

#24 Adam12 on 08/01/09 at 10:09 AM

Very well put Paul. You can send your kids anywhere you want to school but nothing is guaranteed. Involvement in your childs education is the key. Both of my kids have also done very well in Public schools. I know a lot of people won't admit it but private schools are as much about a social thing for some parents as an education for their child.

#25 Anonymous on 08/01/09 at 10:44 AM

I whole heartedly agree.

#26 Anonymous on 08/01/09 at 10:52 PM

NCLB is the biggest joke thinking that all special education children will be on grade level by the year 2014. Hello, they are special education for a reason and will probably always be a grade level or more behind. What is sad is that some students who are special education would be doing a lot better if their parents were helping them at home and not using their disability as a crutch. Parents are a child's first teachers and that should continue all through the child's life. If you can not educate your children as well as love, cloth, feed and provide shelter then keep your pants on! Otherwise your child will be left behind!

#27 Anonymous on 08/02/09 at 09:50 AM

It's obviously very easy for you, Walter, to sit up on your pedestal and cast judgments on everyone beneath you. I do wonder, if this same shoe your putting off on all of us, were put on you, would you wear it? True parents need to be involved with their kids and the education of their kids. But you cannot blame all the problems as a whole on one specific group of people. We all have our parts to play. Unfortunately, there are some parents less involved. There are some kids who just don't care. Ive also heard tell of some teachers who feel it's not there place to "teach" the kids at the high school, that they should know enough to do for themselves. What? Your job is to teach. So TEACH! Focus on teaching and pulling these scores up. Stop focusing on what the kids are wearing. And spend our tax dollars where it's needed. Not a new auditorium nor a new stadium, where our opponents can laugh because we never win a game. And the nutrition programs are there to help people less fortunate than you. It could be a single mom, working 2 jobs to provide for her family, but still needs a little help. Ive had to use it before myself. THINK OF THE KIDS! Make cuts, sure, but where there needed. But you class everyone together. There are ALOT of great teachers here, and our's is much better than some other counties. But sitting back and ridiculing isn't going to help or change anything. If you see where your knowledge or skills could actually be helpful, don't be afraid, jump on in there and help someone out. Instead of sitting back, shaking your head.

#28 Anonymous on 08/02/09 at 09:52 AM

The first step toward improving begins with admitting we need to improve. The second is to be honest about where and why we are failing.

We rank low within our own state. Our state ranks somewhere around 45th in the nation for education. Our country ranks low in similar countries the world.

I doubt it is the bus system or the free meals for hungry kids. I suspect it is the rooted in what parents, administrators, and students think is important.

We think nice looking facades for administration buildings are important. We think a new stadium with expensive turf is important. We think feeding malnourished kids is not important. That's pretty twisted.

#29 None of your business on 08/02/09 at 12:12 PM

Walter I am african american,many times I have heard people call you racist for writing stuff like this but you know what, your right Walter,its simply time to demand more out of our parents,students and community!

#30 Anonymous on 08/02/09 at 03:11 PM

Why not just eliminate the entire public school mode & privatize the school systems? We would then be able to eliminate a large portion of our property taxes and then it will be quite obvious whose fault it is when someone is YCGLB

#31 Anonymous on 08/03/09 at 10:14 AM

You hit the nail on the head. Sending your kid to a private school is more of a social issue than education. I feel most of the parents know their child can get a good education at a public school. The issue is they don't want their little Peggy Sue dating a little black boy. I know I might get in trouble for saying that, but its the truth.

#32 Anonymous on 08/06/09 at 11:45 AM

Children in Georgia get left behind in another way. Georgia and 22 other states follow the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 30 year old nutrition standard for foods sold out of vending machines, school stores, and a la carte in the cafeteria. That disco-era standard is out of step with current science and doesn’t make sense. USDA doesn’t consider candy bars and sugary drinks to be junk food. Yet, most parents and health professionals know they are. Parents entrust their kids into the care of schools for at least six hours a day. Those who are trying to feed their children healthfully shouldn’t have their efforts undermined by junk food in schools. Congress should require USDA update the national nutrition standard for foods sold outside of meals. I hope Senator Chambliss will help update the national school food standard to support parents and help kids. Otherwise YCGLB.

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