tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707730.post115221003777768917..comments2024-02-24T19:49:45.687-05:00Comments on Schools Matter: KIPP's "Leap in Achievement" Is MisleadingJames Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04462754705431590571noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707730.post-78130207545830716852009-12-31T04:31:40.996-05:002009-12-31T04:31:40.996-05:00I'm a mathematics teacher in Los Angeles(LAUSD...I'm a mathematics teacher in Los Angeles(LAUSD). If I could get a small classroom with some committed students & parents, I could bring all my students up many levels. Unfortunately, I have 47 in one Geometry class, another 45. Every class I teach has over 40. On top of that, more budget cuts and layoffs are looming. What now, 60 in a class? Also, I could perform miracles if I could get every low performer and behavior problem removed, like at these schools. In LA, they put charters on our campuses, glean off the best students, kick out the low performers to the regular schools, and then run around and tout their results. What they are doing is easy, try doing what we do, if you think it's so easy. I love teaching and I'll teach any kid anywhere, anytime, until he has had enough for the day, and get up and do it again every day. Most teachers work long hours, for relatively little pay considering our levels of education, only to be bashed and blamed for the failures of a society that does not prioritize education. We say we value education, but as soon as the economy starts to struggle here come the education cuts. The prison system made less cuts as a percentage of their budget than education, so where are our nations priorities?<br /><br />Don Neal, LAUSD teacher and football coach.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707730.post-1152373258638630352006-07-08T11:40:00.000-04:002006-07-08T11:40:00.000-04:00There is something to be said about a charter scho...There is something to be said about a charter school's ability to require things of parents where traditional public schools have their hands tied. <BR/> I think it's something to attempt to coax policy makers into fixing.A Romantic Artisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11188388089131989288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14707730.post-1152233022695481162006-07-06T20:43:00.000-04:002006-07-06T20:43:00.000-04:00a) The criticism of KIPP, that it is difficult to ...a) The criticism of KIPP, that it is difficult to isolate the cause of achievement, works just as well as a criticism of State (government, generally) schools of any sort. b) It's a pleasant surprise to hear a defender of the NEA/AFT/AFSCME cartel's schools (the "public" schools) assert: "Because students are not tested in these subjects, we have no way of knowing if they are learning anything." That's one argument for NCLB. c) Inevitably, some parents are indifferent and uninvolved. Giving to each individual parent the power to determine which institution, if any, shall receive the allocation which taxpayers will spend on her children will enhance parent involvement. This is not an argument against KIPP but for tuition vouchers, subsidized homeschooling, and other forms of parent control.Malcolm Kirkpatrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01294436437292859972noreply@blogger.com