201 Study Halls

[Sandy]

Starting to expect kids to pay more attention in High School would be a waste of time. I see problems starting from the preschool level! We have some who are going to be starting kindergarten in the fall who can't count, don't know ABC's, or write their name - all things that are now expected. We work with them, but they won't even try. The parents don't seem to care either. If you have parents who are not involved, you will have students who don't care or understand why education is important.

Maybe there should be a licence before reproducing 

[jfrickind]

And that's why our system is failing and these students "don't want to learn".  It's not that they honestly don't want to - they weren't taught at an early age what it means.  The grade school and middle school state exams are not giving us a true picture of the students progress.  No one wants to hear that a 5 year old is already 2 years behind.  So instead, we push our heads deeper into the sand and wait until they get into high school and dump all the problems right there.

If a grade school or middle school is not "failing" they have no incentive to change.

I'm telling ya, until we take over the families at an early age and teach them how to raise an educated child, only the middle and upper income children will get an education from these "failing" schools.  Towns like Berwyn and Cicero that are made up of more lower middle and lower class incomes will continue to fall behind.

The problems of the world are solved!!!

JD

[MRS. NORTHSIDER]

Starting to expect kids to pay more attention in High School would be a waste of time. I see problems starting from the preschool level! We have some who are going to be starting kindergarten in the fall who can't count, don't know ABC's, or write their name - all things that are now expected. We work with them, but they won't even try. The parents don't seem to care either. If you have parents who are not involved, you will have students who don't care or understand why education is important.

Maybe there should be a licence before reproducing 

Something seems wrong there.  You have some children in preschool who won't even try?  At that age the natural inclination is curiosity and a desire to please.  So perhaps it is a matter of that with some kids no matter preschool or early intervention they will still struggle.  Nature vs. nurture?

[jfrickind]

So perhaps it is a matter of that with some kids no matter preschool or early intervention they will still struggle.  Nature vs. nurture?

While it's true that not every student is an A student (something teachers struggle with every day, "But my child got A's in yadda yadda school.  So you the teacher must be why my child is getting a C") the desire to work hard and attain intrinsic and not extrinsic rewards can still be instilled within the child.  Regardless of IQ certain values can still be taught - but they're not being taught.

JD

[Berwyn Patsy]

I can't get over the fact that 90% of students bring cell phones and listen to
music while sitting in a class room!!
What in the hell is wrong with everybody??  No wonder so many kids come out of
high schools as dummies.  How can they learn??

Tell me what the teacher is doing, as she is looking across her desk at 10-20-30 kids
texting/talking or rocking to music in their seats??

If carrying phones I-pods or whatever electronic device is AGAINST the rules of the
school, why is this rule NOT being enforced?
A child in a teaching classroom without a phone and etc., would at least have a fighting
chance at learning.    Sounds like discipline in the schools really need to be looked at.

[Robert Pauly]

The Holy Trinity of academic success is student, school and family.  If one of these variables is deficient, the probability of success is greatly diminished.

And judging by our results - D100 at the 60 percentile, D98 at the 67 percentile and D201 at the 98 percentile - there is plenty of deficiency to go around.

Some areas of deficiency we control and some we don't.  We can't legislate that parents are educated.  We can't legislate that parents speak the language or embrace our educational culture.  We can't legislate that parents care.  We can't legislate that parents read to their children, or send their children to preschool, or fill their homes with books, help with homework, etc., etc. - these factors and variables are simply beyond our control.

We also can't legislate that YOU care about any of these issues, however, I will say that unless you see wisdom in providing a system that under educates 70% of your children, you should care.

And assuming you do, as a supposedly wise community, we can build a system that ACKNOWLEDGES AND COMPENSATES for these deficiencies, as jfrickind recommends.  Through networking, social service agencies, doctors, day cares centers, etc., we can begin the educational process at age 0 instead of age 5.  We can ensure that ALL children attend preschool, and that full day kindergartens, for example, are available to all children.  We can extend the school day and extend the school year to ensure that extra resources are provided to the needy and at risk.  We can do all of these things and more.  In this regard, we can better control the outcome for our children, and in the end, our community.

But there's a kicker, and the kicker is money.  It costs 60% to properly educate at risk children, and while I don't have the figures at hand, I'd bet we spend 60% less.  201 spends less than any high school district in Cook County - OPRF students get DOUBLE what a Morton student gets (Morton should be bitching about us, not the other way around, IMO).  Accordingly, the system is doomed from the start, and to expect that 201 or any of our schools can magically transform water into wine is pure fantasy.

D100's DACEE committee has been studying these issues for the better part of two years, and on June 9, DACEE will be presenting recommendations for change to the D100 Board of Education.  The meeting is open to the public, and if you're interested in what the future can look like, I urge you attend.

[jfrickind]

Some students in my class were discussing health care.  They said, "Did you know that France and Cuba has better healthcare than we do?"  (They had finished watching "Sicko" in a different class.)

My only remark was, "We can have everything they do but how much do you want to pay?"

And Robert says it exactly - We can have all the advantages of some of the middle and upper income families right here in Berwyn.  If we set up learning centers for all children 0 - 4 years old that are geared toward education - not just watching the child to make sure it makes it to the end of the day.  Reading to the child, doing crafts (early homework) and practicing letter recognition, etc, without a TV in sight.  We can dramatically improve all test scores across the board.  Grade school, middle school, and high school that lasts from 6 am to 7 or 8 pm.  But how much do you want to pay?  That is how we will improve the schools.

I would not vote for a referendum unless it included set in stone plans for these types of programs.  We don't need more money to run a normal school day.  We need more money to run outside of the school day programs.  Or we need a very philanthropic community that is willing to volunteer tremendous amounts of time to become foster families at each level.

JD

[Vic0218]

D100's DACEE committee has been studying these issues for the better part of two years, and on June 9, DACEE will be presenting recommendations for change to the D100 Board of Education.  The meeting is open to the public, and if you're interested in what the future can look like, I urge you attend.

I didn't see this meeting listed on the D100 Board of Ed site. Can you provide more details on this meeting - time, where, etc.? It is something I would like to attend and also help spread the word around. Thanks!

[ronna]

Something seems wrong there.  You have some children in preschool who won't even try?  At that age the natural inclination is curiosity and a desire to please.  So perhaps it is a matter of that with some kids no matter preschool or early intervention they will still struggle.  Nature vs. nurture?
[/quote]

The kids in this community for the most part dont go to pre school, they go to their neighbors house or their grandparents house who are alot of the time uneducated and dont speak english. An earlier poster said that these kids cant write their name, tell time, read, write, spell or speak english when they get to school is 100% accurate. All young kids are curious and want to learn but they arent getting the opportunities that other kids in nearby communities are. Its because the parents of most of are students are ignorant to the importance of education. Many are happy with C's & D's and a diploma when it is all over. At some point people must take some responsibility for their childrens failures and lack of education and ability to better themselves in the real world. My middle school does so much to promote the importance of school and teachers help students nonstop, but when you have 40% of the student body who doesnt care about school or good grades the final results will be poor even if the other 60% are trying to do well.

PS unfortunaltly the 40%/60% figure I used should probably be switched.

[Ted]

....  If we set up learning centers for all children 0 - 4 years old that are geared toward education - not just watching the child to make sure it makes it to the end of the day.  Reading to the child, doing crafts (early homework) and practicing letter recognition, etc, without a TV in sight.  We can dramatically improve all test scores across the board.  Grade school, middle school, and high school that lasts from 6 am to 7 or 8 pm.  But how much do you want to pay? 

  The problem that I see with this is that you are assuming the kids who will be attending middle and high school are the same ones who went to the 0-4 program.

Given the housing turnover in Berwyn, most of the kids who you would be educating with this program will have moved out by the time they reach middle school and have been replaced by kids from the city (most probably) who did not benefit from a program like this.

  So, I don't see how it addresses the high school problem because most of the kids who attend Morton West moved into Berwyn after the 3rd grade.

Ted

[jfrickind]

If you set up a system that gives support as I described then fewer middle and high school parents would leave (an assumption on my part) and the students that would have stayed anyway would be further ahead.

For the students that move in to the district - you're right - that's hard.  There's nothing we can do about them other than require them to be in the system from day one.  If you're not at grade level then require summer school regardless of grades.  Make it like remedial courses in college - no credit.  Allow certain students to "test" out of the system by being at or above grade level in EVERY area tested.

It would have to be a magnet school I think.

The Harlem Children's Zone should be our model.  But instead we should call it the JD zone.  Because I'm self-absorbed.

JD

[jfrickind]

Here's a link to This American Life which did a show on the Harlem Children's Zone:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/364/Going-Big

JD

[buzz]

I can't get over the fact that 90% of students bring cell phones and listen to music while sitting in a class room!!
What in the hell is wrong with everybody?? 

I'm having a hard time trying to grok this.
As a youngster, living in my parents' home, I had to follow many rules.  I didn't get many gifts but I did get rewarded for doing well.  Good grades.  No fights.  Behaving.
What the Hell has changed ?  Cell phones are now mandatory ?  Even for dusruptive, failing students ?
You can't supervise homework, you can't supervise behaviour, you can't supervise any form of discipline, so you get the kid a cell phone ?
Why ?
What the hell is wrong with everybody ??

[Berwyn Patsy]

The thing is Buzz, growing up the way we did, with rules and a basic sense of
what's expected and what's right and what's wrong isn't the way kids are brought up
these days.
Having said that, the thing that hasn't changed is the rules set by the schools.  Who
is allowing the kids to do as they please in the schools, and for Gods sake why aren't the
rules being enforced?
This whole concept is disturbing and baffling to me.

[mustang54]

The thing is Buzz, growing up the way we did, with rules and a basic sense of
what's expected and what's right and what's wrong isn't the way kids are brought up
these days.

It also isn't the way they are brought up in the classroom either. Like I have stated before many adults feel its easier for them to let kids have their way and not have to deal with them, that applies to some teachers as well as parents.

[MRS. NORTHSIDER]

The thing is Buzz, growing up the way we did, with rules and a basic sense of
what's expected and what's right and what's wrong isn't the way kids are brought up
these days.

It also isn't the way they are brought up in the classroom either. Like I have stated before many adults feel its easier for them to let kids have their way and not have to deal with them, that applies to some teachers as well as parents.

It's unfortunate for other kids as well.  My son, a sophomore at MW has an auto technology class as an elective this year and he really likes the class.  Well, the learning aspect of it.  There have been problems with many of the kids in the class (all boys) and just a lack of general self-control.  The whole class has been made to stay after school several times this year and he gets extremely frustrated because he's not one of the kids causing the problems.  I really dislike it when a teacher punishes the whole class because of the behavior of some.  I've basically just told him he has to grin and bear it but it does aggravate me that my fairly well-behaved son has to suffer because of these other kids who have no respect for authority.

[ronna]

If you took cell phones from every kid that had them or sent them to the office you would never get anything done. Also the deans office would be filled with cell phone violators & that would be the only thing being done and none of the other MANY, MANY problems. Then how do you go about getting phones from students who are hiding them? Ask every kid to empty his/her pockets? Then when the school doesnt back you when a kid said you did something wrong.
It come from schools not having enough money to hire more Deans, security guards and other ways to help with discipline. The deans and assistant principals at schools are already overwhelmed.

Bottom line is schools with less money= more problems! Don't even get me started on when these local school districts try to raise class sizes. With the prolem all these local school districts have already with kids way behind academically, not speaking english, & not understanding the importance of school until its to late. Everyone knows with scientific proof that increased class sizes make it harder for sudents to learn. With the poor amount our schools are funded this is bound to happen and things will get worse. Imagine CPS schools.
Its all about money.

[Berwyn Patsy]

     I see where your coming from, and am so sad that District 201 can't even
begin to make things better because of years of financial mismanagement.
     I still think the hiring of an adequate number of security guards would be
beneficial to some of the discipline and following rules issues.  It would or could
be a start in the right direction.

[Puttintange]

There is only so much security can do. Security can only deal with what is happening in the halls. They can not go into a classroom to take a phone, hoodie or anything else, unless the teacher ask them to. Security's hands are tied by all the red tape. Parents complain about the way Security acts, talks or touches their child.

[Angel]

Parents complain about the way teachers act, talk to, and touch their child, etc., too.  In response to Patsy, teachers do confiscate phones and turn them over to the dean's office, where parents must pick them up.  But the same kids are texting the next day.  Security staff do challenge kids with phones and dress code violations in the halls, and they do a great job. Many of them also have good relationships with many of the students, who cooperate with them out of respect for them, and for authority in general.  But the kids who are rude to security and using cell phones in class are so focused on doing what they want to do that the same kids are getting in trouble frequently.  They aren't there for an education, and so they don't care about the consequences, most of which involve removal from school, which is okay with many of them, and apparently doesn't bother their parents too much.  Teachers sometimes ignore those students to avoid stopping teaching the kids who care and are engaged in the lesson.