Photo credit: @julesdwit.
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New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein looks ahead to the new school year and responds to this year’s dramatic drop in student achievement.
I have a two year old Son. The only suggestion I can make for parents of children in the NYC system is to leave NY if you can. I moved my family out of NY knowing how poor and sub standard the schools are in NYC.
Leave if you can. Children are in so much better learning enviornments in other places.
Thank you Brian for responding to Mr. Klein, "So blame the teacher's union.", when addressing the Sept. 7th start date. How can the city schools retain knowledgeable and charismatic teachers when blame is so often placed in the laps of teachers? In the suburban district where I teach, our students arrive on the 7th... no complaints... why?... because we are one of the top districts in the state and our parents are proud of our schools. In the town where I live, the school start date is the 13th... no complaints... why?... because our community understands that from year to year the holidays show up in different places and they make their scheduling adjustments just as the teachers adjust their long term planning. There is no need to put down teachers when confronting a calendar challenge. Mr. Klein should have taken responsibility for the compromise that was agreed upon. P.S. I left wonderful children and dear colleagues in the inner city for a job in the suburbs because our administrators consistently failed to listen to the input of teachers. Many were very political and focused on their own career advancement. How can Mr. Klein truly improve our schools without listening to those who work most closely with the children? More importantly, why are those people who work closest to the children constantly being thrown "under the bus" and demonized in the public disourse? How can you attract and retain great teachers in such an environment? I am grateful to be a part of a school system that values teaching skill above all else.
The difference between kids who go to Harvard and kids who learn nothing, drop out, and eventually live off the tax dollars collected from the children who go to Harvard is that the drop out kids have parents who don't care. Who don't insist that their children do their homework, get good grades, and stay in school.
What is Chancelor Klein doing to put pressure on the city and state to have legislation passed that punishes parents whose children get terrible test scores and especially who drop out? In other words, what is he doing to force that parents take responsibility in their children's education?
And what is he doing to have legislation passed that penalizes the teenagers who drop out, such as making them ineligible for free housing, food stamps, etc....
I am shocked by how inadequately Mr. Klein defends the test policy and the claims he has made regarding achievement growth. How can he on the one hand admit that the tests have been "dumbed down" and on the other hand, claim that the students are doing so much better? That would not survive a high school debate competition.
And... how low to blame teacher's union for opening one day this week???
On Mr. Klein's mentioning of the online teaching tool used in NY public schools are being designed in and bought from Israel: The fact that any teaching tools are imported reflects major problems in many levels of the educational system in the U.S. Does this type of importing really imply that Education Departments across the U.S. cannot create programs and tools that can educate the children of this country?! Or are financial interests prevailing once again? (Both rhetorical questions.)
NYC teachers now just teach to the test. My children have been in gifted and talented all of their school years(11 years}. But they still have no idea of basic geography. How can you compete on a global scale when you don't even know the globe.
What is Joel Klein planning to do about the fact that kids watch TV in school about half the days of the year? Elementary schools say the aides can't control kids on rainy and cold days, so the schools are warehousing them in auditoriums to watch TV.
Why do we have this awkward first week of school schedule with only 1 day the first week?
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