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Remember that old song Where Have All The Flowers Gone? A well worn and much loved anti war peace activist song. I remember it well. I sang it to my children many times.
Don't worry I am no American idol star. I cannot sing in a voice that anybody but my once young children would appreciate . So I will give those not familiar with the song the short version of the meaning of the song.
Where have all the flowers gone?
Children born, only to be lost in wars.
Where have they all gone?
Where are the flowers on the graves of the dead?
What have we done to our children?
Why do we send soldiers to their death in needless wars?
Will we ever learn? Will we never learn?
Long, long time this goes on, will we ever learn? Where have all our children gone?
I am wondering if we need to ask these same questions of parents today? Where have the parents gone? Will we never learn?
I came across the following comment. We will call it from a mom named karen. But this could have came from endless numbers of parents because I have heard this far too many times.
Here is what Karen the mom has to say.
"" BEING a calm and relaxed person, it is rare that I can be bothered to be bothered. However, my son's school has discovered exactly the right buttons to press.
Every afternoon we are faced with a barrage of spelling, maths, writing and reading. At the end of a six-hour day they send home a tired and cantankerous eight-year-old and expect me to make him complete another hour of school work.
I have half a mind to keep my kid up until 11pm and feed him doughnuts for breakfast; an exhausted kid on a sugar high should give his teachers some insight into his typical after-school mood.
Just in case there is any chance of idle time on the weekend there is additional homework in the form of assignments. Luckily I have an independent son who refuses to let me have any involvement in his projects. Perhaps he has learnt from experience and knows I'll end up glued to the table and he will get marked down for my bad spelling.
Unfortunately for him, I suspect that some of his peers, who turn out scaled models of volcanos that can erupt via remote control, may actually be wunderkinds, or perhaps they are just blessed with more capable parents.
What about the benefits of homework you may ask?
I searched for answers using the thinking woman's guide to the universe, Google. Interestingly, there was absolutely no research that measured any benefits of homework for primary school kids. On the contrary it seems that there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that homework is at best wasted time and at worst harmful to self-esteem and damaging to family relationships. One study even likened it to child abuse.""
Heard enough from the karen the moms of this world? ........... I know I have. Karen the mom........... or phil the dad............. many many parents speak like this and echo this sentiment.
Well here is what I have to say to them.
I am wondering where have all the parents gone?
To Moms like karen where ever you are.
Homework is given for many reasons and most of them have nothing to do with some attempt to abuse parents and children . Or to get teachers and schools out of work.
Lets list a few valid reasons for homework.
First and foremost .
Most classrooms are over crowded . With classes as big as 30-35 kids per one teacher it's nearly impossible for a teacher to give kids all the individual attention they need. Teachers are not super humans . They can only do so much. Homework allows a attentive parent to get involved and recognize if their child is having problems. ................. So that in partnership with the teacher and school steps can be taken to make sure the child doesn't fall behind and gets the help if needed to succeed in their school work.
A benefit parents should appreciate.
Karen the Mom complains that projects are given to kids that parents are expected to get involved in............... in todays busy working world far too many parents don't take seriously the need to spend quality time with their children after work and school.
How many families eat dinner sitting in front of the TV? parents and child absorbed in their own interests . Neither bothering to communicate in any meaningful way.................. How many nights are the kids on the computer? or playing a video game? While the parents watch their fav TV show, American Idol and NASCAR being all the rage? ................. How many families spend their time this way? ................. The answer is far too many.
What karen the mom doesn't seem to realize is that parents being expected to be involved in their childrens education is not a new thing. Good Parents consider it their active parental duty to be involved in schools and education on the norm ............. always have and always will. Nothing has changed about the way good parents stay involved in all aspects of child rearing.
What has changed is we have a generation now that was not parented very well and now they in turn have children that they do not understand how to parent well.
We came to the model of two parents working in most families not so long ago and educators began to expect less from parents.............. excusing them a bit because moms had their work duties too . But nobody excused parents completely from the duty of making sure their child is being educated and from being involved. .
If a parent is not the best advocate for their child how can they expect anybody else to be?
Far, Far too often I have heard the exact same complaints mom karen is making here.............. And frankly the same lies she tells about studies that conclude homework is detrimental to children. ( that is a lie) Anybody can come up with a study, and slant it's findings to further their intended agenda.
Mom karen saying homework is detrimental to a kid is simply a lie. or she is sorely mistake and uninformed. The educational community would back me on that. Far too often parents who are either rather uneducated themselves, lackluster about their parenting obligations, or simply lazy make the same complaints mom Karen here is making.
Frankly all they are proving is that they are poor , lackluster fairly incompetent parents. All they prove is that they hadn't given any thought into what is truly needed to educate, and raise a child properly. That now that they have them they want to assign somebody else to do their job for most of the day and have their evenings free to do as they please.
A caring parent gets involved and helps to make homework fun and productive. A caring responsible parent seeks to aid and support schools and teachers to make sure their children get the best possible education possible. A good parent does not whine because they are expected to spend time with their children or help supervise learning for their child.
Somebody needs to teach parents about the lessons and opportunities homework and time spent with their child can provide.
President Obama has made a start speaking about this.............
I will paraphrase. But a close quote............ because when I first heard him say this I stood up and applauded in my living room................ Had he not been on the TV I would have given him that standing ovation in person and then shook his hand.
President Obama when asked about the perceived poor performance of the educational system by a reporter said.
" well now hey........ we need educational reform. But that will not happen over night. More importantly what we need is for parents to remember that it's their job to raise and make sure their kids are educated. Time for parents to turn off that TV or computer in the evenings and spend time making sure that happens for their own children. Schools can't do it alone. Parents have to be involved."
Bravo Mr. President
Every time I hear that I have to stand and applaud.
So I'll end this now and applaud speaking truth to lackluster uninvolved parents for the sake of our children.
But I am wondering something. Suppose we could get permission to change some words in that old song?
Should we teach the children to sing something like this?
Where have our parents gone?
Long time passing, where have they gone?
Can't they see I need them? Can't they be with me?
When will we ever learn? Will we never learn?
I go off to school long time passing .
Mom and dad off to work , long time too.
When their gone I miss them so.
Where have my parents gone?
When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn?
Shall we teach the children to sing this song? Perhaps we will be forced to.
Because it seems we will never learn.
Clayton Stover, a 12th-grader at St. Albans High School, overheard derogatory statements for years in the school hallway.
Words like "faggot," "dyke," "That's so gay" and "queer."
"And that's unacceptable," Stover said.
With just a few weeks left in his high school experience, the senior felt the need to do something about it.
On Thursday night, he asked Kanawha County school board members to add sexual orientation to the school system's cultural diversity policy.
Stover quoted research that shows lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students are much more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.
Many students report that they are verbally and physically harassed or assaulted because of their sexual orientation, or because they are perceived to be gay.
Stover also said many gay and lesbian youth are at risk of dropping out because they feel severe social isolation.
[snip]
School board general counsel Jim Withrow said the school system is already revamping its diversity policy. About four months ago, a group of teachers suggested the school board include sexual orientation in the policy, he said.
Board members could vote on the revisions as early as next month, he said.
The article has more details on support from Del. Carrie Webster (D-Kanawha).
Congratulations to Clayton Stover on his brave activism. It's great to hear the school board is moving in the right direction.
Here's a green idea we should enact right here in W.Va. We don't need to wait for the federal government to act, we can start prioritizing our state dollars on this immediately: Greening the School House.
Of course, it wouldn't hurt for our high-powered Congressional delegation to help make this a part of the next stimulus package, too.
We have a chance to change the way things are. We need to turn this state into a Democratic state again. Senator Byrd has asked for your help. Governor Manchin needs you. The Kennedy family, the Clinton family have all pleaded for your support. I can remember standing on picket lines in the mountains years ago during the last teacher strike. Coal miners in Tucker County stood on those lines with teachers. Today Barack and Joe Biden promise to support the unions. They promise to bring new jobs back to our country. They listen to the voices of teachers like me. Today the young people are supporting Barack Obama. He is the candidate that reaches across the races and the generations.
Over on Daily Yonder Frank Kilgore seems to say that what Appalachia needs is more institutions of higher learning.This at the same time that Gov. Manchin and the Legislature are trying to make it harder for high school graduates in this State to attend.And if they do well in their chosen field of study they MUST stay here and take whatever employment they can find.This was not the promise of PROMISE.
The costs of tuition,room and board,books and fees,have risen faster than the published rate of inflation,and we all know what a farce that is,and the privatization of the student loan program has made the situation even worse.What good is that $200,000 sheepskin if the available jobs are in retail or the School System?
Over on Daily Yonder Frank Kilgore seems to say that what Appalachia needs is more institutions of higher learning.This at the same time that Gov. Manchin and the Legislature are trying to make it harder for high school graduates in this State to attend.And if they do well in their chosen field of study they MUST stay here and take whatever employment they can find.This was not the promise of PROMISE.
The costs of tuition,room and board,books and fees,have risen faster than the published rate of inflation,and we all know what a farce that is,and the privatization of the student loan program has made the situation even worse.What good is that $200,000 sheepskin if the available jobs are in retail or the School System?
Justin Anderson at the Daily Mail has the detail:'
West Virginia University President Mike Garrison could receive severance of up to $255,000 if the university's governing board winds up firing him over the turmoil generated by a master's degree improperly granted to Gov. Joe Manchin's daughter.
Under his contract with the university, Garrison is entitled to a sizable severance payment should the university's board of governors fire him without cause. Just how much money he would get depends on when the board fires him.
Click here for a PDF of Garrison's contract
If the board votes to fire Garrison before June 30 - around the time of his annual review -- without cause, he'll be entitled to a severance payment of $255,000, according to his contract. That's equal to a full year's salary.
If the board fires Garrison after June 30, but before his contract expires on June 30, 2010, he'll be entitled to a severance payment equal to half what his salary is at the time he's fired.
Garrison is scheduled to give a full report to the board on June 6 on how he plans to implement controls to prevent the scandal over the degree granted to Heather Bresch from ever happening again.
This one didn't get a lot of ink during the legislative session but small school advocates won a round this time with a bill that limits the duration of school bus rides for children attending elementary school.
Pay raises and tax cuts dominated the final hours of the 2008 regular session of the Legislature, which ended at midnight Sunday.
On the final day, legislators approved a $1,600 across-the-board pay raise to teachers, along with $700 raises to school personnel (SB573).
The raise was $400 less than the state teachers' associations had pushed for, but more than the original 3 percent pay raise proposed by Gov. Joe Manchin. West Virginia Federation of Teachers President Judy Hale said the governor's proposal would have meant larger raises for principals and school administrators.
We lost $200 [Friday], and $200 [Saturday]," Hale said of amendments to the bill. "In that sense, I'm glad it's the end of the session."
Lawmakers had already approved pay raises for correctional and juvenile services employees, state troopers, and conservation officers - as well as a $5,000 raise for themselves, which takes effect next session.
snip
Much of the potential drama of the evening session was lost earlier Saturday, when Manchin demanded that debate over plans to allow teachers stuck in a 401(k)-style pension plan to switch to the Teachers Retirement System be put off until he calls a special session, after the budget is finished.
Delegate Brent Boggs, D-Braxton, said conferees believed they had an agreement earlier, but the governor objected.
The Associated Press Meadow Bridge High School principal Al Martine joins in the West Virginia Education Association protest for higher wages at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston on Monday.
A few hundred teachers, members of the West Virginia Education Association, rallied at the state capitol Monday. Part of their cry was against the governor's three percent pay increase for teachers; they say it's not enough.
The governor reacted in a news release saying the pay hike is really 5.5 percent.
"I'm not convinced the public or even most teachers understand that our budget includes additional classroom teacher pay increases of approximately 5.5 percent," Manchin said.
[snip]
Manchin says that package would result in "a fair and substantial increase in their base pay. This is a well-deserved increase for our teachers and an amount that's fiscally responsible and fair to all taxpayers."
Members of the West Virginia Education Association sent that message to Gov. Joe Manchin Monday.
Union officials, teachers and other educators said Manchin's proposed salary increase doesn't make it any easier to work in West Virginia.
"We will remain at '48' based on the amount proposed," said Charlie Delauder, WVEA president, referring to a recent National Education Association report that shows West Virginia ranks 48th in average teacher pay.
[snip]
"We feel that the governor's put out a responsible and practical package," she said.
Delauder said the state should be able to promise new teachers the money to support a spouse, family and buy a home.
Sheila Haid, a teacher at Petersburg Elementary in Grant County and a single parent, said she adds small jobs to help support two sons in college.
"I have to do other things to keep teaching," she said.
She tutors, mows lawns and works at athletic events.
Last summer, she worked for the Division of Highways and flagged motorists in construction zones. That job paid more per hour than her teaching job, she said.
"I really don't need a degree ... if I can tell one side says 'stop,' one says 'slow,'" she said.
[snip]
Last year, teachers received a 3.5 percent salary increase that many said was too low. That raised the minimum salary for starting teachers to $25,832, up from $25,019.
Delauder wants teacher salaries to start at $35,000. The American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia has asked for a similar amount, a $10,000 raise over the next three years.
WVEA member Thomas Fletcher, who teaches in Berkeley County, regularly sees colleagues leave home for better-paying jobs in Virginia and Maryland.
"I'm a teacher and I realize education is the No. 1 priority in the state," he said. "If we say it, then we've got to live it, and we're not living it right now."
[snip]
Also Monday, Delauder and others pushed to allow teachers in a newer retirement system the one-time option of jumping into the older, defined-benefit plan.
Delauder and Adkins said in years past, school employees were given misinformation and encouraged to enroll in the defined-contribution plan. Fletcher said the older system is more secure. Yet for state lawmakers, it's become an unfunded liability that demands tens of millions of dollars each year.
Earlier this month, the state Supreme Court of Appeals declined to consider, by a 3-2 vote, a case regarding the state's bid to merge the two pension programs. Now, the AFT, WVEA and state service personnel association want the Legislature to act.
[snip]
She expects Manchin to work with union representatives and consider the best way to tackle the problem without turning the state's finances "upside-down."
Tax reform and teacher pay are hot issues. Worker's compensation will receive attention. Gov. Manchin says the recently privatized system deserves more time. He'll probably get his way, even as Brickstreet undergoes some much deserved scrutiny.
It should be noted that this year's legislative agenda is expected to be light. With Gov. Manchin and 100 legislators up for re-election, don't expect anything controversial to be decided. Merely balancing the budget will be work enough.
Here are a few odds and ends in the news. Click on the links for more details on lists of legislative priorities:
"Coal and coal gasification will be a major issue this year," Chafin said. "We have a major plant coming into the district, but we have to be able to come up with a carbon sequestration plan. Producing gas from coal results in a lot of carbon dioxide, and we have to be able to deal with that byproduct."
* Besides teacher pay, another education-related topic on the horizon is a potential state-wide ban on unhealthy sodas and snacks in schools.
* The W.Va. GOP has a wish list long on tax cuts yet short on any suggestions for making up the resulting revenue short falls. I note with irony that the GOP also suggests -- now they're almost done replacing Dem judges with Republican ones -- we should elect judges on a non-partisan basis. Funny, that... it's like the pundit-class only calls for bi-partisanship after it looks like Democrats are going to have some real power, not during the years of highly partisan autocratic Bush rule.
Last year, one of the big education stories was teachers going on strike. The West Virginia Teacher Shortage Task Force has returned a series of recommendations. Teacher pay is sure to once again be a topic of consideration for this year's legislature.
With one out of every five teachers in the state's public schools eligible for retirement at the end of the present school year, a special task force has made several recommendations to fill the holes, including increasing teacher pay.
The Teacher Shortage Task Force recently released a list of six short-term and five long-term solutions that educators and lawmakers should pursue to address the looming shortage.
[snip]
Topping the list of short-term solutions was increasing teacher salaries, although the task force didn't say by how much. The recommendations were unveiled at the West Virginia Board of Education meeting Dec. 13 and came only a couple of days after a National Education Association report ranked the state 48th in the nation for average teacher pay.
[snip]
West Virginia public schools currently employ more than 24,000 teachers, state Superintendent of Education Steven Paine wrote in a recent report. It is projected that 5,404 teachers -- or 22 percent of the positions in the state -- will be eligible for retirement at the end of the present school year.
But just as big of a concern for Van Dempsey, task force member and dean of the school of education at Fairmont State University, is that many young teachers are dropping out of the profession long before they reach retirement age. Nationwide, about half of new teachers leave the profession within five years.
Increasing teacher pay is at the top of the list of recommendations.
Teachers' unions have long pushed for higher salaries for their members, arguing better pay would help in recruiting teachers. Average pay in the state for a starting teacher with a bachelor's degree and no experience is just over $29,000, said David Haney, executive director of the West Virginia Education Association.
However, the average starting pay in 27 of the state's 55 counties is $28,587, he said.
The union wants to boost average starting pay up to $35,000, a plan that could cost the state $68 million a year for three years. That would put the state in the middle of the pack for average pay among states, Haney said.
"We're only asking to be average," he said.
The remaining recommendations require far less in the way of additional expenditures.
Other short-term recommendations included:
- expanding certification of elementary school teachers to allow them to teach content at the middle school level;
- expand subject area certification of all teachers by using Praxis II -- tests that teachers take for certification -- as a means of demonstrating competence in a subject area;
- allow retired teachers to return to the classroom when no fully certified teacher is available without losing retirement benefits;
- provide financial incentives to teachers -- student loan forgiveness, tax credits and signing bonuses -- in areas of critical shortage; and
- develop a centralized recruitment and retention center.
The task force developed five long-term recommendations, some of which overlap with the short-term solutions:
- develop a centralized recruitment and retention center;
- continue to improve the working conditions for all teachers;
- develop streamlined alternative routes to certification in collaboration with institutions of higher education;
- provide financial incentives to teachers in areas of critical shortage; and
- develop "content institutes" that prepare currently certified teachers in content areas such as math, science and world languages.
What do you think? Are you concerned about a teacher shortage in West Virginia? Do you think these suggestions will make a difference?
The Associated Press recently reported that West Virginia is lowest in the nation in the percentage of adults with college degrees. This is a serious, if not new, problem but fortunately we can do something about it.
Educational attainment is directly and positively linked to income. People with some college earn on average more than others with none. According to a 2002 Census Bureau report, a college degree is worth $1.3 million more in lifetime earnings than a high school diploma. Since West Virginians have low levels of educational attainment, it's no surprise we earn less.
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