Buckle Up It's Going To Be A Wild Ride

It's shocking to me, that many high school students can not write script. I repeat they can not, they do not know how to write script!

Their signature are scribbles. Technology is wonderful. It is a great tool, but alas we've allowed our students to use technology to their determent. We no longer teach the basics.

Isn't time we get back to the basics. Students should learn/relearn how to write in script. It is important.

I'm sure most of us can remember taking penmanship in school. First tracing the letters than writing them ourselves. You started with pencil and moved on to a pen. Does anyone remember cartridge pens. It was a milestone when  you graduated to a cartridge pen. How many of us how ink all over our hands from filling the cartridge tank and smearing our letters. Finally they came out with the ink in a cartridge so you no longer needed to fill your pen. This was a learning experience. It was fun! Guess what we all learned our letters, we all knew how to write script. You could read our names clearly.

How could we as a society taken this simple skill from our students. Yes technology is great and it certainly helps our students learn, but we must not forgot the simple basics. With out the basics which is our foundation we're building a house of cards. How long before the collapse begins!

Wasting tax payer money?

I went out for diner last night and the conversation turned to budget cuts in our public schools. Our district had taken a heavy hit within the last year we lost almost all if not all of our state aide. We ponder why it appears our BOE (board of ed) and superintendent are spending money are silly lawsuits instead of putting that money into the schools. During the conversation about our schools, I was saying that it is amazing how school staff members want to take the credit for a student who gets into a Harvard, Brown, Yale, etc.. That somehow the school believes they made that student, rather than realizing this student worked hard, took the advance courses etc.

We hardly hear about the work ethic of the students, rather we hear how our schools make these students. Sorry but it is the students that make the schools. Again this is only in my district. Wouldn't it be nice to see that our schools actually care about the students all students. Wouldn't it be nice to see tax payer monies going into our schools, and school programs. This seems much better to me. But, no it is sometimes spent on re-naming school buildings after staff members, security panels outside bathrooms, teacher conference's and lawsuits that have already been lost but lets appeal.

Lets start putting the money where it belongs, to the children.

Doogie Howser

Do you remember the TV Show Doogie Howser? I often wonder for children who are so gifted what challenges must lay before them? How difficult is it for our public schools to educate these children? What programs, or specialized schools do we have for these children?

You could understand how a "normal classroom"  could be a challenge for these students. How do you keep these student intertested in the subject matter how do you give them a different work load?

These children are still children, they go through the same growing pains as all children. Some start at a local college at a young age. This can't be easy. Who helps these families out financially? Does our educational system have resources to help pay for these children's schooling?

I know that our public school has programs for the "gifted and talented" but what about those children who are beyond that program?

I don't have the answers, nor do I know anyone with a child that is indeed this special. I can only imagine the hurdles that these families must jump through to help their children. I can only image the financial burden this brings to a family. How do we help these children and their families?

Do you know someone like this? Do you know what extra programs our school systems have for these children. If so please share your story.

Semester 1 is almost over

I just recently started blogging hoping to get some support and stat's about our public schools. Semester 1 is almost over. I am hoping that by semester 2 I will have some information. Again we have great teachers, successful stories, but we also have troubles. I am looking for information on the good, the bad and the ugly. If we don't hear all stories we wont get the right ingredients to repair our schools.

I firmly believe that we the public can and will get the public schools back on track. Come on some one start reading this blog and give some input.

Thank you