Public School Woes

[Irrelevant]

Life is going to be shitty, unfair, frustrating, and distracting. The sooner my kids learn to deal with it, accept it, and not allow it to impede their progress the better.

All I can say is that apparently my public school experience (mine and my kids) is far superior to most out there. I literally can't think of ways I would improve it.

 

[Nick87]

My wife and I are the ONLY parents who wait with our kid in the morning until the first bell.

5 year old just finished up swimming lessons last week at indoor pool at the rec center in town. You can watch from the window in the hall of the rec center or there are chairs off to the side. Which is wierd to me but nevertheless. We are the only ones with the exception of one parent who would watch from the window. Everyone else sat at the chairs on there phone. I spend more time on my damn phone than I'd like but come on.

 

[Nameless Range]

Same issues going on at my kids school. I really think it was the covid lockdown.

Sorry to hear that. I have a few friends who are teachers, and the stories they are telling me about the younger grades, and how far behind many are, is pretty shocking.

I’m certainly not gonna tell anyone what to do with their kids education, but I am damn grateful and expressed it to the superintendent and the board, that my kids attended a school district that outside of the initial flatten the curve effort, didn’t shut down for long. While the schools in the city north of us were teaching remotely, or afterward, requiring masks, my children were getting an education in person and interacting like normal human beings.

There’s a big damn pile of studies out there showing how negative the lockdowns were for young children and their education. I think one of the potential tragedies yet to be revealed will be following children throughout their life, and seeing how negatively they were affected relative to others 20 years down the road.

Effects of remote learning during COVID-19 lockdown on children’s learning abilities and school performance: A systematic review

This systematic review describes the effects of COVID-19 lockdowns on children’s learning and school performance. A systematic search was conducted using three databases. A total of 1787 articles were found, and 24 articles were included. Overall, ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Trial153]

I went to 12 years of private school. My children go public school. My parents choose private for based on where we lived at the time. Fortunately they had that option, because quite frankly it was an expensive proposition at the time.
We send out children to public school. One of the decisions we made when deciding on raising a family was school district choice and location. Fortunately we are in very well regarded school district however there is no free lunch. Our school taxes reflect money that community choses to invest in education.

 

[ismith]

Had to laugh at the cherry on top:

Dad's got a beard ... no mustache. Explains a lot.

So he’s Amish or Muslim?

 

[jryoung]

Dad's got a beard ... no mustache. Explains a lot.

Chinstrap Chet, what's his favorite Limp Bizkit album?

 

[thomas89]

So he’s Amish or Muslim?

Great, now I’m the kid hating, Amish-Muslim hater on this site.

 

[thomas89]

Chinstrap Chet, what's his favorite Limp Bizkit album?

Definitely Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water. No doubt in my mind.

99.9% sure he’s got a Monster logo tattoo of some sort too.

 

[howl]

To paraphrase a twitter wit: at this point you'd do as well just dropping your kid off in the woods every day as let the government have them.

People assume we homeschool for religion. Really it's just that government school is awful and a waste of time.

 

[JustinsDad]

Best thing we've ever done is take our kids outta public school. Took a lot to convince to do it from my wife. We had to adopt a side hustle to pay for it but all the extra work in the end is gonna be worth it. My kids have grown so much I don't think I've even be able to fully comprehend it really.

I applaud that. I’m in California. When my kid finally has kids, no way are we sending my grandkids to public schools. It’s more of a liberal indoctrination than an education. Other countries are kicking kids our butts academically. I feel bad for the GOOD teachers here that are handcuffed into this BS.

 

[HuntTalk Freak]

My kids have friends that are homeschooled now. Not worried about the social aspect, they have plenty.

The whole stigma of a homeschooled kid will be weird is stupid. Think about how many people you went to school with that were just as weird and socially awkward. I know plenty. I also know of many that were homeschooled and are no more different than the "normal" kids that went to school.

TBH, I really think the social part of it, is really just knowing how not to get bullied and also how to be a follower/bully and do what the other kids do. I mean saying homeschooled kids are weird is just that... Plenty of worthless people in life that made it through school.

My kids are doing advanced math with me at home, because they are taught to the lowest denominator in their classroom to keep the average up, yet the average is below average. Teachers are doing the best they can, but when you have disruptions all day long all the kids suffer. They can't pull problem kids out unless the parents agree to it, and many won't.

I do agree that kids with active parents do well, and kids with worthless parents exhibit the same in the classroom. Right now good kids are outnumbered and not receiving the education they deserve. The school system is going down in flames and has no money, losing kids and still trying to function like they have 20% more kids than they do. I don't know how many times teachers have got pink slips in the last 10 years, but I'll bet its been every other year it seems. Who would want to work like that? 100s have left for better work, or gone to private or homeschool support .We have one of he most costly districts in the US, yet can't function with all that money. Its a bit easier to go to the school board when there is 1000 kids, vs 40,000 and 100 schools. You're background noise, and there are problems everywhere. They are just trying to keep the doors open and kids in school at this point.

You have valid points and hence why I referenced my small sample group. The guys I worked with pretty much were not allowed to socialize with other non religious type kids and their parents were very domineering, they rebelled later in life and ran off to join the military and law enforcement.

I’m really interested in the community type homeschool system that I’ve read about here and a few other places. Like minded people forming groups to teach and socialize their kids together. I could never teach math but I could do history and social science, my wife teaches English, etc. Plus I want my kids to know outdoor and agriculture, so I could form a scout group.

 

[Hem]

Train wreck.

 

[Hem]

You have to go higher up than " the public school". THEY have no choice. It's shoved upon them by policy from above.
All of you have the wrong target in your cross hairs.

 

[HuntTalk Freak]

5 year old just finished up swimming lessons last week at indoor pool at the rec center in town. You can watch from the window in the hall of the rec center or there are chairs off to the side. Which is wierd to me but nevertheless. We are the only ones with the exception of one parent who would watch from the window. Everyone else sat at the chairs on there phone. I spend more time on my damn phone than I'd like but come on.

Kids pick up on that. My dad never came to a single football game or karate match. My mom came to a few games. My grandfather was at every practice and game. When I got older I realized my parents didn’t give a shit about me.

Last Easter I went to the egg hunt at my girls daycare. A little girl that was a year or two older came up to me with tears in her eyes saying that her parents weren’t coming. I gave her a big hug and asked her to hunt eggs with us.

As working parents we all can’t be there for everything but kids do notice if you’re there or not.

 

[Nick87]

All of you have the wrong target in your cross hairs.

What target?

 

[Nick87]

Kids pick up on that. My dad never came to a single football game or karate match. My mom came to a few games. My grandfather was at every practice and game. When I got older I realized my parents didn’t give a shit about me.

Last Easter I went to the egg hunt at my girls daycare. A little girl that was a year or two older came up to me with tears in her eyes saying that her parents weren’t coming. I gave her a big hug and asked her to hunt eggs with us.

As working parents we all can’t be there for everything but kids do notice if you’re there or not.

Good on you. You can't make every single thing or at least I know I can't but I think kids can tell who makes the effort and who doesn't for sure.

 

[Hem]

What target?

Public schools.

 

[HuntTalk Freak]

Good on you. You can't make every single thing or at least I know I can't but I think kids can tell who makes the effort and who doesn't for sure.

Yep, I didn’t go to the valentines party this year and all I could think about was that little girl crying that Easter. I don’t think my daughter cared a bit. I miss a lot of holidays but do my best to make up for it.

 

[SDbuckmaster]

I worry about my 7 year old every day and I live in a small town. I work with a 30 year old that was home schooled and he has no social skills really awkward guy.

 

[Treeshark]

All I can say is that apparently my public school experience (mine and my kids) is far superior to most out there. I literally can't think of ways I would improve it.

Same here, and reading this thread makes me realized how blessed we are. My wife and I made an intentional decision to live where we do for this reason above all others.

Although if I was going through some of what others on this thread are, I would absolutely seek an alternative- either via moving, private or even homeschooling. Whatever it took to improve the situation, because nothing is more important.