What do you expect out of public school?

[1889]

Both of my kids are in school this year, my oldest is starting 3rd grade and the other is now in preschool. That has allowed me to go back to work. At the moment I am a substitute at an elementary school. I love kids; I love teaching so it’s a great job but very eye opening.

I made sure that my kids could read before they even started school but now I see many kids that seem hopelessly behind and it makes me worried for their future. My question is how important is parental involvement? Or can a kid learn all they need to know by being present in the classroom? In short how much do you expect your kids to get out of a free public education?

 

[NiRv4n4]

Indoctrination, broken dreams, and spiraling depression. And a serious lack of any "schooling".

At least, that's how it is where I live. Maybe I should move...

If you want your kids to be educated, public schooling is (mostly) fine until they are 11-13 years old. Then, you should consider taking a step up, especially if your school hasn't the best reputation.

 

[jtb1127]

It depends where you live. DC schools are God-awful while Arlington schools are the exact opposite. If I had kids I would definitely send them to public school here. If you are sending them to a sketchy public school, then their should be plenty involvement to ensure they don't bake.

 

[Zelig]

I turned out awesome and intelligent with minimal parent involvement and a pretty sucky school system.

My 3 recommendations for having smart kids:

1. Good nutrition.
2. No electronic media.
3. Good genes.

 

[DaveShack]

Our kids are completely unrelated to each other. And to each other too -- they're adopted. The only common links they share is us as parents and our family environment, and the general school environment. They have had different individual teachers.

Both are 95th percentile or higher on all standardized tests, both in the gifted program. Statistically there is only a 25 in 10,000 chance that both of them would score that high. I know this sample size is too small to be scientifically significant, but I attribute it to good parenting (first and foremost) and a good school (secondary but still relevant).

We treated our kids like people from the very beginning. Enough baby talk to be cute, but we talked to them normally even as infants. We read to them, played with them, did preschool activities, put them in sports. I work full time and my wife is a true stay at home mom. From the beginning we balanced having them play by themselves with 1:1 and family interactions.

Now they're in 2nd and 5th grades, and we've moved up to making them do their homework, helping to explain the difficult parts but requiring them to think of and write the actual answers. They're in scouts and sports, they read anywhere between 20 minutes and 2 hours a day. They have electronic time but we try to regulate it. We don't use bad language, we don't let them bully or call people names, we teach morals.

What do we expect from the school?
Consistency!
A good code of conduct. At our school it's "Be safe, be respectful, be responsible, have fun" and the kids believe in this code and follow it.
Teach basic skills. Do not allow children to advance if they have not mastered the skills.
Include non core subjects by incorporating them in teaching basic skills. The kids get science, social topics, health and nutrition, music, and PE.
Include technology. The kids start using computers in kindergarten and are required to do part of their homework on computers starting in 2nd grade!

 

[downtown]

I've taught public school, in well-heeled suburban districts and in some pretty rough neighborhoods in a very rough city. Kudos for getting back in the classroom yourself.

I think it is reasonable to expect a public school to provide a safe environment (physical and emotional) and to provide quality enough instruction for students to meet all state standards. Parents have a responsibility to know whats going on in the classroom, and hold both students and teachers accountable. Student success is going to be a partnership between the educators and the family.

An exceptional teacher can get a lot of mileage out of students who have less than ideal home situations though. In neighborhoods where parent involvement is not going to happen, local governments need to make sure their schools are prepared to go above and beyond.