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Post by Holy Schist on Aug 17, 2012 12:42:12 GMT -5
I am not sure what you mean by increased local control. School boards are local control, and they can choose to not take state or federal funding if they don't like the strings attached. How many schools are in your district? We have 9, including 1 high school, 2 middle schools, and 6 elementary schools. Being a small district not only allows it to be more flexible, it also means that there is much less overhead than in one of the big unified school districts. So, in our case, there is considerable local control. Our district also pays teachers in the upper ranges of the area, but it not really that much more than other districts for comparable experience. It gets good teachers because it's a good school system and had its pick of the local talent. I'm not sure about the particulars of the teaching contracts, but TX is a right to work state, so teachers don't have to join a union and I doubt that most of them choose to join one. They also have 1 year contracts that the school can choose to renew each year. I'm guessing a lot of that is based on performance. Teachers, of course, can hop around to new districts if they want to without losing anything. That gives both the teachers and the schools a lot of flexibility, just like in other fields where talent comes and goes for a variety of reasons. It looks like ours is just a little bit larger. It serves two municipalities and a hand full of townships.
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Post by Holy Schist on Aug 17, 2012 12:52:09 GMT -5
Very true that. Which is why whenever stories about huge salary or bonus increases for top executives hits the news, that old canard about "you have to pay more for better quality candidates" is shown to be a false argument. After all, no one seems to mention paying teachers more money to get "better teachers" do they? Many people who are in favor of education reforms are very much in favor of paying teachers bonuses and higher salaries for good performance. I'm all for it, by the way. I suggest watching the specific legislation before being too excited about it and realize it's an area where unions have an appropriate roll. So far in this state the laws drafted and not yet passed have not addressed the superb teachers who work with kids that can't be measured in conventional ways.
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Post by Holy Schist on Aug 17, 2012 12:57:58 GMT -5
I'm curious as to the consultant's fees. Similar to a therapists, about $100/hour. For that you get a wealth of knowledge and really practical tips that work, as well as an advocate for the kids. That's just bizarre to me because what you described about grades, strategies, understanding college entry and guiding your kids is what most I know do as a family. Unless I don't understand it sounds like paying somebody else to do what we consider to be among the core or critical jobs you do as a family and what it appears most do in our neighborhood.
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Post by naill on Aug 17, 2012 13:12:41 GMT -5
What this guy does to perfection is what I call 'gaming the system', i.e. figuring out the psychology of how things work and learning how to be more effective as a result. Thanks, Linda. That makes perfect sense to me, reminds me of the old saying of don't work hard but smart.
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Post by naill on Aug 17, 2012 13:19:55 GMT -5
Well, the cub scout motto is 'do your best'. I think that is a good starting place. I expect my son to do his best in school, and I expect him to get good grades because he's a smart kid. But, I don't expect perfect grades. I want him to enjoy his life, both during his school years and beyond, and having a single-minded pursuit of perfection is a very unhealthy approach, IMO. The only problem is that what your best is today may not be your best without "gaming the system" as Linda wrote. IOW, focusing on what you can do well and being successful is different and more strategic than trying to do your best. The two are not the same. There is a baseball book out about this fellow who figured out the stats that best contributed to winning games which had nothing to do with what the public comes to see necessarily. They made this into a movie and stared Brad Pitt, but I can't remember the title. Anyway, it had nothing to do with doing your best. I was getting the right people on the bus.
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Post by zenmaster on Aug 17, 2012 14:01:53 GMT -5
Moneyball is the movie you are thinking of.
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Post by naill on Aug 17, 2012 14:14:52 GMT -5
Moneyball is the movie you are thinking of. Yes, thanks...did you see it?
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Post by zenmaster on Aug 17, 2012 14:23:31 GMT -5
Moneyball is the movie you are thinking of. Yes, thanks...did you see it? No, not yet. I am not a real big sports fan.
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Post by donalgdon on Aug 17, 2012 14:41:26 GMT -5
Yes, thanks...did you see it? No, not yet. I am not a real big sports fan. I'm not much of a baseball fan, and my wife has no clue about sports, and she liked the move (and not just because Brad Pitt is in it.) She and I both liked it very much, actually. I wouldn't write it off as just another sports movie. Give it a view.
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Post by zenmaster on Aug 17, 2012 15:15:56 GMT -5
Thanks, I will give it a try.
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Post by lindaw on Aug 17, 2012 15:21:50 GMT -5
Similar to a therapists, about $100/hour. For that you get a wealth of knowledge and really practical tips that work, as well as an advocate for the kids. That's just bizarre to me because what you described about grades, strategies, understanding college entry and guiding your kids is what most I know do as a family. Unless I don't understand it sounds like paying somebody else to do what we consider to be among the core or critical jobs you do as a family and what it appears most do in our neighborhood. Teenagers are notorious for going through a very healthy, rebellious stage. Having an objective individual involved can keep conflicts to a minimum and maximize communication. In addition, these consultants are in- touch and in-tune with college admissions directors and college admissions requirements, something I am just not an expert in. There's so much more, but I won't bore the others. It sounds to me like you feel I would rather pay someone to parent my children. How sad is it, that you would feel a need to express that. I have never been egotistical enough to think I am the 'be all, end all'. I also recognize that the public schools have an agenda all their own that doesn't benefit my daughter or any other child in the school. A consultant acts as the child's advocate in these situations, carrying a clout parents simply don't have. Reason being, is the school systems know full-well these consultants know how they function, and therefore can cut through the BS when needed. My main job as a parent is to advocate for and protect my children. In some situations, I recognize it's best not to go it alone. This is one of those times.
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Post by lindaw on Aug 17, 2012 15:22:30 GMT -5
What this guy does to perfection is what I call 'gaming the system', i.e. figuring out the psychology of how things work and learning how to be more effective as a result. Thanks, Linda. That makes perfect sense to me, reminds me of the old saying of don't work hard but smart. Precisely!
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Post by lindaw on Aug 17, 2012 15:29:50 GMT -5
My daughter's friend said something last night that might help some understand. We were talking about the unreasonable amount of homework the teachers put on the students. She said it's not unusual to only get 4-5 hours a night of sleep. Yet, she said, the school administration puts posters all around the school saying that 9 hours is essential, knowing full well this will never happen because they don't keep their teachers in check re: state law/homework.
My daughter's friend said it was a running joke throughout the school, and, as a result, the kids distrust the administration and their teachers. They know a sham when they see it, she said. She said the same thing about the stress seminars. The kids are want to know why the staff doesn't want to simply help reduce the stress by fixing their broken policies, rather than teach them to cope with it.
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Post by zenmaster on Aug 17, 2012 16:07:28 GMT -5
Linda, it sounds like you made a very good decision for your child. Not every parent will advocate for their child like you have. You have gone that extra mile.
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Post by herbhunter on Aug 17, 2012 16:53:53 GMT -5
Linda, it sounds like you made a very good decision for your child. Not every parent will advocate for their child like you have. You have gone that extra mile. More like the extra dollar.
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