Harlingen ISD releases new budget

The budget for the 2009-2010 school year is estimated to increase only by close to $200,000, from $33,250,551 to $33,444,242, but a 2.9 percent increase in local property values should allow for 3 percent raises for teachers, Assistant Superintendent for Business Julio Cavazos told school board members Wednesday.

[shadowavx]

at least the teachers can have their raise.

let's be realistic here. with the volume of knowledge available through the internet, does it really take 12 years to give basic literacy skills? essentially, that's all the public school is supposed to do. there's the whole higher education system ready to take over when they leave 12th grade.

to be sure, public school is a publicly funded baby sitting service. we can't have the underage running the streets. as the population somehow begins to educate itself, the need for structured learning diminishes, yet the need for teachers oddly does not.

i propose that the skills expected of a high school graduate could easily be taught by the 10th grade, if the teachers could just teach.

the last two years could be spent in public service, perhaps doing public works projects. get those graduates ready for the working world. if they don't want to do manual labor, they might choose higher education or a military career. both good options.

call me crazy, but the adults coming out of high school are more like children. heaven help us all. but as long as the teachers get their 3% bump, all is right with the world.

[Local Teacher]

Well, as a new teacher I would have to disagree with this synopsis. Most of the time it isnt the teacher just "teaching." Most of the time its the kids behaviors in class which limit the abilities of the other kids and hinders the learning process. If the parents would just "parent" maybe we could get the kids to learn. Most of the kids that I have taught only in my first year I have compared to about a 6th or seventh grade writing level. There is no organization, discipline or motivation for these students to make themselves better. Once we grasp consistent, moral, and organizational values at home, we can not only prepare these kids for college, but teach them to excel. IN most levels, including college, it is a constant reteach of basic skills. Talking about teaching children is nothing compared to actually doing it. I dismiss anyone with those kinds of ideas unless they have walked in a teacher's shoes.

[shadowavx]

Local Teacher wrote:

Well, as a new teacher I would have to disagree with this synopsis. Most of the time it isnt the teacher just "teaching." Most of the time its the kids behaviors in class which limit the abilities of the other kids and hinders the learning process. If the parents would just "parent" maybe we could get the kids to learn. Most of the kids that I have taught only in my first year I have compared to about a 6th or seventh grade writing level. There is no organization, discipline or motivation for these students to make themselves better. Once we grasp consistent, moral, and organizational values at home, we can not only prepare these kids for college, but teach them to excel. IN most levels, including college, it is a constant reteach of basic skills. Talking about teaching children is nothing compared to actually doing it. I dismiss anyone with those kinds of ideas unless they have walked in a teacher's shoes.

i too have teaching experience. the system is just a mess. parents look to the schools to raise the children. children know their rights, and the limits of what a teacher can do before it's time to cry to the lawyers. the lawyers are eager to file suit against the school district and the teacher because they have bills to pay too.

like goldfish in a shark of tanks, teachers try their best to educate, when it seems that everyone including the student has other plans.

most of the educators i know just count the years to retirement. in their mind they are already there of course, so they go through the motions. whatever it takes to cruise into the golden years. i used to cry against such behavior, but now i can hardly find fault with it. how can you fight a system that's stacked ten layers deep against you? better to do your days work for a days pay and go home to a cold one and some tv. tomorrow is just another day, one more day closer to retirement.