MCAS scores lag at 14 area schools

The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education identified 14 Berkshire County schools as being in need of improvement based on the latest Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test results that were released on Wednesday.

[Tired of Being a Cash Cow]

It just amazes me that a Superintendent can say "We need to make sure we work together on issues and celebrate together our triumphs, and just do the best we can." ..... All that tells me is that if Johnny can't read it's OK because "he's doing the best he can" or Sally can't add 2 plus 2 and get 4 ...buts it's OK because she is doing the best she can.

It's time we held our educators responsible for ...now get this ...TEACHING our children rather than babysitting them. It sounds like the Superintendent
in Cheshire needs a reality check ..... stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution. It's obvious you were a teacher before moving via the Peter Principle to your present position. Administrators identify problems, develop plans and work toward solutions ....NOT just do the best they can.

As for the residents of this school district as well as parents of children attending it, now is the time to demand a QUALITY education ...don't let the budget excuse get in the way .... demand teachers teach and not just push students through the grades. I thought we had a no child left behind policy and all we are doing is putting the children behind on their future.

Contact your select board and ask they review this matter .... vote out the school committee members and get people who actually care about the children as it is obvious they are puppets of the unions and administration.

[Geeze Louise]

Tired of Being a Cash Cow wrote:

It just amazes me that a Superintendent can say "We need to make sure we work together on issues and celebrate together our triumphs, and just do the best we can." ..... All that tells me is that if Johnny can't read it's OK because "he's doing the best he can" or Sally can't add 2 plus 2 and get 4 ...buts it's OK because she is doing the best she can.
It's time we held our educators responsible for ...now get this ...TEACHING our children rather than babysitting them. It sounds like the Superintendent
in Cheshire needs a reality check ..... stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution. It's obvious you were a teacher before moving via the Peter Principle to your present position. Administrators identify problems, develop plans and work toward solutions ....NOT just do the best they can.
As for the residents of this school district as well as parents of children attending it, now is the time to demand a QUALITY education ...don't let the budget excuse get in the way .... demand teachers teach and not just push students through the grades. I thought we had a no child left behind policy and all we are doing is putting the children behind on their future.
Contact your select board and ask they review this matter .... vote out the school committee members and get people who actually care about the children as it is obvious they are puppets of the unions and administration.

MCAS testing is not necessarily an indication of a kids ability to learn but it does take on some meaning. If parents did a better job and STOPPED ATTACKING THE EDUCATION SYSTEM AND DID THEIR JOB RAISING THEIR CHILDEREN MAYBE THE TEACHERS WOULDN'T HAVE TO FREAKIN BABYSIT. When a kid is taught properly it shows in school. Ask the teachers how many of their students come to class without a writing utensil. Is that the FREAKIN teachers fault. I feel sorry for the teachers today because people can talk trash and they have to keep quiet. I would like to see one day where the morons, both parents and kids, would be fair game and anything goes. Kids have no boundaries and lack general respect.(I'm talking about the problems) This comes from the lack of parental control in most cases.

[Parent and educator]

I am a teacher and an administrator and agree that parents are the single biggest influence on a child's success in school. Parents who read to their children at an early age, who set limits, and instill a sense of responsibility and self-control in their children prepare their children for school and set them up for success.

[Wonk]

Parent and educator wrote:

I am a teacher and an administrator and agree that parents are the single biggest influence on a child's success in school. Parents who read to their children at an early age, who set limits, and instill a sense of responsibility and self-control in their children prepare their children for school and set them up for success.

While this is true, here in the REAL world, it is still your job to teach the kids whose parents aren't as education focused. Stop making excuses, stop telling your union that more money will solve the problem, and maybe start to try out some innovative new ways of getting thru to those kids because these scores prove that whatever you're doing now isn't working.

[growth]

The parent issue is not unique to Berkshire County. We can't use that to describe why our schools seem to lag behind the rest of the state.

The real story will be in October, when the state reports on the growth of individual students. They developed a new model to identify a school's ability to grow the students they have.

[Parent and educator]

Wonk wrote:

<quoted text>
While this is true, here in the REAL world, it is still your job to teach the kids whose parents aren't as education focused. Stop making excuses, stop telling your union that more money will solve the problem, and maybe start to try out some innovative new ways of getting thru to those kids because these scores prove that whatever you're doing now isn't working.

My point was not to say teachers shouldn't deal with the real world and do our job -- of course we should! Similarly, doctors need to treat obese children even if parents aren't promoting healthy lifestyles and probation officers need to enforce structure even when parents are out of the picture.

Incidentally, I am not in a union, oppose tenure, and fully realize that throwing money at the problem won't work.

[Church Street Resident]

Just because it is pointed out that the schools are lagging, doesn't mean that it is a smear on the teachers. There are great teachers in our schools... as there are great administrators. But there are also bad teachers and bad administrators.

But the problem goes way beyond school buildings and student/teacher ratios. It goes all the way to the make up of the community. We need better paying jobs. We have enough Section 8 housing (ie. we don't need to continue building more). We need to market this community as a place to live, work, start a business, relocate a business as well as visit. Until we fix the entire city as a whole, the schools will not change.

[Tired of Being a Cash Cow]

Wow !!!! Seems I struck a nerve. Let me begin by saying I do not have children in the school system but I do interact with a number of them that are.

When I bring up school I get the answers that there is no homework assigned. I get the answer that the teacher is just boring. I get the answer that they feel lost and get no help in catching up either from the parents or the teacher.

Many of the children I have interacted with come from families with less than a stellar educational background. How can a teacher\administrator expect help at home in this VERY common situation?

As for respect, you don't get granted respect, you earn it. I see the teachers on the street before the buses are done loading. You want respect, EARN IT. Try staying a little later and be available for a child who is too ashamed to admit they have a problem in class.

Hold detention and make it a working session, not just sit there quietly while I listen to my IPod.

When was the last time you as a teacher or administrator picked up the phone and called a parent to talk about their child? Perhaps you could get some insight into the home life if you did.

All I hear are excuses and not solutions. I repeat my previous statement .....Stop being part of the problem and Start being part of the solution.

[Parent and educator]

Tired of Being a Cash Cow wrote:

When was the last time you as a teacher or administrator picked up the phone and called a parent to talk about their child?

I agree with you here! I communicate with parents every day. Most importantly, I do my best to let parents know when their children are doing well -- not just when they are struggling.

[grandparent]

having had children in the system, and now grandchildren that I am very involved with, I have seen much of the changes in education over the years from when I went to school, through the current distressing situation. much has changed, including the way parents are judged for the slightest disciplining of their own children, and the way teachers are struggling with the way they can keep disruptive children from harming the entire class. it is really a struggle, I'm sure. but there is some validity to the post by "tired of being a cash cow".
my daughters are very active in their children's educations. but it is nearly impossible to get a teacher to simply make a quick call when they see a child is struggling. we have literally begged teachers for this, and yet the report card comes in with notes of missing work and there was never a call telling us it wasn't being done while we could have taken care of the mater. we have shared email addys and stopped in at the end of a school day to check up and never hear of problems, yet they are there at the end of the quarter.
teaching children is something that requires teamwork, and if parents are willing to step up and invest why can't they be met with a spirit of cooperation rather than dismissed as if they are treading on the teacher's territory? isn't the idea to educate the child so they can be contributing members of society? I know not every parent will put in the time and energy to be part of the team, but I think many get discouraged by the lack of willingness to include them and simply "turn off" to the challenge.

as for the article...why doesn't it include a list of the schools? I sure would like to see that. maybe it would give us a clue as to what is going on in one school that isn't in another.

also, I know many children don't like to ask for help in class, but with the majority of students riding busses that don't wait, it must be hard. when we used to walk to a neighborhood school it was easy to hang back and speak to a teacher, if they were there of course, but these days I think it must be harder. isn't there any way teachers can take a look over a shoulder once in a while to see if the students are getting the idea? my teachers sure did this. there must be some way to be available to the students who are falling behind.

is it possible that this forum could be used to help find a solution instead of pointing fingers and calling names? I sure hope so!

[Geeze Louise]

Wonk wrote:

<quoted text>
While this is true, here in the REAL world, it is still your job to teach the kids whose parents aren't as education focused. Stop making excuses, stop telling your union that more money will solve the problem, and maybe start to try out some innovative new ways of getting thru to those kids because these scores prove that whatever you're doing now isn't working.

Actually, and unfortunately, teachers are in the REAL WORLD. How about the innovative idea of coming to school prepared , well rested, well fed, and with the understanding of boundaries and maybe this can be possible for ALL KIDS. We spend more money on the kids who don't care and are problem children and most other programs get cut. Personally, I cannot fathom why any young person would go into teaching. With all the complaining and the product they receive in the classroom , at times, is not at all rewarding. CLUE IN: TEACHERS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE RAISING YOUR KIDS!!!! You are supposed to be raising your kids without the lame*** excuses that many of these kids come with. I know many teachers that don't mind digging in the trenches and they love their kids but they don't deserve to get buried because a kid isn't responding. Have you seen Phys. Ed. classes these days? The kids are so god****** lazy and they want to get A's. Come and spend a week observing. You will change your mind and attitude and if you don't you are probably STUPID. And you can't fix stupid!!

[Geeze Louise]

Tired of Being a Cash Cow wrote:

Wow !!!! Seems I struck a nerve. Let me begin by saying I do not have children in the school system but I do interact with a number of them that are.
When I bring up school I get the answers that there is no homework assigned. I get the answer that the teacher is just boring. I get the answer that they feel lost and get no help in catching up either from the parents or the teacher.
Many of the children I have interacted with come from families with less than a stellar educational background. How can a teacher\administrator expect help at home in this VERY common situation?
As for respect, you don't get granted respect, you earn it. I see the teachers on the street before the buses are done loading. You want respect, EARN IT. Try staying a little later and be available for a child who is too ashamed to admit they have a problem in class.
Hold detention and make it a working session, not just sit there quietly while I listen to my IPod.
When was the last time you as a teacher or administrator picked up the phone and called a parent to talk about their child? Perhaps you could get some insight into the home life if you did.
All I hear are excuses and not solutions. I repeat my previous statement .....Stop being part of the problem and Start being part of the solution.

Talk about excuses? Your post is loaded with them.

[Tired of Being a Cash Cow]

Geeze Louise ... What a kind soul you must be ...calling people "stupid". Again I state that if you are part of the problem and your defense of spending a day in school you need to rethink your career and allow someone to be part of the solution. It seems you would be better suited to anything other than a teacher or anything involving children if you can actually state that "You will change your mind and attitude and if you don't you are probably STUPID. And you can't fix stupid!! " To borrow a phrase from a movie ... "stupid is as stupid does." Look in the mirror and ask yourself how have I positively influenced a child today and I'll bet you'll get no answer. Reading from a planner/text book...using canned tests and watching the clock is not teaching and as a community we must expect more from our educators. Anyone reading this just go to McDonalds and give your payment in a form where you would get minimum change and see what happens. Talk to a neighbor or your own child and talk about music ... a common subject and you'll be subjected to ahhhh, ummmm and other nonverbal responses because if you can't write well, you can't speak well. See where your tax dollars go. Wander the school parking lots and I'll bet 9 out of 10 cars are better than what you drive. Educators are paid to do a job that in the "real" world" has consequences....but not in our school systems.

[grandparent]

frankly, if teachers could teach the basics and not worry about "teaching to the MCAS" the results would be better even if nothing else changed.