From Jack McCourt of Mason City –
On reading the Globe on September 25th, it said Mason City school district needs assistance, to me that proves a good point. It is the teachers in the classroom that make the big difference.
I don’t care how nice the building is, the room still has four walls, windows and as a rule, one door. For a person to use an excuse like low income students and blame them for what’s wrong in the schools, is poor judgement. A kid’s IQ is not hurt by being on the poor side coming up in life and most have more and better common sense than well-off students.
In talking to Harold Hopp at the VA, he told me when he was teaching, he had classes of 40 kids and got the job done. What is the class size today? Is it much smaller? I doubt it.
Poverty doesn’t make one stupid, it just reduces ones opportunities
Maybe mom and/or dad should spend less time in the bar getting drunk and smoking and more time investing in their kids. I would bet that 25-50% of parents out there don’t even want to be parents…..they just couldn’t keep their pants on or use birth control. Jack McCourt’s articles having nothing of any substance in them. He needs to star in a modern day movie spinoff of “Grumpy Old Men.” He needs to get a life.
If you don’t think poverty can affect an IQ and subsequent learning, you are poorly mistaken. There is a ton of research on this topic.
I can tell you one thing about our school system and its not about teaching its about how much money we earn, nothing wrong with making money but when you look at the $$$ the teachers and administration are making we should have some higher scores. Paras are doing more in the class room than some teachers. But they only make 12.00 an hour. Janitors make a little more than a para, and bus drivers make less than paras.Our school sytems sucks and it starts from the top, hell now we are sending more admin over to clear lake as we have so much extra time cause our student count is down. Lets give tem a big fat raise next year so they dont wine.
You can see virtually any schools rating at “education.com” Mason Cities is pathetic
And apparently, you don’t have much of an education if you can’t read the stats and see that Mason City HIgh School’s rating is well above the state average in math and reading. If you read, you could also see that MCHS’s average pupil to teacher ration is almost 5 students higher than the state average..
Thats whats wrong -without a calculator these kids cannot add subract or multiply – division is a far out tv show to them.
I have to agree with Really. Comparing todays learning environment to that of 40 years ago is apples to oranges. Comparing what needs to be taught today to what was taught 40 years ago is also apple to oranges. Jack times have changed and you haven’t kept up.
Yes times have changed. Kid use to play on grass and dirt. Now schools have artificial turf etc, and on and on. We walked to the neighborhood ball field and cemetery and had great baseball, football games. Now it’s in the van and drive me here, drive me their, I need new Nikes to keep up with Joey. Or the Jones if you prefer. Yep parents you got it made?? Who’s walking the dog and mowing the grass or shoveling the walk?? Lie if you like but I know for damn sure it’s not your kid!!!
It is interesting that you rarely see kids doing yard work or removing snow around their home. Please remember Iowa law doesn’t allow kids under age 10 to work. Child labor laws don’t allow kids under 16 to use lawn mowers or weed trimers unless they are “working in or around the home” so yes they can mow their parent’s lawn but not Grandma’s across town. Wonder why parent’s don’t think it’s a good idea to have kids help around the home…..a good work ethic might help in school.
Really, I’m. Sure the Mason City Cops would be right there to bust your kid for going cross town to granny’s house and mowing or. Shoveling, or washing windows or painting etc. lets get rid of excuses!!! Kids just aren’t. Into it and neither s mom or dad. Pathetic No If Ands Or Buts!!!!
When reading the wonderfull articals in the Globe leading up to the school tax vote, you would think we have a perfect school system. The Globe asked people to poor more and more money in the system. We read wonderfull artical about the kids and teachers right up to the vote to take more money from the taxpayers. 8% of voters agreed and cost us millions more in tax dollars to a system that is getting smaller and smaller with less and less results.
Shortly after, we get the no child left behind report card on our school system. It painted a different picture of the quality of our school system (one of the poorest performing in the state)
The alternitive school graded maybe the poorest!
Where were the articals covering how poor the system was graded?
The bottom line, more and more money, for lesss and less results. GOVERNMENT at its best
School work today has really changed over the last 40 years. Our society and our children are more technically advanced. Growing up we had 4 basic TV channels. Now we have 100’s. Getting a new Texas Instruments calculator was a huge deal and a huge expense. Now they replaced with Ipod’s and laptops. Teachers 40 years ago would have no idea where to start with the lessons our kids have now. The rules that apply to our teachers for discipline and to keep a learning environment have changed. The days of the 1 room school house are gone with Little House on the Prairie.
@Really_BULL-Intelligence is still intelligence no matter what the tools are. Do you think it was easy doing everything with nothing but your hands and your brains. It took a lot more teaching back in the day. All you are doing is making excuses for low performance. We put more and more money into the schools with continued poor results. Put responsibility and discipline back into the students and see how fast things change. Quit making excuses. Jack is correct. New buildings do not make a good school.
“Teachers 40 years ago would have no idea where to start with the lessons our kids have now.”
How about 1+1=2 or A,B,C,D . . that where you start. The fundamentals and the ability to apply them. Onec the children can apply the basics then you move on to the Techno gadgets.
“The rules that apply to our teachers for discipline and to keep a learning environment have changed.”
Well yes I agree, and as a parent I am sorry I didn’t fight harder to keep the Teachers and the Principals as the authority figures they should be. We have been fooled by the Skoolars into believing that they knew best.