tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post1558369696422769398..comments2024-01-08T03:21:35.616-05:00Comments on DeKalb County School Watch: When education is "pull" not "push"Cerebrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-81086760555242023632010-09-08T19:38:33.998-04:002010-09-08T19:38:33.998-04:00According to the DECA website, enrollment is limit...According to the DECA website, enrollment is limited to 100 9th graders each year. Students who will be the first in their family to attend college are given preference. Students must also be legal residents of the U.S.Mollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09032983243542804389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-63698238296176791982010-09-08T17:25:05.724-04:002010-09-08T17:25:05.724-04:00Weird. I personally know a couple of white student...Weird. I personally know a couple of white students currently in the DECA program. I'm sorry someone told you that. It's totally not true. The program has nothing to do with color, but they do look at the student's struggles vs motivation. They first place you in a sort of "try out" group where you learn study skills, etc... That's all I know.Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-44760731132757111542010-09-08T17:15:39.588-04:002010-09-08T17:15:39.588-04:00Coming back to this thread late - I will tell my f...Coming back to this thread late - I will tell my friend about Faith Academy and Ga Virtual School.<br />DECA looked good for me, but when we checked it out, my child was "not qualified" for DECA, because she was not "of color" (this was a couple years ago, so things might have changed). I will mention it, but my friend's child is not "of color" either.<br /><br />The student has already checked into how a GED will affect admission to college, and said that it would be accepted as long as the required standardized test scores are also there. The student fully intends to go to college or a technical school - just had it with high school.<br /><br />I know for a fact that when my kids were looking at colleges (the 4-year kind), every single one of them said that a GED was all right, as well as home schooling (where you don't have a school district's stamp of approval). When I think about the kids I knew in college who started a bit later, they did well because of the maturing effect of the work world.<br /><br />My own kid left college after freshman year, worked and got an A.S. degree from GPC. I was afraid it would be hard to get her to go for a B.A., but she did, after working another semester (she graduated GPC in December.)<br /><br />She says she "doesn't have time for all that partying and other junk - just wants to hang with her senior and grad student friends, keep her head down and get that degree ASAP".Dekalbparenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16376422781260452873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-82943359881246026152010-09-07T22:58:14.512-04:002010-09-07T22:58:14.512-04:00Maybe it would help if everyone started lobbying t...Maybe it would help if everyone started lobbying the BOE and Ms. Tyson for Morcease Beasley to be required to 'guest teach' his theories 20 hours or so a week in various classrooms around the district (K-12) so that teachers could "observe" him at work and "learn" from him (no one needs to know who's learning from whom) -- one can then see the fruits of his ideas and how they really work in the overcrowded classrooms and see how they work......Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-23140704058372494402010-09-07T20:16:23.231-04:002010-09-07T20:16:23.231-04:00To Anon September 7, 2010 8:51 AM
You said:
So my...To Anon September 7, 2010 8:51 AM<br /><br />You said:<br /><i>So my friend, I know that teachers in DCSS would benefit from reading a book like this, rather than follow the top brass like a group of sheep. Many things that you are asked to do and are doing in the name of "helping the children/students" is really harming them.</i><br /><br />I'm glad you "know" that all teachers would benefit from reading yet another book on what we are doing wrong and how to do it better . . . this year, but you shouldn't impart your traits, needs, or shortcomings on the occupation as a whole. Secondly, if this book is so great - then the "top brass" <b>should</b> be reading it. Third, I don't follow the top brass like a sheep. I implement what they require because that is part of being an employee and to do otherwise would be insubordination - tenure doesn't shield you from that. Note that implementing what DCSS requires does not mean I am no longer teaching. Competent teachers find a way to work the requirements into what they are already doing.<br /><br />Lastly, if you are a teacher at DCSS and you went to work on this fine sunny critical work day (yes, today when you posted is a critical day because it followed a holiday), what were you doing posting during work hours???? (Maybe you could benefit from some books on how to be a better teacher. hahahahahaha)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-68833843251154932722010-09-07T09:36:56.485-04:002010-09-07T09:36:56.485-04:00I didn't know that non-public students can tak...I didn't know that non-public students can take classes at GA Virtual School. They can, though space is limited.<br /><br />http://www.gavirtualschool.org/<br /><br />I have a friend whose child took a class through GA Virtual school. They found the teacher was great but it was hard to find the discipline necessary to take a virtual class. She ended up doing well though and growing up some too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-72290155553741247282010-09-07T09:26:36.201-04:002010-09-07T09:26:36.201-04:00DeKalbparent,
I think that if the GED is the path...DeKalbparent,<br /><br />I think that if the GED is the path they choose to go, it is very important that they take classes at community college, if they have any inkling that in the next few years they may want a Tier 1 4 year college. <br /><br />The parent's forum at Collegeconfidential is a great source for information.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-76066854761124875292010-09-07T09:15:27.331-04:002010-09-07T09:15:27.331-04:00http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2010/09/07/...http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2010/09/07/why-are-there-so-many-assumptions-masquerading-as-fact-in-education-and-why-do-the-facts-keep-changing/<br /><br />Maureen Downey is blogging about the NY Times article and other "assumptions" in education that people treat as facts.<br /><br />It is an interesting discussion.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-7491024436687510492010-09-07T08:51:01.165-04:002010-09-07T08:51:01.165-04:00Anon 5:42
Nurture Shock has to do with how adults...Anon 5:42<br /><br />Nurture Shock has to do with how adults interact with children. Teachers interact with children in a similar way that parents do. I have often see teachers do and say things that are meant to be positive, but are really hurting our children.<br /><br />I look at this video on praise and have see teachers praise children for the wrong things. As a teacher, I have done it, thinking that I am raising self confidence. http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8487839<br /><br />As a district we do not allow teachers to give students the grades that they earn. We do not allow teachers to stick to due dates and require them to give students multiple chances to do better. Is this really good for our children? Are we hurting them or helping them?<br /><br />Even the way that teachers speak to their children can effect how well they do. As a teacher, I have seen teachers speak at their students and not to their students. I have also seen teachers not use broad and sophisticated vocabularies with children (maybe because they do not have them themselves, or maybe because they do not think that the children can handle it). Did you know that this is hurting our children?<br /><br />So my friend, I know that teachers in DCSS would benefit from reading a book like this, rather than follow the top brass like a group of sheep. Many things that you are asked to do and are doing in the name of "helping the children/students" is really harming them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-30699196620619369942010-09-07T08:23:56.116-04:002010-09-07T08:23:56.116-04:00Also, many people may not be aware of a very inter...Also, many people may not be aware of a very interesting optional charter high school program DeKalb offers called Gateway to College. (I believe this is a Bill & Melinda Gates initiative). Anyway, it's high school - and college simultaneously. Classes take place at GA Perimeter in Clarkston. I'm not sure about the rules, but I think you may have to be a junior and make this two year commitment. So you go a year longer than high school, but in the end, you get a high school diploma plus a two year associates degree.<br /><br />http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/schools/centers/collegegateway/index.html<br /><br />Contact Us: gpcgway@gpc.edu<br />Website: http://www.gpc.edu/~gpcgway/Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-65787377560363735972010-09-07T08:17:48.954-04:002010-09-07T08:17:48.954-04:00Well, I must not be a very natural parent, then, a...Well, I must not be a very natural parent, then, as I have certainly read a whole lot of books on the subject. Maybe I'm just not as confident as you, Anon, but I do need help and guidance.<br /><br />As far as the GED, I didn't know this until recently, but the military won't accept GEDs (at least the Air Force - but double-check this, I could be wrong). <br /><br />DM, Tell your friend to look into Faith Academy. It's accredited, regular high school but you do the work on your own, on your own schedule, turning in weekly assignment packets. (Allowing you to work at a job.) The Georgia Virtual Academy is also good (not DeKalb's DOLA).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.faithaca.org/" rel="nofollow">Faith Academy</a><br /><a href="http://zsem.k12.com/tpages/index2c_dyn.html?st=GA&se=Google&campaign=GA_National_GO_Job_K120928&adgroup=GA_Nat_Virtual&kw=georgia%20virtual%20academy&gclid=CLCU7aSk9aMCFSta7AodgRkd2w" rel="nofollow">Georgia Virtual Academy</a>Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-15352270709334883332010-09-07T05:42:01.320-04:002010-09-07T05:42:01.320-04:00To DeKalb Parent
Why not get a GED?
Because if t...<b>To DeKalb Parent</b><br />Why not get a GED? <br />Because if that "solid" business plan falls through, that former student will find that in today's job market, writing the letters GED on your application and resume' don't look so great. Explaining to a potential employer that you were bored with being in school doesn't sound much better. There are several well known business people who dropped out . . of college. I'm not so sure about dropping out of HS.<br /><br />Until we are able to change schools, students have to accept that it is what it is. We can do it better, but with the way this county is run, I wouldn't hold my breath.<br /><br /><b>To anon 11:42pm</b><br /><i>Nurture Shock has nothing to do with teaching, but with parenting, interacting with children, and how we (yes all of us) are failing our children. It is research based, solid research. </i> Every single theory is "research based" As a matter of fact, I did some research this morning when I looked at my lesson plans for the week and my research shows that I'm not failing your children. Seriously, saying something is "research based" is like telling people to get ready for the smell, because the BS is about to come out full flow. <br /><br />If you have to read a book on parenting and how to interact with children, you may want to think about that. It pretty much comes natural to most people and if it doesn't, well, I doubt a book is going to help.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-683068354367360562010-09-06T23:42:12.751-04:002010-09-06T23:42:12.751-04:00Anon 9:30 Nurture Shock has nothing to do with te...Anon 9:30 Nurture Shock has nothing to do with teaching, but with parenting, interacting with children, and how we (yes all of us) are failing our children. It is research based, solid research. <br /><br />In my opinion, if just a few of the things in Nurture Shock were used in our education systems across America along with our homes, our children would be better prepared for the real world when they graduate from high school and high school would be a much more meaningful experience. <br /><br />As an educator and avid reader of books in the field of education and parenting, I knew some of these studies, but not all of them. Look on the web site and I am sure that you could learn a thing or two as well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-40971870211597239142010-09-06T23:06:22.494-04:002010-09-06T23:06:22.494-04:00Coincidentally, I was talking with a friend this w...Coincidentally, I was talking with a friend this weekend who told me her 17-year-old wants to stop going to school and get a GED, <i>because it is so boring</i>. She wants the student to finish the current year, but then she is considering the idea.<br /><br />The student is NOT a slacker - s/he has already been working at a demanding job over the summer and after school, has plans to expand the current job into a full-time business (and has a sound plan to do so), wants to continue with a band in the off-hours, and has explored joint enrollment (part-time at a college)as well as looking into continuing at a technical college.<br /><br />This student has solid plans and a proven record of sensible outside-the-box thinking. School has just become the "extended sixth grade" mentioned above. I could not think of a reason my friend should not give he idea a fair shake.Dekalbparenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16376422781260452873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-27512229623818831402010-09-06T22:11:58.334-04:002010-09-06T22:11:58.334-04:00Actually, that looks like a very interesting book....Actually, that looks like a very interesting book. <br /><br />The article also mentions another book, "Escaping the Endless Adolescence,". I found statements in the article to ring true to my experience as a parent of teens.<br /><br /><i>Allen has concluded that our urge to protect teenagers from real life – because we don’t think they’re ready yet – has tragically backfired. By insulating them from adult-like work, adult social relationships, and adult consequences, we have only delayed their development. We have made it harder for them to grow up. Maybe even made it impossible to grow up on time. <br />Basically, we long ago decided that teens ought to be in school, not in the labor force. Education was their future. But the structure of schools is endlessly repetitive. “From a Martian’s perspective, high schools look virtually the same as sixth grade,” said Allen. “There’s no recognition, in the structure of school, that these are very different people with different capabilities.” Strapped to desks for 13+ years, school becomes both incredibly montonous, artificial, and cookie-cutter. </i><br /><br />http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/nurture-shock/2009/11/05/why-teenagers-are-growing-up-so-slowly-today.htmlCerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-17311230046240625672010-09-06T21:45:14.964-04:002010-09-06T21:45:14.964-04:00Thanks, Teach for DeKalb!
Quack! That's exac...Thanks, Teach for DeKalb!<br /><br />Quack! That's exactly the word to describe Morcease Beasley. He is a quack. A snake oil salesman. He is stealing from our children. Even worse, he is stealing from the children who are at the highest risk ... the children who have no back-up at home ... no support ... and a weak foundation in academic basics. They have no one to be their advocate. <br /><br />Beasley knows that. He is the worse kind of racist. An African-American who preys on African-American children with his eduspeak quackery, knowing that no one will speak up for them.<br /><br />Beasley is the worst kind of racist. He is a fake educator. Our children deserve so much better. Our disadvantaged children -- mostly African-American and Hispanic -- are desperate for so much better.Be True to Your Schoolnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-30376927436508879822010-09-06T21:35:29.268-04:002010-09-06T21:35:29.268-04:00Bravo to the comments above.Bravo to the comments above.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-67487501594326838612010-09-06T21:30:46.475-04:002010-09-06T21:30:46.475-04:00We don't need to read any more books on how to...We don't need to read any more books on how to teach. Did you have to read a book on how to be a parent? This is ridiculous. How did education manage to occur before the theory of education? <br /><br />Learning was taking place. Teaching was taking place. Then along came the psychologists, the professors, the educational consultants. Theories, studies, justifications, terminology, all rolled together into one big turd.<br /><br />What's missing from education? Freedom for real teachers to actually practice what is an art - not a science and that is how to teach. What is missing? Teachers who actually have a degree in the subject they are teaching. What is missing? Parents that demand their child behave and that let their child face the consequences of misbehavior or laziness at an early age so they don't have to face the same lessons at a latter stage in life with more serious consequences.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-92135137814893241452010-09-06T20:48:31.216-04:002010-09-06T20:48:31.216-04:00Many of the things that we think that we are doing...Many of the things that we think that we are doing right for our children are incorrect. We should have teachers reading the book Nuture Shock. The administrators should be reading it as well. http://www.nurtureshock.com/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-80994896769324271482010-09-06T20:45:28.027-04:002010-09-06T20:45:28.027-04:00I am a high school teacher in Dekalb county. Peopl...I am a high school teacher in Dekalb county. People need to understand that Beasley and his ilk in the central office are nothing more than quacks. Moreover, the underlying thrust of their quackery is racist. Their "theories" victimize black students who are already far behind in many areas. These children need competent teachers who expect them to sit and absorb complex information. And an administration whose primary mission is to ensure that these conditions exist. Instead, we have someone like Beasley and his minions, who are little more than poster boys and girls for the "let me justify my job" approach to education. We are long overdue for a thorough housecleaning.TeachForDekalbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-14172725743925932102010-09-06T20:34:15.841-04:002010-09-06T20:34:15.841-04:00And be sure to ask him, why in a system as diverse...And be sure to ask him, why in a system as diverse as DCSS, he seems to be on a one size fits all rampage?themommyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01829171693817032539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-85333875513994017062010-09-06T20:28:27.817-04:002010-09-06T20:28:27.817-04:00If I could get pass my gut feeling that the man wa...If I could get pass my gut feeling that the man wants to be superintendent, I could almost feel sorry for Beasley.<br /><br />To me it seems like others have posted here, he has no idea what he is doing and has, like so many others in DCSS, been put into a position that he has no business holding.<br /><br />However, I think he wants the big job and I think he thinks he knows what he is doing and so he is very dangerous. <br /><br />Go to these meetings and ask him hard questions. The study from the NYT about learning styles is a good one and also the recent study disputing the value of using test scores to evaluate teachers.<br /><br />We need parents at each meeting prepared to drill the man about the real changes needed at our lowest performing schools, not this gooblikook that he is pushing.themommyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01829171693817032539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-85745923372147973202010-09-06T20:10:59.794-04:002010-09-06T20:10:59.794-04:00These are OUR schools, OUR teachers and OUR studen...These are OUR schools, OUR teachers and OUR students. We must take our schools back from Bealey and Tyson who are second-rate bureaucrats at best and who, between them, do not have even 10 years of solid in-the-classroom experience. <br /><br />We must DEMAND that Beasley be dismissed! <br /><br />Frankly, I believe that our teachers would manage just fine without Beasley. And, I would suggest getting rid of Tyson, too, but that would possibly open the door to Bob "Background Noise" Moseley as an "interim."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-82026618062311563742010-09-06T19:55:56.084-04:002010-09-06T19:55:56.084-04:00@ Anonymous 12:16 PM
Were you, by chance, at the ...@ Anonymous 12:16 PM<br /><br />Were you, by chance, at the Dunwoody-Chamblee Parents Council meeting on September 1? Beasley was blathering on about the 7 Steps. It was clear that he had NO CLUE what it is like to be in a classroom -- especially an overcrowded classroom. Everything on his agenda for the upcoming meetings is stuff he has read about and thinks would be a good idea -- but he has no idea why. It is just the education flavor-of-the-month touted by a person who is truly ignorant. In reality it is just more busy work he is heaping on our teachers. He is taking away our teachers' ability to work with our students.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-33913708073590053812010-09-06T19:48:20.071-04:002010-09-06T19:48:20.071-04:00Very interesting article in today’s NY Times title...Very interesting article in today’s NY Times titled<br />Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/health/views/07mind.html?src=me&ref=homepage<br /><br /><br />here’s the money shot;<br /><br />“Take the notion that children have specific learning styles, that some are “visual learners” and others are auditory; some are “left-brain” students, others “right-brain.” In a recent review of the relevant research, published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a team of psychologists found almost zero support for such ideas. “The contrast between the enormous popularity of the learning-styles approach within education and the lack of credible evidence for its utility is, in our opinion, striking and disturbing,” the researchers concluded. <br />Ditto for teaching styles, researchers say,”Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com