Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy How do you feel about the public school system?

Do you feel positive? Negative? Neutral? Disillusioned?

When my first child started kindergarten I was excited, and assumed the schools would do what is right for kids. Now I feel very naive. I feel like I've had to fight for everything. Getting an IEP for my child in the first place, getting both of them differentiated work (which didn't/isn't happening in the classroom to the extent it should be addressed), identifying disorders in my child. Identifying giftedness. It has all been ME. If I had sat back and done nothing, my younger kid would not have an IEP, and my older kid would not have an ADHD diagnosis (despite it being obvious). No one would have suggested acceleration or differentiated work.

What I want to know, is it like this everywhere? Are there school districts/schools that are actually good and kids get their needs met? How do you feel?

sigh... in our neck of the woods, the most discouraging aspect is that teachers are not permitted to teach outside the scope of the year's curriculum. so differentiation means "different work", rather than "appropriate work." it shocked me to the core.

hence, the homeschooling.

Even in a state with mandatory services for gifted students, the school threw up a number of roadblocks in DD's way, and it was a long, laborious process to get her into the situation she really needs.

However, for the first time, I'm actually feeling positive about public school at this stage.

I am glad to read that Dude is feeling positive. I haven't heard anything positive from anyone in a long, long time. The "good" teachers I have encountered are older and more experienced. Most importantly trained before this NCLB nonsense. Younger teachers only know the current system where they check off boxes and teach to the test. Our gifted or 2e kids are basically ALL outside those boxes so they are just simply unprepared to meet their needs. Even when needs are very apparent their hands are tied. I have a lot of teacher friends and I think they are universally frustrated. As are most parents I know. Well the informed ones who are actually involved in their kids' lives and educations anyway.

Right now our district is spending a small fortune to get DD's needs met in an out of district placement but they still can't get their heads out of the "formula" approach to education and get the heck out of the way.

Bottom line is I cannot imagine DD ever stepping foot in a public school again. If we can get her needs remediated sufficiently we will definitely be looking for a nice progressive private with a "meet the kids where they are" approach. I think the "better" school districts may be more responsive to individual needs but it doesn't mean their hands aren't tied. I really wonder if the one-size-fits-all approach works for anyone. By the end of last year most of DD's friends were coming home from school crying, or crying themselves to sleep at night or even in one case on home bound tutoring because of anxiety. Really second grade should not be that way. It really, truly shouldn't.

I think it is hard for most parents on here to be fair judges of public school systems because we have such unusual children.

While every kid is entitled to free and appropriate education, figuring what that means in a statistical outlier is difficult when you consider that kids are developmental moving targets. As soon as you think you have their issues identified and a plan in place, they grow and mature and outgrow old problems and develop new ones.

I don't mean to sound like the system should be off the hook for our kids. I just meant the system could be great for the vast majority of children and we'd never know it because it wasn't created with outliers in mind.

There is a very good school district nearby that many parents love. However, I have heard from 2E parents that they are very rigid and difficult to work with.

That's an excellent point.

What I have found most distressing is the level of callousness and inertia, though. I've become so cynical that even mediocre educators (just looking objectively at WHAT they are doing relative to what I know from my own background in education) seem to "shine" in comparison with most of the shenanigans that go on in curriculum and instruction these days. Teachers aren't really "teachers" anymore. They are "content delivery specialists."

Well, that doesn't say much about what happens when a child needs different CONTENT, though, does it? Which goes a long way to explaining why teachers resent and fear inquisitive and bright children more than they ever have before (and it was never awesome, let's face it). A mirroring effect can be observed in meetings with school administrators-- bright and inquisitive parents are not seen as "helpful partners" but as PROBLEMS to be "solved" or "eliminated."

Yes, I'm cynical to the core at this point. I'm also exhausted after over 8y of this happy horse-puckey. My dad was a person who had a colorful and profane quip for every occasion, and I find myself channeling him when a system is so messed up that it seems unrecoverable--so I have an increasing itch to SHOUT at school administrators "Don't tell me it's raining!!" for whatever that is worth.

I'm also not alone. I know VERY few parents of recent high school graduates that have anything positive to say at all about public education. Educators, yes-- mixed bag. I have my gold star list there, as well. Many of them are no longer in the profession, however, and I find that alone to be very telling.




I cannot wait to be quit of this in June. Can.not.WAIT. I loathe my dd's school. There are some fine teachers there, but frankly, the world would be a better place if a 900-year-old alien who lives in a blue phone box would appear and send Pearson and all of its many subsidiaries into an alternate dimension. (Yes, I know-- but a girl can dream...) Heck, I'd settle for a Dalek invasion if David Tennant is busy. LOL.

I have a generally dim view of the US K-16 education system as a whole. IMO, it rests on flawed philosophies. As an example, how much can you expect from a system that defines a highly qualified teacher as someone who has a BA in any subject, has passed a test, and has a certification? See information here. I see these requirements as being the minimum, not the gold standard implied by the term highly qualified.

Another huge problem pushed by our schools (and others) is the fantasy that anyone can become president/a scientist/whatever. This inclusive philosophy sounds nice, but the reality is that classes end up being watered down in the name of accessibility while students get pushed into going to college. Many end up in remedial courses there and lose income while incurring debt. Nearly half don't graduate. Many of the ones who do have degrees in fluffy subjects like liberal studies (this is NOT the same as a liberal arts college) or business or journalism that don't 1) teach them much or 2) get them jobs. Unless you count service jobs or security jobs as a good use of your pricey BA. All in the name of phony equity.

Then there is the multibillion dollar multiple choice test industry. They generally test factoids and encourage a superficial approach to learning.

Okay, I have to stop now...but I could go on.

The whole thing about content delievery--yep. If a kid does something and it's not the way the teacher's manual says, they are wrong. Last night I asked my 6 yo if he ever participates in class. He said that they were doing math and the teacher asked them about "strategies" for finding the missing number on a math mountain or pyramid. The problem was 8 at the top of the mountain, 6 on the bottom on one of the sides (the corner of the triangle). How do you find the other corner? DS said he raised his hand and said "take the 8, subtract the 6, and you get the other number 2. Easy Peezy Lemon Squeezy!" Teacher said "No, DS, it has to be a strategy." What? I don't think DS is going to be raising his hand much from now on. I felt like telling him if he wants to take a nap, that's Ok. (this is a kid who is now learning long division at home and is asked innane questions about how to solve 6+___ = 8 in school, and then told he is wrong and isn't using the right strategy when he says to take 8-6!

Here's another question. Do schools care about kids? I mean in general, not individual teachers (which i'm sure some of them do).