How do you make middle and high school kids attend school? When I was a social worker, parents complained about it, but I had no solutions. I once told a kid to get up and go to school. He said he wouldn’t and I had no way to enforce it. He was bigger than both me and his mother, so what could we do? I’m lucky that my children and grandchildren attend school, but I know this is a big issue for many families.
More time in the seat always sounds like a great idea, but as always, the quality of that seat time is what is most important. As we come out of the pandemic laden years, students need to be taught that average effort produces average results. And apparently, considering existing math and reading test scores, below average effort will produce below average results. We need to eliminate distractions that inhibit student growth. The number one distractor - cell phones. Other major districts have recognized this and have limited phone use to before and after school. Why can't we?
I favor the more expensive options. I also favor paying more to achieve the goal of better schools. There is no cheap way to better schools. The district clearly needs to increase teacher salaries if it wishes to improve performance in the long run. In our system you pay for what you get.
The parents and community need to walk the talk and encourage a love of learning and self-improvement. Parents are key and they must lead and engage their kids. This is tough, especially if the parent and or child has a special needs or addiction (alcohol, other drugs, or mental illness), the programs to address that are a band aid, but better than nothing. I think adding tutors is a good option too, including ones for in school (to assist teachers in class) and after school. In short, a solution requires community action and doing so loudly.
How do you make middle and high school kids attend school? When I was a social worker, parents complained about it, but I had no solutions. I once told a kid to get up and go to school. He said he wouldn’t and I had no way to enforce it. He was bigger than both me and his mother, so what could we do? I’m lucky that my children and grandchildren attend school, but I know this is a big issue for many families.
More time in the seat always sounds like a great idea, but as always, the quality of that seat time is what is most important. As we come out of the pandemic laden years, students need to be taught that average effort produces average results. And apparently, considering existing math and reading test scores, below average effort will produce below average results. We need to eliminate distractions that inhibit student growth. The number one distractor - cell phones. Other major districts have recognized this and have limited phone use to before and after school. Why can't we?
I favor the more expensive options. I also favor paying more to achieve the goal of better schools. There is no cheap way to better schools. The district clearly needs to increase teacher salaries if it wishes to improve performance in the long run. In our system you pay for what you get.
The parents and community need to walk the talk and encourage a love of learning and self-improvement. Parents are key and they must lead and engage their kids. This is tough, especially if the parent and or child has a special needs or addiction (alcohol, other drugs, or mental illness), the programs to address that are a band aid, but better than nothing. I think adding tutors is a good option too, including ones for in school (to assist teachers in class) and after school. In short, a solution requires community action and doing so loudly.