Just a few snow-related thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head:
There's been a lot of discussion lately by school district administrators and others about alternatives to making up "snow days," from excusing the days entirely to cyber-schooling to calculating hours instead of days, all in the interest of preventing school from extending too far into June. As a taxpaying citizen, I hereby call BS on the whole enterprise. I believe in public education, and I believe it's my duty to support it financially. I also believe it's the duty of teachers and administrators to educate our children and prepare them for the future, even if that entails making up every school day that was lost to bad weather. Their priority is supposed to be education, not whether they'll miss out on non refundable vacation trips or their summer will be too short.
Recently on WGAL-TV, Hempfield School District Superintendent Dr. Brenda Becker said, in effect, that it's pointless to try to teach students in June, because they're not engaged. Is that the real reason, or is it because teachers just don't want to teach in June, for the reasons listed above? Why blame students? Plus, who is at fault if they're not engaged? And if the push for year-round school ever comes around again, that comment just might come back to haunt the good doctor.
Teachers are compensated handsomely, and deservedly so, and must therefore fulfill their obligations to students and taxpayers instead of trying to sidestep them. I hear a lot of talk about alternatives, but little or nothing about staying the course and completing the days.
The banner headline on Friday's Intell/New Era was "Another Nor'easter?" The article stated that local meteorologist Eric Horst said that, based on computer models, there's a one in four chance of another major storm for the middle of this week. One in four? That's only a 25% chance. Is that newsworthy, especially considering the forecast was for almost a week in advance? So, there's a 75% chance we won't get a major storm, but the local paper runs a headline ostensibly portraying the opposite. Talk about sensationalism. Disingenuous at best, irresponsible at worst. I can give better odds than one in four, however. I can predict, with 50% accuracy whether we'll get another nor'easter this week, simply by saying this: Either we will or we won't.
19 comments:
well, Lancaster Newspaper got one up on you ! - you take pictures and start controversy for free ! - they make statements and start controversy and make a ton of money selling newspapers with dumb statements like " it might snow again " when there is only a 25% chance :) weather forecasting and news is all about catching the most attention and making the most money
as to the school thing - why can't they require students to do some kind of a gradable special extra credit project on days off ? Like write a story about a childhood memory. Or make a craft project. Or documental community service like shovel out a neighbor and fill out a questionnaire A requirement and it gets graded so that the day does not have to be made up in June and the kids have something to do other then watch TV !
Your comments are right on about selling newspapers. I just wish they wouldn't be so blatantly manipulative about it.
Good ideas about projects on days off.
well - your web traffic is up - so why don't you keep pumping your good honest Columbia news and start selling banner ads on your site to local businesses, and if you don't mind please take off the sunglasses picture of the guy with multiple personalities - it was very funny at first but it's getting to be a bit annoying : - )
did you ever notice that if you stare at the sunglasses guy and count the rotations that every tenth rotation there is an alternate photo ?
good comments about school. I also believe the days should be made up. We are so far behind all the foriegn countries when it comes to our childrens education and the other countries are so far ahead because their childrens education is number 1 priority and most go year round. this is something we should have done years and years ago. our children struggle to pass the mandated state tests AND all they do in school is prepare for it.....they are losing out on a tremendous amount of needed education other than the standardized test.
Hmmm...might be time to change the sunglasses.
Didn't notice that. Might be time to change the gif anyway.
We do lag a bit in education. Strange, since the generation currently in their formative years should be the best educated in history, what with access to the internet.
well - if you think they should go year round then either you must have liked school a whole lot more then I did - or else you just don't like kids ! I was sooo looking forward to summers ( and my summers were quite productive ) - that I would have never made it through high school if I did not have summers to look forward to. As much as I believe in higher education and as much as I would love to see the USA step it up in education - I would NEVER wish that my kids or grand kids had to go year round - because I would have never wanted to - some 30 plus years ago
CG
it's your site ! - so do as you please. I did notice that thing on very tenth' rotation. If you look close - it's the eyes that change direction. : - )
CG
i agree Cole....but kids are too spoiled today...no one says NO to them. so they do nothing.
I don't know that year-round school is the answer, but I do wonder why the US is so far behind other countries.
There does seem to be a lack of motivation and self-discipline.
yep. you know all this new technology is actually hurting our kids....lack pf parents parenting doesn't help...a lot of these kids are lazy, spoiled (in a abad way), disrespectful and think someone owes them something.
it's a shame...we really should go back to the simpler days when kids liked to help, they respected all their elders, they thought nothing of shoveling out their elderly neighbors-for free, they were not afraid of a little hard work, i could go on and on.
wow. you hit the nail on the head!!!!!
Maybe if schools were more than glorified sports clubs?
This problem is deeper than the schools. It is societal. There is no respect for academics in this country. And until that attitude changes, our schools will suffer as a result.
--FMB
From The Atlantic, last September:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/the-case-against-high-school-sports/309447/
--FMB
(if it weren't for sports, don't ya think Columbia would have merged with Donegal or Hempfiled by now?)
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."
Isaac Asimov
Times have definitely changed.
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