Let me rephrase that: Teachers are not accountable to individual parents. They are accountable to the community as a whole, which is represented through the school board. Even private schools are accountable to the community as a whole, not to an individual parent.
Teachers cannot be accountable to individual parents. It simply isn’t feasible that Mrs. Smith can tell an American History teacher what he needs to tell his students about the Alamo, or a Calc teacher how she should be teaching calculus.
FYI-Here what you called a prep period is called a conference period. It is the one time during the day the parents can, and are supposed to be able to reach the teacher to express concerns.
Really…maybe the schools I went to were understaffed. The prep period at the schools I went to was literally that-a time to prep for the next class. My history teachers were vets and pretty much knew the material by heart (twenty-five years in schools and twenty years, respectively), but they still needed that period to make their copies and grade papers and such. My science teachers would have died if they weren’t guaranteed uninterrupted prep time, because that’s when they set up the labs. It was absolutely essential for them.
We have three children and were denied aid also when other parents with one child were given aid. I don’t know the difference either.
I totally agree with this–but I wish the the Dioceses throughout our country would ALSO take heed and realize that public schools—I’m not slamming teachers–but the schools themselves, being governed by states that want to promote only secular views, with their “if it feels good, do it” approach to morality–are costing our faith many, MANY youth. Yet every which way I turn–the dioceses are pulling money from Catholic school funding, forcing good schools to close and tuition in the ones left continues to rise to cover the costs! Pretty soon, only the rich and only the elite will be able to attend Catholic schools. Right now, our diocese is spending money on a totally clueless “advancement” program with training provided by an individual who reminds me of every pushy sales man out there—this individual comes from a very wealthy section of our country and did absolutely no homework about our market. He’s pushing the idea that we can get more people to donate money to schools so that the diocese can get more money out of the parishes…um, you can’t get blood from a stone!!!
SING IT SISTER!!! Absolutely agree. In NYS–schools are given money for each school age child that resides in the district—whether or not they attend that school, the school still gets that money. For our district, my two kids, who attend Catholic schools for which I not only pay–I have to drive them because they’re out of district, the public school district gets $10,000 per child! I pay less than $4000/year for both at our parish school. Imagine if we could be able to take that money and give it to the school they actually attend? Why, that would cover one teacher aide job! Instead, we have to worry about closures, teachers being asked to take pay cuts at the local Catholic high school to keep the doors open (think a public school, unionized teacher would do that??)
Yes yes yes!! Vouchers are not selfish - they are FAIR!
The teachers can be of any faith–but it’s the school districts that are trying very hard in some parts of the county–NY state for sure–to make being Christian–and definetely Catholic-- seem “intolerant”. That what Dr. Kennedy is getting at, I believe. I could prattle off example upon example of to what length some of these districts have gone to make it clear that Christianity has no place in public education—including bans on t-shirts with religious sayings, bans on crufix wearing, inability to celebrate CHRISTMAS parties–it’s called a “holiday party”–but we can celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanza, BIG Xs through chocolate crosses in Easter Candy sale books…Most of the teachers in our public schools are evangelical Christians of the Baptist persuasion, just like Dr. Kennedy
Parents are obligated to teach kids the faith - heck, the Catholic grade schools I know of have 20 minutes of religion class each week. My public schooled son gets teaching at home PLUS an hour of CCD.
I’m sorry–but do you really think that people have ANY ability to change a public school system? When you have board of educations whose sole concern is keeping taxes lower, and teachers unions whose sole concern raising taxes in order to pay for higher salaries and gold standard benefits—seriously–Buffalo public schools are amongst THE WORST in the country–academically unsound. But teachers there can have a face lift or boob job for free as part of their health insurance package for which they have to contribute very little?
CAN I GET AN AMEN FOR BROTHER JOE??? Well said!
Actually public schooling has always been founded and established historically to eradicate Catholicism and inculcate secular and Protestant values in children unable to go to Catholic schools. Whether overt or subversively, the devil is there in the details looking for souls.
Where Christ is denied, there reigns Hell instead.
I think the proponents of school vouchers are not advocating the abolishment of public schools. They are pressing for school choice, and for an end to the unfair practice of the state collecting taxes for public education from such people who opted their children out of the public education system. As one poster here put it, the state should stay out of my pocket. Consider the case of Iluvmybabies: she tells that she cannot afford Catholic school for her children, because that would cost $4000 per child per year. But maybe she already pays this much or more in taxes that go to the public schools. The local public school probably collects $7000 per child or more from the state’s tax revenue, and provides a poorer education in return than the Catholic schools in the same area would provide for a lower cost of $4000 per child.
