IS IT TRUE: Part 2: August 30, 2011
IS IT TRUE that in pointing out the incorrect message that was sent regarding the overall performance of the EVSC we ran out of space and failed to offer praise where praise is due?…that the 8 EVSC schools that really did make the AYP (adequate yearly progress) standards Cynthiana Heights, Dexter, Harper, Hebron, Highland, Scott, Vogel, and West Terrace all are to be congratulated for their performance?…that furthermore all five of the EVSC schools that achieved a grade of A (Cynthiana Heights, Scott, Highland, West Terrace, and the New Tech Institute) along with the 2 that earned B’s (Reitz and Stringtown) deserve a pat on the back?
IS IT TRUE that we must point out that the word “ADEQUATE†is not to be confused as meaning or even implying “EXCELLENTâ€?…that a cheese sandwich is an adequate dinner but that a steak is excellent?…that a C is adequate but an A is excellent?…that making the team is adequate but that a gold medal is excellent?…that we know that there is excellence in some Evansville classrooms and offer those excellent performers (students and teachers) a hearty congratulations even though they seem to be surrounded by “adequate†and “failureâ€?…that we need more progress and we hope to see it?
IS IT TRUE that just because the overall GPA for the EVSC is a 1.67 does not mean that there are not some very good schools in Evansville?…that we stand by our earlier assertion that putting ones head in the sand is bad?…that calling an F and A so that “Little Johnny†feels good today is just setting him up to fail in life?…that as long as community leaders are reluctant to admit that we have litter in the streets, a poverty problem, have no high crime areas, some schools that are failing, and continue to assert that we are average in areas that we are clearly failing like bandwidth (368 out of 370) and venture capital (tied for dead last with several other cities) that the big picture will not change?
IS IT TRUE that students who got their start in the EVSC and graduated from USI and UE routinely go out into the world and excel in their chosen fields?…that Evansville often sends gifted athletes into the professional ranks?…that these people who do this are sometimes blindsided by the level of competition that they have to rise to when they leave our protected boundaries?…that the students that have parents and teachers that bust their chops when they are young and demand excellence are the ones that have the highest probability of measuring up in the real world?…that the best of Evansville and its surrounding areas often work hard and push their talents to great levels when confronted with tougher competition?…that most of these rascals will only be seen in Evansville at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a few birthdays for the rest of their lives?
IS IT TRUE that we understand how some private schools can get A’s by keeping the most challenged students out?…that what is really worth learning about is how the Catholic schools all get A’s on about half the money that the public schools get a D with?…that we believe that 1,000 Catholic 3 years old children will statistically have the same cumulative IQ of 1,000 3 year old children who are destined for the EVSC?…there is something more than genetics at behind these different scores?
IS IT TRUE that the State of Indiana has now been fingered by that cantankerous old Mort Marcus for losing its well heeled senior citizens?…that while it is bad to lose our best young people to brain drain it is even worse to lose our retirees of means to other areas because they pay lots of taxes that are needed to pay for infrastructure?…that maybe if these retirees children and grandchildren would have stayed in Indiana that the “Gray Drain†would not be depleting our future tax revenues so much that it is getting written about?
Well, there are many reasons why us graying babyboomers are booking southbound. And Hoosier weather is only one BIG reason!
“IS IT TRUE that we understand how some private schools can get A’s by keeping the most challenged students out?…that what is really worth learning about is how the Catholic schools all get A’s on about half the money that the public schools get a D with?…that we believe that 1,000 Catholic 3 years old children will statistically have the same cumulative IQ of 1,000 3 year old children who are destined for the EVSC?…there is something more than genetics at behind these different scores?”
This is a easy one…..and it comes down to one word…discipline! and even in the Catholic schools today kids have it easier then when nuns did the teaching, that old story about a nuns and a rulers smacking your hand if you didn’t pay attention is very true. (this is the voice of experience talking!) 🙂
blanger, what about that scene in ” Blues Brothers” when Jake and Elwood get out of Joliet, and stop by the Catholic Orphanage to see ” The Penguin”. Were you on the receiving end of a thrashing like they received when they told her they could get the needed $ 5,000 for property taxes in one night ? That scene makes my day every time I’ve seen it ! LOL just thinking about it !
LOL….in the 8th grade I had a nun (Sister Juanita) who made the penguin in the Blue Brothers look like a amateur, I lost count how many time I got whacked by her ruler for looking at the girls in class instead of listening to her, it’s one of the reasons I still say “yes ma’am” when asked a question by a female, my wife get very tired of it. 😉
happy to hear Sister Juanita “earned her pay” ( vow of poverty notwithstanding) !
And yet after all that hand spanking, the nuns who taught you English never drilled into your head the difference between “then” and “than.”
LOL….I spent my time looking at girls…..it was a dangerous ambition with a nun present in the same room, beside I’m old and my mind still wanders from time to time, I’ll try to do better.
Please try harder. Otherwise, I’ll have to send Sister Catherine over with her wooden ruler!
It would be easy to point to economics as the reason for certain schools(see “A” schools). But, the only thing the “A” schools seem to have in common are all in neighborhoods with strong family (parents) involvement. The Catholic and other private schools all are keen on family. I can also guarantee that economics are definitely Not the main factor for each of these schools. Go to each school and check to see which students earn the highest grades, most if not all have strong families. It really does start at home. It is easy to say discipline, and most people think of paddling! Well, the real factor is organization or schedules. A person excels when on a schedule. Most kids struggle because they don’t know where they are going or what is expected from them each minute of the day. Most employees thrive when they know what is expected of them daily. As a well organized school and home life is very key in a students progress.
People always wonder…how does that family do it, or that student excel in sports and school. Keep them thinking in an organized situation (whether at home, school, sports, art, academics, visiting museums, attending family and neighborhood events-social). There is a reason why the military is revered for the rest of a military person’s life. Even though they have seen what most cannot imagine, they are prepared for the rest of their lives to make good decisions in an organized and unorganized situation, and to adjust if needed.
I contend organization and smaller class sizes are key to a students success. A classroom in an elementary school should have no more than 15 students per class for k-2 with increases each year through 8th. High schools should probably be no more that 25 to a room.
Family – is the key factor.
A salute to all the A and B schools, their teachers, students, and parents! We know how hard you work. Being an old teacher who, for a while taught in a Catholic school in another city and is not Catholic, I can attest that one reason that these schools succeed where EVSC does not is parent involvement. The school in which I taught was in a very poor area of Indianapolis and yet parents were a presence. One can always find excuses but until EVERY parent buys in to the commitment of their responsibility in educated their child, the schools (even with excellent teachers) are climbing a mountain in flip-flops. There is an article in the Sept, 2011 Smithonian magazine about Finland’s schools which is very interesting. The Fins have no standardized testings. They teach the individual student. A different take on “back to basics” that might be worth a try.
I volunteered at a Vacation Bible School held at a downtown church. These elementary school kids mostly came and left (walked) without an accompanying parent or other adult. In addition, their behavior was absolutely horrible. It was impossible to get even small groups of 8 to 10 to stay still, listen, or participate in the Bible lessons, crafts, and games. The most common activity I experience was running around hitting, pushing, and insulting each other. I feel for the teachers that have to put up with these students each day if their behavior is anything close to what I witnessed.
Without parental involvement and discipline, I don’t see improvements being made. Schools need to stop coddling and making excuses for little Johnny & Sally’s bad behavior and poor achievement and start holding these children and their parents accountable. If you act like a fool, the world is going to treat you as one.
Maybe you should organize Bible study groups for the parents!
CCO: you bet we should all congratulate the eight schools which met AYP. Way to go, students, faculty and administration ! There seems, at least in my opinion, to always be a rush to state that “parental involvement” is the sole ingredient to one school doing better than another. Clearly, that’s a part of it, and possibly a large part. I believe there are other factors as well which account for score differences. It would be enormously enlightening to me (and hopefully others) to find out if there are any schools out there who are making a difference by breaking loose from ” the paralyzing chains of conformity” (MLK). I once did volunteer work for my kids elementary school, and there was an ENORMOUS amount of pressure on the teachers to “conform” to the edicts and missives from “Downtown” (EVSC). I was helping the faculty to integrate computers into the curriculum, and you would have thought I was asking them to vote for the poster Leon Trotsky for City Council ! In any event, does anyone have any stories about schools, groups of teachers or even one brave soul who “rocks the boat” and gets-r-done re: these scores ?
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