MY PROJECT
1179 words by samantha witherspoon
One of the main problems I blogged about last week were the problems with the New Orleans school board and how it leads to a poor economy and dangerous society. I have come up with one standard outline for how my ideas can change for the better. I have also submitted them to the school board through my mother who owns two preschools herself and is on multiple boards for the city of New Orleans.
The first problem with the New Orleans school system is that the majority of the teachers are not certified to teach. A way to solve this problem is to have mandatory classes for teachers who are in the school system now to be prepared to teach. It can also be implemented that a teacher can not be hired if he or she is not certified. This to me is funny because how can someone teach a class of children who all learn differently and at different paces, when he or she herself has not gone through the hours of training to receive a degree.
The second problem is the fact that schools are over crowded and do not have the supplies needed for children to learn. How does New Orleans raise enough money to supply the losing Saints team the money they need to get a new dome when the one they have is perfectly find. But they cannot supply the losing students with the supplies they need to better them and to make New Orleans a better place. To me the message is getting sent out that no one cares about failing or struggling student’s people care about making money and having fun and that’s what comes first.
The third problem is that in the overcrowded schools there is no support system for students to go most Orleans parish schools do not and cannot afford a counselor or counseling center. This is where students at colleges and universities come in handy. It should mandatory for students at Xavier and other schools do a certain amount of hours a semester their freshmen year for younger kids and high school kids in the school system. Maybe we can spend time with them or tutor them but at least let them know that it is important to have an education first.
The fourth problem is that schools are not safe, it is not the fault of the child that they are violent even at sixteen when that is all they have learned. Know matter how bright or intelligent you are if you see something enough times you will begin to think it is not only o.k. but a normal way of life. There are many ways to solve this problem and it means being tough with both the parents and the students. Students should be forced to go class and have no way of getting out of it, if they don’t want to go to class any activity they are in they are automatically out of and if they go to class and are being lazy they are to be kicked off of or put on probation until their grades get correct. Students should also have a dress code not just a uniform but if you want to come to school you cannot shred, rip, tie, sag, bag, cut, tear, die, pierce, etc. anything that has to do with your uniform including your body. If students don’t like it they can leave, if parents don’t like it they can leave to, and I’m sure some of them will but you can’t save everyone. Students don’t have discipline and don’t understand respect for themselves or anyone else. The only way to make change is to make rules that seriously need to be followed.
The fifth problem is the L.E.A.P. test. How can students be asked to know how to pass the L.E.A.P. when the first time they are seeing the information is the actual test itself. I think the leap is a bunch of crock and if students have to take it teacher’s need to too. So they can know what to teach because they obviously are not teaching it. It disappoints me that the school system believes that the old methods of teaching are not effective for the new generations. An education can not be changed to form each generation, the generation should have to form around an education.
There is a simple plan and ides to stick to when you come to school and it is to learn. When you change it and make it all a big game this is where the lack of seriousness loses out. A lesson plan should be made and checked by the school principle to make sure the teacher is teaching and not playing games. There should be parent days where parents can come and observe their children learning. There should also be summer camps to prepare you for the leap, not help you cope with the fact that you can graduate but you are going to 8.5 as the next grade and not 9. Excuse my French but who in the hell decided that it was o.k. to have a child go to a half grade. That does not make any sense and the person who created it should go to jail and be slapped by every parent whose child is in 8.5. I have a cousin who is in 8.5 and she still does not understand a thing she is learning.
People should see that the problem is the base, the foundation. Most children in the school board as a young child do not enter until age five. By age five at my mom’s preschool children have learned their ABC’s, 123’s,sign language, some Spanish , important rules to follow, their home phone, address, name, parents name, math, days of the week, science, colors, reading, writing, and how to get along with other kids. If you don’t start school until five you miss out on good basic skills. Most parents are more concerned on ways to keep their baby daddy around that they don’t take time out for the kids they made and who did not ask to be here.
Parents need to be involved in the education process. It should be mandatory that parents be obligated to the school to be involved in some kind of way. But so many parents say they have to work. That is a lame excuse I would put my child before work any day. If you have to work send a rep. or the other parent because the last time I checked humans where not asexual and you can’t create a child alone.
I know this is a common cliché but children are the future, we have to get tough so that they know that we care about their future or society will never succeed.
January 27th, 2005 at 9:47 am
I totally agree. I went to grade school in New Orleans. The problem was not the teachers but the lack of funds the schools need to support our education. I left the public school system and went to a catholic high school, and I must say that it is a big difference.
February 2nd, 2005 at 4:28 pm
You made some very good points and I am glad to see you doing something by writing letters. the only problem is even though you spent some time actually giving a solution to the problems, you spent so much time restating the problem. In the beginning you should have listed all of the problems and then gave the solutions in a series of paragraphs.I did agree with the issues listed though, keep writing those letters.
February 3rd, 2005 at 10:21 am
I must agree with you about the school system and the LEAP test. I was in the public school system here in New Orleans until the eight grade. Much of what I learnd did not help me when I went to Saint Augustine High, a catholic school. The public school system is not supporting the schools. Much of the students are not prepaird for the world they live in once they leave the school system. I become mad when I hear that Louisiana ranks one of the lowest educational states in the country. I also agree that the LEAP test is unfair. I was created to keep the public school kids down. How can you test someone on information that is not given to them. The children do not even have the books to learn the information. You did a great job addressing this problem.
February 4th, 2005 at 12:19 pm
I agree with you and it is good that you have already started to write letters to get something done. I do thinkt that you need to explain your solutions a little more instead of restating the problems. I’m from Indianapolis, Indiana, and while I did not go to a school that had a poor education system, I have heard of many other schools that barely prepare students for college. If the government were to give these students more funding so that they had the same chance at succeeding as the township schools, maybe poverty would not be such a large problem in the community.
February 4th, 2005 at 9:19 pm
I think that your idea is a very good one. Something does need to be done about the Orleans Parish School Board. The money was there for new books and renovations, but the employees of the School Board were stealing millions of dollars over who knows how many years. I heard about it on the news last year, and they were all busted. I wonder how they are going to replace the money. I also heard on the news that the superintendent wants a pay raise for himself. How can that be if there is no money to fix the schools with lead paint? I agree with all your ideas and it’s good that you involved your mom. She might have some impact on this project. However I really don’t know anything about the LEAP testing because I went to private school, we didn’t have LEAP. I think another problem with how the kids behave at school is the parents. A lot of the parents don’t care and when there is a problem, the parents come to school and start a bigger problem with their attitude. But you are right; something needs to be done about these issues.
February 5th, 2005 at 4:10 pm
Education was one of the problems on my blog from week 3 also. Just so you know, the New Orleans public school system is just one of many Black public school systems that are suffering and struggling. I went to public school in P.G. County Maryland, and it was pretty bad. We miss a lot of basic concepts that would have tripped me up when I got to Xavier (thankfully, when I was small, my father and mother taught me these concepts). I am glad that you have done something about it, not just talked about problems but you are striving for solutions. Implementing those changes in the school system is going to be hard but if you are serious about you position, then you will be able to bring them about. In Maryland, we have the HSA Exam (High School Assessment). It really takes the focus off of learning the what we are supposed to learn and teachers start teaching to the test. I applaud you for your stand and hope that you follow through with your plan.
February 6th, 2005 at 9:56 am
Hey girl,
Good blog. The letters amazed me. This shows that you really want to reach out and make a better education program. I think that your approach to solving this problem is very affective. Maybe you could start a writing program at xavier and allow students to write letters to organizations and express how we feel. Just an idea. Good blog girl! You cute anyway. Hope you did good on your biology test. Holla back
February 6th, 2005 at 4:55 pm
I have witnessed every problem you have described during a semester of volunteering at a New Orleans public school. During the spring semester last year I volunteered at Lafayette. There were kids playing in the courtyard unsupervised. My fellow volunteers and I just walked through the school with not so much as a lace from an adult as to who we were. The worst part was when we got to the classrooms. Some of the teachers there didn\’t have a teaching license, and one teacher in particular was at her desk reading a Jet when she should have been teaching. This school system in terrible to those who dont have the resources to leave it. Most of the students in the classes we sat in couldnt do basic mathematical problems like 5×5, or spell things like with. I\’m still trying to understand this thing of being in grade 8.5. Either you are in the 9th grade or not. New Orleans is a tourist hot spot and I can only wonder what they are doing with the money. Well, we cant just blame it on the system because I have seen some of these parent figures also. One parent told me that since I like her daughter so much that I need to come babysit her while she goes to Harrahs. I was thinking \”Where are her priorities?\” Who knows, maybe they\’ll get it together when everybody is in grade 8.5 and no one is in high school. Good job!!
February 6th, 2005 at 8:24 pm
Hey Samantha
I totally agree with you. I don’t know why but compare to other states new orleans school system is not the best. Sorry when i said other states i only mean Virginia and North Carolina because i have done schooling in those states. I graduated from Metairie though and i was very disappointed with the education level. One good thing about Carolina schools is that for Pre-rec. courses they have a standarized test, which each student must pass in order to go to the next level. But when i said Standarized test alot of people get scared infact i am one of them. I hate standarized test. Fortunately the teachers have a plan which works for each student and they give enough samples so each student feels comfortable. I think if we develop a system like that in LA. it would be really nice. and have a national or a state level test so evey school is on the same page in the state. But over all you are right it’s scary how bad the education system is and with bad education we might be building some criminal instead of a stronger society.
February 7th, 2005 at 2:24 am
I love your idea. You made a lot of strong points to why you feel the school system is not good. I love how you sent out letters. When I read your blog I could feel how you strongly want to make a difference. I feel you on women worrying about keeping a man than raising there kids. I have seen a lot of that going around. Education does start at home. Its a shame though how some parents don\’t care. That shows that just because you are old enough to have a baby doesn\’t mean you are mature enough to have one. It takes time to raise a kid. I love your idea and I hope some changes are seen soon.
February 7th, 2005 at 2:25 am
I love your idea. You made a lot of strong points to why you feel the school system is not good. I love how you sent out letters. When I read your blog I could feel how you strongly want to make a difference. I feel you on women worrying about keeping a man than raising there kids. I have seen a lot of that going around. Education does start at home. Its a shame though how some parents don\’t care. That shows that just because you are old enough to have a baby doesn\’t mean you are mature enough to have one. It takes time to raise a kid. I love your idea and I hope some changes are seen soon.
February 7th, 2005 at 1:10 pm
I love your blog. As i was reading it I could feel how strongly you want to make a difference in the school system in New Orleans. You mentioned some strong points about why you feel the school system needed to make a change. I love how you sent off letters. You were already working toward this before this blog idea came about. I totally agree that some women are worried about the baby daddy instead of the child themselves. I have seen that alot in people and its stupid. Education does have to start at home. I agree with you that parents and students would need to get involved. I really hope you make a difference and progress is shown. Good Luck with your letters!
February 7th, 2005 at 1:10 pm
I love your blog. As i was reading it I could feel how strongly you want to make a difference in the school system in New Orleans. You mentioned some strong points about why you feel the school system needed to make a change. I love how you sent off letters. You were already working toward this before this blog idea came about. I totally agree that some women are worried about the baby daddy instead of the child themselves. I have seen that alot in people and its stupid. Education does have to start at home. I agree with you that parents and students would need to get involved. I really hope you make a difference and progress is shown. Good Luck with your letters!
February 9th, 2005 at 8:18 pm
Hi Sam, i think that your idea to start small is smart because the best place to start is home. Schools play a huge part in how a society develops because children are the most impressionable individuals in a society. they take everything that they learn and put it into action in some way, shape or form so to start by reforeming schools is the best way to get result in New Orleans i believe. GOOD LUCK!
February 10th, 2005 at 9:22 am
It is easy to see how passionate you are about the subject of the right education. I have never heard of half-grades but I do agree that it is a ridiculous measure, especially if it is not helping students. But, I have to disagree with a few points that you made. First the idea of university students (namely Xavierites) having mandatory community service to help young students in the area is one that needs to be tweaked. XU has enough rules and regulations as it is. When I transferred here I was appalled at the fact that attendance is accounted for and that I was required to take a full year of theology. I mean come on…theology. But, I understand it is a “Catholic institution” so I suck it up. But, to have mandatory community service is overstepping; incredibly so when a student like me has no time to give. But, maybe it one could swap the theology requirement for community service. That would be something I would support…to help our younger students, of course. The other point I had trouble swallowing was the idea of leaving children behind if they are not making they’re not cutting it in class. At the elementary and middle school levels the job of the teacher is to try and teach everyone and try to save children from going down the same path. At this age, students don’t know the importance of education yet, so skipping or acting out seems cool. I don’t know how this concept would be changed but I’d vie for that rather than just dropping a child off a class roster.
February 10th, 2005 at 8:15 pm
Samantha Witherspoon-
I really like the way that you set up your blog. Many people didn’t really address what the question was asking. I think that your right. It’s so easy to just get a teacher license now because many people don’t realize the importance of an education. I think that in order to be a good teacher, you need to know how to teach. The presence of substitute teachers is often thought of as somewhat of a joke because they don’t really know how to teach. I think that the problem with overcrowding needs to be addressed because we needed to see what types of schools are having problems with overcrowding. I don’t feel like the rich schools have problems with overcrowding because they’ll just add on or build another school. They usually have more resources than needed per student so they would be able to better accompany more people. Good ideas!