CNN 2000ats Page 121
"The most important change would be a change for the better in the quality of fam-
ily life that young people experience. So many grow up with such devastating prob-
lems that they have difficulty concentrating or their learning is not as important as
simply staying alive with the least number of problems or hassles. . . "
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". . . In small school districts some segments of the community have been excessively
empowered at the expense of the chief school administrator. We need to have "the
pendulum" return to allow Superintendents of School District to once again be the
true educational leader rather than a political pawn. Renewable tenure on a 3 to 5
year basis would be worthy of consideration if properly instituted and administered,
with input from the teacher's association."
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"Equity funding would be a good start. In Ohio annual per pupil funding varies from
under $4,000 to more than $11,000. Not surprisingly, the schools funded at higher
levels score higher on student achievement tests. Abolish the federal department of
education and direct the funds to state and local levels. Decisions and policies should
be decided by local administrators/school boards. Reduce the education bureaucra-
cy by eliminating many administrative jobs that were created to provide more higher
paying jobs. Many administrators were not successful teachers. Administrators need
to know more about instruction and teacher evaluation. Some can not recognize a
good teacher from an unsuccessful one. Abolish education departments in universi-
ties. Too much theory is taught by professors who have not been in a secondary/ele-
mentary school in years. Many college professors teach at college level because they
were not successful in the classroom. The worst teachers I have ever had were all in
the school of education. . . "
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"Perhaps... we need to allocate funds evenly, so that in "poor" schools. (i.e. schools in
areas where parent/guardian incomes are low, where there are racial/ethnic ghettoes),
students receive the same per pupil amount of spending as in richer schools. This
would also, hopefully, affect the teachers' salaries, so each district and school within
any one district would be competitive in salary offerings, therefore attracting more
teachers to the poor, urban and rural schools. I would like to see bilingual education
brought back where needed, but under its original framework, with a teacher and an
aide within each classroom... with proper placements of incoming students, with new-
comer classes for new immigrants... without political fights changing up the programs
every time the wind changes direction. . . The small school approach should be used
more than at present time... and magnet schools/academies. Schools should be built
up as community centers, with daycare and classes for adults and families taking place
before and after the regular school day. Little businesses (such as cafes, bike repair
centers...) can be run by classes. Perhaps we should cooperate with Social Services to
include boarding schools in areas with high numbers of students with no living/com-
petent parents."
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