Quoting Emily Dickinson:" 3rd"

That's way too many kids per teacher at that age when they need a lot more one on one! Do you get an aide or student teacher?

Quoting Michael Westen:" I really have no idea about the DETAILS about all of that. Just the basic idea. SD is a pooooooor state. So it's gonna be hard. I keep telling DH, smurf it. Lets move somewhere else."

Move on down south. Oklahoma and Texas have a surplus. Enough here that they are cutting our state income tax to zero and Texas doesn't have one. They are both fiscally conservative states and our population is skyrocketing and businesses are flocking here because if they move their headquarters to Oklahoma, they don't pay any state taxes for the next 10 years and no land/property tax for 25 years.

Quoting Michael Westen:" That's way too many kids per teacher at that age when they need a lot more one on one! Do you get an aide or student teacher?"

I have an assistant during our 90 minute mandated reading block. I won't take a student teacher now that my pay is determined by the test scores of my students. I can't risk someone else teaching them and lowering their scores and therefore lowering my pay.

Quoting khigh:" Move on down south. Oklahoma and Texas have a surplus. Enough here that they are cutting our state income ... [snip!] ... their headquarters to Oklahoma, they don't pay any state taxes for the next 10 years and no land/property tax for 25 years."

I have quite a few friends who live in OK and chose to home school their children, however, because the education system is highly inadequate (their words, not mine.)

Quoting khigh:" Move on down south. Oklahoma and Texas have a surplus. Enough here that they are cutting our state income ... [snip!] ... their headquarters to Oklahoma, they don't pay any state taxes for the next 10 years and no land/property tax for 25 years."

We don't have income tax here but property tax is nuts. I live on a very small lot and our landlords pay $5k/yr for it. (We rent a single family house) DH doesn't wanna move though because of his (federal) job. See how long that lasts!! Plus he HATES Texas with an undying passion.

Quoting Michael Westen:" That's way too many kids per teacher at that age when they need a lot more one on one! Do you get an aide or student teacher?"

My sister teaches Special Ed preschool (3 and 4 year olds) in the morning and regular 4 year old preschool in the afternoon. She has 9 students in the morning and 15 in the afternoon and has 2 full time aides. She is also in a brand new school. They are a French Immersion school.

https://sites.google.com/a/norman.k12.ok.us/reaganelementary/

Quoting Emily Dickinson:" I have quite a few friends who live in OK and chose to home school their children, however, because the education system is highly inadequate (their words, not mine.)"

DD goes to a private school. Norman is where it's at- Reagan Elementary. The one I just posted. Tulsa also has nice schools and so does Bartlesville (Oil Boom Town).

Quoting khigh:" My sister teaches Special Ed preschool (3 and 4 year olds) in the morning and regular 4 year old preschool ... [snip!] ... also in a brand new school. They are a French Immersion school. https://sites.google.com/a/norman.k12.ok.us/reaganelementary/"

Special Education, both preschool as well as elementary, are always going to have typically lower class sizes than a regular education program. At the school I teach, the ratio is 4-1 at the very most.

Quoting khigh:" DD goes to a private school. Norman is where it's at- Reagan Elementary. The one I just posted. Tulsa also has nice schools and so does Bartlesville (Oil Boom Town)."

Thats odd because a few of the friends live in Bartlesville. They were just complaining the other day. lol

Again, I don't take ALOT of that as face value because people complain more about education than anything else in this country even without having a clue what is going on in it.

Quoting Emily Dickinson:" Thats odd because a few of the friends live in Bartlesville. They were just complaining the other day. ... [snip!] ... people complain more about education than anything else in this country even without having a clue what is going on in it."

I bitch about DS's school but his teacher and principal don't know where the lines are. And I have a problem with them physically restraining my child and then not telling me about it. Especially since it escalates that far from him getting a piece of paper.

Quoting Emily Dickinson:" Thats odd because a few of the friends live in Bartlesville. They were just complaining the other day. ... [snip!] ... people complain more about education than anything else in this country even without having a clue what is going on in it."

Oh, I know. I personally love DD's school, but that's private. My mom is a paraeducator at the school I went to when I was little and I love that one, too. It's open (no walls, no doors to classrooms) and people either love it or hate it.

I think a lot has to do with the teachers. Quite a few areas around here use Teach for America teachers because they are considered rural or needy. It sucks, but they are getting better.

Quoting Kylees Mama:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Mary.:</b>" you be craaazy. "</blockquote> I know. I've tried understanding it, but I don't. Someone please dumb it down?"

lol i dont get it either. i heard my dad yelling and bitching so i gguess somehting happened. i guess it has to do with taxes going up cuz they spend so much money?

<blockquote><b>Quoting Michael Westen:</b>" Well raising taxes and cutting programs is counterproductive. They need to figure out how to not spend ... [snip!] ... on unnecessary things. Like defense spending shouldn't be near what it is. And that' coming from a dual military family here."</blockquote>




We have lots and lots of unnecessary programs.
Sure, cut some military spending. We don't need to be defending so many countries with our resources and we don't need to continue to have military bases in some places just to keep people employed.
But we have countless areas that can be trimmed and/or slashed.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Emily Dickinson:</b>" I don't disagree with slashing spending. I just, however, feel that the spending cuts that most Republicans ... [snip!] ... Cutting funding to education is never going to be okay to me as a teacher. We already do without so much in the classroom."</blockquote>




I come from a family of teachers and am very education-oriented.
Lots can be done to transform the way we educate kids in poor areas that take a disproportionate amount of our tax dollars.
Also, something must be done about the fact that much or most of the burden of education support isn't going to the students but to the retirement benefits for the teachers.

FYI, the bill that was approved allows $41 in ADDITIONAL SPENDING for each additional tax dollar collected.
They should all be fired.