OT: Sports/Do something about it....

JDNewbie · Oct 4, 2015

I've said it before, and I'll say it again....

The "public" in public schools does not refer to who gets to go through the front door. It refers to who runs the school. Despite what they think, principals and superintendents do not run the school. They administrate. Even some teachers get the idea that they are "in charge" from time to time. That is not what the law says!

The SCHOOL BOARD (elected) is tasked with making the decisions. Things are a little more complicated with the addition of state and federal regulations, but the local school board is where the decisions are made for the most part (especially on local funding issues).

Schools look the way they look because this is what the elected officials are making those decisions and nobody stands up and says anything. After all, it's for the children! Why do you have 2 gyms and substandard science classrooms? BECAUSE A SCHOOL BOARD DECIDED HAVING GREAT GYMS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN TEACHING SCIENCE.

Maybe we have reached the tipping point and we just have more people who care about running, jumping, throwing, and catching than we do about anything else. More likely, those who care about running, jumping, throwing and catching are making the decisions. SPEAK UP! GET INVOLVED!

Tom in NE · Oct 4, 2015

Tell me about it Newby,

We have a situation in our town that was influenced by sports. The town is really growing. We have one high school and a Catholic high school here. They decided the high school is too small. It's
on the north side of town where 75% of the kids live around. Administration decided they need a school and bought land to the south of town that is out of the way, on the Platte River floodplain,
and don't have the streets(and probably never will) to handle all that traffic.
A lot of people here would have preferred two public high schools, one on the north side and one on the south area. But no, that would mean the town wouldn't have a Class A school. At best both
schools would be Class B.
That just wouldn't set right with all the athletic high and mighty. So common sense gets thrown out the window. Seems to me that more kids that wanted to would be able to participate on teams.

1970-1655 · Oct 4, 2015

Around here, several running for school board said they are not particularly interested in most of the topics that come up. They have said they are only in it for the paid trips. What would a small town school board have in common with a school in Hawaii? But they went on a week long trip. This is just one of many "business" trips they have taken in the last few years. But they have never been able to find money to pay qualified teachers.

Spook · Oct 4, 2015

I would think that 2 schools would be much more expensive to run, 2x the overhead?

Goose · Oct 4, 2015

In the early 1980's, I spent 5 years as Buildings and Grounds Supervisor for a typical local public school district.

I learned real quick that the school board and administration did not run the school, the school was run by the local sports booster club. Whatever happened in the district was what the sports booster club wanted to happen. The funny part of it was, the school was not a sports powerhouse. I recall one year the football team went 0-9.

One summer we put a coat of finish on the high school gym floor. After applying the finish, we intended to lock the doors to the gym for two weeks for the finish to cure. Not all doors to the gym had built in locks, so we put chains through the door handles with padlocks. Three days later, someone cut the locks and made use of the gym. And this was during summer vacation.

pete 23 · Oct 4, 2015

I am not actively involved with the school system here but know a few of the board members. They take a whole lot of crap and some just plain throw in the towel and don't run again. Parents are on them like white on rice. Teachers leave the school for other districts, farmers hate teachers, teachers hate farmers. Everyone complains about taxes, every one complains about not enough money, everyone complains about government intervention, everyone complains about not enough help from the government. And so it goes. I'm 79 and remember when we went through a teacher every year out at the country one room school house because teachers wanted too much money , and or kids were too unruly. Has it really changed more than everything else in this world.

Goose · Oct 4, 2015

I should have mentioned, when inter-school and inter-collegiate sports were first organized close to 150 years ago, the original intent was to provide a means for the male student body to burn off excess energy that otherwise would have been spent knocking up the female student body.

Can anyone seriously argue that that lofty goal was met?

Tom in NE · Oct 4, 2015

For a city that's close to 30,000 I think eventually they will have to bump it up to 2 high schools. The town has 2 middle schools and 7 or 8 elementary schools. It might be that when it comes time
to open the new school, they will find that they need them both.

tractorguy2 · Oct 4, 2015

I knew a teacher that was the girls basketball coach. They had a losing season. The teacher's car was keyed many times, doors
kicked in. His trees tolet papered, and windows broken in his house. By dumb luck the cops caught one guy in the act of breaking
the teacher's windows. It was a school board member!

My friend moved away and stopped teaching. All because he lost too many basketball games!

skip33652 · Oct 4, 2015

I spent time on a school board and will never again thank you. spoiled any chance of me running for any public office.I never knew that so many people knew me well enough to call at all hours of the night. The school board does not run the show and really only has a voice on money that comes directly from local taxes . If the state or the federal government gives any money to the school , they have final say in how what when their money is spent. In our case now we have a huge surplus but it cannot go for teachers or uncertified staff???? some has been spent on building improvements,track ect. Its kinda like giving or recieving an allowance with strings .You get to spend it but only on items the giver thinks necessary and they usually only partially fund it.Paul

old · Oct 4, 2015

Do not know how it is where you are but where I am they have a no child left behind thing. So it does not matter if they can read or write or add 2 and 3 together they still pass at the end of the year and move on to the next grade. Back when I was growing up if you did not pass that grade then you stayed in that grade for another year till you pasted that grade but not any more. Sad that now days the school are not there to teach children reading writing and math they are there more or less as day care

730virgil · Oct 4, 2015

what you said about state and federal gov. also applies to local goverment bodies.
i'm trustee on local township board.we have very little to say about lots of things that get done.
about all we can do say how we spend our tax money such replacing trucks and tractors nothing new bought here.
a few years ago a new law regarding cemeteries was passed. our township supervisor asked someone at state capital how are we going to fund this? we are a small rural township with a small town of about 800. not a lot of tax base.
he was told we pass the laws you guys have to figure where the money comes from.

Billy Shafer · Oct 5, 2015

I work with two of those. No child left behind kids. Both lazy and dumber than rocks.

T in NE · Oct 5, 2015

No, they'll just build another bigger school with so many kids that the teachers can't maintain any semblance of control of the place.

Tom in NE · Oct 5, 2015

Yes....and probably put it further outside the city limits...LOL

Hay hay hay · Oct 5, 2015

If you think the schools were so wonderful when we went 50 years ago, you have a bad memory.
Who was the worst teacher you had? Who hired him/her? Who defined the curriculum?
How long (years) was that bad teacher allowed to waste the students learning time?

Who was the dumbest kid in your class and how much did they really learn during their years of schooling?

I am no fan of today's schools, but I try not to just remember the good
and forget the bad about the past.

dhermesc · Oct 5, 2015

50 years ago you could fire the worst teacher. Now the NEA makes sure they keep their job and keep getting their raises just like the best teachers. On average it costs well over $100,000 to fire a tenured teacher in direct costs and many times more than that in soft costs.

Ron-MO · Oct 5, 2015

I am very thankful that I no longer have kids in school. One of my boys made the mistake of defacing the football field just prior to a homecoming game. In a school system where football is king, you can
imagine the outcome. He went from being in the top 10 epidemically to being arrested, prosecuted, nearly did not graduate due to a nearly 2 week suspension his senior year, cursed by the coaches, nearly had
his car defaced by students (at the suggestion of one of the coaches), and probably more that I am unaware of. What was odd was that the local town mayor's son also defaced one of the buildings with the same
figure, and nothing was done. I initially wanted to work with the school to discipline my son, but they insisted in making him an example and pushing the legal system to prosecute him (they sent a school
employee to the court hearing to report back that they boys were indeed prosecuted to their liking). He did graduate, but to this day he resents the school system, the law enforcement and legal system. It
was obvious that this was not really about whether or not the kids were disciplined, but more on making sure that no one interfered with a football game or sports activity, and making sure those were made an
example of.

Hay hay hay · Oct 5, 2015

We had some very bad teachers and not one was ever fired. A few did not get a second year, but not one was ever fired.
A lot of bad teachers were kept on the payroll because of the old small town buddy system. ie: wife of a cousin or best friend. Easy to blame today, but not very realistic.

dr sportster · Oct 5, 2015

Well we got the astro-turf installed BUT wait this is the Canadian lead tainted astro -turf .This is no good for the kids . Lead oh no.Lead poisoning . So lets just leave the Canadian astro-turf company fully paid and then just pay a new non lead tainted astro-turf company to install new aStro-turf AGAIN. What the heck after all it's not our money.

Ron-MO · Oct 5, 2015

typo on the epidemically.....should have read academically

Mark - IN. · Oct 5, 2015

Home school.

Mark

Moonlite37 · Oct 6, 2015

I never made the team and almost missed the other activity

OT: Sports/Do something about it....

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