What the?

[TJDave]

Planning a family vacation to HI.

Showing my daughter some sattelite views of Oahu. I zoomed in on Pearl Harbor and said we should take the tour.

She asked, "What is Pearl Harbor?"

I could not believe it. She is in the 8th grade at Tumwater School District and has never heard of it, WWII, or anything related.

At least she is getting good grades on whatever they are teaching her, but it seems to involve no American history.

Just thought I would vent here.

[Grumpy]

You're kidding?! And our schools are costing how much? Of course, there's teachers out there that, OMHO, are history revisionists, but not knowing about WWII?!?!

[Wrench]

...Of course, there's teachers out there that, OMHO, are history revisionists...

Far more than just a few. The curriculum has changed, and they no longer teach history like they did when I was a kid. Their "history" is far more about the arts and entertainment worlds than anything else.

[OldGreen]

My ninth grader just completed a huge project on Holocaust Medical Experiments during WWII with over 100 sources. Not all public schools are created equally.

[iaccocca]

My folks took me to see the Arizona Memorial. Of course the tax payers paid for that trip via the US Navy.

[Grumpy]

U.S. history was required when I was in school. So was world history and geography. What happened

[bobracing]

No child left behind act, teach to the dumbest kid in class so everyone passes.

[TJDave]

I am sure the curriculum is a little different on the left side of the state.

[OldGreen]

It isn't JUST that. The EOC (end of course exam) is the same for the entire state once you get to high school. HOWEVER, they are pitifully easy for any kid with 1/10th of a brain.

Lori and I spend a huge amount of time working on our kids education. In fact, that is her full time job. It is a fact that you can get your kids a good education at a public school if you do the following:

1. PICK YOUR SCHOOL. Do research, figure out where the best school is locally and weasel your way in. Don't let anyone tell you that you have to live in a certain area to go to a certain school. Screw "fairness" and all that. . .this is YOUR kid and you want an unfair advantage.

2. Be involved every single day. Know exactly what is going on in every class. Use PowerSchool/EdMoto/etc.

3. Set extremely high, but achievable expectations and do NOT accept anything less than success. It is unimportant what any other child is doing. . .only yours counts.

4. Be even more involved.

It is a frickin' dog eat dog world and our kids are wearing Milk-Bone underwear. Add to that the fact that they are not wired correctly until they are 25 years old and it becomes obvious that the parents are the deciding factor.

[TJDave]

I hear what you are saying Jim, and I agree.

It is not easy with her being wisked away from the Tri-Cities to the wet side years ago. But that is another long story that I'll sum up with one word: Control. I'll spare the rest of the gory details. oh, Did I mention my daughter has a younger half-brother that has never met his Dad? Anyway,

I talk to her Dr. on a regular basis, and her school counselors a few times a year. I should probably do that more.

Luckily, she is a straight A student, and was very upset that she received a B+ on a recent project. She is in advanced math and reading classes. She is a member of the Drill Team and loves volleyball. This year, we bought her a membership to the Evergreen Junior Volleyball Club. Her skills have greatly improved, and her goal is to be on the varsity team in high school.

I could go on and on. I am very proud of her, and am thankful she seems to be taking the right path in life, so far.

It just floored me that she did not know anything about Pearl Harbor.

[OldGreen]

It is pretty shocking. . .

[Don]

Hmm ... I went through the Tumwater school district, graduated in 1999, and was very well educated on WWII and all other American History. Tumwater, of all areas on the west side, is fairly conservative. So, lets not generalize in our quick conclusions ... I do agree, our children should know our nations history, the fact it didn't happen in this case is disappointing.

[OldGreen]

Hmm ... I went through the Tumwater school district, graduated in 1999, and was very well educated on WWII and all other American History. Tumwater, of all areas on the west side, is fairly conservative. So, lets not generalize in our quick conclusions ... I do agree, our children should know our nations history, the fact it didn't happen in this case is disappointing.

It isn't one school district in particular. . .or even one school. The problems go down to the level of the individual teacher. Also, you would be SHOCKED to see how much has changed since 1999 in public education. It is absolutely pathetic. Again, not picking on a district at all because I am only educated in the ones locally . . . but very generally, it is pretty sad. The double edged sword is that there are a lot of really bright kids that are being left behind because of "no child left behind". . .

The current leadership would have us ignore the high achievers so that the slackers don't get their feelings hurt.

[SPR]

I agree with Jimmy. My son, Dion, attends Kamiakin and has all A's, but he seldom has any home work. I don't understand how a Junior in High School doesn't have much if any homework. My nephew, Brian, attends Tri-Cities Prep. He has a ton of homework every night.

It seems to me that the public schools are teaching to the slowest students and letting the brighter kids idle along. College course work is going to be a shocker for Dion.

[OldGreen]

Daughter is a 9th Grader at Delta High and my son is in the High Cap program at Carmichael. . .

Homework is measured in hours per night. The least amount would be one hour and the most is up to 4 hours on a normal night.

All of the kids are in the same boat at Delta, but in middle school, you almost have to have your kids in High Cap to even think of preparing them for the next step. Everyone else just skates.

[Jafo]

The teachers/instructors are cheating our kids. My oldest went to pasco, subject math. She would get A's on all her daily work but when it came to tests, she would fail. At first we thought ah it's maybe "stage fright" but the reality of it all is (head of math dept) her teacher said to my wife and I that if it looked like they did their work he automatically gave them an "A". So my daughter thought what she was doing was correct, but then bombs a test. Talk about self-esteem. By the time and countless office visits with the principle and school board, I wanted that f(*^#^&s JOB. She did pass her class, but had to do some extra after school and weekends to get that grade. I'm pretty firm when it comes to my childs education and it just floored me when we found out how they ran things. As it stands now, my daughter is attending Legacy and is doing A+ work..... From HOME. She also attends Tritech in the pre-vet program.

[OldGreen]

Even though this is a total hijack of Dave's thread it is completely worth talking about. As parents, it is our responsibility to make sure that our kids get a good education regardless of the crappy system. In my opinion, that gives them a huge advantage when.it comes time to compete for college and jobs.

[Lud]

I agree with you, Jim. That's the game, get involved in your kids schooling, get em in something besides school as well. Can be sports or anything other than sitting on the couch yapping on a cell phone. Besides maybe they can milk a scholarship out of it. High School grads will have to be in a trade or college to get anywhere. It's just how it is.

My dad is a retired High School Biology teacher and my mom's glad to be retiring this summer from teaching computers at a middle school. They tell me all about how some important things are being left out of kids educations because they have to "teach to the test". Math, Reading, and Science with everything else left behind.

Schools can lose funding and teachers can get fired because of students who perform poorly (See WA states new teaching law) and have no drive to improve. (Mostly due to parents lack of interest) It's really sad that our education system has gotten to this point as we spend way more per student than other countries that are sending their kids HERE to be engineers and scientists.

[Wrench]

Daughter is a 9th Grader at Delta High and my son is in the High Cap program at Carmichael. . .

Homework is measured in hours per night. The least amount would be one hour and the most is up to 4 hours on a normal night.

All of the kids are in the same boat at Delta, but in middle school, you almost have to have your kids in High Cap to even think of preparing them for the next step. Everyone else just skates.

Hmmm, my oldest is in 9th at Delta also!

[TJDave]

Not a hijack at all. This is exactly what I am talking about!

[OldGreen]

Schools can lose funding and teachers can get fired because of students who perform substandard and have no drive to improve. (Mostly due to parents lack of interest) It's really sad that our education system has gotten to this point as we spend way more per student than other countries that are sending their kids HERE to be engineers and scientists.

This is the key. . .

[kenny24]

My daughter is in 6th grade and one of her close friends parents are teachers at her school and because I am involved I have gotten to know them quite well. At one of our many school functions I got a chance to talk with him for awhile and he told me that out of 115 students that he teaches only 5% of the parents take part in their students activities. This is the problem!!
If parents would just wake up and take control of what is going on in their kids lives these things would not be an issue. School today is nothing more then free day care.
If you want your kids to know about History, Politics, Geography, Science, and any thing else you need to teach them your self.