BLOG.BRIAN-CROSBY.COM: Recent Comments

Comment on Start Charging Parents for Public Schools

2011-02-12T16:21:25Z

I agree, but a lot of people think their taxes are already paying for their children's k-12 education. A lot of parents think the school, teacher and child are the only ones responsible to teach their child, while they forget their responsibility to it. Your idea would get their attention for sure. If everyone paid, then schools would be equal and be able to afford the same books and technology used in learning.

Comment on Quality Teaching is THE Answer

2010-09-17T01:19:16Z

It is also important that these changes take place with checks and balances at every level. Trust me- I have raised test scores and done the works and still had an administrator who would not acknowledge what he had observed. Tenure rules helped me redress this issue. There are many in leadership capacities who should not be. There has to be a total purging throughout the system and not just at the classroom level. This is a major problem and this is why tenure is so important. Furthermore- teaching does not always produce a marketable and transferalble skill set, ultimately leading to more abuses of power. This is not about student achievement- it is about money.

Comment on Obama's speech to schoolchildren

2010-08-27T01:57:47Z

Thank you.

Comment on Obama's speech to schoolchildren

2010-08-26T18:37:52Z

This was an important article. I stumbled across your article and thought it incredibly positive.

Comment on Movie Titles Need to be Rated

2010-04-16T21:24:28Z

Not just horrified for families but to the sensibilities of most people I would like to believe. Brian I think we are getting too old. LOL. It's now whatever they can get by the reviewers. I watched cartoons the other morning and counted 15 killings, 2 tortures 3 bombed homes, 6 maimed humans and an Android that was threatening death to " You and your kind." A far cry from my Batman & Robim/Superman days.

Comment on Teacher pay cuts and layoffs

2010-03-04T06:00:39Z

Thank you, Margaret, for sharing your story. Let's hope you're right that the teachers who are let go happen to be the more incompetent ones.

Comment on Teacher pay cuts and layoffs

2010-03-04T04:27:25Z

Where I live and work we are seeing what feels like a nightmare. Veteran teachers are being let go midyear on any excuse and long-term subs being brought in with no hope of getting an offer for next year. Schools are being closed and the students being doubled up in other facilities. The huge class sizes are resulting in management issues with which even experienced teachers are struggling to cope. To make it even more challenging, the budgets are being frozen and salaries are being hit the hardest.

Unfortunately, the rest of the job market is so poor that we can't even get work outside of teaching so many of us are stuck hoping for work as subs or collecting unemployment.

I'm grateful I have a position, been in the same school for years, and seem to be in good standing. But it's still scary because who knows what can happen? I'm just grateful I teach math and math teachers are in short supply.

I'm also an education junkie. I just absolutely live for the "aha moments" and thrive on my middle schooler's and all of their craziness. If I didn't need the money, I'd work this gig for free.

Who knows? Maybe the competition for jobs will weed out some of the untalented, lazy, and ineffective teachers - leaving room for high-quality educators to thrive and grow? Sort of survival of the fittest?

Let's hope so.

Comment on A Teacher's Last Year

2010-01-17T17:04:41Z

Thank you for your thoughtful comments. Not having that audience and the energy that kids exude is something I'm sure many retired teachers miss dearly.

Comment on A Teacher's Last Year

2010-01-17T16:58:48Z

I am considering retiring at the end of this year or at least reducing my time and teaching half day. I think about retirement frequently. I am also a literature teacher. I haven't had one thought all year about no longer teaching literature. I don't consciously think, this may be the final time I teach a work, a project, or a skill. I do, however, think daily, actually several times each day, about whether or not I will be able to walk away from students. After standing in front of teenagers for 32 years, what will life be like without that audience? What will life be like if I no longer feel that I am contributing to the development of so many students? What will life be like if I am no longer giving back?

I think of this often, and I only hope and pray that when the time comes to retire, I will recognize that time and leave graciously. I am just fortunate to teach in an area where students, parents, and teachers encourage me to continue to teach. I am also thankful to live at a time when I will not be forced to retire before I am ready.

Comment on Too Much Homework

2009-12-17T22:00:09Z

As a middle school math teacher, a single mom, and a former home schooler, I have a lot of conflicting opinions on homework. For one thing, I hate it because it takes up family time. On the other hand, too many kids lack the skills they need to go forward and the only way to insure they get the much-needed practice is by assigning homework. All that said, I don't assign homework over the holidays as it's counterintuitive: most of the kids won't do it anyway, or they'll wait until Sunday, January 3rd at around 8:00 PM (at the earliest) and finish it in a hurry. I also really don't want to start a new decade with 150 papers to grade.