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GoodWitch58

Beach Fanatic
Oct 10, 2005
4,816
1,921
thanks for the clarification. I feel better knowing these coaches were for the teachers, not the students, and I understand how those strategies may be enough in place that extra help is not needed at this time.

Having said that, I still see that there is a huge problem with too many of our students not being able to read at their optimum level...when they come to college, they are lost and the cycle of failure continues.
 

mdd88jd

Beach Lover
May 26, 2008
155
210
I agree. It is a huge problem. Part of the problem lies in the current curriculum. The type of reading that kids are taught is not that type of reading that you and I learned. And, I do not believe that it prepares all kids for the college environment. Please do not get me started on writing instruction.....
 

GoodWitch58

Beach Fanatic
Oct 10, 2005
4,816
1,921
I agree. It is a huge problem. Part of the problem lies in the current curriculum. The type of reading that kids are taught is not that type of reading that you and I learned. And, I do not believe that it prepares all kids for the college environment. Please do not get me started on writing instruction.....

...or me either. http://www.heartofateachermovie.com/index.html]
I think somewhere along the line, we forgot the most important part of education...

What about a parent involvement program in Walton County? I know there are many programs available, but there seems to be little in the way of parent involvement -- from what others have told me -- I do not know this for sure. But, I could not find any evidence of a formal program for the district.

I find it impossible to believe that the parents just do not care about their child's education...and only care about sports.

When I saw the quote from Mr. Laird about not cutting athletics because of the public outcry he anticipated...I had to wonder if he would not cut the reading coaches if there had been a similar public outcry...and then I wondered why there isn't?
 
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Alicia Leonard

SoWal Insider
There should be some some expenditures for all extracurricular activities. They are education. I probably learned as much from my international relations and debate coach in high school as I did from my classes. Don't sell extracurricular activities short. They should be a very important part of the teaching scene.


I consider art, debate, and such to be education. I do not consider football to be an education. Sportsmanship is important, but that can be learned in any sport, and from an early age.
 

mdd88jd

Beach Lover
May 26, 2008
155
210
Don't remember what Mr. Laird said exactly. I don't think any of the school board members would have agreed to cut those two positions if the administration felt that they could do what was needed without the two positions.

I know this. If we cut out Friday night football completely, a tax incrase would be an easy thing to accomplish. (I am being a little sarcastic there....)

We do have some programs for parental involvement. The level of participation can be quite sad. This summer we are going to try to ramp up some of those outreach efforts. It is an especially bad problem at the high school level for some reason.
 
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Teresa

SoWal Guide
Staff member
Nov 15, 2004
30,240
9,277
South Walton, FL
sowal.com
Don't remeber what Mr. Laird said exactly. I don't think any of the school board members would have agreed to cut those two positions if the administration felt that they could do what was needed without the two positions.

I know this. If we cut out Friday night football completely, a tax incrase would be an easy thing to accomplish. (I am being a little sarcastic there....)

We do have some programs for parental involvement. The level of participation can be quite sad. This summer we are going to try to ramp up some of those outreach efforts. It is an especially bad problem at the high school level for some reason.

thanks for the info. I'm assuming the reading coaches were cut after evaluating needs and hopefully with the goal of developing more effective reading strategies. but we just don't know so people get upset when they see and read something in the media which isn't covered with much detail. also, the sports program is a separate deal and surely doesn't use funds or take away funds from education programs. but I guess I can see how some would think so.
 

mdd88jd

Beach Lover
May 26, 2008
155
210
I consider art, debate, and such to be education. I do not consider football to be an education. Sportsmanship is important, but that can be learned in any sport, and from an early age.

From someone who played a variety of sports from middle school through high school, I promise football and other team sports, when done right, teach more than sportsmanship. Goal setting, teamwork, discipline, leadership and many other character traits are learned in that unique environment.

Lest we also forget, a number of kids, probably too many for our taste, only go to school to play sports. As bad as our drop rate is right now, imagine what it would be like if we did not have quality sports programs for kids to particiate in while in school.

And, the opportunity for college assistance is pretty large. I know a kid that played football at Freeport that ended up with a full ride to college by working in the athletic department at the university. That opportunity would not have existed for him without athletics. My sister played two years of college basketball and then had a full ride to another university as a manager for the girls basketball program.
 

scooterbug44

SoWal Expert
May 8, 2007
16,732
3,330
Sowal
I agree. It is a huge problem. Part of the problem lies in the current curriculum. The type of reading that kids are taught is not that type of reading that you and I learned. And, I do not believe that it prepares all kids for the college environment. Please do not get me started on writing instruction.....

Could you elaborate on that? IMO either a kid can read and comprehend/process what they are reading or they can't. :dunno:

And while I think athletics/physical activity are part of being a well rounded student, the odds of someone getting an athletic scholarship and becoming a college or professional athlete are slim - whereas anyone who attains a certain GPA can get a scholarship in Florida.

And the "life lessons" taught by sports are the same lessons taught by other competitive extracurriculars.

I find it appalling that you are justifying this by saying kids go to school for the sports. Kids go to school because our society has decided they have to be educated for the good of our country. If it was all puppies and lollipops, we wouldn't have truant officers and attendance requirements.
 

Jdarg

SoWal Expert
Feb 15, 2005
18,068
1,973
Don't remember what Mr. Laird said exactly. I don't think any of the school board members would have agreed to cut those two positions if the administration felt that they could do what was needed without the two positions.

I know this. If we cut out Friday night football completely, a tax incrase would be an easy thing to accomplish. (I am being a little sarcastic there....)

We do have some programs for parental involvement. The level of participation can be quite sad. This summer we are going to try to ramp up some of those outreach efforts. It is an especially bad problem at the high school level for some reason.

Don't get me started on the parent involvement problem!;-) Many have tried....
 

mdd88jd

Beach Lover
May 26, 2008
155
210
Could you elaborate on that? IMO either a kid can read and comprehend/process what they are reading or they can't. :dunno:

And while I think athletics/physical activity are part of being a well rounded student, the odds of someone getting an athletic scholarship and becoming a college or professional athlete are slim - whereas anyone who attains a certain GPA can get a scholarship in Florida.

And the "life lessons" taught by sports are the same lessons taught by other competitive extracurriculars.

I find it appalling that you are justifying this by saying kids go to school for the sports. Kids go to school because our society has decided they have to be educated for the good of our country. If it was all puppies and lollipops, we wouldn't have truant officers and attendance requirements.

Certainly did not mean to appal anyone. I was just commenting that a number of kids are only motivated to come to school, study, make good grades, etc., so they can participate in sports and other extra-curricular activities. And, I certainly do not want to imply that other extra-curricular activities don't teach life lessons or character. They do and we should support them. Remember too, that in Florida a kid can legally drop out after their 16th birthday. I am not endorsing that reality, it is what we deal with however.

Again, there are opportunities for scholarships in athletics for players and other folks even if they don't necessarily play. Frankly, I think we shortchange kids in music programs. We have not always supported them in a manner to prepare those kids to attain scholarships for the performing arts. I believe that is slowly changing and I hope our budget difficulties do not interfere with that change.

I love sports. But, I understand that they are there to help, never supplant good education. And, I truly believe that all extracurricular activities, when done right, contribute to a child's education.

As for the reading curriculum. It has changed. The FCAT tests reading for limited content. By that I mean, a passage is presented to the test taker, and he is asked to regurgitate back to the exam certain specific concepts in the passage. The passages themselves tend to be what you and I would consider "technical" type writing. Thus, we teach kids to read that way. Read a passage, pick out a certain specific concept and repeat that concept back to the examiner. Reading for overall themes, critical thinking about what the passage is about, are not ever discussed. The person is taught to read, but, not really taught to understand what they are reading and the overall meaning of the words. Its like learning to read in a vacuum. I hope I explained it okay. When kids get to college, especially those who have not taken advanced placement and honors classes, they struggle sometimes with understanding how to read and interpret a passage. I know, its weird, but again, the reality we are dealing with these days.
 
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