Learning and Teaching Do Matter

[Susan Horn]

entire issue of Yes! on education

The newest issue of my favorite magazine -- Yes! -- is devoted to articles about education in schools around the country. Much of the content is available online at their website--

www.yesmagazine.org

Would love to hear comments on how we can use this niformation to improve our schools, especially from any students, teachers or administrators currently working in Walton County schools. Am not much interested in responses along the lines of "We'll look into it," as I've been hearing that for years and not seeing anything come of it.

 

[Jdarg]

The newest issue of my favorite magazine -- Yes! -- is devoted to articles about education in schools around the country. Much of the content is available online at their website--

www.yesmagazine.org

Would love to hear comments on how we can use this niformation to improve our schools, especially from any students, teachers or administrators currently working in Walton County schools. Am not much interested in responses along the lines of "We'll look into it," as I've been hearing that for years and not seeing anything come of it.

Susan, don't take this the wrong way, but mostly I have had the opposite experience in dealing with the WCSD. I hear a lot of stories and people talking about the negatives with our school system, but when I press further, mostly it was their experiences from the past- nobody has any current interaction. There have been lots of positives and improvements since we moved here in the fall of 2006.

There will never be 100% satisfaction with any education system/school- especially public school, due to the large number of students and the diversity of the students and families. The people that I talk to that are the most dissatisfied are trying to mold the school to fit their family, and get disgruntled and mad when it doesn't happen exactly like they think it should. I can say this, because I know what I want to see for my kids at their school, and i get aggravated, but I also know that some of my "wants" for my kids are maybe things I am going to have to provide for them.

The times are definitely changing for the better with our school system- don't think for a minute that it's the "same old same old". There may not be a complete overhaul overnight, but there is definitely an upward movement!

 

[Susan Horn]

Susan, don't take this the wrong way, but mostly I have had the opposite experience in dealing with the WCSD. I hear a lot of stories and people talking about the negatives with our school system, but when I press further, mostly it was their experiences from the past- nobody has any current interaction. There have been lots of positives and improvements since we moved here in the fall of 2006.

There will never be 100% satisfaction with any education system/school- especially public school, due to the large number of students and the diversity of the students and families. The people that I talk to that are the most dissatisfied are trying to mold the school to fit their family, and get disgruntled and mad when it doesn't happen exactly like they think it should. I can say this, because I know what I want to see for my kids at their school, and i get aggravated, but I also know that some of my "wants" for my kids are maybe things I am going to have to provide for them.

The times are definitely changing for the better with our school system- don't think for a minute that it's the "same old same old". There may not be a complete overhaul overnight, but there is definitely an upward movement!

Jdarg,

I appreciate your comments, and it's very heartening to hear that you are experiencing it in this way now. Maybe I am basing too much of my opinion on past experience--my kids are no longer in WCSD schools, so my perpective is inherently different from someone with kids in the schools now. I only know that as recently as a few weeks ago, I got one of those "We'll look into it" responses on this very board, and the event in question has come and gone, and I never heard back from anyone at WCSD about it.....

 

[Jdarg]

Jdarg,

I appreciate your comments, and it's very heartening to hear that you are experiencing it in this way now. Maybe I am basing too much of my opinion on past experience--my kids are no longer in WCSD schools, so my perpective is inherently different from someone with kids in the schools now. I only know that as recently as a few weeks ago, I got one of those "We'll look into it" responses on this very board, and the event in question has come and gone, and I never heard back from anyone at WCSD about it.....

I am just catching up, but I have a few comments-

If you are referring to the Slow Food National Eat-In Day, I don't think a couple of weeks is enough time to get an entire county school system involved. It would be a huge undertaking, and would involve months of planning. I loved the idea, but it would have been asking a huge wheel to go from 0 to 60 in 3 seconds.

I do think the concept is wonderful and of course would like to see our school food head back to a healthier lunch tray, but it gets back to being realistic about how much/how fast change can happen. Just throwing out the idea to a school board member and expecting him to run with it is a bit unrealistic- changes like this needs a group of parents to get the ball rolling, do the research, "sell" the benefits to the school system, and generally make it easy on the decision makers and those implementing the new idea at the school level.

Hopefully those who are really passionate about this idea can present it to the school system and make sme positive improvements to the school lunch situation!

just my .02