Why public school doesn't work sometimes and what can be done about it

I subbed yesterday and spent the much of the time thinking about why the school district "doesn't work and needs to be taken over by the state."

Let me be perfectly clear: The district can and should change things. If you think I love everything the district does, all of its teachers, and every policy it has implemented, you haven't read my blog (nor are you my husband who gets to hear 99% of my diatribes).

There are definite disadvantages to having a district as large as this one is; unfortunately, because our city is so segregated, I'm afraid that attempting to break the district into more manageable "chunks " is liable to have consequences that many people do not want.

Anyway, back to yesterday.

I noticed a number of things that help explain why some kids do not achieve in public schools. All of these things happened right before, during, or right after first-period class---so give-or-take 70 minutes.

1. One student left her glasses at her dad's house.
2. At least 4 students in math class did not have pencils.
3. The pencil sharpener in math class is a POS, which means students could not quickly sharpen their pencils.
4. One student slept during class. I tried to wake him repeatedly. He said he didn't feel well (likely due to allergies based on his symptoms).
5. One student, who I gave a pencil to in math class, walked across the hall to social studies and needed another pencil. What happened to the pencil from math class, you ask? I asked her that myself. I have no freaking clue, nor did she.

There were 3 adults (all certified teachers in this classroom). Although I am a substitute, unlike some substitutes who don't know what they are doing, I actively help in the classroom; I've worked with these kids often enough that they know me, seemingly respect me, and allow me to help them.

Let's assume that the state takes over the district. What can the state do to remedy these situations above that negatively impact student achievement?

1. One student left her glasses at her dad's house.
Options:

• Call parent to retrieve glasses. 
• If the parent can't or won't retrieve glasses, the state drives the child to her home. (Yes, I'm thinking 1984, too.)
• If the child doesn't have a key to get into the home, break windows and get glasses. (Here we are verging into Maze Runner territory.)
• The child spends the day with no glasses. 

2. At least 4 students in math class did not have pencils.
Options:

• Have a fresh box of pre-sharpened pencils available in every math class. Pencils must be pre-sharpened because of item #3 on the list. 
• At the cost of $3.89 per box per 180 days of school, this comes to $700 a year per 1 math class. If this one teacher has 5 math classes per day, that comes to $3500 per year.  If one school has 3 teachers teaching 5 math classes per day, the cost per year for one school is $10,500. Our district has 150 schools, so the cost per year is $1,575,000.  

3. The pencil sharpener in math class is a POS, which means students could not quickly sharpen their pencils.
Options:

• Purchase pencil sharpener for $13.18 for this one math class. 
• Purchase boxes of unsharpened pencils since at least four students didn't have pencils at all. (I'm too tired from doing the aforementioned math to do the math for a box of unsharpened pencils per math class). 
• Remind students repeatedly to sharpen pencils.
• If they refuse to sharpen pencils, sharpen them for the students. 
• Delay the start of class instruction because of pencil sharpening, either because the teacher is sharpening or because the students are dorking around while sharpening and causing a distraction. (Even the most well-behaved kids on the planet cannot stand in a line and sharpen pencils without dorking around.)

4. One student slept during class. I tried to wake him repeatedly. He said he didn't feel well (likely due to allergies based on his symptoms).
Options:

• Call child's parent to wake him up. 
• If a parent doesn't respond, forcibly make the child sit up and stay awake. Force might involve smacking child, dumping water on his head, or using a taser. 
• Take child to the doctor for allergy treatment. 
• Continue taking child once a week for allergy injections. (Cost of this: astronomical, which I can prove because I do it with two kids.)

5. One student, whom I gave a pencil to in math class, walked across the hall to social studies and needed another pencil. What happened to the pencil from math class, you ask? I asked her that myself. I have no freaking clue, nor did she.
Options:

• See # 1 but repeat for 6 class periods every day in middle and high schools. 

One of my questions for anyone who thinks a state takeover or charter schools are magic bullets:

What do we do with the students who do not care?

Some of them don't care because they don't care. 

(Have you ever tried to make a child do something that he or she doesn't want to do? How did that work for you?) 

Some of them don't care because their lives are 100% about survival (Will I have a home when I get out of school? Will my home be the same home I had when I left for school this morning or will we have gotten evicted? Will I get dinner tonight?)

Another question: What do we do with the parents who do not care?

Some of them don't care because their lives are train wrecks.

Some of them do care but don't have the ability to do any better than what they are doing. They may be financially strapped or inadequately educated themselves. 

Some of them, whose children are disruptors, cannot handle their kids any better than the teachers can. 

Other questions:

Are we going to reinstitute workhouses of Charles Dickens' time for the children who refuse to do their school work? Do we let them run the streets? Do we put them in prison until they mature and (hopefully) see the value of education? 

Will we make their parents go to workhouses or prison for not making their children do the work? We can legally penalize them for truancy, but can we legally penalize them for their children sitting and doing ABSOLUTELY nothing in the classroom or causing distractions in the classroom? Is this a road we want to go down?

During planning period yesterday, I helped some of the teachers prepare Extended School Service (ESS) materials. ESS happens after school two days a week and some Saturdays to help kids who are failing in school.

One child, in particular, is failing every.single.class during every.single.grading.period. He has attended 5 out of 30 ESS sessions and none of the Saturday schools. He failed a grade last year so he is already at least 1 year behind.

I don't know his whole story, but what can the state do for this child that his teachers, his principals, and his counselors have not tried doing???
For all I know, this kid's family is ready to kill him because he won't do anything.
Does anyone think a charter school is going to magically save this child?
Is the state taking over the district going to suddenly make this kid do work?

Regardless of whether the state takes over or the district continues as it is or the district makes vast changes or charter schools happen, the following is what I feel pretty darn certain about.

• Some students are never, ever going to perform well on achievement tests. Not because they don't care and not because they don't try and not because they don't have great support systems. Not everyone has the same brain capability, but that doesn't mean they are stupid or know nothing or are FAILING somehow. How is it that a large percentage of parents (myself included) can think a school is great even if our kids aren't distinguished or proficient? Maybe it is because it is simply common sense that a danged once-a-year test is not the be-all and end-all of ANYTHING. 
• Some students don't care about school and cannot be motivated to perform. We either punish them, let them fail, or find new and different ways to motivate them that may not look like school.  
• Some parents are never going to make the best choices for themselves or their kids. We either do it for them, or we accept that they have the freedom to make messes of their lives and also acknowledge that as a society, we have to deal with it as best we can.