I'm Batman....

I thought you were Cinderella.....

well, here we go again....wife and daughter went to pick classes or whatever at dhs....went to sign up in one she really wanted and was told sorry, its full...then went to sign up for something else and was told sorry, we had to cancel that, not enough people signing up....my wife mentioned the first thing she wanted to sign up for where she was told it was full and the person said oh, its not full..they need more people......soooo daughter went and signed up for the one she really wanted at first after getting the runaround......anybody else havin problems are is it just us, as usual???

Has anyone considered that our educational bureaucracy may be putting the cart before the horse? As a student I never had a doubt that my teachers' primary responsibilities were to teach. Now it appears that our teachers are being given the primary responsibility of proving that they are teaching and this is in fact more important than teaching itself. I'm deeply thankful for the teachers who continue to focus on teaching when the bureaucrats expect them to spend more time and energy on proving that they are teaching. After proofreading this I realize that it sounds illogical, but I believe that is exactly what is happening.

Tater, I understand your point and it is very true. Unfortunately, No Child Left Behind has put alot demands on our teachers and administrators which make actual teaching difficult.

If you know a teacher, thank them for all they do. Unless you spend alot of time in schools, you really have no idea of everything that is imposed on them because of bureacracy and our society theses days!

I agree with your point on No Child Left Behind. Bush's NCLB assumed that shaming schools with low test scores would lead to higher test scores. The most riduluous flaw in NCLB was that all students in every school must be proficient in reading and mathematics by 2014, including students with special needs, students whose native language is not English, students who are homeless and lacking in any societal advantage, and students who have every societal advantage but are not interested in their schoolwork. One hundred percent proficiency by 2014 is unrealistic and not achievable. This goal is setting our schools up for failure.

Does this mean my grandchild who attends Northview can go to a County school since Northview has not done well?

Duck Hunter, not sure the answer to your question, but I did hear that the county may be charging out of zone students $1,000 to attend. Not sure if it passed, but I did hear that was a proposal at one time.

Does it really matter where a mechanic buys his tools? Does it really matter where he buys his parts? A successful mechanic will pick the right tools and the right parts wherever he goes. Same with education. A truly sincere student will pick the right courses and programs that will build the foundation they'll need to be prepared for the next level. Every school in the Wiregrass has graduated people that went on to be very successful! I'm privileged to know a person whose parents did not finish high school yet she graduated from an area 2A school and went on to attain a PhD in Chemistry from UAB before her 28th birthday! Is she an exception? Not really... Everybody has to work to get what they want.

I hope all parents are pursuing alternate learning activities for all children..regardless of age...Repeat after me....I am not to busy to do the important things with my child!!!!
There is only so much the teachers can teach...
Your kids are a product of you...and then the system...They will emulate what they see and hear at home. Read to your kids...every night and have them read to you every day! Even the cereal box or the cartoons in the paper!!
Teach them to garden, change the oil, cook, paint, write for pleasure, build ramps for their bikes and match box cars...Estimate and guesstimate....how much, how many, why does it work...why doesn't it work.....make a real paper kite...why will it fly...wash their own clothes...iron them...make a bridge out of tooth pics...write a song...a poem..make paper animals and boats.. make a pinata.
How many books did your kids read this summer? How many itunes did they download? Can they count back change? Can they change the filters in the air conditioner...How about the tire on the car....
Can they read music?? play any type of instrument...even a kazoo!!

OldSalty, great post! If only all parents did those things today...what a wonderful world it would be.

Unfortunately...
there are many broken homes,
homes where parents aren't there or don't care,
homes where no encouragement is given,
homes where they expect schools to teach their children everything,
homes where there are drugs,
homes where right and wrong are not taught,
homes where children are raising children,
and homes where they teach their children entitlement and not to work for things.

Sure makes it hard for schools and teachers these days...again, its the society we live in.

But, with all of this, I believe Dothan City School does a great job with elementary students...you will see with AYP results soon & test scores in Oct. There could be improvements in middle & high schools. And, things are being done to implement improvements at these levels.

With all the bad things people say or perceive about DCS, overall, they are a good school system compared to others in our state. There may be some negatives perceived but there are MANY MORE POSITIVES IN DCS.

Many on here like to dwell in the negatives. I choose to see the many more positives!

AYP results are in and official...and are good for NHS!

i know someone is gonna be disappointed...

wonder how nichols is going to sugar coat the news....

JJ I hope that was not intended toward me. If the news is good for Northview I will be among the first to say congratulations for turning it around.

If it is so, then we need to start focusing on the changes in the Central office to stop the financial bleeding and the academic leadership to turn around those other schools who did not make AYP.