Whenever there is a post on some blog about rampant crime, closing schools and aging inner city neighborhoods, you are more than likely going to see somebody make a Detroit to Peoria comparison. Now that same comparison can be made when you talk about students being without text books for months.
Thousands of Detroit students without books for months
The 2011-2012 Detroit Public School year started on Sept. 6, with thousands of homes and streets all over the city adorned with signs that had the two-word slogan “I’m In” everywhere. Nearly two months into the school year, the one thing that is not in a lot of Detroit Schools right now are books.
“I know there is a shortage and there is an order and they are still sharing books,” said Andrew Hayes, whose son is a third-grader at Fisher Magnet Elementary on the city’s east side. “There are a lot of frustrated parents. They want the kids to have what they are supposed to have. At the beginning of the year, we were told that every student would have the textbooks. It’s seven weeks into school.”
Teachers at Cass Technical High School — the city’s largest high school — say that they are short nearly 2,400 textbooks in all grade levels. According to the Detroit Federation of Teachers, the deficiencies range across all subjects including English, chemistry, geometry, Spanish, and U.S. history.
Teachers at Cass say they are missing 950 chemistry books and 250 history books, while teachers at Priest Elementary-Middle School on Detroit’s southwest side say they are missing nearly 3,500 books. Priest has nearly 1,000 Kindergarten through eighth-grade students. The missing books are for K-6 English classes as well as science workbooks and workbooks with tear-out sheets.
Cass Tech’s original building was vacated in 2005 in favor of the current multi-million dollar building, which sits some 30 feet away. It stood abandoned for six years with desks and old books left behind in the blighted building before finally being demolished in August. Source
17 comments:
There is another major problem in District 150 with regard to textbooks. If kids are allowed to take books home (and they should be allowed to do so), they very often get lost or damaged. At Manual, lost textbooks were a major problem. The students were not in any way held accountable for lost books until their senior year when they were asked to pay huge bills (often in the hundreds of dollars) for all the books they didn't return during their 4 years in high school--I think they couldn't get their diploma without paying.
When was the last or first time anyone asked to see your diploma--transcripts, yes, but not so much a diploma. Besides many kids who lose books do not graduate.
Again, I have wanted to FOIA this info but know it would be hard to come by--how many thousands of dollars are lost each year.
From small quantities of new texts have been purchased this year (according to FOIA's data). Example: 167 World history books for Richwoods; 22 Geography 1 and 2 books for Manual.
What happens next year (or next semester) when say 5 of the geography books aren't returned at Manual. The next group of students will not have books if the class is larger than 17. The same will be true of the 23 different titles of social studies and science books that have been purchased.
There are thousands of books in Dist. 150. A large amount of books are no longer usable. Some are outdated. So, showing those pictures really doesn't mean much. Are they current curriculum? I don't know. And because of many of the personal changes, ie new principals, teachers, support staff, how many books are sitting and know one knows they are there. Plus, you add in the "it ain't my job" aspect. This book thing has been a great big fiasco. Instead of blaming, how about, trying to fix it for next year. Wasn't there a problem last year. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, well, you get the picture.
The article from Detroit gives good information on the book shortage. The Journal Star didn't bother to give any specifics on where the books were missing from or how many were missing.
I have a FOIA response, showing all (I think) the texts purchased this year--unbelievable. Nobody can convince me that purchasing all these books at one time was a wise financial decision. I believe several thousand dollars was spent on reordering books that have been lost--at least, I believe that appears to be the case of $5,848.85 worth of small quantities of various titles purchased from Budgetext--might even be used books.
Sharon, how exactly would you propose holding students accountable for lost textbooks other than the current method? Let's role play.
Student (me): I lost my book.
Parent (me, again): I don't know where it is and I ain't got the money for no textbook.
D150 (Sharon): ???????
Jon, this is Joe Peoria Taxpayer. I already pay for the kids to have textbooks at no cost. So, I get it again, when they "lose" their book. It is another instance of irresponsibility on the part of the student and family. So, me, Joe Peoria Taxpayer, pay for that book a second time.
No diploma is a good place to start.
It is beyond all of us why you go after Sharon, when she asks the pertinent questions and cares for the kids in D150. You need a new hobby.
Jon, stop trying to be cute and go role play by yourself. How about pay as you go??? I was around when District 150 decided to stop caring. Too many kids were losing books and the parents wouldn't pay for the lost books. The teachers had/have problems dealing with children who don't have books (and they often are the ones who will be discipline problems--obviously). So the schools just reissued books because the District wasn't willing to create consequences for students who didn't have books and wouldn't (or couldn't pay).
It's a huge problem and a huge expense to taxpayers. Superintendents are paid (and school board assigned the task) of coming up with solutions to these problems. This is one that is completely beyond the control of teachers. Of course, some teachers have found a solution--they don't let kids take books home. Then the next decision is that students don't have homework. All of this leads to the lowering of academic standards.
Sorry, but no diploma is not a punishment. The consequences need to be immdediate--when the book is lost, the student doesn't get a new book. I guess the student goes to some "holding" place until he/she gets the money to pay for the old and the new book because the student is then responsible for replacing the old one and renting the new one.
So, Jon, pretend you are the superintendent and tell us how you would handle the situation--and how you would teach a class when a significant number of students do not have books.
By the way, the Manual principal came up with what he thought was a good solution: every teacher keep about 10 extra books for every course to loan students who have lost books. Then he would say, "I don't want to hear any worse case scenarios." But the worst case always happened. First, kids didn't like hauling books to class and didn't because they knew the teacher would loan them one. Second, teachers find it difficult to keep track of all these extra books (and finding locked places to keep them), so students stole them.
Also, 10 extra books per teacher per course--more taxpayer money wasted!
The point is, there is no easy solution. It's easy to say "pay as you go", but WHAT do you do when they don't pay??? How do you "hold them accountable" other than what is already being done?
Bitchin about things without offering any solutions (probably because there are none) is what is pointless.
Ok, I actually can't read...I missed in the middle of Sharon's response her proposal to send kids to a "holding place" until they come up with the money for their lost book. That'll teach 'em...unless, of course, they still don't come up with the money...
I think the guy has the hots for her. Look out! I think we have a one sided love thang going on here. Keep the shades closed. You might have a chance though if you buy her some velcro sneakers for Christmas.
There is a solution--teaching children to take of their book. I understand that the solution isn't easy because we've let it go on for far too long. How many books did you lose when you were a kid--I don't believe I lost any (and we didn't have bookbags to keep them in). How many books did your child lose? At some point children must learn that there are consequences for not being responsible.
You are very, very quick to blame teachers for the high cost of education--but there are so many other costs and irresponsible spending that taxpayers don't know about--the high cost of replacing texts is another. I'm not that sold on the idea of taking kids out of class when they lose books. However, the irresponsibility must be addressed--it wasn't always this way, so common sense says that it does have to continue to be this way.
Does anyone still keep track of lost books in Dist 150? If the students get free textbooks and lose them they don't end up paying for the lost books any way. So it is just the students who have the ability to pay that are made to pay. Unfair. Many of the students that get free textbooks could care less whether they lose them as they don't pay for them. Ask them they will tell you. No big deal!
Am I correct in my assumption (or past practices) that parents who receive public aid for their children receive money to pay for textbook rental? This is a Catch22 and I don't know the solution. The children can't help it that their parents can't afford textbooks, BUT when there is no accountability there is no responsibility. I don't object to the giving but there just must be a way to make people accountable so that they know the help isn't really free--taxpayers are paying for it. For starters, District 150 does absolutely nothing to convince parents that they have a responsibility to pay these bills or to teach their children to behave. The Parent University won't work either--unless parents are held accountable and then they might come for help when they realize they don't know how to help their children.
Sharon, it is my understanding that students that qualify for reduced or free textbook rental don't receive any other monies. The money to pay for books is received directly by D150.
When that "free" book is lost they are given another one, "free." At an additional cost to us, Peoria taxpayers. There is no accountability for lost books, just an additional hand out. When will we stop with hand outs and start with hand ups?
If that's the case--just dole out new books when others are lost--how does District 150 pay to replenish textbooks that are needed by the next year's students. I believe this will be a major problem next year (if lost book policies don't change) as I don't think a surplus of books was purchased with the many new book orders for this year.
Students who get free textbooks don't get any other monies, but I don't think the district gets money for these textbook rentals either and the district sure doesn't get paid when they give out replacement books. . I think it is wrong to enforce others to pay if the majority in District 150 get free rentals. Again the welfare people make out like bandits, free lunch, free textbooks, free textbook rentals, free cell phones, free medical, ssi for their adhd kids, free this and free that for generations after generations. Why work? Just keep having kids and be on welfare. In this economy there are indeed some that truly need it and never have abused the system, they deserve it. They have worked hard and paid taxes at some point in their life. I'm talking about the generation after generation that always have their hands out for the freebies that we hard working taxpayers have to pay.
So . . . Jon role plays with himself?
Post a Comment