Dear Dr. Alonso:
As you work to reform the Baltimore City Public Schools, perhaps you can reform the calendar?
We're only given 180 school days a year. To force school-going until Christmas Eve, or other days like Thanksgiving Eve, really seems to undermine what you're trying to do. Attendance is horrible these days, and very little, if any, learning is going on. My school decided to hold its annual holiday assembly on today, Wednesday, primarily because attendance on Thursday was expected to be so poor. I'm sure the problem is throughout the district.
In addition, with our new contract that will attract the best and brightest from around the country, not affording teachers more of an opportunity to visit their far-away families is also problematic. This is not to mention the families of students in our district, who would appreciate their young kids home a little bit sooner than they are. Indeed, many simply keep them home.
All in all, I'd much rather go a bit later in the school year than be a babysitter to the half of students who will show up tomorrow. Seriously, this is not good for the kids.
Sincerely,
EpiphanyinBaltimore
Rowdies at Dawn
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10 comments:
I teach high school and my students think it's hilarious that I have to come to work while they are going to stay home, or do whatever it is that they do when they're not in school. They don't take this week seriously at all.
I think everybody is going to have issues with one part or another of a calendar. City Schools now follow the same winter break as most companies that close over the holidays do. For many parents of younger kids having your children off for the same period that you have, is great. No extra $ for daycare when your broke from holiday expenses is a big plus. The part of the calendar that kills me is not getting labor day off. How can summer be over a week befor labor day? And then you go for a week and get a day off? And as your asking to extend the school year in June to get this week off, remember no air-conditioning.
On another subject, I came to the Christmas choir concert last week. Every single song was religious, not a single nod to non-Christians and a ton of prayers and "Prraise Jesus" stuff. Although the singing was pretty great I was offended. What happens if a Jew, a Quaker, or even a (gasp!) atheist wants to sing?
You're not your...and before not before. Why is there no edit button. How embarrassing...
The thing is, A BCPSS Parent, the week before Labor Day, we have 100% attendance, or near it. This week, we've had much, much less, culminating in today's attendance of 20% - 40% attendance in all my classes. I had 5 kid in my 5th period class, out of 30. Every other class around 8-12 or so. The families and community clearly do not support having school so close to the holiday. That's the difference between just having a problem with the calendar and just plain old having days in which very little, if any, instruction occurs because no one is there. That's a waste of a valuable class day, and we already waste enough at the high school level with how much time we waste after exams.
I would go so far to say this is a social justice issue. I really care about these kids maximizing their time in the classroom and cannot stand to see days spent just to satisfy requirements for time spent. This was a waste of a day of instruction. It sucks for the kids.
The issue of a/C is a real one, and needs to be addressed; however, this isn't a good solution to it.
I hear you on the choir, and it's mentioned every year. Our holiday assembly during school hours has nods (albeit perfunctory) through the dance troupe, the SWTT, rap groups, and speakers to secular and other holiday celebrations, but not through the choir (which is basically a gospel choir, anyway). Wasn't the nighttime event advertised as a Christmas Concert, though?
An informal poll at our house showed not too bad attendance at two City Schools - 90% at the high school and 80% at the middle school. Maybe it's a problem unique to your school? There were assemblies, but real academics was done - including tests.
The concert was advertised as a Christmas concert - I went to support a singer, not to get a church service. I'm pretty sure I know one kid who wanted to be in the choir but felt excluded as a Quaker. I can't imagine any non-Christian feeling comfortable singing in that group.
I will eat my shoe if any city high school had 90% attendance today. Seriously. I'm e-mailing my colleagues there now. Then, yes, I'm wrong. :)
You're not getting any disagreement from me on the other issue, though I don't care very much. Not a battle worth fighting in my eyes. It is what it is: a gospel choir performing a Christmas concert. No one is forced to sing. I know they have plenty of secular songs that just mention Christmas but in a non-religious way ("We need a little Christmas, right this very minute" is a staple and it's hardly religious).
On the choir, the issue is, can a kid who wants to sing, and picked a school known for liberal arts and theater find a place in the school's choir. As far as I know there's not a gospel choir and a concert choir. Maybe every other concert of the year is different.
What if you had to accept Jesus in your heart to play on the baseball team? Kind of shuts out some kids. Even if they are in the minority it doesn't seem fair.
Heard back from my colleagues and they said three-quarters of 9th graders were there because of a test but hardly any other students. Yes, if I had given a test, I think I would have had big classes, too. But I didn't want to fight it, nor did it work in my curriculum at that moment. That teacher now has to decide whether to give probable non-legal absences a makeup test or not.
Yes, there's a class choir and a gospel choir. And there's overlap, but they take different kids than are in the class for the performances. But, no, if a kid wants to sing, he or she pretty much only has the choir as far as I know. They've tried to do a glee club and a show choir but there hasn't been interest. They're doing a musical this year, though.
I have more of an issue with kids being forced to listen to it than kids not having a singing option. But usually they just quietly walk out or skip it if they have an issue. And the rest of the Holiday Assembly (which is forced attendance but still loose) brings in other cultures and such.
Also, any kid who picks our school to sing is picking it because of our world-renowned choir. They've sung on Carnegie Hall, sung for the Pope. Is it better to sanitize that? Most of the kids in the choir are very at-risk; they're not the top students and they put so much into it.
I hear what you are saying and I'm usually pretty adamant about separation of church and state, but my main focus in regards to this is the entire holiday program, which I think does bring in all cultures (at least some years). Also, I'm not Christian, but I can't have Christmas until I hear the choir sing "Emmanuel" and I let my team captains lead prayers before every baseball game.
This is a tough issue but my views have changed on it over the years. My big thing is forcing kids to do something they don't want, not in offering options for student group and performance, though.
(My friend will be so happy you said our school was known for theater!)
hmmm... my 11th grader said no tests and > 90% attendance. Maybe her class was non-average or she's not too good at guessing attendance. The middle school was a real number via my hub who's there every lunch.
Could have been advanced classes, too. Although one of my advanced classes was only 25%, the other one (the more high-flying one) was around three-quarters.
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