| Author |
Message |
    
Diversity Man
Citizen
Username: Deadwhitemale
Post Number: 586
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 2:17 pm: |     |
You are sending them to school, not "out."
Let's see, are you telling us to believe we parents don't know how to dress our kids, the kids can't figure it out, and the school doors won't open, so the kids freeze?
In the era of down, parkas, polar fleece?
Maybe the health instructors should spend less time on the anatomy of penis and vagina, and orgasms (teaching what we figured out without a single class), and more on alternative ways to stay warm in winter.
DWM |
patty
Citizen
Username: Patty
Post Number: 402
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 2:38 pm: | |
Yes, but it was colder than a witch's t_t. |
DrFalomar
Citizen
Username: Drfalomar
Post Number: 136
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 3:08 pm: | |
Bah. Last Saturday felt much colder than any day this week. This weather is nothing. |
argon_smythe
Citizen
Username: Argon_smythe
Post Number: 101
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 5:26 pm: | |
The only thing I know with any certainty on the subject... if the schools had been opened, this would have been the "I can't EVEN believe they didn't close the schools in this weather!!!" thread.
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nancy
Citizen
Username: Nancy
Post Number: 6
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 7:28 pm: | |
Southorangemom, Perhaps the teachers wouldn't have come up in this thread at all were it not for the closing on Monday for "staff development day" making the unwarranted closings on Thursday and Friday all the more frustrating. If the teachers want more respect from parents in the district, have them tell their union to start being more reasonable. For example, do teachers REALLY need a half day of school when there are nighttime parent/teacher conferences? They're already done with school by 3:15 as it is, don't know why 3 1/2 hours isn't enough time to have between working that day and conferences that night. I don't work a half day when I have night meetings, I know that. They seriously can't work more hours on those days??
It might also not be so frustrating were it not so often the case that on half days, for some unfathomable reason, real teaching cannot occur so movies are shown and subjects are not taught as responsibly. And, while I'm kvetching, if we're going to close the schools for staff development day or teachers conference in Atlantic City...can we PLEASE at LEAST REQUIRE the teachers to attend??? I could go on...but I won't. See? If they had just had school on Friday (which they did, by the way, in what must've been vastly warmer towns of West Orange and Millburn)then I wouldn't be complaining about all this other stuff. |
eliz
Citizen
Username: Eliz
Post Number: 669
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 7:35 pm: | |
Ok let me just distance myself from the above diatribe. My only complaint is that the schools shouldn't have closed for a "cold day" when no one was really in danger of perishing a la "into thin air".
Disclaimer: I realize teachers did not make the decision and that it was some evil and overpaid administrator and that all teachers are angels on earth. |
viva
Citizen
Username: Viva
Post Number: 339
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 8:08 pm: | |
millburn was closed on friday fyi
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Montagnard
Citizen
Username: Montagnard
Post Number: 369
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 9:38 pm: | |
The kids welcomed the snow day and were outside sledding. No one seemed too worried about frostbite.
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bookgal
Citizen
Username: Bookgal
Post Number: 460
Registered: 7-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 9:56 pm: | |
Nancy, do you know what the teachers did on Monday? I know that the first grade teachers and probably other elementary teachers spent 5 1/2 hours learning about differentiated instruction in the classroom which is something I believe most parents would like to see. Instead of ranting, why not ask the teachers what they do during staff development days. |
johnny
Citizen
Username: Johnny
Post Number: 803
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 10:32 pm: | |
A whole 5 1/2 hours.... long day.
Why can't they get that instruction sometime between mid-June and early-Sept? Plenty of free days in the summer for professional development. Or does the union only allow professional development on the kids time? |
spw784
Citizen
Username: Spw784
Post Number: 446
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 1:57 am: | |
Johnny - teachers are not employed, technically, during the summer. Teachers are only paid from Sept 1 - Jun 30.
Bookgal & Nancy - just about everyone, K-12, was in that Differentiated Instruction meeting. HS auditorium was packed. |
Duncan
Citizen
Username: Duncanrogers
Post Number: 1438
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 7:43 am: | |
IF YOU CAN READ AND WRITE ON THIS THREAD..
thank a teacher
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take"
Wayne Gretzky |
gemini
Citizen
Username: Gemini
Post Number: 269
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 8:53 am: | |
Hey Duncan,
I read and wrote before school, thanks to my mom. |
nancy
Citizen
Username: Nancy
Post Number: 7
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 10:07 am: | |
Bookgal, I know from a friend who teaches in the district that not only were the teachers excited about Thursday's "day off," as well as Friday's, I also know that not all teachers attended the staff development day. I am totally in favor of constantly learning about one's profession and advances in it, no matter what profession it is. What bothers me and, by the way, a lot of other people, is when days are taken out of the school calendar for training and conferences that the teachers are not REQUIRED to attend. In November, it's their choice whether to go to the annual convention or take their kids to Disney. Sorry, but it's not an unreasonable request. And, FYI, I am in favor of competitive salaries and further education; I also fully understand the hours that good teachers put into their jobs and into teaching my kids. Childish union demands, especially here in this district, have alienated some of our teachers otherwise biggest supporters; me included. |
emmie
Citizen
Username: Emmie
Post Number: 232
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 10:18 am: | |
Nancy, FYI...the teachers are absolutly required to attend staff development days, such as last Monday!
The schools were closed on Friday because the buses wouldn't start. (See Education thread.) |
Tom Reingold
Citizen
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 1775
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 10:33 am: | |
duncan i never learned nothing from no teachers
Tom Reingold the prissy-pants
There is nothing
|
patty
Citizen
Username: Patty
Post Number: 405
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 10:56 am: | |
I must say that I have always considered one hour of classroom time to be intensive enough to equal at least two hours-worth of another job. Add preparation time (homework every night !) and the idea of doing "presentations" several times a day, well.........
And the cancellation was because of trouble with the buses on Friday (not busses, of course, but then didn't we all have trouble puckering up that morning ?  ). |
Diversity Man
Citizen
Username: Deadwhitemale
Post Number: 587
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 2:50 pm: | |
Yeah, their batteries were too cold.
Right!
So, give the bussees, (?) a get out of school pass.
The teachers drive their own buses to work.
Their batteries did not die.
Differentiated intruction in class, dream on.
After four years of college major, graduate school, and seminars and yadda, yadda, yadda teacher development, the staff will learn the new district progressive philosophy, and how to use on students in only five and one-half hours.
Fantastic course.
Are the teaching materials available in the district?
This writer would like to read what the district's best and brightest have wrought.
DWM |
Southorangemom
Citizen
Username: Southorangemom
Post Number: 64
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 3:08 pm: | |
There y'all go again.
The teachers do NOT have a choice about what happens on staff development days; this decision is made by the superintendent and assistant superintendents.
The staff development days are built into the school calendar in ALL districts, not just South Orange-Maplewood.
As for "childish" demands of the union -- want to be more specific?
I hate to see our hard working teachers being bashed for no reason; if there is something or someone you are angry about then vent your spleen in that direction instead of disparaging all teachers.
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Tom Reingold
Citizen
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 1780
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 4:24 pm: | |
I'm ambivalent about the decision to close the schools, but I understand that diesel engines are harder to start than gas engines. And I suppose bigger engines would be harder to start than small ones, especially if we're not equipped to handle temperatures of about 0F.
Tom Reingold the prissy-pants
There is nothing
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spw784
Citizen
Username: Spw784
Post Number: 449
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 4:47 pm: | |
We used to have 2-3 half day staff development days per year - i.e. students would attend school for 4 hours , then teachers would go to meetings from 1:30 - 3:30 - parents apparently felt it was too many shortened sessions and dealing with child care issues was a problem. So now there is NO school on the 2 staff development days and we are in meetings all day. (we had to fill out a form for attendance), Some departments did not have to attend the D I meeting, but there were other staff development activities through out the district for those other staff members.
As for NJEA convention in November - State Law(?) indicates that public school teachers must be given time off without penalty to attend the convention if they choose to. It is likely easier for districts to just close altogether, than to try to find subs for the 50 percent or more of teachers that DO attend the convention.
While I cannot think of any off the top of my head, I'm sure there are some districts that ARE OPEN those 2 days. Their teachers would just be given time off to go. |
Montagnard
Citizen
Username: Montagnard
Post Number: 370
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 10:21 pm: | |
The engines couldn't start? As if it's beyond our District's Transportation Director to have the buses properly prepared for winter?
Clueless. Just clueless. |
sac
Citizen
Username: Sac
Post Number: 871
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 10:34 pm: | |
At some point, it may require somewhat extraordinary measures (sheltered parking, engine heaters, etc.?) to ensure that buses could start in such extreme weather. I suspect that, given the relative rarity of weather such as we had last week, it would not be cost effective (your tax dollars and mine) to do that ...
As someone mentioned earlier, I'm sure that if school had been in session, there would be a raft of complaints about that. No matter how you feel about the administration in general, you've got to agree that making a decision about weather closings in the wee hours of the morning is fraught with difficulty. No matter what decision is made, there are people who will find fault with it. |
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