Schools in the VI

http://virginislandsdailynews.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/iphone/homepage.aspx#_article14a518cf-bcef-4f50-aa04-2345ca13058d/waarticle14a518cf-bcef-4f50-aa04-2345ca13058d/14a518cf-bcef-4f50-aa04-2345ca13058d/0/true

An eye opener? Are you surprised?

Not surprising - but only because stateside results are showing the same failings.

The VI public school system has been a cesspool for some time. As a fairly recent graduate, I can attest that the report makes sense.

The study suggests that over 80% of students fail to read at grade level, and over 90% of students fail to possess basic math skills for their grade level. Painful to read.

Imagine how pissed off these students will be when they find out all the < $15 / hour jobs have been taken by robots.

Imagine how pissed off these students will be when they find out all the < $15 / hour jobs have been taken by robots.

Yep. And any raise in the minimum wage will further ravish this demographic.

They're already creating service bots in China.

The education system here is truly trash though. I remember in college when professors would say things like "so everyone should have read this in HS" and all my classmates would nod together while I sat feeling disadvantaged. You had to work extra hard in college to compete. The thing that sucks is you're given the spin if you wanna be a teacher here. I've tried. After you hear a lot of BS you give up on the pipe dream.

this is just so sad

The education system here is truly trash though.

I don't agree with you completely but education standards throughout the US severely deteriorated when the standard of education became linked to the lowest common denominator. The "Leave No Child Behind" was in my opinion a really stupid idea from its concept.

The Smart Assessment program was only started in 2010 so it's still in its formative stages with I think only 15 states currently participating. However, it was a well thought out program and needs to be given a chance to succeed. Anything which seeks to raise the current standards is better than what's been the less than successful "norm" to date.

Yes, I was educated in a whole different "ancient" generation and in my day, in the UK, we had the 11+ exam which determined whether you gained entrance to "grammar school" which concentrated your senior years on higher learning in literature and the arts or "secondary school" (a rather poor choice of words but not with the connotation which would be applied to it today) concentrated more on trade skills. It worked but was later abolished.

Now today in the US generally we have little available for the children with an aptitude for the trades but a plethora of (very expensive) institutions geared towards the MBA and Fine Arts degrees which sound good but translate to diddly squat where the real word is concerned.

We have the same mix in the USVI of kids good with their hands and those on the other side of the fence. There shouldn't even be a darned fence. ALL should have the opportunity to excel at that with which they're most comfortable. Maybe if we DID offer more to those with hands-on skills we wouldn't have to deal with "carpenters" who don't know how to cut 2X4s properly and end up shimming everything, "plumbers" who can't figure out how to properly connect pipes without duct tape and "electricians" who fumble through trial and error routines with an, "oh s***!" when the new outlet they've just installed spurts out flames.

Maybe the Smart Assessment program won't be the answer but maybe it's a step in the right direction.

I'm here now on my second PMV and will accept a High School position teaching math in the public schools. The school I'm currently in suffered a similar fate a few years ago when our state switched to much harder "critical thinking" style questions. We took big dips for several years while we all figured out what's expected. I like the new level of difficulty (but didn't care too much to get my butt chewed out when my students performed poorly). In the end, we now have leveled off to acceptable standards.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to an extremely tough year next school year and hope to live through it!

The teachers here no longer seem to have that passion they exerted and that I truly felt growing up. It seems more like a paycheck. The administration needs to get more involved in the people they are trusting to educate the future of our islands. You can't possibly give the job to someone who doesn't get excited to see a child learn! You just can't.

IMO, parents need to be more involved with their kids and the schools they send them to. Very few even show up to PTA meetings.
If a parent encourages a child to read, there's no reason why a 6th grader can't read at a 2nd year college level with comprehension.

I guess I'll see next year how many parents show up for conferences (if they have them here). I barely have any show up now and I understand that some parents feel that it's the school's responsibility to get the job done but it truly is a three pronged approach...student, parent, and teacher that best gets the job done.

(tu)

Reading, writing and arithmetic got us where most of us are today, yes tech and languages should be taught as well and all that leading should occur in a comfortable safe place. The teachers need a sustainable wage, the empire of administration has to shrink so that education can be funded. Test should try to identify the students talents and give them a path to success. The present state affairs direct correlates to the investment that has been made in (real) education.

The other day in a local market a man asked for 2 dozen filets of fish, the clerk had o idea how many 2 dozen was, another customer had to tell him , get 24 pieces of fish. A quality education system would be the best investment the VI could make.

The education system here is truly trash though. I remember in college when professors would say things like "so everyone should have read this in HS" and all my classmates would nod together while I sat feeling disadvantaged.

YES!!! People don't understand how much of an accomplishment it is to make something of yourself after starting off so many grade levels behind. It takes a certain amount of gumption that would serve a corporation or government agency well. People like you, JahrustyFerrari, etc should be hailed as heroes. Instead, rap groups are granted holidays and invited to speak to the young people.

The education system here is truly trash though.

I don't agree with you completely but education standards throughout the US severely deteriorated when the standard of education became linked to the lowest common denominator. The "Leave No Child Behind" was in my opinion a really stupid idea from its concept.

The Smart Assessment program....

When I say the school system here is trash I'm only speaking from experience. I'm not even talking about the assessment or the mainland.

I went to public school from elementary to high school and honestly I barely had memorable teachers. I had a few that pushed me so I remember them but most were just there for the paycheck. I understand that mentality because they're trying to get by on the island but if you're a teacher you teach. It's not just the teacher's fault because there's some bad ass kids that disrupted everyone. I see the same bad ass kids working for the government and my valedictorian from elementary is out here looking like life got him by the balls. (people change, I know, but perspective..) The parents are to blame too. There's also a bad habit to pick on smart kids so I used to do average work. When I was in college I looked back at my high school education and shook my head.

We gotta overhaul the school system. I know people are going to cry foul but we need some young blood in there that ran the same halls these students are in now. I want the Virgin Islands to change so the focus should be the youth. There's more to the problem that's outside the school system that affects the school system. I'm aware of this but when you're able to see your teachers in public on a regular basis I feel like the experience should be more nurturing.

Couldn't agree more!