Letter: Hire a Marine to run the schools

As a member and former president of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, I can tell you why we have “failing schools” in this parish:

• Board politics.
• No support for principals.
• Absolutely no support for teachers.

We had a plan that would have eliminated the insane busing of children in this parish and could only muster five of seven votes needed to forward it to the federal judge.

I was on Jim Engster’s radio show one morning, and he asked me what it would take to improve public schools. My reply raised his eyebrows when I said, “Abolish the School Board and hire a retired Marine Corps commandant to run the system.” (You can see the futility of 12 board members trying to hire their friends, posture for re-election and make parents happy when their children get in trouble at school ... by overruling the principal. Superintendent John Dilworth proved that. He couldn’t get out of town fast enough.)

We lost a lot of quality teachers because they couldn’t control the undisciplined classrooms. The principals couldn’t back up the teachers because the School Board wouldn’t back up the principals. Classrooms are disrupted by youngsters who don’t want to be there and don’t want to learn. Parents expect the teachers to transform their children into model citizens without any help from the parents. Who wants a classroom with disruptive children you have no control over, and you are expected to bring them up to a higher grade level without any support from your supervisor? Plus, they are going to grade you as a teacher on how out-of-control children do on a test!

Maybe a retired Marine Corps commandant is not so silly after all!

The one thing I learned after 10 years on the School Board is this: “Show me a good school, and I’ll show you a good principal!”

A good principal, with support from the central office and the School Board, can do wonders in a school. Ask Phyllis Crawford. Ask Sherry Harris. Ask Jerry Boudreau. Ask Jerry Epperson. ...

I support the new southeast district, and I hope the Legislature pushes it through just as it did Zachary, Baker and Central — primarily because the southeast parents would get involved. More importantly, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board would be under a microscope to prove to the taxpayer that it can fight its way out of this total lack of accountability and poor performance.

It would be a bold, progressive move for Baton Rouge. I just hope the Legislature recognizes the opportunity.

Jim Talbot

real estate broker

Baton Rouge

Comments

1) Comment by twinkie1cat - 25/05/2012

Nimby, I don't negate the social value of inclusion, especially for very young students and when the actual academic content is manageable and peer modeling is an important part of the learning process. But as kids get older they have to be able to keep up academically and don't believe they don't know when they can't. As they approach middle school, however, peer pressure becomes a major problem and not fitting in the greatest tragedy in life. I taught special education for 27 years and, to tell the truth a lot of the kids, especially the older ones, orthopedically impaired with learning disabilities and a lot of the other students, especially the LDs and EBDs were in agony in inclusion classes. In fact the second year I did high school I was forced to take a regular ed, 10th grade homeroom and my kids were spread out among regular homerooms. Whenever we had extended homeroom I would hear the crutches and wheelchairs headed down the hall to my room as soon as they could escape. They didn't want to be around a lot of regulars especially in an unstructured situation. They wanted to be with their peers. My girl who had a degenerative disease was actually petrified and cried until I just had her delivered to my room every morning. Now these were tough, inner city, public housing kids 15-21 years old. Two had abusive,alcoholic mothers. They drank beer and smoked marijuana and some had sex. They formed a posse to take care of each other against bullies and fought among themselves. But they wanted to be around people who did not think they were crazy (meaning retarded) because they walked or talked differently. There were only 2 who liked the regular classes. Likewise a group in another system had a study skills elective with their peers to help them with their work, deal with concerns and give them time to attend to their hygiene. Most of them were in regular except for that block. That period was when they could let their hair down, stop being "courageous", not be considered slow as some regular ed. teachers assumed they were (One was actually gifted, but had an aneurysm at 13 and was partially paralyzed. He now goes to Georgia State. This group also needed to talk about things that only concerned them----like a hot physical therapist several went to, how it was awful to be handicapped and even the hassles of catheterization. My freshman was too shy to tell a teacher she did not want to be located next to her desk and came to me crying. She could transfer easily and wanted to sit in a regular seat. I took care of that. These were middle class kids. The inner city kids said being disabled was not a bad thing. It just "is". They could have never been themselves in inclusion classes. The LDs and BDs were the same way. They did not want anyone to know they had to have things read to them, that they sometimes got really hyper, or that they could not do math. It was embarrassing. And it was not something a regular teacher is equipped to handle without embarrassment. A few did not, but most liked self- contained classes. And there is nothing worse than a girl with Behavior Disorders with PMS in a regular Biology class! Kids with disabilities are rarely fully accepted by regulars as peers any more than gay kids are. The only one I had who was was the kid with the aneurysm. He was also a talented football player and wrestler as well as gifted and personable and retained some of the love after his illness. But it was hard for him too.

2) Comment by nimby? - 24/05/2012

twinkie , many students need understanding , many more need discipline . because of standardized testing many normal students are falsely labeled with a learning disability . this stigma leads many to quit school . I have a good friend who was a former special ed teacher at capitol middle who is now an asst. principal at another middle school . he advocates , when possible , a blend of students . according to him it creates a sense of understanding amongst all while promoting the self esteem of the special ed kids . like you I would love to save the world , realizing I can't I do the best I can with what I've got to work with , haven't given up yet ....

3) Comment by 8point6 - 24/05/2012

nimby: Agreed. I think my high school coaches were former drill sergeants. It was always, "yes sir/no sir" to them. Mr. Talbot: great letter!

4) Comment by timesright - 24/05/2012

So, agree, twinkie1cat! Oct. 1 will tell the story.

5) Comment by dday198 - 24/05/2012

moose Stewart was at I H S i lived though it.

6) Comment by dday198 - 24/05/2012

truth? you can't handle the truth.

7) Comment by tradewinns - 24/05/2012

to properly handle children, you must properly handle the parent(s). in the lower performing schools the parents are about as interested in their children's education as i am in getting dental work w/o novocaine. the SB's are not interested in blaming the parents as they have a political career mapped out which requires not making anyone mad at them. what is needed is for the state legislature to pass a law which holds the parents/guardian fiscally responsible for every day their kid disrupts learning at school. nothing gets one's attention like the loss of money. HOWEVER, the fine must be universal. whether you are wealthy or welfare, YOU WILL PAY THE FINE. if the "needy" don't have the money, the state takes it out of their assistance the next check. if implimented and actually done, you would see a remarkable change in discipline in the classroom and an improvement in scores. while marines are as tough as they come, they wouldn't last a week in one of our present schools. on the first day the lawyers would be lined up to protect the students "rights", with the accompanying lawsuits. sad but true.

8) Comment by twinkie1cat - 24/05/2012

Well,teacher guy you got one thing right about getting rid of the problem kids AFTER the October1 count. That is just one of the devious things the charters are doing. (You have to be a teacher to understand he significance of the Count. It tells how much money a school or system is gong to get for the year. It is based on how many students are present on October 1st.) These charters are doing some devious stuff too, beyond shipping kids after October 1, they are also getting rid of them right before the standardized testing to jack their scores. There were a whole bunch transferred from Capital High right before testing and you know they weren't the high functioning ones. They went to Tara, which used to be a good school. I know a teacher there and he got about 45 more students in his classes coming from Capital. This will continue and get worse as the publics are used as dumping grounds for kids the charters want the money for but don't want to be responsible for. The funding needs to change to a month-to-month basis with the schools rewarded for low attrition. However, it should not penalize the kids who move out of the parish, just the ones who switch from charters to regulars. What do you expect from schools run by for-profit organizations. This is all part of the effort by Jindal to privatize education and then essentially make it available only to those who can afford to pay. And I just wonder how much the Diocese contributes to his campaign fund?

9) Comment by twinkie1cat - 24/05/2012

Yes, the three problems of the schools in EBR are the result of lack of support. That is the problem in every system that has trouble. It is also the problem with Louisiana's state government. Everyone is out for himself and his own agenda. It's great to see someone who does not believe the teachers are the root of all evil. If you did special education right and placed disruptive students in self contained EBD classes there would be much less disruption because the highly trained teachers could treat their problems and help them learn. Kids with high GPAs are rarely disruptive unless they have emotional problems or conditions like Aspergers or severe ADHD. Do special ed correctly and you get good results. But you can't buy a Cadillac for the price of a Kia. And inclusion is the cheapest way to do special ed. And I found EBR unwilling to even test for disabilities. But no, you do not hire a Marine as superintendent. That would not solve ANY problems because the military is a dictatorship that does not allow for individual differences or real problem solving. They just boss people around and scream and berate them. No, you hire a SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER as your leader. Special educators are highly skilled in working out differences, acting in the best interest of the students, advocacy and leadership. Also, special educators are peacemakers and bridge builders because they spend their careers fighting for the kids the regulars don't want to be bothered with. EBR does not need a dictator. That would just breed more resentment. It needs someone who will bring it together and get the various factions to get along. If they cannot get a special ed. teacher, preferably Severe Disabilities, maybe they need to pull former president Jimmy Carter out of retirement. He calmed a lot of special interest groups down and even got enemy countries to get along, but the Republicans did not like him because he was a real Christian and even the Democrats could not manipulate him.

10) Comment by DMJ - 24/05/2012

The breakaway school district will improve things for some...make things worse for others (most). It's a very American plan, if you think about it...

11) Comment by nimby? - 24/05/2012

could not agree more . one more suggestion , hire former drill sergeants as asst. principals ......

12) Comment by teacherguy - 23/05/2012

The links are dead, so google search the following "austin chronicle dropout rates" and "houma today reforming education"

13) Comment by teacherguy - 23/05/2012

What you charter/voucher proponents are failing to realize is one thing...after the Oct. 1 pay day, these unruly/apathetic students spoken of by Mr. Talbot will be released from these charters/privates and put back into public schools that won't get funding to educate these little turds. Public schools have personnel specifically hired to create "behavior modification plans", alternative schools, options programs, etc. for just such students. These public schools will have to take them, without cash to work with them...or these deviants will be roaming the streets while you are at work!!! And where will the taxpayer money be? In some for-profit charter company's bank account! I agree the southeast district should be able to separate as a public school entity...before the charters begin the plunder of the poverty stricken areas of the inner city district. If they don't separate now, their kids will be stuck in a cost cutting to pocket profit charter school...or in an underfunded public school. http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2012-04-27/study- dropout-rates-for-blacks-higher-in-charters/ TEACHERS ARE SCREAMING THIS REFORM IS A BAD IDEA, and no one seems to be listening to the experts...just the underwhelming inexperienced John White and legislators that have never even tried to lead a group of students in reciting the pledge. For reform teachers would agree with http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20120516/ARTICLES/12051 9773/1026/news01?p=1&tc=pg