WTF? In class school trips?

[rage2]

Originally posted by J-hop
Wait, you mean to tell me you got a day off class and you filed a complaint!?!?

Technically, he got a day off plus a refund. 100% Win. The little details that separates brown from yellow.

[suntan]

Originally posted by HiTempguy1


The parents have agreed (god forbid it ever happens :p ) that they will absolutely help fund private school for their possible someday grandchildren (I will fund it myself either way). My mother being a teacher, she hates the public system. It is absolutely insane some of the initiatives Alberta Education has enacted.

LOL.

#1 rule of schools: the socio-economic status of your family is the #1 determinate of student success.

[freshprince1]

Originally posted by AndyL
Ok help me out... Are we the only ones getting suckered by this BS?

Get a field trip form sent home... Ok... Great!

They aren't leaving the classroom? A Edmonton company (teachers pet educational services) is coming to do a presentation on the Inuit.

Oh and we still have to sign... And pay 14$

My kid had the same thing. Okotoks?

[AndyL]

Facebook tells me it's almost all the schools down in Okotoks and high River

[speedog]

Originally posted by schurchill39
I don't ever remember my parents having to ever pay for field trips back in the day. It was always "sign this form and make sure they have a lunch"

Hah, got you beat - there weren't even forms when I was in grade school (yeah, ages ago) but then there were no photocopiers back then either, only mimeograph machines. Bus showed up, teachers and kids got on and off we went - often the parents didn't even know we had gone on a field trip.

[MalibuStacy]

Okay, so I by no means think that this particular situation is a good idea, as this is something which would be covered in the program of study and the teacher could have done the exact same activity with his/her students without paying extra.

From a teacher standpoint though...

I personally think some of the in school activities such as Alien inline are great cause they offer an alternative to normal gym and a subject which many teachers do not have experience with.

I think this teachers pet thing is a scam, and I don't support it.

Another thing to note is Alberta Education only goes with the "fads" in education rather than basing their programs on research.

As for the costs of modern schooling, well its the same argument I make about when people complain about taxes. Everyone wants things from the government for free; be it education, roads, or healthcare. But the kicker is that you cannot just simply create these things without revenue. People want things, but they don't want to pay for them.

In education this is even more tricky because our funding has never really been adequate (and now inflation makes it worse), and when we do receive funding we have to portion it in certain ways. Typically the biggest focus is on the IPP's and the supplies. But again every admin team portions their funds differently. Real field trips don't actually need to happen and in many ways create more headaches for teachers than if they had just stayed in, as we have to justify to parents and to admin as to why we feel this trip is an enriching experience. Then we have to fill all the consent forms and so on.

Before you al go on berating me on my thoughts, again, I don't think this particular in class "field trip" is a good idea, but some are, as long as they expand or introduce something the teacher cannot cover.

I have a lot of grievances with the ed. system but your damned if you do, damned if you don't

[AndyL]

Originally posted by MalibuStacy


I think this teachers pet thing is a scam, and I don't support it.

Another thing to note is Alberta Education only goes with the "fads" in education rather than basing their programs on research.

So I'm not totally out in deep space wondering wtf?

I don't have experience with these, I love the lunchtime rollerblading etc - kids just got signed up for ski lessons through school. All that I'm ok with.

But making parents pay to bring someone in to teach part of the curriculum in class? That's just rubbing me the wrong way. I don't see how that's my responsibility to cover those costs... (Meanwhile posting on Facebook tells me we actually have some Inuit family In the school - who would have been willing to come in and share - for free!

[gwill]

my sons school made us sign a waiver for a school trip to the gym. That was my wtf moment this year... its not a school trip if they arent leaving the school and if we needed to sign a waiver for that "trip" shouldnt we be signing waivers every day for every other class?

It blew my mind.. but whatever.

Should be interesting to hear what your school says regarding the fee you have to pay. Overall its not a big deal but i can see your point of view. Only issue with it is using the same arguement for all trips the school does.

[MalibuStacy]

Originally posted by AndyL


So I'm not totally out in deep space wondering wtf?

I don't have experience with these, I love the lunchtime rollerblading etc - kids just got signed up for ski lessons through school. All that I'm ok with.

But making parents pay to bring someone in to teach part of the curriculum in class? That's just rubbing me the wrong way. I don't see how that's my responsibility to cover those costs... (Meanwhile posting on Facebook tells me we actually have some Inuit family In the school - who would have been willing to come in and share - for free!

To me it seams wrong, I think a "field trip" should be off campus and supplemental or enriching to the curriculum.

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by suntan
LOL.

#1 rule of schools: the socio-economic status of your family is the #1 determinate of student success.

True story.

Have a relative going to rosedale elementary. Regular CBE program, but they have a lot of materials donated by parents, and they have a parent helping in most classes nearly every day.

#toorichtoworkFTW

[craigcd]

Seems a bit odd, however I would likely still sign my son up and not really think about the cost. The cost of grade school is way cheaper than the preschool(daughter) I pay for haha

What drives me nuts is the fundraising they push on kids.....book orders, vegetable orders, meat orders, magazine orders.

I would rather you spare the sales pitch on my 6 year old and me donate 10$ directly. I am sure it takes a ton of orders to accumulate any kind of revenue for the school anyway.

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by craigcd
Seems a bit odd, however I would likely still sign my son up and not really think about the cost. The cost of grade school is way cheaper than the preschool(daughter) I pay for haha

What drives me nuts is the fundraising they push on kids.....book orders, vegetable orders, meat orders, magazine orders.

I would rather you spare the sales pitch on my 6 year old and me donate 10$ directly. I am sure it takes a ton of orders to accumulate any kind of revenue for the school anyway.

Back when I had more money, I got kind of pissy about this with my kids school. Ended up having a very illuminating discussion with the school administrator.

Anyway, apparently most of those fundraisers range between 20% and 50% of gross revenue going back to the school. For one particular magazine fundraiser, even which title you ordered changed the percentage that came back.

In the end, yes, your dollars are more effective donated directly, and every school should be set up to take a cheque right from you.

[MalibuStacy]

Thread Bump!

Found out a little more about this organization. Many of the people involved with this program are people who have BEd's but have never taught, and often take on characters for the sake of the program being paid for.

As a teacher my personal opinion is that you need to observe the program and use it as needed. Some of their programs are actually quite good (they often bring in materials and kits which the average school cannot access), but ultimately the teacher needs to be aware of what they ordered.

[Hallowed_point]

This has got to be a joke