Education
High school students in Newark are having a hard time getting the education they deserve. The Newark Teachers Union placed billboards in northern NJ calling for action against the large number of recent murders within the city. The billboards state that many teachers do not want to work in Newark schools because of this violence. Shortly after this, a group called Teacher’s Union Exposed put up billboards blaming the unions of protecting Newark teachers who are not fit to work in the schools. Both groups say that giving more money to Newark schools than other New Jersey schools isn’t helping students do better.
Do you think the government should fire bad teachers when there might not be good teachers to replace them? Would decreasing violence in the city open the doors to more good teachers? How can we decrease violence when it is so hard to graduate high school and get a good job? What can the government of Newark do?
December 9th, 2007 at 11:33 am
DOUBLE SALARIES TO 1ST GRADE TEACHERS - tHEY WOR THE HARDEST AND GET AID THE LEAST
December 9th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
fire the bad ones- one good teacher is better than 10 bad ones. ay th egood ones extra to make them stay.
December 22nd, 2007 at 10:15 am
Perhaps a better solution would be to educate existing and upcoming teachers about the culture of violence in Newark and how to weaken its hold on the area. Firing teachers will only perpetuate the stereotype that those in the area cannot be taught. Teach everyone and things will get better.
December 23rd, 2007 at 3:01 pm
if safety is the concern then the students mite as well go to a different school if violence decreased of course there would be more teachers. i think that if there are schools that need more money for special purposes such as decreasing the violence then they should get that money. other schools should not go against it because they are not in the same position as the school experiencing it
December 24th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
I think that the reason there is a lot of violence is that people are not trying to do anything about it. they just sit back and watch what is happening because they think that if they get involved they may get killed too. So many gangs are around that area that you can’t walk outside without wondering if you are gonna get a drive-by. So it is mostly the towns fault because they should have done something about that a long time ago. Or else things wpould have been better.
December 29th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Can anyone define a bad teacher? People have different opinions on the work ethics.
December 30th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Obviously, bad teachers need to be screened out of the system — they do the children no good. Simultaneously, the city must do what it can to lessen the amount of violence. However, violence in the city is just symptomatic of other issues: poverty, inadequate supports for families, too few role models from with whom the kids identify, and a general lack of hope. These issues must be addressed in order to stop the violence. If addressed, then good teachers will come to the cities. Pouring money into the school without addressing the needs of the families and the neighborhoods is not a solution. Violence can only be fought and hope restored if there are multiple services delivered to families and communities, and delivered in a way that really reaches the intended recipients. Now that power has changed in Newark, there may be a greater chance of that happening. We’ll see…
December 31st, 2007 at 12:54 pm
i THINK THE BAD TEACHERS SHOULD BE FIRED. THEY ARE DOING MORE BAD THAN GOOD
January 2nd, 2008 at 11:05 am
thank god for homeschooling!!!
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Before berating ‘bad teachers’ - whatever that is - we need to look at what the link between a bad teacher and school violence actually is. I agree with the earlier post which stated that violence in schools is a product of other factors related to the kid’s domestic environment - which, most notably, is a lack of good role models, and a lack of discipline. Children are also violent because it is a way of expressing themselves, and a way of attracting attention that they may not be otherwise receiving at home. Most importantly, violence stems from a lack of love in the domestic environment.
School violence cannot be dealt with by directly punishing the children. One must begin with a presumption that each child is inherently good, and not inherently bad. Kids are violent/angry/disruptive for a reason - not because it is their own nature. I’m not sure what the nature of teacher training is, but they should definitely be sensitised to children behaviour, and why they act in the manner that they do. The key is for teachers to understand why children act the way they do.
January 6th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
give the teachers what they want
January 16th, 2008 at 11:14 am
i think, personally that mr. delshad at East Side High School should get a big fat raise because he is the best teacher at east side….. yeah. coool
January 16th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Personally I think people should stop feeling sorry for themselves and stop blaming the teachers and the government and so on and do something about their own futures. That is the problem with todays inner cities and low income communities. The expect the government to do everything for them and they do nothing for themselves. That’s why they are where they are today. I was raised in the worst areas without food or anything and I rose above that became a lawyer and am very wealthy now because I wanted it not because the government gave it to me I did it by MYSELF. gET OFF YOUR BUTTS AND OWN UP TO IT AND WANT IT, DON’T DEPEND ON ANYONE TO GIVE YOU ANYTHING!
January 16th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
They need to Man Up.
January 16th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Who exactly is they? I’m a resident of Newark and was born and raised there. I believe it starts with the homes, many kids don’t have role models or their parents are on drugs. I am one of those people but I don’t allow that to keep me down. My mother is on drugs and I never knew my father, I’m one of the lucky ones. I think government should pay more attention to the parents. If the household is in order then the child should be to. The main problem occurred when drugs starting coming into this country but the government won’t do anything about that because they’re the ones bringing it here. STOP THE VIOLENCE, STOP THE DRUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 18th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
I think that if teachers are being bad to their students they should be fired no matter WHAT!!! Even if there are no good ones to replace them, we can always squeeze them in somewhere!
January 21st, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Throwing money at the problem hasn’t seemed to solve anything - I think part of the problem is that you have parents that aren’t involved in the schools or in their children’s education - they think that their responsibility ends with getting their kids to go to school and not enforcing good study habits etc when the kids are at home. I think that having smaller classes helps as the kids get more attention but i also think that the government should fund more after school programs like they have at boys and girls clubs so the kids aren’t wandering around after school getting into trouble.
January 29th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Bad teachers should be sent for further training. If they are unable to pass additional training and become better teachers, they should be fired. To hedge violence in school, serious security should be in place, including proper bag and body search for each person entering the building. Also, there should be a school zone around the school where there is a greater police presence to deter violence.
Better teachers will also be more willing to come to more dangerous areas when enticed with better pay and policed parking lots close to the school.
February 16th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
teachers deserve to be rewarded for good erformance just lie in the rivate sector.
February 16th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
I believe that teachers saying that they dont want to wor in Newar because of the violence is a silly excuse. If they really want the violence to sto maybe they should rovide the students with the required education that they need so that they will see them in class studying hysics instead of on the corner studying drugs and a ninem millimeter. In order for there to be a change in Newar, they need to see a change first.
February 16th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
If a teacher is not qualified for the job, they should be fired. It is a waist of the government’s money and the students time. Thats simle enough. Just lie Donald Tromh. ” You’re fired ! “
February 18th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
you have to start with the children, mac it clear to them that violence will not be tolerated (and I don’t mean by time in jail). There are no meaningful consequences anymore, the ones that will sto offenders from offending.
February 19th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
well i thin that having bad teachers is doing no good to anyone. of you cant find good teachers to relace them you might have to cut the enrollement in the school because of that. another idea is to mae the good teachers feel safer by adding more security to the schools, then maybe the better teachers would be more inclined to teach there.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:33 am
this is not fair to the students they should try and help the teachers that are not doing a good job. they should be taught how to be better teachers. they cannot let people have no teachers at all. if there are no teachers to replace them then they should try and better the teachers they have.
March 22nd, 2008 at 10:16 am
The blame starts with the politics at the top. bad administrators and superintendents should be held accountable for making sure parent programs are in place to assist parents to be active participants in the learning experience of their children. often times teachers are blamed for the performance of students and in fact they are trying to satisfy requirements imposed by adminstration
March 22nd, 2008 at 2:56 pm
For every “bad” teacher in a school there are five good ones who can’t get the support they need from administrators, parents, and students so they can do their work.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Newark needs a greater police presence to reduce crime. Teacher salaries should be higher to attract well-qualified professionals.
April 17th, 2008 at 10:28 am
i say keep the good teacher because they help the student do good and the bad teachers fire the or put the in better training so they can do better and the kids what they want and need a education and don’t disapoint the others of the child and the child
May 1st, 2008 at 9:17 am
Well, I believe that they should fire the bad teachers because it gives another teacher a chance to show what they got. Also, the bad teachers are hindering the learning experience which is obvious.
May 31st, 2008 at 8:41 am
Teachers_can_only_do_so_much_when_the_culture_of_violence_starts_at_home.
Society_needs_to_address_the_issues_that_cause_inner_city_children_to_turn_to_violence.
Once_this_issue_is_dealt_with,then_the_good_teachers_will_be_able_to_stand_out_and_be_rewarded
while_underacheiving_teachers_will_be_dealt_with.
June 7th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Teachers are faced with difficult situations and challenges no atter where they teach. I teach in a very affluent school district, yet we are the second lowest paid district in the state of New ersey. Doesn’t e working fro 7 in the orning til 5 at night count the sae as a teacher in Newark?
June 7th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Not at all. I work with kids and trust e it’s not teachers. i think parents need to get involved as well in the education of their kids.
June 18th, 2008 at 9:55 am
this is such a sad situation. aww. I feel bad for the fa-shings there. sad. ok get really good teachers. stop the voilence.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:27 am
I absolutely did not write those ridiculous poorly written statements listed above. I am imagining one of the teachers from Team Academy in Newark wrote that since they were really pissed about the Newark Teacher’s Campaign. I am an academic scholar I would NEVER write any garbage like that. In fact, I believe most of these comments were written by the same idiot person. How lame is this…really, get a life!
June 25th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
we should invest in prograns that can help to educate the ‘bad’ teachers and help to nake then into nore professional or efficient teachers.
June 27th, 2008 at 7:00 am
Teacher’s should be paid based on test scores. Core content teachers (Math and English) should have stipends, since they do more.
June 28th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
With the rate of teachers declining due to the baby booers (note the letter for the previous word does not work, so it would look as if I was using the incorrect text), and the generation X’ers not wanting or seeing the potential for the need of teachers in the work force, there has to be a standard that teachers ust achieve and be copensated accordingly. This story is not black and white but totally gray- you will have people who are feeling that “teachers have the suers off” entality, but don’t know that the teachres do not get paid when they are off- and have to take one or two ore obs to ake ends eet. “Walk in soeone’s shoes for a day, and you’ll have a different outlook.”
July 1st, 2008 at 2:55 pm
With all due respect, I must disagree with John. Tests, standardlized or otherwise, are terrible representations of academic prowess, and thus the aptitude of the instructor. While I agree that a single good teacher, especially a core teacher, is worth the salary of several poor teachers, this will only breed teachers who teach toward tests, rather than giving the students a proper understanding of the subject. Even worse, we’ll experience even more “grade inflation”, as teachers use lighter grading and easier exams to raise grades. Grade inflation is bad enough already, we hardly want to provide another incentive for it.
July 17th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Look. I think the y shhould not fire but reeducate the teachers because if the teachers sare fired it causes ore probles for the state and city
July 24th, 2008 at 8:12 am
I can definitely see where the teachers are coing fro (the button next to n is not working) because who wants to work in a school where they do not feel safe. I would not. Less violence equals interested teachers because they feel they dont have to fear for their lives when they go to work.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
have students say their opinions about teachers and then fire all the bad ones and keep all the good ones and then have a place where there are new people who want to be teachers and then the students will rate, and then the school will have good teachers.
July 29th, 2008 at 8:40 am
You cannot fire the bad teachers if you dont have better teachers to replace the. who’s going to teach the students if you fire all the teachers?? Having too few teachers would ean classroo sizes are b bigger and students dont get the attention they need.
Yes, putting a stop to the crie will bring better teachers to newark schools.
August 2nd, 2008 at 7:27 pm
My daughter’s attended a newark public school for one year. That was it for me one year. The following year I used someone’s adress so they could go to a school outside of the city. I was in that school more than my children. The one teacher treated my daughter as a friend. Passed her when she did not meet the required grades on tests and other things throughout the year. My other daughter was afraid to go to school because there was always a fight in her classroom. Because of one of these fights my daughter was hit with a chair. This was a girl who wanted to learn who was now afraid to go to school. It didn’t help when the teacher was also afraid of the students and/or the parents. My other daughter had something spill on her and she was left unattended in a bathroom with nothing on below the waist. Meanwhile there is construction going on in the school right next to the bathroom she was in. I raised all kinds of noise in that school. I could tell you stories for days like the gang writing all through the halls, the children recruiting new gang members in the school or even selling drugs right there in the school. I think the responsibility does lie with the teachers and staff of the schools.
You send your child to school with the hope they will get the education they need to suceed in the future. If you have the “bad teachers” teaching your children you worry if they will get the most from their education. Not all of the teachers are “bad teachers”. I think the one teacher of my daughter was not a bad teacher she was afraid. I think the Newark public school systems better reevaluate how things are done in there schools. Take action against those who do not live up to whatever the standards are supposed to be or is that the problem the standards are not set high? The problem also is with the parents of the children. If you do not stand up and demand that your child gets the best education regardless of where you live you are responsible. I was in that school everyday. They told me (joking) I should apply for a job at the school I was there so much. You know what they would not be able to pay me enough to work in that school system unless there were some drastic changes.
To the people of Newark get together and get your city right. Then we would not have these blogs about “good and bad teachers” of Newark, NJ. We would be blogging about the outstanding success of our children with the help from both the parents and educators.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:29 am
I believe that education anywhere has its ups and downs. Being in a difficult enviorment is just another issue to worry about. Problematic students in Newark should be properly disiplined, teachers should be offered more money for a more difficult teaching job, and be devotly dedicated to their profession. Children are the future to a brighter tomorrow.
August 12th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
don’t necessairly fire the bad teachers, but educate them so that they can improve there methods. there aren’t enough people out there that all are good at teaching and can keep up with the standards mandated by the government. the more the teachers are educated, then the more the students will be educated, cutting back on violence on the streets, and improving on our country’s needs.
August 13th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
We should fire the bad teachers.I believe this is a good idea because if we show teachers that Newark is a good city we can get better teachers
August 14th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
i think up coming teachers should know whats going on and understand that all of the newark kids are not bad they should want to teach them and help them find there way to the good life instead of telling them how bad they are because if you do that then your not helping them as teachers u are just doing what every body else is doing , hurting there feelings and making them think they amount to nothing
August 21st, 2008 at 10:57 am
GET RID OF THE BAD TEACHERS IMMEDIATELY!!! DON’T JUST FIRE OR SUSPEND THEM, TAKE THEIR TEACHING LICENSES AWAY FROM THEM FOR GOOD. PUT ON THEIR PERMANENT RECORD WHY THEY WERE FIRED AND THEY WERE STRIPPED OF THEIR LICENSES SO THAT WAY IT MAKES IT HARDER FOR THEM TO GET A TEACHING JOB ANY WHERE ELSE IN THE COUNTRY. THEN START STRICTLY DISCIPLINING THE TROUBLE MAKERS WITHIN THE SCHOOL…OUT OF SCHOOL SUSPENSION DOES NO GOOD!! IT JUST GIVES THEM A FEW DAYS OFF TO GET THEMSELVES INTO MORE TROUBLE…DUH! START PAYING THE GOOD TEACHERS MORE AND SHOW THEM THAT THEY REALLY ARE APPRECIATED FOR THE JOB THAT THEY ARE DOING. INSTITUTE A “NO TOLERANCE” POLICY WITHIN THE SCHOOL AND A FEW HUNDRED YARDS AROUND THE SCHOOL PERIMETER. IT’S NOT THE TEACHER’S PROBLEM THAT THESE KIDS ARE GETTING INTO TROUBLE AND/OR FAILING…IT’S THEIR PARENT(S)/GUARDIAN(S) FAULT!!! THEY NEED TO MORE INVOLVED IN THEIR CHILD’S EDUCATION MORE AS WELL. IF THE KIDS HAD MORE SUPPORT AND INVOLVEMENT AT HOME, MAYBE THEY’D BE MORE INCLINED TO MAKE SOMETHING OF THEMSELVES.
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:33 pm
It’s clear that sub-par teachers need to be let go ASAP. In ANY organization, workers are culled according to their skill level. Teachers are no different - they need to go…..