[speaker001:] all right um serious problems in the public education and what can be done about it
[speaker002:] um well what do you think
[speaker001:] well I that's funny because I just um quit my job to stay home with my kids and um I was a teacher for seven years in the public schools
[speaker002:] oh
[speaker001:] so I know a little bit about it not a whole great deal
[speaker002:] well tell me about it what are what are the problems with public education
[speaker001:] well um there there's some there's several it's such a a broad you know topic that you you you need to boil it down but um one that um
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] I thought was a problem that it's a it I thought it was a serious problem that I'm not sure it's being taken care of right now uh was like bilingual education
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] for um different um minority groups and like Asians and um uh Mexican Americans and and just people in general that speak other languages that sometimes come from other countries or coming from different areas and they and in this area and um as the school district I'm not sure how to go about it because it's hard to get one teacher that speaks all these language and so most of these children are put in um either special ed or a bilingual program
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] and then for just a small amount of time and then they're into their regular classrooms the remaining of the part of the day and so the teachers are not sure how to teach them math when they don't read or speak English
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and so um a lot of the moneys isn't put into that and so these children are just kind of sat in the corner and um you know it there's only so long you can do that and to me that seemed like a big problem in the school districts and a lot of the teachers
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] it not it was not the teacher's fault a lot of the teachers were just not getting the backbone or support that they needed or the materials or the extra help that they needed for these specific children
[speaker002:] do you find that those parents um
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] I've seen the same thing and heard the same things and at the same time I've heard that it's even harder when both parents are required to work and can't spend you know that that time you know typically the mother was at home with uh the children and and at least could kind of keep up on what's going on and really society sort of dictates that uh
[speaker001:] yeah yeah
[speaker002:] you know both the parents work and and um
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] I know I've heard some people talk about just the fact that even as far back as the you know the second and third grade uh if the kids had you know proper reading skills or learned proper reading skills that that would make a lot of difference
[speaker001:] oh yeah oh definitely definitely and it and it teaches language too which is really good um
[speaker002:] yeah well I work at a university and and it's really tough when we're uh uh I I uh work at the University of Texas at Dallas and
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] uh we have uh some pretty selective admissions requirements for incoming freshmen
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and you know there are some students who are in the top ten percent of their class even some who are maybe you know in the top ten uh of their class and their S A T scores are very low and a lot of it has has to do with their uh their reading ability you know their their language and
[speaker001:] yeah oh definitely yeah
[speaker002:] it uh makes it tough because when when you know when they come in with scores that low they may be uh good students but they just haven't achieved to their fullest potential and they're gonna fail unless some sort of remedial uh education is given to them so
[speaker001:] right right
[speaker002:] and then it then it comes into well who's supposed to give it to them the colleges and universities or are they supposed to get that back in the high schools and the junior highs
[speaker001:] well I know Richardson school district has a has a wonderful program in the remedial reading um where you know of course all the children are tested in some time at portion of the year and and uh some children who need extra help are put into this um reading program and it is just excellent it is I wish that
[speaker002:] yep
[speaker001:] all the children could be exposed to that program you know and then there I know that there are some parents that say how do I get my kids in that and yet they don't qualify but unfortunate that they don't qualify because I think everybody would benefit from these programs
[speaker002:] yeah it sounds like it
[speaker001:] it is excellent so
[speaker002:] so how many children do you have at home
[speaker001:] I have two little ones and that's why I I quit my job uh you know I've been teaching since they were gosh newborns and and it just wasn't adding up and you know
[speaker002:] oh
[speaker001:] being a teacher and you see all these parents who are working and working and working and just you know don't have the time time time time it was kind of getting to me where well I'm doing the same thing
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] and so um you know my children are getting older and I was missing out on a lot so I just decided to stay home for a while I don't know how long as long
[speaker002:] well that's good what when