[speaker001:] do you see anything wrong with public school systems
[speaker002:] well yes I do um I think I'm concerned about the large number of children that each teacher is expected to to deal with in some quality way I think maybe we've given our teachers a almost impossible job
[speaker001:] I agree
[speaker002:] do you do you have children in the public school system
[speaker001:] yes and I taught for fourteen years
[speaker002:] is that right
[speaker001:] before we moved to Texas and the the one thing I see is changing is I was held accountable so much I had to document and create a paper chase for all of my students and instead of spending my time coming up with creative learning stations and things like that I was filling out all these forms for all the children
[speaker002:] you you were a bookkeeper oh
[speaker001:] everything had to be documented and I had file cabinets that weren't filled with neat stuff for kids it was filled with documentation
[speaker002:] oh no well um I'm I have three years toward a teaching degree and am trying to get headed back and and I'm just really in a dilemma if that's what you know I'd love
[speaker001:] yes
[speaker002:] to work with children and to teach them but I'm really having questions if if I can deal with that system and and have a good conscience about you know what I do I don't think
[speaker001:] me too
[speaker002:] I don't think it's the teachers I think it's the system but um
[speaker001:] I think so too they're so worried about lawsuits and the scores that children get on tests now
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] and teacher competency you know and it's not like the teacher can just get in there and do her best she's always worried whose looking over her shoulder and
[speaker002:] what child's gonna say something some parent's going to overreact to that's
[speaker001:] that's right I know
[speaker002:] that's true well it's it's hard on the children too I think you know because the um the teachers are overworked and just like a mommy that's overworked you're not at your best you know um and
[speaker001:] that's right do you have children in the system
[speaker002:] I have two I have uh in the system one is in ninth grade and one is in seventh grade and them um I'm home schooling my kindergartner this year
[speaker001:] ah
[speaker002:] we um live in a district that has open classrooms and I wasn't particularly comfortable with that for her
[speaker001:] yep are you in Plano yep I am too and I have one in ninth grade at Clark and one at Hendrick this year and he my ninth my uh sixth grader came from an open classroom at Matthews
[speaker002:] yes you too
[speaker001:] and the very first year I taught back in seventy three we had open classroom and it didn't work then and when we moved down here I was just appalled that they were still doing it here
[speaker002:] oh still at it well the explanation I was was given about you know they they seemed to admit that it wasn't working but they didn't have the money to restructure but looks to me that it wouldn't take really that much money to at least come up with I mean some kind of partitions you know
[speaker001:] partitions or just to face the children different directions or to do something
[speaker002:] just yeah
[speaker001:] I know last year my son had to eat in the classroom because there was no cafeteria at his school so he spent all day in this one large open area
[speaker002:] oh goodness oh
[speaker001:] so I didn't really care for that it seems like the schools in Michigan were much better than they are down here
[speaker002:] were they
[speaker001:] that was our last tour up in Michigan
[speaker002:] well we were from North um Carolina and of course North North Carolina has a terrible reputation as far as education I think they rank about forty ninth but our children got a very good education there they were in the magnet school program
[speaker001:] oh um-hum
[speaker002:] and a lot of their classes from the time they were about third grade they they changed classes several times during the day which has its pros and cons but a lot of their classes there were only eight or ten children in their classes
[speaker001:] oh wow
[speaker002:] and it was wonderful so you know I'm coming to to Plano thinking well gosh it's going to be really great it's ranked so much better
[speaker001:] yes yes that's right we heard wonderful things about it till we actually got in the system
[speaker002:] isn't that interesting I I I don't understand how they get this this reputation unless it's just that they spend a lot of money I don't know
[speaker001:] probably so on publicity and letting realtors know and key people how wonderful the schools are
[speaker002:] I guess so well my son is at Clark this year too so uh we're yes
[speaker001:] so as a freshman yep
[speaker002:] and uh he's pleased with his classes um I I don't guess I've been in the high school long enough to to know what to expect really you know how to judge it uh
[speaker001:] yeah my daughter seems to be having a good time she was absent with strep throat the last three days and I ran over and picked up her report card and she did very good so
[speaker002:] well that's good
[speaker001:] and she seems to be studying and has just about the right amount of homework I would expect
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] for a freshman to have she's not bogged down but yet she has some every night
[speaker002:] well Eric seems to have quite a few nights where he doesn't have any so that's interesting but he his grades I haven't seen them yet but supposedly they're good so
[speaker001:] yes you always hear how good now my son's at junior high and says that his grades are going to be wonderful but who knows what he's going to bring home so I don't
[speaker002:] that's right