[speaker001:] okay I guess we're supposed to discuss the uh school system that shouldn't be too much trouble for the two of us right
[speaker002:] no as many years as we've been involved in one I really feel fortunate in that there even though there are problems they're not a lot of problems where I teach
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] but from talking to people in other districts there are some major problems uh with dropouts um when I was in Minnesota last summer
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] there was a teacher who said that uh on a given day she didn't know how many of her students would show up and sometimes they didn't even show up for class and she taught in high school in inner city uh Minneapolis
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and uh they just didn't come to school and I cannot imagine being able to do much of anything when they don't even come to school
[speaker001:] that's really sad isn't it right well just recently in the paper here were articles about students um working high school students that work and the percentage of hours that they work and how that affects their grades
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] but then the follow-up the next day was I was kind of glad to see because it it said that you know yes but for those students who are determined to do well anyway that you know handling a job was very possible you know and that it seemed to have more to do with other factors
[speaker002:] I think so too
[speaker001:] you know like what are their plans after high school you know and what's their home situation you know that
[speaker002:] the home is the key I think really is because if the home does not place a high priority on education and um that the main goal is making money now
[speaker001:] right right
[speaker002:] and it may be a survival thing for the family which you can understand so um right
[speaker001:] right sure but there can still be an attitude of you know this is a stopgap measure because we need it right now but but that the most important thing is still you know getting your education well when they meant said the the topic you know of what's wrong with the public schools my my first impulse impulse was
[speaker002:] your education
[speaker001:] it isn't really what's wrong with the public public schools it's what's wrong with families
[speaker002:] that's right it's what's wrong with families and if if children come to school
[speaker001:] and society in general
[speaker002:] yes insecure and their more biggest concern is survival
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] both at home they don't know what to expect at home they don't feel secure there they don't know what's going to happen just out front of their apartment complex for example that child that was shot
[speaker001:] right right
[speaker002:] uh how can they concentrate on schooling I agree with you I think that's the main problem
[speaker001:] right yeah
[speaker002:] and school's now are supposed to solve social problems uh mental and emotional problems as well as educate the kids and try to provide them with some security and that's overwhelming
[speaker001:] hm yeah well we've got um you know at our school we have over a thousand elementary kids and last year was the first year that we ever had more than one counselor and that's just really not enough
[speaker002:] no it isn't
[speaker001:] and I was talking to somebody that teaches in a middle school and they said oh but we need more in the middle school because that's when kids are you know at a tougher and rougher age and all that but you know part of my feeling is that if you solve help them to work through their problems while they're littler then they won't have as many problems up there
[speaker002:] true I think they there has to be at least a counselor and we just recently had a counselor at elementary we didn't even have counselors in elementary we have always though had three at middle schools because we had about a thousand kids and
[speaker001:] really
[speaker002:] they divided them up between three counselors but for a good while every year they'd have a different counselor and they decided that didn't work so they started uh dividing the kids up so that a counselor stays with her group of counselees
[speaker001:] yeah um-hum they they do that here
[speaker002:] through you know through all three years of middle school and I think that
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] would give them more security in going to the counselor if they have a rapport with their counselor now if they don't
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] I hope they have the flexibility to be able to change a child that really is in need of counseling help if they absolutely refuse to work with them on and occasionally that happens
[speaker001:] to change yeah right
[speaker002:] but it is frightening but
[speaker001:] yes it certainly is
[speaker002:] because um education is the key to our future and uh if we have children who are not getting their education for one reason or another than what are we going to do with them what's going to happen to them are they going to be
[speaker001:] yeah that's right
[speaker002:] able to uh work at other kind of menial jobs or are they going to be the thieves and the people in prison and our prisons are filling up faster then we can build them that's no good
[speaker001:] yeah right I'm on that um campus strategic planning committee for my school and um one of the
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] uh you know oh they have all these different names for things strategies and all these different things but anyway one of the key things was that that we believed that the public education is the best economic value then I think they decided to strike economic anyway you know the point was what happens when public education fails you know will then people go to private schools you know well what kind of a situation do they get there and what are you know and what kind of state are we in if if most people are going to private schools
[speaker002:] well I think uh one thing that we'll see is that we won't be educating everybody there will be a lot of people who will not get even a menial education like in other countries of the world
[speaker001:] right right
[speaker002:] where they don't try to educate everyone that's one of the things that we do we try to educate everyone
[speaker001:] um-hum that's right that's right
[speaker002:] we're the only country in the world that does
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] and let everyone have an opportunity to reach higher education if they're willing you know to work and have uh some ability they can do that
[speaker001:] um-hum yeah and one of the Plano school district's you know goal is that they will graduate every child that um that is here in the ninth grade I believe it's something like that it's worded and um I don't know
[speaker002:] well you know if we can keep them in school
[speaker001:] right that's
[speaker002:] then that that helps a lot I think the gang violence is scaring everyone to death too
[speaker001:] so important oh gosh well that new movie that new movie out I hm really really a frightening situation I guess we're both lucky
[speaker002:] it's scary to me I we are
[speaker001:] to be in situations and schools where we don't see that my folks talk about it a lot in Illinois my mother was is was teacher for years and year s and um they live in Peoria Illinois and their talking a lot about the you know the school situation there too so well shall we wrap it up
[speaker002:] um I would imagine that we've talked the amount of time necessary
[speaker001:] I think we have to so I'll see you when we see you
[speaker002:] okay all right we were in uh Austin yesterday the reason I was in the church
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and we went to hear uh James Win ensemble concert they left this morning for England
[speaker001:] oh oh how exciting oh that is wonderful what an experience
[speaker002:] isn't wonderful uh-huh and uh the university