Defund the DPS!

[English]

I didn't intend for this to become a mitpicking session. BUT since you asked:

Did you mean to refer to a nitpicking session?

I am a former Detroit high school English teacher. The tangent about DetroitTeacher's posts is petty and unnecessary. If the "mitpickers" [[sic) in question were indeed serious about discussing the future of the Detroit Public Schools, they would privilege content and meaning over form and surface mechanics.

By the way, there are grammatical mistakes in most of the posts that purport to critique DT's professional knowledge. There are surface errors in the majority of posts on any Internet message board. However, most people tacitly recognize the differences between formal and informal communication unless they have ulterior motives.

If those who critiqued DT are willing to have a substantive conversation about the state of the district, I think you will find educators more than willing to have that conversation. However, spare us the pettiness and condescension.

[andybsg]

Did you mean to refer to a nitpicking session?

I am a former Detroit high school English teacher. The tangent about DetroitTeacher's posts is petty and unnecessary. If the "mitpickers" [[sic) in question were indeed serious about discussing the future of the Detroit Public Schools, they would privilege content and meaning over form and surface mechanics.

By the way, there are grammatical mistakes in most of the posts that purport to critique DT's professional knowledge.There are surface errors in the majority of posts on any Internet message board. However, most people tacitly recognize the differences between formal and informal communication unless they have ulterior motives.

If those who critiqued DT are willing to have a substantive conversation about the state of the district, I think you will find educators more than willing to have that conversation. However, spare us the pettiness and condescension.

Please provide your source for that statistic, and why do you insist on randomly capitalizing things, e.g. Internet.

[MichMatters]

Please provide your source for that statistic, and why do you insist on randomly capitalizing things, e.g. Internet.

English, I'd advise you not even to waste your time with this attempt to derail. Meh.

[DetroitTeacher]

I teach English in a high school. I also have inclusion in my room with a hodge podge of gen ed, special ed, and kids with ASD [[autism).

[Maxine1958]

I teach English in a high school. I also have inclusion in my room with a hodge podge of gen ed, special ed, and kids with ASD [[autism).

Wow, English, in high school. I should be shocked, but sadly I am not.

[mwilbert]

Wow, English, in high school. I should be shocked, but sadly I am not.

You should not be shocked, this is just educational jargon. In any case, inclusion is a perfectly good noun, so you can have it in your classroom.

[DetroitTeacher]

Wow, English, in high school. I should be shocked, but sadly I am not.

Why? Please explain yourself.

I also don't get how English in a high school is educational jargon. Maxine asked a question, I answered it. Inclusion is educational jargon.

[mwilbert]

My point [[apparently not clearly made) was that "inclusion" in the sense Detroitteacher used it is jargon. I didn't think Maxine1958 recognized that, and therefore thought the usage awkward, particularly for an English teacher.

Of course, I could have been mistaken about that. Sorry for being confusing.

[DetroitTeacher]

My point [[apparently not clearly made) was that "inclusion" in the sense Detroitteacher used it is jargon. I didn't think Maxine1958 recognized that, and therefore thought the usage awkward, particularly for an English teacher.

Of course, I could have been mistaken about that. Sorry for being confusing.

It was a bit unclear exactly what was education jargon by the way you quoted Maxine's statement. I would still like to know what Maxine thought was wrong with my stating I teach English in a high school. I could have also stated that I teach high school English or I teach English at a local high school. Any of those is correct.

I wanted to mention the inclusion because it was previously stated that special education students would end up short changed if DPS were to move to vouchers. That is very true. Charters and private schools do NOT have to provide services for students with special needs [[some do). Providing services falls to the local public school district. Do they always do a great job? No! Although I have to say we have 3 self contained classrooms for students with ASD and the teachers in those classes are wonderful and the students are growing by leaps and bounds. I have become close to the teachers and the students [[they have all been very helpful to me while I am earning my Master's degrees in LD and ASD). I understand what the poster above said about securing services for kids with ASD. It's VERY difficult and there isn't much support out there in terms of therapy and educational services. It seems that the insurance providers, the therapists, and the educational system all seem to work against the parents and kids.

[Boo Stinking Boo]

Is it true that schools get more money per student who's diagnosed with ADHD and or learning disabilities?

[EastSider]

The feds and the state are supposed to pay the costs of special ed. The state has historically shortchanged the local districts, to the point at least two lawsuits were filed [[both named Durand, I recall). The feds likewise don't contribute their required share.

The goal of the special funding is to relieve the local district of the additional costs special ed requires. It's frequently used to accuse districts of trying to inflate the numbers of special ed certifications to somehow get "extra money," but that claim ignores the history of special ed funding issues.

[Maxine1958]

DetroitTeacher, I was referring to your post #13 in this thread. Admittedly, I'm not an expert at spelling and grammar, but I lost count after about 10 glaring errors in that post. I understand this is a simple public message board, and there is a recognized tolerance for some posters here. So I was curious to know what you taught. I'll get off my small, short soapbox now.

[barnesfoto]

perhaps Maxine could show Detroit Teacher how to be a better English teacher by volunteering to co-teach a few of her classes, or perhaps she could us some examples of how effectively she teaches in a crumbling, dysfunctional school system.

[Maxine1958]

I wasn't specifically critiquing DetroitTeacher's teaching ability or the difficulty of attempting to teach in the current environment of the schools or the school system. I am just so disappointed when people who are supposed to have an education cannot manage the simple fundemental skills.

[Roq]

perhaps Maxine could show Detroit Teacher how to be a better English teacher by volunteering to co-teach a few of her classes, or perhaps she could us some examples of how effectively she teaches in a crumbling, dysfunctional school system.

When your profession is as an English teacher, possessing basic spelling and grammar skills should be a given.

[Crumbled_pavement]

DetroitTeacher, I was referring to your post #13 in this thread. Admittedly, I'm not an expert at spelling and grammar, but I lost count after about 10 glaring errors in that post. I understand this is a simple public message board, and there is a recognized tolerance for some posters here. So I was curious to know what you taught. I'll get off my small, short soapbox now.

Granted, I'm no English major so I wouldn't know what was misspelled or poorly worded anyway, but maybe you could point it out. I ran DetroitTeacher's #13 post through MS Word's spelling & grammar checker and it only found a missing comma and one word spelled wrong. Granted, spellchecker is just a starting point and not the only method of proofreading. Maybe you could point out the other 10 flaws because now I'm intrigued.

[DetroitTeacher]

I am responding to these posts because of the passion I have for my kids [[students). I often type and then rethink what I've written and go back and edit. I do this because I've forgotten something or move things around. My brain works faster than my fingers type, sorry. I am also working on an ancient computer because most of my money is sucked back into my job. The keys stick and the screen is scratchy. I overlook things and sometimes don't see a wayward comma or period stuck in someplace. Maxine, why don't you correct post 13 for me and let's see how bad it really is?

**I did spell shenanigans wrong and left out the h in "short of"...

[Roq]

I am responding to these posts because of the passion I have for my kids [[students). I often type and then rethink what I've written and go back and edit.

You seem very dedicated and committed to teaching your kids and I applaud that; Detroit needs more teachers that actually care about their profession.
My point is that you shouldn't be surprised that people may comment on grammatical and/or spelling errors when you tell them that you are a High School English teacher.

[firstandten]

You seem very dedicated and committed to teaching your kids and I applaud that; Detroit needs more teachers that actually care about their profession.
My point is that you shouldn't be surprised that people may comment on grammatical and/or spelling errors when you tell them that you are a High School English teacher.

I don't comment on such things unless the post is unreadable or I can't understand the logic, HS teacher or not. I understood very clearly DT post 10. I think the nitpicking is uncalled for and it takes away from the unique position she has in terms of being able to comment on some of the ills of DPS since she is on the front lines.

[DetroitTeacher]

Maxine hasn't provided me with examples of my grammatical/spelling errors. It sounded as if Maxine was not shocked that I teach in DPS because of those errors [[only the shittiest teachers for the kids, right?). I gave my explanation as to why there may be a lack of the "simple fundamental skills".

[Roq]

Maxine hasn't provided me with examples of my grammatical/spelling errors. It sounded as if Maxine was not shocked that I teach in DPS because of those errors [[only the shittiest teachers for the kids, right?). I gave my explanation as to why there may be a lack of the "simple fundamental skills".

Noted. I, like most of us, see things from our own perspective and I believe proper punctuation, grammar and spelling are very important in communicating even though teaching English is not my profession. It is difficult for me to imagine that someone who is actually an English teacher would not be compulsive about this as well.

Also, just to comment on another point recently made [[not by you), I don't subscribe at all to the "oh, it's only a message board, who cares?" school of thought. The people reading your message, regardless of whether it is a post here or a graduate thesis, should not have to guess or mentally reword sentence structure in the hopes of figuring out what meaning you are trying to get across.

That being said, I do not, in any way, assume you are a "shitty" teacher because you work for DPS.

[jbd441]

I'm an ex-Detroiter and I was educated in Michigan. I can honestly say as a property tax payer in the State of Florida I research everything I can concerning public schools. We have charter schools in the county where I live. The school board is responsible for their existence. Some schools have strict disciplinary codes and zero tolerance for ANY type of misbehavior. Parents keep their children in line at school because charter schools are "chic" in social circles. If a student is expelled, they go right back into the public school system where they continue their disruptive behavior. Right now charter schools and taxpayer funded gifted schools are the "new" private schools for the financially well off. Also our district has yet to see a $1.50 for every $1.00 savings with vouchers or charter schools. That Freep article reads like an advertisement.

[Thames]

DetroitTeacher,

Post #13 was just fine. You had a lot to say and you said it clearly and intelligently.

Maxine, we're just having a conversation. Relax. There are several other posts on this thread I would critique before post #13.

I don't see any problem with that post, so there is no use in trying to explain the errors to me. You should just rewrite post #13 the right way. I'm curious as to why it was such a blunder. I mean really, what was wrong with it? What didn't you understand?

[DetroitFats]

CPavement,
Don't you mean "structures their sentences and grammar WELL enough . . ."? Just kidding ;-)

[Crumbled_pavement]

CPavement,
Don't you mean "structures their sentences and grammar WELL enough . . ."? Just kidding ;-)

Yes, "well" would be a better word to use in that sentence.