Notice they didn't find any problems like that in a school administration building.

Last sentence: "Students admit some of the problems are of their own making." Gee - ya think!!?

untaken_name: Notice they didn't find any problems like that in a school administration building.

This times a thousand.
I went to all of my primary schooling in Florida, and I have several family members who are teachers.  Its not uncommon, at all, for the administration to give themselves numerous perks/upgrades (chairs/computers/building stuff, etc) while at the same time teachers are forking over significant amounts of their pay for basic supplies.

Good administrations are hard to find and always have a full roster of teachers (and a bunch waiting in the wings) because the teachers generally know which admin is effective/supportive and which admin is out for themselves.

Road Rash: Last sentence: "Students admit some of the problems are of their own making." Gee - ya think!!?

Why is free universal education worthwhile again?

"Inspectors are most concerned about children with allergies because dirt, dust and cockroach particles don't serve them well."  WTF does that mean?  If this reporter is a product of public school education, I think it makes my point.

MemeSlave: Why is free universal education worthwhile again?

Why do people keep calling it "free" when we spend the most money per child per year of any industrialized country?

R.I.P. Will Feral.

Wicked Chinchilla: Its not uncommon, at all, for the administration to give themselves numerous perks/upgrades (chairs/computers/building stuff, etc) while at the same time teachers are forking over significant amounts of their pay for basic supplies.

But the only problem with public education is not enough funding.

/not saying you think that

MemeSlave: Road Rash: Last sentence: "Students admit some of the problems are of their own making." Gee - ya think!!?

Why is free universal education worthwhile again?

"Inspectors are most concerned about children with allergies because dirt, dust and cockroach particles don't serve them well."  WTF does that mean?  If this reporter is a product of public school education, I think it makes my point.

That kids with allergies or sensitivities to dust, dander and other particles found in an unhygienic environment are suffering in this school. They're probably absent a lot so they're missing out on class lectures and are behind in their classwork. When they are in school, they probably feel miserable. If they take an allergy pill to combat their symptoms, they might start feeling sluggish. And if an asthmatic with dust as one of their triggers is in this environment, they're going to have trouble concentrating because they're going to be focused on their breathing and whether or not they need to use their inhaler. It's really hard to concentrate when you're trying to calm your breathing so you don't have an asthma attack in public - most people panic when near an asthmatic who's having an attack.

/Asthmatic with dust and pollen as some of my triggers

"...and the numbers were numerous..."   Who'da thunk it??

Walker: They didn't even mention the alligator that lives in the pool.

Oh, Chester? He guards the kids in ISS.

YixilTesiphon: Wicked Chinchilla: Its not uncommon, at all, for the administration to give themselves numerous perks/upgrades (chairs/computers/building stuff, etc) while at the same time teachers are forking over significant amounts of their pay for basic supplies.

But the only problem with public education is not enough funding.

/not saying you think that

I think anyone who says the only problem with public education is funding is ludicrously wrong.  Looking at Florida, the problems are:
1)  Poor curriculum.  My wife went to school in New Mexico, I in Florida.  They covered some material YEARS before we even approached it.

2)  FCAT testing.  Testing can be a decent and objective way to assess academic progress.  The FCAT is not.  From the perpetuating the generically God-Awful 3.5 essay format (and not the content of the answer), to results being tightly bound to funding, this is/was a disaster.  When you make a test a hard regulator of funding schools the schools will prioritize improving scores for that.particular.test. over standard curriculum (which, as I said above is already shiat).  So you just compounded your curriculum problem.  Testing can be done correctly, this testing is a poster child of stupidity.  When I was in school they specifically took time each week out of your other classes to put you all in an FCAT "class" which did nothing but have you solve previous questions from the FCAT.  When I say they "teach to the test" its literally that, to the detriment of your real course work.

3)  Funding IS an issue.  There isn't enough, and the funding decisions made at every level can be seriously farked.  Not every district, but the differences between a well run district and a poorly run one are glaring.  In addition: poor funding means those who want to teach really, really take it on the nose concerning pay.  Contrary to some political propaganda teachers make squat and in this state they have to put their pay into buying a lot of their own supplies.

The above are in order that they came out of my head in the terms of discussion, not in importance.  They are all probably equally important, and they aren't the only ones, just some big ones.  And again, this is about Florida in particular.  with other states YMMV, I have no experience there yet (but my kids will...we will see)

INeedAName: As someone who works in school administration, this is not a cut and dry problem. We're smack dab between a local city park that is heavily forested and a large, low income residential area. There are plenty of feral cats because we produce far more food waste than anything around us. We get a number of insects in the spring as part of the general cycle of things, and we can be inundated with things like stink bugs.

However, we have a pretty substantial custodial crew (which apparently the Florida school didn't have) so if you see a mess one afternoon, it's always gone by the next day.

Buy the custodians something as a thank-you or their efforts.

Even if it's just cold drinks on a hot day.

People are happy when they feel appreciated, whether verbally or gifts.

Wicked Chinchilla: YixilTesiphon: Wicked Chinchilla: Its not uncommon, at all, for the administration to give themselves numerous perks/upgrades (chairs/computers/building stuff, etc) while at the same time teachers are forking over significant amounts of their pay for basic supplies.

But the only problem with public education is not enough funding.

/not saying you think that

I think anyone who says the only problem with public education is funding is ludicrously wrong.  Looking at Florida, the problems are:
1)  Poor curriculum.  My wife went to school in New Mexico, I in Florida.  They covered some material YEARS before we even approached it.

2)  FCAT testing.  Testing can be a decent and objective way to assess academic progress.  The FCAT is not.  From the perpetuating the generically God-Awful 3.5 essay format (and not the content of the answer), to results being tightly bound to funding, this is/was a disaster.  When you make a test a hard regulator of funding schools the schools will prioritize improving scores for that.particular.test. over standard curriculum (which, as I said above is already shiat).  So you just compounded your curriculum problem.  Testing can be done correctly, this testing is a poster child of stupidity.  When I was in school they specifically took time each week out of your other classes to put you all in an FCAT "class" which did nothing but have you solve previous questions from the FCAT.  When I say they "teach to the test" its literally that, to the detriment of your real course work.

3)  Funding IS an issue.  There isn't enough, and the funding decisions made at every level can be seriously farked.  Not every district, but the differences between a well run district and a poorly run one are glaring.  In addition: poor funding means those who want to teach really, really take it on the nose concerning pay.  Contrary to some political propaganda teachers make squat and in this state they have to put their pay into buying a lot of their own supplie ...

I'm glad I was in the IB program in high school. We were mostly insulated from the FCAT classes. I remember maybe a few class periods out of my entire time in high school where teachers paused and said, "Hey, I know we're doing things this way, but the FCAT wants it done differently. Here's the FCAT way: Forget it once you've taken the test".

Wicked Chinchilla: I think anyone who says the only problem with public education is funding is ludicrously wrong.  Looking at Florida, the problems are:
1)  Poor curriculum.  My wife went to school in New Mexico, I in Florida.  They covered some material YEARS before we even approached it.

2)  FCAT testing.  Testing can be a decent and objective way to assess academic progress.  The FCAT is not.  From the perpetuating the generically God-Awful 3.5 essay format (and not the content of the answer), to results being tightly bound to funding, this is/was a disaster.  When you make a test a hard regulator of funding schools the schools will prioritize improving scores for that.particular.test. over standard curriculum (which, as I said above is already shiat).  So you just compounded your curriculum problem.  Testing can be done correctly, this testing is a poster child of stupidity.  When I was in school they specifically took time each week out of your other classes to put you all in an FCAT "class" which did nothing but have you solve previous questions from the FCAT.  When I say they "teach to the test" its literally that, to the detriment of your real course work.

3)  Funding IS an issue.  There isn't enough, and the funding decisions made at every level can be seriously farked.  Not every district, but the differences between a well run district and a poorly run one are glaring.  In addition: poor funding means those who want to teach really, really take it on the nose concerning pay.  Contrary to some political propaganda teachers make squat and in this state they have to put their pay into buying a lot of their own supplies.

The above are in order that they came out of my head in the terms of discussion, not in importance.  They are all probably equally important, and they aren't the only ones, just some big ones.  And again, this is about Florida in particular.  with other states YMMV, I have no experience there yet (but my kids will...we will see)

Think I found the problem...

I'm a teacher at a low-income urban school, and we have all sorts of goodies to deal with.

- Cockroaches in the classrooms (some the size of small mice)

- Mice/rats in some of the older buildings (oldest building on campus goes back to 1938)

- Skunks that live under a few of the buildings, and who sometimes don't get the message about how they're supposed to forage from dusk until dawn.  A few students have had run-ins with them.

- Seagulls that mob the campus at snack break and lunch break because our students (most of 'em at least) are filthy slobs that waste food on an industrial scale.  Many a student has been shat upon.

- Brown Widow spiders that like to live under the hand rails in stairways, under desks, and behind door handles.  Must have killed about two-dozen to start the school year off.

bubbadave1056: "...and the numbers were numerous..."

Came to post that shiat. Best line of the article.

snakes gorillas the winter

You're welcome

Wicked Chinchilla: YixilTesiphon: Wicked Chinchilla: Its not uncommon, at all, for the administration to give themselves numerous perks/upgrades (chairs/computers/building stuff, etc) while at the same time teachers are forking over significant amounts of their pay for basic supplies.

But the only problem with public education is not enough funding.

/not saying you think that

I think anyone who says the only problem with public education is funding is ludicrously wrong.  Looking at Florida, the problems are:
1)  Poor curriculum.  My wife went to school in New Mexico, I in Florida.  They covered some material YEARS before we even approached it.

2)  FCAT testing.  Testing can be a decent and objective way to assess academic progress.  The FCAT is not.  From the perpetuating the generically God-Awful 3.5 essay format (and not the content of the answer), to results being tightly bound to funding, this is/was a disaster.  When you make a test a hard regulator of funding schools the schools will prioritize improving scores for that.particular.test. over standard curriculum (which, as I said above is already shiat).  So you just compounded your curriculum problem.  Testing can be done correctly, this testing is a poster child of stupidity.  When I was in school they specifically took time each week out of your other classes to put you all in an FCAT "class" which did nothing but have you solve previous questions from the FCAT.  When I say they "teach to the test" its literally that, to the detriment of your real course work.

3)  Funding IS an issue.  There isn't enough, and the funding decisions made at every level can be seriously farked.  Not every district, but the differences between a well run district and a poorly run one are glaring.  In addition: poor funding means those who want to teach really, really take it on the nose concerning pay.  Contrary to some political propaganda teachers make squat and in this state they have to put their pay into buying a lot of their own supplies.

The above are in order that they came out of my head in the terms of discussion, not in importance.  They are all probably equally important, and they aren't the only ones, just some big ones.  And again, this is about Florida in particular.  with other states YMMV, I have no experience there yet (but my kids will...we will see)

Curriculum seems to be a huge problem everywhere there are public schools.

I went to a pretty solid private elementary school. Our books for science class in junior high were part of a series- you ran through a book a week on a topic, and turned it in for the next book.

A friend of mine from that school went to the public high school down the road. Their science books for freshman year? They were the same series, covering the same material. We covered in 7th grade some of the subjects they were just getting to in ninth.

Worse was when I tutored for the math proficiency exam when I was in college. Ohio at the time had exams for fourth, sixth, ninth and twelfth grade. The twelfth grade exam was basic fractions and operations, no algebra, no geometry. It was material we covered in sixth grade- seventh and eighth was algebra and geometry. Standard practice at the private high schools was to take the ninth grade and twelfth grade exams on consecutive days to get them out of the way- and everyone I went to school with passed the twelfth grade exam in ninth.

Granted, the sanitation is a big problem. Bugs are going to exist- it's Florida, and it's over 80 right now. Cockroaches and Palmetto bugs are everywhere. It's a battle that is near impossible to win. It doesn't sound like they're even really trying.