Snow Day for JCPS!!!!!

Guess what? Yep, JCPS is closed again today. This after the board amended the school calander to have school on what would have been the parent/teacher conference days in February and March. Oy vay
These days are always a thrill for me becuse most of my orders are cancelled but sometimes they arent,But my help gets the day off for snow. I can't wait to get to work

Worst roads I've had all winter, still made it from Lyndon to downtown in 20 minutes. Roads are better towards downtown.

As a just retired educator, after 39 years in the public school system, I am amazed at the naivete of this country in attempting to solve the multitude of issues and problems in our American school system.
1. How can testing be a solution to what is wrong with American education. This concept is so utterly ludicrous that it is astonishing that it even comes up.
a. Who is creating the test and how does this indivudual/company know what kids need to know in order to be successful. Oh, by the way, what is success? Is it intrinsic? Is success defined by how much money you earn? My parents said success is defined by what college and grad school you got into.
b. Let's say all your students do well on your state test. What does that mean and what do they know? Is that knowledge? Have you as an educator provided a vehicle for your kids that will help their self-concept and self worth as these children maneuver through the life maze.
c. Teachers will and have simply taught to the test. These educators base their entire curriculum on the state test regardless of its value or validity. The students are bored and uninspired, but they do darn well on the tests. Yippee!

2. Schools and Administrators are motivated by criticism, fear of complaint and trepidation over litigation. Schools do not want to make waves! All administrators will think of the safe and comfortable decision initially. Principals encourage educators not to take chances. The people in charge of the American educational system want bland, cookie-cutter teaching that will not push the envelope. This often is the very essence of their being. You don't see "funk" in educational administrators. You see desk ridden paper pushers who are more concerned with preserving their job and pleasing the "powers that are." Any intelligent and creative bureucrats are not going into education. It is a dead end job which may pay well, but the job itself will not stir any cognitive juices.


3

For some reason I couldn't finish my rant.

3. Educational schools on our college campuses are now looking for perspective teachers that are safe, easy to work with and will follow orders. Ed departments will "weed out" those kids who are a bit too artsy and a bit too creative. That is not the reputation the university wants with the administrators in their state. Even if the student is too intelligent, the Ed schools will push them out of teaching. One Ed Prof at the University of Wisconsin told me that a certain kid I was mentoring was too academic and intellectual to be effective in a public school. This professor actually told me that effective teachers cannot be too bright. He went on to say that we need teachers that can relate to the students and extremely bright people cannot relate to the average kid.

4. In addition, in today's material world, who really wants to go into teaching when you start out at a salary of $25,000 and may top out at $65,000 after 30 to 40 years of experience and multiple master's degrees. Also, the benefits for teachers are being cut all over our country. Thus, would you say that teaching is a good profession for the "best and the brightest" as David Halberstein would call them?

So, if calling off school with 2 inches of snow diminishes the complaints and lessens the vituperative phone calls and emails, you can bet that there will be no school on that day. Besides, look how much money is saved by calling off the busses. Isn't that what public education is all about?

Drove to Jeff from Prospect - wet roads not that big a deal. I propose that we call off school for Jan/Feb if we are afraid of the weather. Go to school in June and/or August.

[Robin Garr]

Drove to Jeff from Prospect - wet roads not that big a deal. I propose that we call off school for Jan/Feb if we are afraid of the weather. Go to school in June and/or August.

Crescent Hill to St. Matthews and back, all roads clear, traffic moving along like a normal day.

I defended the school system last week, but I really don't get this one.

Crescent Hill to St. Matthews and back, all roads clear, traffic moving along like a normal day.

I defended the school system last week, but I really don't get this one.

Yeah, ditto. Belknap to downtown on completely clear roads. I also defended last week, but today is curious.

What time are you guys talking? Washburn, New Lagrange, and Watterson were all snow covered and slick at 6:30 this morning. I spun going up the ramp to the Watterson and couldn't make out any lanes once I made it on. These were by far the worst roads I've seen this winter.

Early bird gets the crappy roads?

[Robin Garr]

Early bird gets the crappy roads?

That might be the deal, Justin, and it makes sense: Some of those buses are out picking up kids at 6 a.m., aren't they?

On the other hand, WFPK was reporting early today that the schools were on a two-hour delay, which would have made more sense. I wonder why they made a last minute call to shut 'em down.

Don't know, Fox 41 was reporting JCPS closed at 6:00. A co-worker from Fern Crek said he had 3" at 6:30, maybe the south side is/was in bad shape.

[Robin Garr]

Don't know, Fox 41 was reporting JCPS closed at 6:00. A co-worker from Fern Creek said he had 3" at 6:30, maybe the south side is/was in bad shape.

Okay, I see what happened now. I saw this tweet whilst checking news on the iPhone under the covers ...

89.3 WFPL Louisville New Albany/Floyd County Schools - 2 hours late today

And read it as "Louisville, New Albany/FLoyd County on 2-hour delay."

It was actually "89.3 WFPL Louisville" reporting about NA/Floyd. They had reported Jefferson County schools closing in an earlier tweet.

In other words, never mind! I think you've got it. Roads were rough, particularly for school buses on outlying routes, at the hour when they had to make the call. I guess they were whipsawed and figured they couldn't risk calling a two-hour delay and then having to change it again.

While I support the countywide school system, one of the problems with such a system is that it is an all-or-nothing proposition when it comes to snow days. A few danger spots across the county or a few danger spots in a concentrated geographical area, and the whole system ceases to operate.

We could make a long-list of the positives and negatives of the current countywide system, but this is most definitely a strong negative.

UofL went with the two-hour delay. 8 and 9am MWF classes have missed 2 of their last 3 class meetings.

Worst roads I've had all winter, still made it from Lyndon to downtown in 20 minutes. Roads are better towards downtown.

The Lovely Bride drove into town from Garage Logic this morning (0715) on I-71 and reported no problemos. She's a pretty good little driver in the snow however, so maybe it's just a matter of perspective.

Drove to Jeff from Prospect - wet roads not that big a deal. I propose that we call off school for Jan/Feb if we are afraid of the weather. Go to school in June and/or August.

Crescent Hill to St. Matthews and back, all roads clear, traffic moving along like a normal day.

I defended the school system last week, but I really don't get this one.

The fact that little Shonelle's school is closed (again) doesn't irritate me in the least...Not my call. What DOES irritate me is that right now there are likely hundreds of local employers who are asking thousands of local employees to pick up additional workload (in most cases with no additional compensation) because little Shonnelle's mom called in "sick" because the kids were out of school.

I-64 was pretty clear at 6:30, but today was the first time I've seen New Lagrange and 264 snow covered this winter. The conditions added 7-10 minutes to my drive.