so what do you think of uh public schools today
well the problem we're having down here in public schools is is financing for one thing
uh
uh and and the uh
the tax districts they're in the process of of rearranging the tax tax districts
so they can't decide
and uh some of the more rich schools are those are those schools that are financially well off are going to have to support those are aren't
especially in the minority neighborhoods neighborhoods
um
and uh there's a lot of problems with that
oh
a lot of debate going on with that
and and and the restriction is it sort of
yeah restructuring
sort of screwing screwing around with whoever is getting what money to what school
right right
yeah we actually don't have we have we're having some problems of own up here with teachers
yeah
but um we are we are apparently i'm i'm fairly new to Rochester i've only been here a couple a few years
and we are supposedly Rochester public schools are are one of the model
the city schools are some of the models for the rest of the country
yeah
they have very specific programs that um
that are being implemented at the moment that everybody is watching
you know to make sure that they're all they're all working and uh
for instance they have a mentor teacher program where um
there are teachers who take a year off or so and gets to go around and and help other teachers learn how to teach
yeah
and things like that but they're having a lot of problems here because um
because they also pay the teachers i think much better than others places in the country
yeah that's a problem down here it's uh
they they pay them well
uh not no not too well
oh yeah they there they pay them a little better here i think than most than than than than the national average especially these mentor teachers
yeah
yeah
but they're having a large problem negotiating contracts they have been in contract they have been without a contract i believe for over six months
or something like six months
yeah
and they are now putting in you know some sort of federal arbitrator i think or something because they just have a horrible time getting the
you know getting their contracts straightened out
they have been good and they only walked out once or twice i believe they keep getting you know they they'll go all the way to your table they'll have some proposal and then
yeah
someone won't like it for some reason or some of them will say vote it down and it just goes
but
yeah i think uh someone that really wanted it
or i really don't understand or i guess i do understand people that i guess that want to teach teach it's
it must be inborn in them or something because they're certainly not going into it for the for the money nor the prestige or whatever
yeah so that that's
that that's always i'm i'm actually i'm a PhD student at the moment
yeah
and um it's always occurred to me that that um
you know i mean so looking at it so all so i have some bias in this
yeah
but it but it's always seemed to me that that those people who
should be paid the most i think or paid significantly you know significantly more are are teacher types because they sort of hold for of the future in our hands than almost anyone else
yet yet i don't think that uh it it it's being done
i also i mean in general i think that our educational system is okay but i think we're lacking in some very specific areas
yeah
that that need to be worked on i will
i think one thing too that's hurting the teachers
as far as recruiting teachers is that the uh
they've lost a lot of their their authority
in the classroom
yeah
how what do what do you mean by that
well i mean uh they
no more punishment per se
oh yeah
i i'm speaking mostly of elementary
um-hum
uh
you know it's
if some if a teacher
does anything that uh they're liable to have a law suit against them for
for uh cruel and unjust punishment or whatever
that's true that's true
it's uh
but well i think that
and of course you've got the drugs and the uh other problems that you were much more prevalent than when i was going to school
yeah i think actually in any there are some places where some teachers are just afraid to teach you know are they going to
or they go to work where they're just baby sitters i think rather than teachers you know they're job is to make sure that
no kids get killed in their classroom for that day and
yeah
nobody else get's out so it's hard to imagine a
you know i mean i i i can't imagine teaching in a situation like that and actually trying to get anything across to a student
yeah
i'd be more concerned about getting myself out alive at the end of the day and just being happy
so i i sit back that the that's one of the main things that sort of happens to be sure up you know in or educational system maybe
i do that means you have to have a
metal detector and and uh outside the school or something
yeah
i'm not sure
and uh also you know this is purely my
my thoughts because i am i'm a Christian and i think when they took prayer out of school that uh
uh
i think it hurt
well possibly i think it does um
i'm not sure i think it does some uh
it it it it may sort of lead to some
uh it it it may just be another form of sort of regimenting you know in kids which i which i think is good actually to have some kids sort of sit together and
you know just say things and sort of do things together so possibly
yeah
possibly i think that um
uh i'm i'm i'm actually Jewish so i suspect that i would be more in favor of sort of nonsectarian sort of prayer
yeah
in school but i think some things might be a a wise idea just to give kids more of an authoritarian sort of view
yeah
i think a lot of kids are having a problem with that today
i would would i would agree with you and uh
and
i think somewhat
although i do understand the issue of separation of church and state somewhat so i
yeah yeah i do too but uh
so
i don't know how you resolve that you know
i also i mean i think that our i think that our schools look a lot worse nowadays
yeah
relative to schools sort of in other countries as well like compared to the Japanese school system
i was in a panel that would that addressed the issue of you know science and how our kids they're just very very far behind of science because
a lot of them just aren't going into it because they just don't know anything about it and how it's got to be upgraded now is all
well i i believe in freedom of but not freedom from
if you understand what i mean
i think so you i i i read a little bit on that that that sounds interesting
right
but uh we've like i say we've been redistricting here in Dallas has been a a major issue for i guess the last year
oh well hopefully they'll resolve it soon
yeah they uh
they the voters voted one way and it
and then uh some federal judge said no that was unconstitutional and they have had two or three votes
and the city council is divided over what the district should be because
they divide it one way and the minorities say we're losing representation representation
and uh it it's just a big battle
well i hope it all works out
but uh
yeah i i i have i mean you say that your your kids are grown up and out of school now and i've yet to have any so
yeah
yeah
so i'm not quite at home with the issues yet
yeah
but i'm sure i'll it will hit me a little harder in a couple of years
yeah and also
the cost of it you know not not not great not uh public school but i can't imagine having to
raise a kid now and and have to look to college
oh i can't even i can't imagine it
uh in the next you know fifteen years or so later they go it's going up
my only hope is that uh is that whatever i'm going to wined of being college faculty somewhere i think
yeah
and my and my only hope is that um whatever kids we have want to go to school wherever i teach
yeah
because that typically is very otherwise i can't imagine it
yeah i i just don't see how a person could
it would
could put enough away enough money out of their paychecks to pay for our kids schooling within fifteen years
no i
i i don't i it completely beyond me i went to my under graduate uh education
yeah
um on a lot of financial aid and where i am now i'm i'm only in graduate school because they waive tuition and
yeah
they pay for school a little bit otherwise i would never
yeah most kids is probably just going to have to do what i did
be comfortable again
either course the service i'm at i don't think gives a education uh after service
well they give some some financial aid for education they they advertise that they give it you can earn up to ten or twenty thousand dollars for
yeah
but uh that's how i got my my education such as it was was going into it is service and then
coming back coming out in three years and
getting uh two years paid for
that's that's actually a great way i think i know i have lots of friends who are doing things like that
yeah
i think it's a great way i couldn't i'm actually deaf in one ear so they wouldn't take me
yeah
yeah
um but that is a real a real i mean that's a real good way to do it i think i think that you know these people are sort of getting the money and doing something for it so
yeah
i think it's real good
anyway it's it's been it was nice meeting you
okay and i'm i'm glad to have met you oh are are work with Texas Instruments
and
no i'm not i'm just like you a person on the uh phone
oh okay i was wondering
thing
i guess this is not just Texas Instruments wide
cause i worked for Texas Texas Instruments that that's
oh no
