Aoife Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/dk8yp/iama_hs_teacher_this_is_a_list_of_suggestions_we/ :confused: and :glare: and:rolleyes: and :banghead: My cousin and my aunt are both PS teachers and have gotten similar memos as well. My cousin is a PA elementary teacher and my aunt is a FLA middle school teacher. So it is various grade in several states all adopting this screw learning and teach for grades so our school looks good approach. The saddest thing is that in some states like FLA if you don't adhere and your kids scores are not as high you loose your job. It's sad really :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Wow. "Weigh the merit of using any essay questions at all?" Just . . . wow. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Thank you for posting that. I actually read all of the comments, all the way down the the bottom of the page. Very interesting discussion, to say the least. (Not for those allergic to the f-bomb, though!) The thing that really got me was that it turns out this teacher is a math teacher. And he's only allowed to give multiple choice tests. :001_huh: Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kates Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Seriously, that would be the main reason I never got my certification to teach in a public school. My parents were ps teachers (now retired) and having to watch the bull that they had to put up with...no thanks. I teach in our co op, and I teach my son at home - where I can put together my own curric and my own expectations. I do allow my students to make resources - "open-note tests" - and the teachers are right, you can taste the fear in the air ;) I teach Latin and Greek, and I've got to say, my kids make themselves resources that would rival any college student's - and by the end of the course, they not only know their stuff, but they're able to apply it and have fun doing so. No way would I EVER make a test that conformed to that district's "suggestions"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Two words come to mind: sad, pathetic NO JOKE! Thank goodness for home schooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Researcher Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 :ack2: :crying: :cursing: :banghead: That is all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 I haven't read through all of the comments. Has this post been verified by any outside source? I can certainly imagine this happening but I'm so hoping it's not true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 I don't think it's been verified but several other teachers (and students!) have chimed in to say they are not surprised and/or they have had similar experiences. Some participants are urging the OP to go to the media and if he does we may be able to get verification that way. Wow, that whole situation is crazy-making. It makes me scared for the future of our nation. :mad: And what about those kids who make it to college? What's going to happen to them when they find out how unprepared they are? :crying: (Or will they just dumb the colleges down to accommodate the new reality? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 :001_huh: This is insulting to American children!!! :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 (Or will they just dumb the colleges down to accommodate the new reality? Goodness, they already have!! Universities have to offer remedial courses in math and English b/c kids showing up don't know how to do basic math and don't possess even the most fundamental writing skills. I won't send my academically inclined kids to a community college to take courses in subjects they want to major in. Our experience with community colleges in 2 different states have been subpar academics. Our 18 yos who has Aspergers with very significant processing speed disabilities (both auditory and visual) was supposed to be given a minimum of 1.5 times the amt of alloted time for exams (with a recommendation for unlimited). He finished his pre-cal exam on time and made a 90 when the class average was a 20!!! Yikesters! This is the same CC where I was told I should send my gifted in math, might want to major in astrophysics and math, ds. Um......I think NOT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Wow. I knew colleges had remediation because I was a math tutor for that type of program at my university. But at the time (around 1990) the remediation was definitely a special program for kids who had a lot of promise and potential (high IQ) but who had been in crappy inner-city schools and had been recruited to the university. It wasn't for your average high school student. This is depressing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devotional Soul Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 (edited) Long live homeschooling! Edited October 2, 2010 by Devotional Soul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 ummm :confused: really? :001_huh: Wow :scared: I am praying this is false, but I am not so sure it is :blink: For whatever school district(s) this is true in :crying: :cursing: :banghead: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrappyhappymama Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Wow, that whole situation is crazy-making. It makes me scared for the future of our nation. :mad: And what about those kids who make it to college? What's going to happen to them when they find out how unprepared they are? :crying: (Or will they just dumb the colleges down to accommodate the new reality? This was me. I graduated 2nd in my class and went to a UC school on a grant, and found out how completely unprepared I was for college level work. I had no study skills to speak of. I also had little knowledge of US History after the Civil War, because my teacher approached me about halfway through the school year and told me I'd get an A in the class even if I didn't take any more tests or turn in any more assignments. He offered to let me go to study hall instead, and being a dumb kid I jumped at the chance and did the homework for the rest of my classes that hour instead. I really don't know why he did that- maybe I was skewing the curve too much? But later I really regretted my lack of knowledge in that area. I've talked about these issues with friends who teach in high schools, and this letter does not sound far fetched at all to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Well, from what I've seen of my high schoolers' tests, I think it's probably true. My oldest is in her freshman year at a rather good private college. She is HORRIFIED at her peers (with whom she must work on group projects). They don't study, don't show up to class, don't show up to group meetings, etc. I think many students have never been taught to think or work hard because it wasn't necessary. I'm really glad we always demanded 'more'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalphs Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Pathetic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aoife Posted October 2, 2010 Author Share Posted October 2, 2010 I have several PS school teachers in my family. my mom, my cousin and my aunt. Mt aunt is a Florida school teacher and this is true in her district. They are paid by and reviewed by the grades their students make. If your kids are making good grades ( not necessarily learning a lot) then you get paid better. If your kids are making bad grades then you get paid less and are in daner of loosing your job. Thus they make everything easier because otherwise they must fear loosing their jobs. My aunt has been teetering on the decision of just throwing in the towel and retiring because of all the BS. My cousin is a Pennsylvania city public teacher and this also holds true for her district. Schools want grades to push them up in the ranking and if making the classes easier is the easiest way of doing it then that is the route they go. They also are not allowed teach on different levels which is to say they cannot stop to help struggling students or enrich for more advanced students. Therefore the advanced students sit bored to tears while those struggling fall further and further behind. The system IMHO is beyond repair broken and the only way it could be fixed would be to tear it back down, re do the foundation and build up from there in a more cohesive, intelligent and more thought out way. Thank you so much no child left behind for all the great things you have done for our schools :glare: Now one cannot be proud of attaining the A honor roll as it really has no significant meaning when the coursework is full grade levels behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Oy! I hear similar stories from friends and relatives who are teachers. What never ceases to amaze me is that they complain about these things but I am still the nutter for homeschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQmom Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 What never ceases to amaze me is that they complain about these things but I am still the nutter for homeschooling. Isn't that the truth! I was a public school teacher in Texas--just east of Houston in the early 90's. My second year of teaching, I was called into the principal's office because I had given a child in my class a failing grade in a subject. I was told that I could not fail anyone in anything. I protested, "But! He earned that grade. He doesn't even try!" Does not matter, under no circumstances was I to fail a child. If they earned an F, I was to give them a passing grade of 70 on their report card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalphs Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Isn't that the truth! I was a public school teacher in Texas--just east of Houston in the early 90's. My second year of teaching, I was called into the principal's office because I had given a child in my class a failing grade in a subject. I was told that I could not fail anyone in anything. I protested, "But! He earned that grade. He doesn't even try!" Does not matter, under no circumstances was I to fail a child. If they earned an F, I was to give them a passing grade of 70 on their report card. :iagree: The school district in our city is pathetic. They pass students who can not read, write or do math. The joke is if your name is in their computer system you will automatically get a diploma when you get to 12th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kates Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 (edited) Yep. In our local districts, the high schools are divided up into Intermediate (9th/10th) and High School (11th/12th). The main reason for this is that it's the job of the Intermediate to weed out the dropouts before they get to the High School, so that the matriculation rate won't drop below 70%. (Legal dropout rate here is 16.) I've seen the math work for the 10th grade geometry class, it's work that my son was doing at age 9/10. (If figure x is a square and one side is 2 inches, what is the perimeter of the square? If two angles of a triangle are equal to 35 degrees and 60 degrees, what is measurement of the third?) This was in February, by the way...not August "let's get your brain back in school mode" work. It's the same in other classes, too...9th and 10th graders are "analyzing" the book Holes and think that Twilight is "strong literature". (Hey, my son reads Percy Jackson and Harry Potter for fun, but he sure doesn't consider them classics.) A friend of mine caught her 16yo daughter bringing her cell phone, DS, and Ipod to school and tried to confiscate them...she was allowed to bring them because one of her teachers told them to bring electronics that day, since there was nothing on the lesson plan. Excuse me??? In our elementary and middle schools, it's common for strong athletes to be held back a year - not for academics, but to groom them for varsity football and other sports. Their parents don't bat an eye - they consider their kids lucky because just think, in a few short years they'll be under the Friday Night Lights. They can barely read or do math, as they're never challenged to do so, but they sure can throw a football...sigh. Because that'll come in handy later in life. (I can remember a kid trash-talking my son during a baseball game a few years back; "I'm on the advanced 5th grade team. Do you even know what that means? You guys [homeschool league] don't even have one of those, do you?" My son finally got sick of his lip and asked him how many years he'd spent in 5th grade...the kid turned red, shut up quick, and went back to watching his game. Sigh...) My parents have been ps teachers since before I was born, and retired this year because they're just plain not allowed to teach anymore. It's pathetic. Edited October 2, 2010 by Kates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Many districts here (including the one we're zoned for) have a policy that a student can't score below a 50. Turn nothing in, get a 50. Draw a picture of a cloud, get a 50. It's so they don't get too far behind and can't get caught up. It helps them avoid getting discouraged and giving up. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.