Posted by Volunteer on November 12, 2003 at 22:22:59:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: How can i make my parents realize....... posted by js on November 12, 2003 at 20:28:27:
and I can't pinpoint "just too much stuff to learn these days" as the reason
I didn't say that--what I said was "too much material". The not-so-subtle distinction is that our state mandates "certificates of mastery" for students and has the teachers teach to a standardized state-administered test. If your students get lots of correct multiple-choice questions correct on the state test--or manage to play a Bb scale (yep, there's a standardized test for band, too!), you're labeled a "good" teacher.
Forget the issue of teaching the kids something valuable and useful. There's just not enough time to do both. Fifteen years ago, schools were largely funded through local property taxes and school districts could determine their own cirriculum. After "property-tax-relief" initiatives were voted in, the state was put in charge of disbursing education funds and the professional politicians got into the act.
I volunteer at a middle school with a substantial number of "mainstreamed" students and they can be a real problem. But in general, few parents take an interest in what happens at school and so many kids have basic discipline problems. It's not pretty.