APS cheating scandal

Madea

Madea

zip a dee doo dah
You guys surprise me sometimes about what you do or don't talk about. THIS IS BIG! I wish I could re-post Eric Erickson's commentary from the other night (either Wed or Thur night) about our education system. He completely nailed it!

I have been outraged over the last week about what my children are and are not learning in school. For example, on July 4 we were headed to AL to the lake. As we passed toward Cave Springs (love that little town) there are new roadside signs (maybe only new to me, I haven't been through there in a while) that indicate the Trail of Tears. My children had no idea what it was!

No disrespect intended, but after annual instruction on MLK, they can both tell you all about his life (well, except the part about him being a terrible husband). Should they know about him? Absolutely! Should they learn about him EVERY year during Black History Month and on his birthday and NOT know anything about the Trail of Tears?!?!?! HECK NO!

And they'll tell you that the Civil War was all about the South hating blacks and wanting slaves.

Okay, I now realize that I'm completely off topic. (Late night ADD) :laugh

HOWEVER, some of it IS related to Erickson's comments. :p

I have a LOT of work to do !
 
Well, I certainly would not disagree with that. HOWEVER! I think it goes much deeper than that. We've allowed an environment that encourages that behavior!
 
Well, I was able to find part of what he said in his blog:

http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/07/07/the-george-bush-ted-kennedy-chickens-come-home-to-roost-in-atlanta/

Perversely, instead of using the standardized tests to measure a student’s progress and place the child with similar performing students in the next year’s grade to help the student, the tests track the teachers’ progress and punishes or rewards the teacher based on how well the student does on the test.

We are no longer teaching a nation of children how to think. We are no longer teaching a nation of children how to read and write and add and subtract and understand American history and balance chemical equations. We are teaching our children how to take a standardized test. And then, when they fail, we use the result to punish the teacher, not help the child.

As federal involvement in education grows, this problem will grow too. Atlanta is just the first warning sign. This is what happens when Republicans split the baby instead of fighting for real school choice and real school reform.
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I've been told point-blank that they deliberately mix children of different levels (on every possible level) to bring diversity to a classroom, both with where they are academically, age, race, gender, etc.



and:

http://www.redstate.com/repair_man_jack/2011/07/08/government-class-at-atlanta-public-schools/
 
How old are your children? My son learned of the Trail of Tears in school. He even did a project on it. Not to take away from the whole teaching to tests, because they (the teachers) have to, and I do not agree with that at all!

Besides special ed, which includes the lowest function all the way to gifted, the do "diversify" the classrooms. All levels are taught together. The theory is they learn better in that environment. Some do, whereas others suffer because of it. (Lower levels rise to the higher and some higher get bored. Double edged sword with that way of grouping.) I could easily argue reason for and against this way of coming up with classes. I have always sat on the fence with how I feel because I have seen the good and bad of it. (High School is really grouped by ability because of AP and Honors classes, so you see this predominantly in the lower grades, though it is done in middle grades too)
 
I would have posted it but I haven't gotten many comments about what is going on in Public Education lately. There is more to come about this. I still say NCLB has caused more problems than it ever solved. This is the kind of thing it has produced in my opinion.
 
newsjunky said:
I would have posted it but I haven't gotten many comments about what is going on in Public Education lately. There is more to come about this. I still say NCLB has caused more problems than it ever solved. This is the kind of thing it has produced in my opinion.
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They theory behind NCLB is good, the application leaves much to be desired. I agree that this is one of the bad manifestations of it.

I think not so many ed comments because we are trying to enjoy our summer and not stress over the wreck of what education has become.
 
I've been out of town on vacation so I haven't been posting at all or I certainly would have commented before now. The whole situation is sickening. A few points from earlier posts that I'd like to hit:

- Not only did I learn about Trail Of Tears when I was in school, we watched "I Will Fight No More Forever" in class. (My children will also see that movie, whether the school offers that chance or not.) Though I'm not sure how in depth, my son was also at least introduced to the Trail Or tears in school here in Paulding.

- Re. the mixing of all levels of kids ... IMHO, once you get outside of the middle averages, you do more harm than good by having everyone in the same classes. The more advanced kids get bored and the kids with more challenges get more frustrated. Or course their are exceptions but they are the exception. However, I think there was much in the old system of "special ed" that was harmful, too. Just because a child has trouble in one area of a subject does not mean they need to go to a remedial class for the entire year. That is harmful, too. The sad part for me in all of this is, aside from the government restrictions and tight budgets and such that make it hard on the school's end, there are a disgustingly large number of parents out there who are not willing to do what is needed for their kids' educations.

- The whole cheating scandal mess in Atlanta ... right as Atlanta is starting to shine on the world stage for all kinds of other reasons we get this crap that is going to give folks serious cause for concern when considering the area for business development and personal relocation, etc. What family is going to happily move into a school district with these issues and what business isn't going to consider the affect this has on the workforce before choosing where to locate their headquarters, etc? The damage this mess causes goes so far in so many directions. The kids in the system now have been cheated. The area has been cheated. The taxpayers have been cheated. It just goes on and on. A massive house cleaning will still only go so far in rebuilding but it certainly seems like a good first step.

I'm sure I have more but my coffee cup is empty so this seems like a good point to stop for now.
 
Some very good points unionmom. The blame for the decline of education in public schools rest squarely on the shoulders of both educators and parents. Unfortunately, it's a minority of parents who are actively engaged in the education of their children. Too many parents like to blame the teachers, but it was parents who sued school districts over disciplining that has resulted in the lack of discipline in the schools today.

Ever wonder how In-School Suspensions started (ISS)? Too many parents from single-family households or households where both parents had to work complained it cost them money when their kids were suspended from school. To satisfy the complaints, schools started ISS. Back when I was in school, if I were to ever be suspended from school, my father would have beat my butt, so I behaved for the most part. I received detention a time or two and my parents would punish me for that. Too many parents today don't discipline their children nor do they teach them responsibility today.

ISS increases the costs to the schools because now they need teachers in the room where ISS is held. Schools need to start invoking some "tough love" and do away with ISS. Perhaps when little Johnny or little Susie are sent prohibited on school grounds, forcing parents to be responsible for their child for those periods of days. Perhaps if a parents are inconvienced by having to pay somebody to watch their kid during those days or take the time off from work, they will start invoking some discipline on their loved one at home to teach them what it means to behave and be responsible.

Public schools need to learn the bottom line is quality education and our children are not getting that. It's one of the reasons I'm a firm believer the curriculum should be the responsibility of the local school district. It's the parents who actually care and are involved in their children's education who will take the time to vote in school board elections. This would give us a bigger voice on creating a curriculum that is actually successful and benefiting our children.

I could go on and on about the problems with public education and the ways to fix it.
 
ShoeDiva said:
How old are your children? My son learned of the Trail of Tears in school. He even did a project on it. Not to take away from the whole teaching to tests, because they (the teachers) have to, and I do not agree with that at all!

Besides special ed, which includes the lowest function all the way to gifted, the do "diversify" the classrooms. All levels are taught together. The theory is they learn better in that environment. Some do, whereas others suffer because of it. (Lower levels rise to the higher and some higher get bored. Double edged sword with that way of grouping.) I could easily argue reason for and against this way of coming up with classes. I have always sat on the fence with how I feel because I have seen the good and bad of it. (High School is really grouped by ability because of AP and Honors classes, so you see this predominantly in the lower grades, though it is done in middle grades too)
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Mine are 8 and 11. One going into 3rd and one going into 6th.

My new quest is to teach my children as much American History as I possibly can. For me personally, after you master the 3 Rs, our country's history is the next most important thing they should know. (No, it isn't starting them on Spanish in the 6th grade.)
 
Most all major cities in the United States are run by democrats. This type of incident is standard operating procedure and I'm surprised it even made the news .
 
Keep the people stupid and dumb, and they will VOTE the way they are told! Just like sheep!

Educate your people and they will ask why, then research the issue, before they VOTE! The power leaders do not want this!
 
Mixing special needs students, those who can't speak English, average, advanced, and gifted students in the same class is a recipe for failure. Experimenting with drastic new changes in curriculum, while failing to give teachers the proper training, or giving the students the books and materials they need, is also risky.JMO
 
newsjunky said:
Mixing special needs students, those who can't speak English, average, advanced, and gifted students in the same class is a recipe for failure. Experimenting with drastic new changes in curriculum, while failing to give teachers the proper training, or giving the students the books and materials they need, is also risky.JMO
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I agree. Imagine how stupid a kid must feel in a classroom with gifted students. It's natural for kids to want to compete, but when they fill they can't, they usually give up.
 
Foxmeister said:
newsjunky said:
Mixing special needs students, those who can't speak English, average, advanced, and gifted students in the same class is a recipe for failure. Experimenting with drastic new changes in curriculum, while failing to give teachers the proper training, or giving the students the books and materials they need, is also risky.JMO
Click to expand...

I agree. Imagine how stupid a kid must feel in a classroom with gifted students. It's natural for kids to want to compete, but when they fill they can't, they usually give up.
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I think so too. The very children that NCLB purported to help are the ones stuck in failing cheating systems with no way out. There is a lot of blame placed on parents but the kids in inner city schools often have parents who can't read themselves. The school system is supposed to give them a way out. We need school choice.

deewee, you are smart and very capable of posting in this topic with a valued opinion.
 
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