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Foxmeister
Guest
Our state has controlled the curriculum of our schools for a long time. Is it working well?
No, it is not working well. Do they see where we rank?
IMO, I do not think that politicians on any level should control the curriculum. I think it should be left up to teachers and administrators, and that their curriculum should meet a state-wide standard. (A standard agreed upon by teachers and administrators and school boards).
IMO, I do not think that politicians on any level should control the curriculum. I think it should be left up to teachers and administrators, and that their curriculum should meet a state-wide standard. (A standard agreed upon by teachers and administrators and school boards).
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Foxmeister
Guest
I have to disagree. If we let the local district control the curriculum, we have a large voice because we could express our displeasure with those elected officials. If you leave it up to just teachers and school administrators, it would be just as difficult to hold them accountable. It's problematic enough to hold the state BoE accountable because they are appointed; only the State School Superintendent is elected. The local district could establish a curriculum committee that involves BoE members, teachers, and administrators; but it would be the local BoE that would be the approving authority.
unionmom
Pursuit Driver
I'm for something of a hybrid ... the State establishes an outline and the localities fill in how to get there. That way, when we're looking at things like the math fiasco, the State can say that the school must teach these skill sets in math and then leave it up to the localities to decide what manner to use to get there. Then we don't have to worry about what the state says if we can clearly see for ourselves that the current way isn't working.
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Foxmeister
Guest
We need to go back to the traditional math curriculum. Bring back full years of Algebra I, II, and III; Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus. You don't need any stinking graduation tests for graduation. I would put it they need a total of 22 credits (each class is one credit for an entire year) consisting of the following:
3 credits in Math
3 credits in Science
3 credits in English
1 credit in Civics
1 credit in American History (Reconstruction Period to Today)
1 credit of Government (Senior year class)
3 credits in Phys Ed
7 credits in electives
The Math Department would include the classes I listed earlier as well as general math classes and business math.
The Science Department would offer Science, Biology, Rocks and Stars (Geology).
The Social Studies Department would would offer American History, Civics, Government, and Geography.
The English Department would include American Literature, World Literature, English I, II and III.
Of course there would also be your AP classes for each of these departments as well.
This is a start to what I'm proposing.
3 credits in Math
3 credits in Science
3 credits in English
1 credit in Civics
1 credit in American History (Reconstruction Period to Today)
1 credit of Government (Senior year class)
3 credits in Phys Ed
7 credits in electives
The Math Department would include the classes I listed earlier as well as general math classes and business math.
The Science Department would offer Science, Biology, Rocks and Stars (Geology).
The Social Studies Department would would offer American History, Civics, Government, and Geography.
The English Department would include American Literature, World Literature, English I, II and III.
Of course there would also be your AP classes for each of these departments as well.
This is a start to what I'm proposing.
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Foxmeister
Guest
The state has been in control of the curriculum and look at how it's not working; especially in math. From my understanding the graduation test didn't match up well with the state's established curriculum either; one reason why they are eliminating that test after this senior class graduates. The state BoE has already demonstrated that we cannot hold them accountable for their blunders as they are appointed.
I also believe having the local districts in charge of the curriculum would create competition. Competition seems to cause improvements. It also makes it more possible to hold people accountable.
I also believe having the local districts in charge of the curriculum would create competition. Competition seems to cause improvements. It also makes it more possible to hold people accountable.
Who do you think controls it now? In 4 years the Federal Government will be setting the standards for all states. It will be worse. The Math Department heads (with the state) are fighting to keep integrated math. They are trying to compare us to countries like Japan and China without even talking about the fact that those countries do not allow all students to go to high school or to be tested in the groups they are trying to compare. I am not in favor of having different curriculum in different districts. It could be a nightmare for children moving from one district to another. They could be lost as much as they are now. Especially if some districts keep integrated math and it looks like they will.MrsB said:
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Foxmeister
Guest
Here's a scarey thought; I heard a soundbite of Obama today saying he wanted Congress to put an education reform bill on his desk before the next school year started. The last thing we need is legislation from Congress telling the states how to run public education.
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Foxmeister
Guest
lotstodo said:
I agree. The state could establish how many credit hours a student needs in each subject matter and how many credits overall a student needs to graduate; that would keep all the districts mapped the same.
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Foxmeister
Guest
When is the next BoE meeting?
I think I would call them. I have already. They are going to be dealing with the votes on closing some schools and discussion about what to do with others that have already closed (I think). I will get more info and let you know. I think Lucky posted the dates somewhere here and she also posted the hot topics they will have to deal with.Foxmeister said: