Monday, June 9, 2008

OH LORD! STUCK IN LODI AGAIN

Things got bad, and things got worse, I guess you will know the tune.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, Suzie--right in there, as usual! I really like the idea of "consequences"--imagine! Being put into a non-college track--vocational, even! How utterly appropriate. Wonder if anyone that makes decisions has read that....
Happy summer, by the way!

Suzie Creamcheese said...

The first one reminds me of Blackboard Jungle v12. The second is just downright prophetic.

Together they make a case for public home schooling: give these kids a kiosk computer and a network connection to a server that delivers instruction, evaluation, and enhancement. Set it up at home and leave. I have seen some excellent software programs and am sure there are more available.

Oh, for the "it takes a village" people set 'em up in a community center. Sports, lunchtime, socialization?: out, doesn't seem to have a measurable positive effect now, does it?

BTW: this isn't an original thought, I've heard it from a variety of people. Maybe I need to formalize it and publish.

Anonymous said...

We have been told not to give homework or at least not to give the kids zeros if they don't do it. If I gave homework and had the time to look at it, most of my kids would get zeros too. If I failed all of them that deserved it, I would get a letter from administration asking my why I was so ineffective.

Last year I had a parent give me a hard time because I gave her little darling a "D" (it should have been an "F"). I went over the grade, the assignments not done, the 58% on tests and then asked her what grade she wanted me to give her kid. She said she wanted him to get a "C".

I changed the grade to a "C".

Why fight it? Really, what is in it for me to fight it?

Anonymous said...

The public can't generalize and blame the teachers. Teachers weren't the ones that made the decisions regarding curves, to put increasing numbers of ill- suited kids in AP, and honors classes, eliminate vocational/technical programs and such.

The public can't blame the teachers--deny,deny, deny reality, maybe, but can not blame teachers.

pollyana's gone