This IS a serious issue, and has Jim points out, it’s a slippery slope. However, the “accountability” is aimed the wrong way. To blame the teachers or public education when a few kids read two grades below grade level is a more of a political/social agenda, then it is truth. This efficacy program that “any child can learn” is only half true. It takes a parent too, and ask any teachers about how many parents are supportive of the education of their kids in an active, rather than passive way. Accountability starts with the parents.

It’s true you can’t wait until the student is a teenager and recognize or apply retention over and over. At this point the student WILL drop out. It needs to be done at an early age, where the child’s emotional awareness is less sensitive. An eight year old sense of “class” is the class he’s in, not the precise age of his classmates.

My wife and I experienced this phenomena about parental pride of holding a child back, and my wife’s a teacher! My son was one of those kids who just barely (my a month) was old enough to enter kindergarten. My wife, and Early Childhood Teacher, knew the levels of performance at this level, but she took off her teacher hat and let her parent hat prevail. We didn’t hold him back, and he struggled all through school even up to high school. He’s since graduated college, and overcome it, but it was something we could “probably” have prevented by the simple decision to hold him back entering kindergarten, or possibly a little later. It’s hard choice for parents who have pride in their kid’ success.

This is where objective and professional teachers come in. And when parents won’t listen or they won’t provide the support that is so key to their child’s educational development, then the accountability is passed to the school system and maybe, the child needs to be held back for his own development. Parents and teacher-wannabes don’t always have the answers, and we need to let the professionals do their job of educating our children. If you disagree, homeschool or pay for private schools where you can “buy” the answer that meets your ulterior objectives.

UNTIL you’re literate you don’t expand your
curriculum and course study. If you want
to spend your entire elementary school
education learning to read and write and
cypher it’s up to you! There’s shame in
that but it’s not as stigmatic as being
“held back”
AT LEAST when you go to middle school you’ll
have the learning tools you need to learn.
Likewise in further grades future schooling
and the rest of your life.

The emphasis needs to be on BASICS in
formative years of education anyway!!
Much of the CRAP subjects
taught in public schools are worthless
filler anyway. Let’s kids and parents
choose the filler classer over and
above the basics. Demonstrating higher
literacy through basic skills tests means
more advanced placement classes. i.e.
electives

As for elementary school “Dropouts”
mentioned by CU’s Ken Howe, who the HELL
drops out of school in ElEMENTARY SCHOOL!
THAT’s indicative of a problem at HOME,
which i’m sure is often the case with poor
performing students. Maybe we should take
their kids!

dennis hammond

Keith makes good points, learning
disabilites or deficiencies MUST
be addressed at the PRIMARY level.
Addressing problems in middle or
especially high school are problematic.

Passing failing kids only passes the buck.

I do however disagree that the “Education
establishment” is professional, knows
what it’s doing or has a particular
interest in seeing kids succeed. The
goods teachers are stuck in a broken,
bureacratic mess dictated by attorneys,
politicians and office holders at the
Federal Department of Education.

Unfortunately, public education is a cash
cow for thousands of “public servants” who
do nothing but sit on their very well fed
rear ends, many, but not all, in
Washington, D.C.

It DOES bring up the issue of school
vouchers which stikes fear in the hearts
of those whose bread and butter is public
tax dollars. People/parents SHOULD have
educational choices for their kids and the
attendant tax dollars (property tax) should
go with them!

So what happens to that middle school student who doesn’t understand “basic” science or history or how our basic government works? Now the MS teacher has to make up what the elementary teacher was prohibited from teaching. My wife teaches ECE, and mabye history and civics is a bit over those 4 year old heads, but not science. Teaching them how to get along with others is one of the most important “curriculums” to prepare them for future socialization in the classroom. I guess home schooling skips this.

Apparently, Keith was the recipiant of
public schooling and is NOT reading at
grade level. His reading comprehension
entitles him to remedial studies.

If he were to go back and read I stated
that a student who is tested to read below
grade level would study a limited curriculum
of FIVE classes INCLUDING History, civics
and Science as electives. Music, Art and
P.E. would also be suitable electives.
Examples of “Crap” classes
are “brain washing” studies like Green
Studies and Political geography for
elementary students, anti-American
studies, revisionist history as well as
other socialist propaganda typical of the
Left wing educational establishment.

Lack of communication and knee jerk
reactionism is most often the cause of the
divide between Liberals and Conservatives.

And poor reading comprehension.

What fun is that?

People like Dennis need to try teaching at the elementary level sometime and see what it’s like. I got a taste of this during the DPS teacher strike many years ago. They were paying anyone with a degree to fill in for striking teacher. I took a 5th grade class, and really didn’t have to follow the curriculum or what the teacher was teaching like substitutes do, just keep the kids entertained, organized, and get a few basic points across. I think I got paid $600 for the week. You couldn’t pay me 10 times that to be a teacher.

Not only do teachers have to teach to tests, their jobs hinge on test performance thanks to these same people who believe in the basics. I hear from my wife teachers “caught” teaching to the test rather than the curriculum, because their jobs are on the line. Try teaching in an inner city schools with minority where tests scores are going to be low. Look what happened to Manual high school!

Go talk to any teacher about how much work they have to bring home, after school meetings. My wife teaches ECE, that’s 4 year olds, no home work, but she is constantly doing reports and write ups at home, creating projects and lessons for the kids, and writing curriculum. I’ve never seen her so stressed has she has gotten since NCLB started, and how bureacratic it’s gotten.

Why are so many teachers leaving the industry? A good portion of my extended family are teachers. Males especially have to take summer jobs to make ends meet. If you think it’s so easy being a teacher, and meeting testing requirements, going through constant evaluations, and teaching to kids with physical and learning disabilities (mainstreaming), and satisfying the parents - try it sometime.

Note the “code” phrase “left wing educational establishment.” They are synomynous with the right. Education and liberalism go hand in hand with righties. They want control of what are impressional little future Republicans will learn. They dont’ want them learning about liberal stuff like music and art appreciation, PE (unless it’s competive sports), history of our nation such as the depression and how unions were started. It has to be what they feel is important, not educational professionals.

Then after you become a teacher you have to continue post-graduate courses on your own dime and your own time. My wife has her masters, and enoough post graduate courses for a post doctorate, and she’s the rule, not the exception. It’s required by the state and the school district, to stay current on education curriculum. What other professionals have to do this at their own expense? But hey, anyone can teach, right Dennis?