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Revisionaries: PBS documentary on Texas' control of education
#1
Frank
It premiered last night on PBS. Here's some words about it:
Frank
It premiered last night on PBS. Here's some words about it:
I guess McLeroy, the guy who the documentary focuses on, is no longer the chair.In Austin, Texas, 15 people influence what is taught to the next generation of American children. Once every decade, the highly politicized Texas State Board of Education rewrites the teaching and textbook standards for its nearly five million schoolchildren. And when it comes to textbooks, what happens in Texas affects the nation as a whole. Texas is one of the nation's largest textbook markets because it is one of the few where the state decides what books schools can buy rather than leaving it up to local districts, which means publishers that get their books approved can count on millions of dollars in sales. Further, publishers craft their standard textbooks based on the requirements of the biggest buyers. As a result, the Texas board has the power to shape the textbooks that children around the country read for years to come.
Don McLeroy, a dentist, Sunday school teacher, and avowed young-earth creationist, leads the Religious Right charge. After briefly serving on his local school board, McLeroy was elected to the Texas State Board of Education and later appointed chairman. During his time on the board, McLeroy has overseen the adoption of new science and history curriculum standards, drawing national attention and placing Texas on the front line of the so-called “culture wars.”
In his last term, McLeroy, aided by Cynthia Dunbar, an attorney from Houston and professor of Law at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, finds himself not only fighting to change what Americans are taught, but also fighting to retain his seat on the board. Challenged by Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, and Ron Wetherington, an anthropology professor from Southern Methodist University in Texas, McLeroy faces his toughest term yet.
The Revisionaries shines a spotlight on the key players effecting U.S. high school textbooks, with characters representing a wide array of personalities and desires. Some see the board as a stepping-stone to future political success. Others see it as their ordained quest to preserve the teachings of the Bible. Still others see it as their duty to ensure that their children, who are in the public schools, have access to the best possible education that will prepare them to compete for jobs in the global marketplace. In all of this, one thing is assured, these board members are in the right place at the right time. They have the opportunity to affect a generation of Americans.
Filmed for over three years, filmmaker Scott Thurman has captured all of the intense debates, vote trading, and compromises amongst the board members. He shows the back room discussions between the board members and the experts, and is with them as they make their decisions. But, first and foremost, The Revisionaries is about people, those few passionate citizens who are fighting to shape the course of American education, and the future of America with it.
#2
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh
This gives me a sad. My wife is a teacher here in Austin.
#3
Espy
Espy
This sounds infuriating but like a great watch. It doesn't sound like we will see it on Netflix anytime soon though from looking around online... thats a shame.
#4
Ravenpoe
Ravenpoe
Can we go ahead and let Texas sucede?
#7
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh
Even with such a good idea as that, we'd be in No Intelligent Man's Land all alone.We can keep Austin.
#8
Ravenpoe
Ravenpoe
We'll move the city, how'd you like to be an island?Even with such a good idea as that, we'd be in No Intelligent Man's Land all alone.
#9
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh
Off the coast of.....We'll move the city, how'd you like to be an island?
#10
Eriol
Eriol
In the long run, I'm thinking of the Lost City of Atlanta type of situation seems possible here...
(In case anybody thinks I'm serious, it's a Futurama reference)
(In case anybody thinks I'm serious, it's a Futurama reference)
#11
Tress
Tress
I love that all the other states get to choose between Texas and California for textbooks. Two ends of the spectrum running the show, and to hell with a middle ground.
#12
strawman
strawman
Fortunately in most states the school district, and sometimes the school itself, sets the curriculum, so they can take into account local culture. For instance I recall that moving from Georgia to Michigan as a youth I noticed that we spent a lot less time on the Civil War/Revolutionary War (guess which side called it which?) and focused on certain leaders differently.
It's not necessarily that either side was wrong, but emphasis makes a difference, and the people care about those things.
Further, teachers, once assigned a book, can spend as much or as little time customizing the curriculum for their class, and creating extra assignments to augment or replace portions of the textbooks they feel inadequately teach their subject - as long as their students can pass the state testing, they're fine straying from the line a little distance.
In essence, the state testing probably has more effect on the overall curriculum than the books.
It's not necessarily that either side was wrong, but emphasis makes a difference, and the people care about those things.
Further, teachers, once assigned a book, can spend as much or as little time customizing the curriculum for their class, and creating extra assignments to augment or replace portions of the textbooks they feel inadequately teach their subject - as long as their students can pass the state testing, they're fine straying from the line a little distance.
In essence, the state testing probably has more effect on the overall curriculum than the books.
#13
Ravenpoe
Ravenpoe
Who the hell calls the civil war the revolutionary war? I'm from north florida (which, culturally, is south Georgia) and I've never heard it called that.
Wouldn't that get confused with the american revolution?
Wouldn't that get confused with the american revolution?
#14
GasBandit
GasBandit
Not until we all learn to spell secede, at least.Can we go ahead and let Texas sucede?
I agree, the most often heard alternative title that I've run into is "The War of Northern Aggression," or possibly "The War Between the States."Who the hell calls the civil war the revolutionary war? I'm from north florida (which, culturally, is south Georgia) and I've never heard it called that.
Wouldn't that get confused with the american revolution?
#15
Ravenpoe
Ravenpoe
War Between the States is the most common alternative I've heard, but that was from people with actual confederate flags flying from the back of their pickup.Not until we all learn to spell secede, at least.
I agree, the most often heard alternative title that I've run into is "The War of Northern Aggression," or possibly "The War Between the States."
#16
strawman
strawman
Perhaps I've got it mixed up, but recall that I started school in the early eighties.Who the hell calls the civil war the revolutionary war? I'm from north florida (which, culturally, is south Georgia) and I've never heard it called that.
Wouldn't that get confused with the american revolution?
#17
Tress
This is how it used to work. Now it's common to find that the majority of your curriculum is dictated by bureaucrats terrified that any deviation from their directions will lead to lower test scores. And to be clear, that only concerns them because they're worried about funding. Educating students is secondary at best.
Of course, your mileage may vary. Maybe I've just had crap luck with my schools.
Tress
Tell that to my department chair.Further, teachers, once assigned a book, can spend as much or as little time customizing the curriculum for their class, and creating extra assignments to augment or replace portions of the textbooks they feel inadequately teach their subject - as long as their students can pass the state testing, they're fine straying from the line a little distance.
This is how it used to work. Now it's common to find that the majority of your curriculum is dictated by bureaucrats terrified that any deviation from their directions will lead to lower test scores. And to be clear, that only concerns them because they're worried about funding. Educating students is secondary at best.
Of course, your mileage may vary. Maybe I've just had crap luck with my schools.
#18
North_Ranger
North_Ranger
Y'know, if ever again GasBandit starts badmouthing the Finnish school system, I think I'll just post clips of this documentary in response.
#19
GasBandit
And as I always say - there's no bureaucrat like a Texas bureaucrat.
GasBandit
You will never find me sticking up for the american public school system.Y'know, if ever again GasBandit starts badmouthing the Finnish school system, I think I'll just post clips of this documentary in response.
And as I always say - there's no bureaucrat like a Texas bureaucrat.
#20
Covar
Covar
That's because everything's bigger in Texas.And as I always say - there's no bureaucrat like a Texas bureaucrat.
#21
DarkAudit
DarkAudit
YMMV. State to state, county to county, it's silly to lump Texas wing nuts with counties thousands of miles away with completely different reasons for sucking. Here, it's a tradition to reject school bonds. So while my local schools are some of the best in the state thanks to proximity to WVU, one county over sending your kid to their schools is tantamount to abuse.You will never find me sticking up for the american public school system..
#22
GasBandit
GasBandit
Everybody always thinks "my local public schools are ok, but all the other ones are crap."
They're all crap.
If they were good, they'd be private.
They're all crap.
If they were good, they'd be private.
#23
DarkAudit
It's not provincialism. Multiple newspapers in the state documented conditions in Preston County schools that were Dickensian at best, rivaling the slums of Calcutta at worst.
Voters still rejected the next school bond.
DarkAudit
And you're proof.Everybody always thinks "my local public schools are ok, but all the other ones are crap."
They're all crap.
If they were good, they'd be private.
It's not provincialism. Multiple newspapers in the state documented conditions in Preston County schools that were Dickensian at best, rivaling the slums of Calcutta at worst.
Voters still rejected the next school bond.
#24
Tress
Tress
I honestly was lucky. The one I went to was excellent, and has the awards to show for it. It wasn't until I talked to people outside of my high school that I realized how bad some of the other ones can be.Everybody always thinks "my local public schools are ok, but all the other ones are crap."
They're all crap.
If they were good, they'd be private.
#25
GasBandit
GasBandit
I didn't say they weren't bad, I said the ones you think are good, are also bad.And you're proof.
It's not provincialism. Multiple newspapers in the state documented conditions in Preston County schools that were Dickensian at best, rivaling the slums of Calcutta at worst.
Voters still rejected the next school bond.
#26
strawman
Why are the schools surrounding universities good? Not because of the university. It's because the parents in that area are well educated, and demand good education.
strawman
Where the parents actually care, schools are great.Everybody always thinks "my local public schools make great daycare centers."
Why are the schools surrounding universities good? Not because of the university. It's because the parents in that area are well educated, and demand good education.
#27
Tress
Tress
I just want to add, NCLB is worthless. Completely terrible through and through. It was a noble goal, certainly, but the execution is lazy at best, harmful at worst.
#28
GasBandit
Then we moved to El Paso, where the EPISD couldn't give a shit, put me back in my own grade, and I proceeded to coast without cracking a book until college, whereupon because I had forgotten how to study since I hadn't for years and years, I had to take calculus 3 times.
Public school ruins your children. If you hate them, send them to public school.
GasBandit
Only relatively speaking. Americans are that accustomed to substandard primary education. I know DarkAudit was being flippant, and I know it's subjective, but I am actually proof - when I was taken out of private montessouri school, the only thing the public school I moved to could think to do to me was move me ahead one grade in most subjects and two grades ahead in math. And that was a good public school.Where the parents actually care, schools are great.
Then we moved to El Paso, where the EPISD couldn't give a shit, put me back in my own grade, and I proceeded to coast without cracking a book until college, whereupon because I had forgotten how to study since I hadn't for years and years, I had to take calculus 3 times.
Public school ruins your children. If you hate them, send them to public school.
#29
strawman
strawman
The lock represents "like", "hugs", and "informative".
#30
DarkAudit
DarkAudit
Texas != anyone else. Don't pass judgement on the other 49 states just because you had a bad experience.
Rejecting a school bond after buildings have been condemned and you've been shamed in front of the rest of the state and the country? Judge away.
Rejecting a school bond after buildings have been condemned and you've been shamed in front of the rest of the state and the country? Judge away.
#31
GasBandit
Basically, public education is like public transportation. Some places have crappy buses, some places have nice buses, some places have buses you fear for your life whilst inside. But no matter how nice the bus, none of them ever beat a rental car.
GasBandit
Military family. The other public schools I attended are in affluent suburbs in Maryland, New Mexico and Colorado. They were comparatively better, but none still approached the level of education available from the private school. My folks learned their lesson though, my (much) younger brother went to private school all the way from start to finish. I envy him.Texas != anyone else. Don't pass judgement on the other 49 states just because you had a bad experience.
Rejecting a school bond after buildings have been condemned and you've been shamed in front of the rest of the state and the country? Judge away.
Basically, public education is like public transportation. Some places have crappy buses, some places have nice buses, some places have buses you fear for your life whilst inside. But no matter how nice the bus, none of them ever beat a rental car.
#32
DarkAudit
DarkAudit
Still 47 left. 
#33
GasBandit
GasBandit
Welp, you've already covered West VA, and how much broader a sampling do you want? Will you be unswayed without an example from EVERY SINGLE PUBLIC SCHOOL, as I suspect?Still 47 left.
#34
AshburnerX
AshburnerX
My experiences with my local school system...
- District decides putting security cameras in our school was a better idea than repairing FIRE DAMAGE.
- Voters decide they'd rather go to split sessions than pay for more schools to be built. Grades go down, petty crime goes through the roof. Still wouldn't pass a bond to pay for the schools, requiring federal aid to build them.
- The only time a bond EVER passed was when the after school sports programs were put on the chopping block.
- Oh yeah... the time they shut down my middle school because a gang war broke out.
Still, the private schools aren't much better. You get a better education but a year doesn't go by that we don't hear about a teacher sleeping with a student or a student athlete is involved with raping someone.
- District decides putting security cameras in our school was a better idea than repairing FIRE DAMAGE.
- Voters decide they'd rather go to split sessions than pay for more schools to be built. Grades go down, petty crime goes through the roof. Still wouldn't pass a bond to pay for the schools, requiring federal aid to build them.
- The only time a bond EVER passed was when the after school sports programs were put on the chopping block.
- Oh yeah... the time they shut down my middle school because a gang war broke out.
Still, the private schools aren't much better. You get a better education but a year doesn't go by that we don't hear about a teacher sleeping with a student or a student athlete is involved with raping someone.
#35
GasBandit
GasBandit
Sounds like it's time to just bomb a fault line under that community and watch it sink to the land of the lost, it's past redemption.My experiences with my local school system...
- District decides putting security cameras in our school was a better idea than repairing FIRE DAMAGE.
- Voters decide they'd rather go to split sessions than pay for more schools to be built. Grades go down, petty crime goes through the roof. Still wouldn't pass a bond to pay for the schools, requiring federal aid to build them.
- The only time a bond EVER passed was when the after school sports programs were put on the chopping block.
- Oh yeah... the time they shut down my middle school because a gang war broke out.
Still, the private schools aren't much better. You get a better education but a year doesn't go by that we don't hear about a teacher sleeping with a student or a student athlete is involved with raping someone.
#36
Bowielee
Bowielee
Though I believe that public education is important, the quality of public education is just terrible in many places. I actually was in a similar boat to GB, but without any private school experience. The main reason I've returned to college so late in life is because I was NEVER challenged in high school and had deplorable study habits because of that. Once college came around, it was kick in the face that I wasn't prepared for.
#37
jwhouk
jwhouk
Hey, I've had school cancelled because of gang wars. Of course, we called it "institutional program suspension".
#38
GasBandit
GasBandit
Public school taught me how to make time delay trash can fires using a cigarette and a matchbook inside loosely wadded paper.
Well, ok, the USENET taught me that. But high school provided the proof of concept.
Well, ok, the USENET taught me that. But high school provided the proof of concept.
#39
sixpackshaker
sixpackshaker
Hell I learned that from the Guns of Navaronne.Public school taught me how to make time delay trash can fires using a cigarette and a matchbook inside loosely wadded paper.
Well, ok, the USENET taught me that. But high school provided the proof of concept.
#40
GasBandit
GasBandit
I don't remember that part...Hell I learned that from the Guns of Navaronne.
#41
sixpackshaker
sixpackshaker
It could be the crappy sequel with Harrison Ford... Just one of those WWII movies with the British Bomb Expert having to improvise a delay before the Jerrys come pouring through the door.I don't remember that part...
#42
David
David
This happened a minimum of 3 or 4 times at my high school while I attended. And additional times I've seen on the news since.- Oh yeah... the time they shut down my middle school because a gang war broke out.
#43
strawman
strawman
Man, I had a sheltered life. The only interesting things that happened at my high school were tractor days, when all the farmer students would drive tractors to school and use up the parking lot.
#44
Eriol
Eriol
I hear ya stienman. The most interesting thing that happened was a garbage can fire that happened on a winter day when it was -20, and thus we're all outside without our jackets. Basically whatever reputation the guy/girl thought they'd get was rapidly dashed under a chorus of "if we find out who made us stand out here in the f'n cold, we're gonna kill them."
#45
Espy
Espy
So judging from the website it doesn't sound like this is available anywhere online? Has anyone found it anywhere?
#46
Shakey
Shakey
Looks like it's here. [DOUBLEPOST=1359565618][/DOUBLEPOST]Look at that, it auto embeds. Here's the link if you want it.So judging from the website it doesn't sound like this is available anywhere online? Has anyone found it anywhere?
Code:
http://video.pbs.org/video/2325563509#
#47
Espy
Espy
Nice! I did read on their site that this is an edited version of the movie though, so it's not the full thing, but it's better than nothing. Thanks man!
#48
North_Ranger
North_Ranger
Video not available. Dammit.
#49
Zappit
Zappit
You want to know why education is in the state it's in? Let me lay it out.
Meddling, nitpicking beareaucrats and politicians, despite a distinct lack of teacher training and classroom experience, somehow miraculously know how to fix education, even in places it's not broken. They introduce new requirements and standards every other year, which teachers are forced to adapt to.
Data collecting is quickly turning into a colossal waste of time. Extra testing, surveys, and record keeping is happening more and more, taking away from class time and producing piles of often redundant data. What is done with this? Monitoring miniscule gains or losses, or simply applied to creating new methods for test preparation.
The emphasis on testing has become catastrophic, killing off the arts and vocational training in many places, replacing them with courses on how to take the tests. The first thing any teacher will tell you is that every kid is different, possessing varying skills. By shoehorning all students into one definition of success, many get denied the opportunity to get training or learn skills that could help them in the real world. The modern job market demands specialization, but there just isn't room to offer that because of the extra tests. The emphasis on testing techniques has also contributed to...
...the slow decay of critical thinking. Complex, multi-step problems aren't addressed on very many multiple choice tests, and we're producing kids who can think problems out or use basic logic to draw reasonable conclusions. We've put people on the moon, but I think the next generation is being sabotaged to the point that they'll be lucky to get a model rocket off the ground. But testing is a billion dollar business, and it's pretty damn hard to fight against that kind of money.
Our culture is no help. We have access to constant entertainment, with instant answers available online. Why bother thinking or researching when someone else already did it for them? Why pick up a book when they can watch anything on TV or on the net? How can a book compete against an X-Box? I know they say there's no connection between violence and videogames, but I wonder. I've given lessons on how the French, as a nation, smuggled artistic treasures to save them from the Nazis. What do the kids come up with? "Why didn't they just blow up the Louvre when the Nazis came in? Why didn't they hide snipers? Because that's what they would have done." It didn't mean anything that this massive effort took place, that it worked, and that people were honest and patriotic enough to bring the valuable art back. It meant nothing. They're desensitized to violence and almost ignorant of the concept of consequences.
NMLA Syndrome (Not My Little Angel)
Parents that show up only show up to absolve their children from any blame.
Why did he fail the class? Answer: He didn't do the homework and didn't study.
Why has he been called into the office so much? Answer: He disrupts the class constantly and harasses his classmates.
Why wasn't I made aware? Answer: His grades are online and updating daily., and multiple informational sheets about it were
sent home. There were warning notices, as well in the middle of the term.
Can't he do extra credit or make up the missing work? Answer: Grades close in a week, and while I can try to get fresh copies
of ditto sheets from three months ago for him and many other students, I understand that if I don't, then it is completely
my fault your child failed the term.
Why does he have so much make-up work? Answer: You went on a family vacation for a week in the middle of the school year.
What do you expect? I also understand that if I send it home before your vacation, then I've ruined his trip.
This and many other examples too numerous to ramble off here are what real teachers deal with every day.
Why do charter schools (falsely) appear to do better? Tuition. Parents have a monetary stake in it, and they damn well want to make sure their kids get them their money's worth. However, that didn't stop two charter schools in my area from getting shut down by the state over the last three years for wretched performance. The current push for that has a lot of anti-union backers who just want to see the unions squashed.
And there's a reality that's not talked about as much, and that's the evolving special education situation. Thanks to early intervention and improved testing methods, we can identify and address learning issues or disabilities. This leads to most teachers having multiple students on IEPs, 504s, or district plans in one room. Because modifications must be made on an individual basis, it creates a tremendous challenge to balance it for everyone without leaving anybody out. Teachers must also be available for regular team and parent meetings, some of which won't actually do anything. Regular classroom teachers with good reputations with Special Education may find themselves with a dozen or more such students some years.
Don't get me started on teacher evaluations. Few jobs have more variety to the challenges and variables that come into play. There really isn't one universal model that works because so much of the job will be random.
That just scratches the surface. I'm tired, so I'm done for the night. We've just got a lot of problems in education right now that need to be addressed on multiple fronts.
Meddling, nitpicking beareaucrats and politicians, despite a distinct lack of teacher training and classroom experience, somehow miraculously know how to fix education, even in places it's not broken. They introduce new requirements and standards every other year, which teachers are forced to adapt to.
Data collecting is quickly turning into a colossal waste of time. Extra testing, surveys, and record keeping is happening more and more, taking away from class time and producing piles of often redundant data. What is done with this? Monitoring miniscule gains or losses, or simply applied to creating new methods for test preparation.
The emphasis on testing has become catastrophic, killing off the arts and vocational training in many places, replacing them with courses on how to take the tests. The first thing any teacher will tell you is that every kid is different, possessing varying skills. By shoehorning all students into one definition of success, many get denied the opportunity to get training or learn skills that could help them in the real world. The modern job market demands specialization, but there just isn't room to offer that because of the extra tests. The emphasis on testing techniques has also contributed to...
...the slow decay of critical thinking. Complex, multi-step problems aren't addressed on very many multiple choice tests, and we're producing kids who can think problems out or use basic logic to draw reasonable conclusions. We've put people on the moon, but I think the next generation is being sabotaged to the point that they'll be lucky to get a model rocket off the ground. But testing is a billion dollar business, and it's pretty damn hard to fight against that kind of money.
Our culture is no help. We have access to constant entertainment, with instant answers available online. Why bother thinking or researching when someone else already did it for them? Why pick up a book when they can watch anything on TV or on the net? How can a book compete against an X-Box? I know they say there's no connection between violence and videogames, but I wonder. I've given lessons on how the French, as a nation, smuggled artistic treasures to save them from the Nazis. What do the kids come up with? "Why didn't they just blow up the Louvre when the Nazis came in? Why didn't they hide snipers? Because that's what they would have done." It didn't mean anything that this massive effort took place, that it worked, and that people were honest and patriotic enough to bring the valuable art back. It meant nothing. They're desensitized to violence and almost ignorant of the concept of consequences.
NMLA Syndrome (Not My Little Angel)
Parents that show up only show up to absolve their children from any blame.
Why did he fail the class? Answer: He didn't do the homework and didn't study.
Why has he been called into the office so much? Answer: He disrupts the class constantly and harasses his classmates.
Why wasn't I made aware? Answer: His grades are online and updating daily., and multiple informational sheets about it were
sent home. There were warning notices, as well in the middle of the term.
Can't he do extra credit or make up the missing work? Answer: Grades close in a week, and while I can try to get fresh copies
of ditto sheets from three months ago for him and many other students, I understand that if I don't, then it is completely
my fault your child failed the term.
Why does he have so much make-up work? Answer: You went on a family vacation for a week in the middle of the school year.
What do you expect? I also understand that if I send it home before your vacation, then I've ruined his trip.
This and many other examples too numerous to ramble off here are what real teachers deal with every day.
Why do charter schools (falsely) appear to do better? Tuition. Parents have a monetary stake in it, and they damn well want to make sure their kids get them their money's worth. However, that didn't stop two charter schools in my area from getting shut down by the state over the last three years for wretched performance. The current push for that has a lot of anti-union backers who just want to see the unions squashed.
And there's a reality that's not talked about as much, and that's the evolving special education situation. Thanks to early intervention and improved testing methods, we can identify and address learning issues or disabilities. This leads to most teachers having multiple students on IEPs, 504s, or district plans in one room. Because modifications must be made on an individual basis, it creates a tremendous challenge to balance it for everyone without leaving anybody out. Teachers must also be available for regular team and parent meetings, some of which won't actually do anything. Regular classroom teachers with good reputations with Special Education may find themselves with a dozen or more such students some years.
Don't get me started on teacher evaluations. Few jobs have more variety to the challenges and variables that come into play. There really isn't one universal model that works because so much of the job will be random.
That just scratches the surface. I'm tired, so I'm done for the night. We've just got a lot of problems in education right now that need to be addressed on multiple fronts.
#50
AshburnerX
AshburnerX
Don't even get me started on IEPs. My mother teaches Special Needs kids, so she has an IEP for every kid in her class (20+). She is given one, 8 hour work day a year to do them all. However, these things can take upwards of 2-3 hours to do each. As a result, she spends about a month doing them at home... along side all the other paperwork, teacher meetings, parent/teacher conferences, grading, and planning she needs to do. She doesn't get paid an extra dime for all that time.And there's a reality that's not talked about as much, and that's the evolving special education situation. Thanks to early intervention and improved testing methods, we can identify and address learning issues or disabilities. This leads to most teachers having multiple students on IEPs, 504s, or district plans in one room. Because modifications must be made on an individual basis, it creates a tremendous challenge to balance it for everyone without leaving anybody out. Teachers must also be available for regular team and parent meetings, some of which won't actually do anything. Regular classroom teachers with good reputations with Special Education may find themselves with a dozen or more such students some years.
#51
CrimsonSoul
CrimsonSoul
The only thing interesting that ever happened at my school is they found a full mammoth skeleton.
#52
Zappit
Zappit
So aside from crappy cafeteria food, nothing interesting?The only thing interesting that ever happened at my school is they found a full mammoth skeleton.
#53
PatrThom
I was public school through HS, private through college, and I will tell you this: It does not matter where the funding comes from, it does not even matter where you go to school. If a teacher's focus is on anything other than preparing children for their adult lives, then those children will suffer for it. I cannot tell you how many teachers introduced me to opportunities I otherwise would have missed just because I did not know of their existence. A school with a faculty which cares about education will turn out strong students who are prepared to take on The World, standardized tests be damned.
The fact that the inherent truth of this is lost on so many species of bureaucrat is only slightly less of a tragedy than if those same bureaucrats stormed the schools and personally started slaughtering children. Either way, those children will have no real future, and pointing and saying, "Well, at least we made our funding," just goes to show how little they value the Education part.
--Patrick
PatrThom
Can we go ahead and let Texas sucede?
I was debating whether the intended word was "secede" or "suicide."Not until we all learn to spell secede, at least.
I was public school through HS, private through college, and I will tell you this: It does not matter where the funding comes from, it does not even matter where you go to school. If a teacher's focus is on anything other than preparing children for their adult lives, then those children will suffer for it. I cannot tell you how many teachers introduced me to opportunities I otherwise would have missed just because I did not know of their existence. A school with a faculty which cares about education will turn out strong students who are prepared to take on The World, standardized tests be damned.
The fact that the inherent truth of this is lost on so many species of bureaucrat is only slightly less of a tragedy than if those same bureaucrats stormed the schools and personally started slaughtering children. Either way, those children will have no real future, and pointing and saying, "Well, at least we made our funding," just goes to show how little they value the Education part.
--Patrick