| Subject: Re: NCLB |
Author:
pjk
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Date Posted: 10/14/04 3:44:30pm
In reply to:
pa
's message, "Re: NCLB" on 10/14/04 12:38:31pm
>hi pjk how was your mom's visit? I'm sure she enjoyed
>seeing Jack...it just dawned on me today that all of
>us here have boys...I have to say I think Jack wins
>the gold star for cutie pie boy! How was your exam?
Hi pa - mom's vist was great. We took a hike in the foothills/mnts to see some color. It was Jack's first real hike (and papa's first scares with walking in the mountains with a little tike!) We saw a movie that's getting a lot of buzz called "What the #@*! Do We Know? It's worth a trip down to Fanta Se to see it. It's NR and has some computer animation and nothing explicit so Frances might be able to sit through it. A cool mix of quantum physics and metaphysics. I'll agree that Jack's a cutie... but there's some stiff competition from the z's and the c/m's. If & when we get preggo I'm hoping for a girl (of course healthy is the baseline). I think the test went well. I got my first paper back with a good grade so I'm guessing the exam should be similar. I love the middle ages. We're touching on the renacimiento now. Spain - very interesting amalgamation of cultures... I mean I've been aware.. but getting some more depth is exciting. I never knew the myth behind Santiago de Compestella... did you know it was the biggest pilgrimage site after Rome and Jerusalem in the late-early and mid-late middle ages? The # of visitors had died down to about 100 in the late 1800s and has been revived in the last 20 years, especially since Pope PJ visited in '82, and is back in the millions.
>
>three things I will add to your discussion here:
>
>One, It dawned on me today what a double standard I
>have regarding standardized curriculums....when I was
>teacher I was always the one to diverge into
>philosophical affrays regarding the negative aspects
>of standardized anything and the inability of
>standardized tests to measure what was the most
>essential: critical thinking. Now that I am a mom with
>son in school I could care less if the school teaches
>him critical thinking(I am hopeful that Francis will
>get this living with us...life offers best
>opportunities for criticial thinkingetc.) ... my main
>concern is that he is reading at the same level as the
>kid from the wealthiest family in Ann Arbor. I never
>used to use the books purchased by the district while
>I was teaching...I always created my own material. So
>I would also add here that I am very impressed with
>the Reading and math BOOKS adopted by the
>district...they are great...hands on contextual,
>beautiful art etc.
Definitely... textbooks have come a long way since our day. I also sympathize with your views now looking at it from a parent's perspective. One thing I remember from one of teacher classes was a study done on Jesuit Ph.Ds and how after going through the same very rigorous and controled program they all nonetheless came out with their own ways, approaches, and so on. To say, try as anyone might to standardize people, it ain't gonna happen. SO you can give teachers all the same textbooks, but it doesn't mean they'll all be doing the same thing.
>
>the second point I would like to make (and it really
>isn't a point, only a sharing of experience) I see
>that Pjk possibly verges on villifying state takeover
>of schools(his example of the one school in CO.) For
>us here in New MEx, this has been standard practice
>for the last 20 years. While I was teaching for 12
>years for the Espanola District, the state took over
>our district on three different occasions (for not
>meeting teacher requirements) All that I recall
>happening was that we received more support from the
>state in meeting state standards....more visits, more
>empahsis on problem areas particularly english as a
>second language, workshops etc.
Yes, it's true. Villification. But it comes from a couple different places. First, I perceive through some of the rhetoric that it is notreally sincere but a cynical ploy to find yet another way of taking advantage of the poor through privatization. Second, the state (politicians) want to look past all the constants (poverty, substance abuse, etc.) that surround failing schools and blame teachers and hold schools accountable for things they have no control over. Great strides have been made by the government through free breakfast and lunch (big gov. democrat program!). I'm not saying that governments can cure all of societies ills... but blaming schools for them is not a solution.
Also, I believe there is some value to state intervention but also in the value of local control/ meeting local needs and interests - that republican bedrock.
>
>lastly I have to add, pjk you speak of the republicans
>in general terms as a corrupt force yet you gently
>chastised krz for generalizing Muslims....pjk quote:
I'm guilty. I think there may still be some good hearted republican moderates of yore... but they have been severely marginalized by those who have all the power at present. The last two years have been especially atrocious. Gone are the days when Republicans would cross the aisle to impeach a president guilty of high crimes like Nixon.
>"There is little evidence for
>>me to believe that the republicans are sincere in
>>their rhetoric to help minorities with much of
>>anything.
These words refer to republicans like Hastert, Delay, Santorum, & Bush and many others I can't list off hand.
good luck with Arizona!
p.s. Molly's mom & bro are in town this weekend (Nate's got hockey games against CC in the Spgs.)
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