Fair enough Phil. The tests SHOULD be a tool to determine the needs of each individual student not to vilify teachers or force them to teach all students exactly the same.
I happened to grow up in a lower middle class neighborhood in Omaha, where half of the dads worked blue collar jobs and the other half white collar jobs. This was in th…
Fair enough Phil. The tests SHOULD be a tool to determine the needs of each individual student not to vilify teachers or force them to teach all students exactly the same.
I happened to grow up in a lower middle class neighborhood in Omaha, where half of the dads worked blue collar jobs and the other half white collar jobs. This was in the 1960's and early 1970's. Judging by the number of students in our high school that went on to get college degrees (about 70%) I would say we had exceptional teachers and a very good curriculum.
My daughter had a similar experience in rural Maine although not quite as many went to college. Before her junior year in high school she transferred to Ponte Vedra High School in Ponte Vedra, FL. She had an amazing class both academically and athletically. Her Florida High School class ranked 2nd academically and 7th athletically in FL. Never once did her mother and I feel like she wasn't challenged by her teachers or the curriculum.
She graduated in 2012 from high school. I don't doubt that the educational system today suffers in many states. Fortunately, that wasn't my experience or my daughter's.
And as for offshoring jobs, yes that is a problem. I've competed with programmers from India, Russia, Ireland because we are considered interchangeable widgets. But that's a discussion for another time.
Fair enough Phil. The tests SHOULD be a tool to determine the needs of each individual student not to vilify teachers or force them to teach all students exactly the same.
I happened to grow up in a lower middle class neighborhood in Omaha, where half of the dads worked blue collar jobs and the other half white collar jobs. This was in the 1960's and early 1970's. Judging by the number of students in our high school that went on to get college degrees (about 70%) I would say we had exceptional teachers and a very good curriculum.
My daughter had a similar experience in rural Maine although not quite as many went to college. Before her junior year in high school she transferred to Ponte Vedra High School in Ponte Vedra, FL. She had an amazing class both academically and athletically. Her Florida High School class ranked 2nd academically and 7th athletically in FL. Never once did her mother and I feel like she wasn't challenged by her teachers or the curriculum.
She graduated in 2012 from high school. I don't doubt that the educational system today suffers in many states. Fortunately, that wasn't my experience or my daughter's.
And as for offshoring jobs, yes that is a problem. I've competed with programmers from India, Russia, Ireland because we are considered interchangeable widgets. But that's a discussion for another time.