Back when I was a kid, my parents nearly forced me to do my homework every night. When my grades slipped in math, I remember they hired me a private tutor to get them back up. I cut class a lot in 11Th grade and had to go to summer school to make up some of the classes. If I flunked, I would be held back. That's not how it works in New York City public schools.
But, alas, the Department of Education is trying to make amends by instituting tough new requirements to hold children back who don't perform.
Now, guess what? Parents are up in arms. I'm reading in the Daily News that a group of parents "stormed" the Department of Education building and demanded to see Schools Chancellor Joel Klein. They were furious that his Board of Education was about to vote to make it more difficult for flunkies to move into the 8Th grade.
Basically, if you get an F on the the standardized math and English tests or you flunk one of four other classes, you're held back. Yet, these dimwitted parents think that's a BAD thing. They obviously must approve of their children being idiots, unable to read or write. So get this. These are parents who have enough time to storm the education building, but not spend time with their kids to help them learn. They want the easy way out. They expect the schools to be the sole educators of their children.
These are parents who must believe in mediocrity. Hey, look my kid just got a D-minus. Let's go out for ice cream. In my family, a D-minus would get me grounded for two weeks.
I encourage the Department of Education to bolster their standards and make it more difficult for kids to move forward. For years, New York City school children got an easy pass. Now, Mayor Bloomberg and his education boss are finally cracking down, doing something to make our kids smarter and what do the crummy parents do-----protest!
But, alas, the Department of Education is trying to make amends by instituting tough new requirements to hold children back who don't perform.
Now, guess what? Parents are up in arms. I'm reading in the Daily News that a group of parents "stormed" the Department of Education building and demanded to see Schools Chancellor Joel Klein. They were furious that his Board of Education was about to vote to make it more difficult for flunkies to move into the 8Th grade.
Basically, if you get an F on the the standardized math and English tests or you flunk one of four other classes, you're held back. Yet, these dimwitted parents think that's a BAD thing. They obviously must approve of their children being idiots, unable to read or write. So get this. These are parents who have enough time to storm the education building, but not spend time with their kids to help them learn. They want the easy way out. They expect the schools to be the sole educators of their children.
These are parents who must believe in mediocrity. Hey, look my kid just got a D-minus. Let's go out for ice cream. In my family, a D-minus would get me grounded for two weeks.
I encourage the Department of Education to bolster their standards and make it more difficult for kids to move forward. For years, New York City school children got an easy pass. Now, Mayor Bloomberg and his education boss are finally cracking down, doing something to make our kids smarter and what do the crummy parents do-----protest!
Amen!! As an educator (and a parent), I'm shocked by what I see both in my own school and in the schools my children attend. It's a wonder these kids know ANYTHING with the way the parents intervene. Clearly, they are all concerned with APPEARANCES instead of ACADEMICS.
ReplyDeleteLet's just keep dumbing down and dumbing down. Eventually we won't need to teach anything - we'll simply revert back to pictures like the cavemen!!
By the way, I remember the joy of getting and A AND the "hazard" of the dreaded D - don't even mention an F. A little fear was a great motivator back then. I'm the teacher and I'm still trying to figure out what motivates the kids today.