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There won't be a test and there will be a party
I teach a vocational class (Family and Consumer Science) and at the end of each sewing project, each food lab, I review with my middle school students: Where is the science in this? Where did we use math? Where is the Social Studies? The English? At first the students don't understand, they answer with "We made a pillow, that's not Social Studies...." We talk about how and where the fabric was made, whether it's something that was 'up-cycled' and kept out of a landfill, how much we measured/calculated, the mechanics of the sewing machine, the new vocabulary... it's good critical thinking and once the students understand there will be an Outbrief after each project, I hear them anticipating their responses while they are constructing the project. It's a wonderful opportunity for me to reinforce what they've learned in their other classes, and to show them how this knowledge actually IS useful in their everyday lives. Sadly, there is so much emphasis placed on test scores and test prep, students who struggle academically are removed from my class (or their Art or Technology Education or Computer Applications or Foreign Language class) and drilled, force-fed, and school becomes the place where the joy of learning is sucked out of them. This makes me sad and it needs to change.— March 8, 2015 9:39 a.m.
There won't be a test and there will be a party
Generally, no. Different mindset.— March 8, 2015 9:28 a.m.
There won't be a test and there will be a party
Your post says so many unfair things, I don't know where to begin. Yes, it is expensive to educate special needs children, but are you saying we should not continue to do that? If we stop educating children with special needs, what do we do with them? What happens to them? Without at least some form of education, they will be dependent on others for support for the rest of their lives. You are mistaken about money being spent to educate children with high IQs. Surprisingly, some of our students with high IQs also have special needs: it's not unusual to have a student who is gifted in math but struggles with reading comprehension, for example. However, presuming that you are referring to students with high IQs and who excel at academics, I will say there are programs in place across the country to meet the needs of gifted students. The number of "idiot administrators" in our schools is actually quite small. They're not "idiots," and while I may disagree with some of the things they do, I certainly don't think they're stupid or became so once they moved into administration. I do take issue with school administrators who have not been classroom teachers for an extended time (i.e. TFAs like Michelle Rhee who spent three years in a classroom and then moved in to edu-business). No disagreement with you about the helicopter parents and the undisciplined children. ;-)— March 8, 2015 9:26 a.m.