tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25541994.post114555869775179921..comments2024-03-26T14:44:37.985-04:00Comments on D-Ed Reckoning: New NCLB PollKDeRosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06853211164976890091noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25541994.post-1145928993551716192006-04-24T21:36:00.000-04:002006-04-24T21:36:00.000-04:00I don't believe it is any more logical to say it i...<I>I don't believe it is any more logical to say it is always the fault of the schools and teachers when a child doesn't learn (the implication of your response to the poll) than it is to say that it is always the fault of the child.</I><BR/><BR/>Hi Jim V.<BR/><BR/>I agree, it's not always the fault of schools. I'd say about 10% of students (the hard cases) won't respond to the most effective education and classroom management. That leaves about 60% of the student population that can be educated that currently is not. These are the kids I'm talking about.KDeRosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06853211164976890091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25541994.post-1145921984542870572006-04-24T19:39:00.000-04:002006-04-24T19:39:00.000-04:00I don't believe it is any more logical to say it i...I don't believe it is any more logical to say it is always the fault of the schools and teachers when a child doesn't learn (the implication of your response to the poll) than it is to say that it is always the fault of the child.<BR/><BR/>I am a rare public school teacher (and also a parent) who is also a NCLB fan. I agree, for example, that testing vs. creativity is a false choice. I recognize that my profession has been long on excuses and complaints and short on can-doism. But there needs to be a way for teachers to tell the truth about the challenges they're faced with without being accused of defeatism.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25541994.post-1145636644112081402006-04-21T12:24:00.000-04:002006-04-21T12:24:00.000-04:00Game Theorist, you're mistaken.The teacher was cle...Game Theorist, you're mistaken.<BR/><BR/>The teacher was clearly blaming the student for not peforming and not merely "making a point that kids have different experiences and tools from the get go."<BR/><BR/>The teacher's explicit argument goes like this:<BR/><BR/>The standards are being applied to everyone uniformly. (a true premise).<BR/><BR/>But kids aren't uniform in their abilities (another true premise).<BR/><BR/>As a result, schools won't be able to meet the standards (an unsupported conclusion).<BR/><BR/>The conclusion implies that there is nothing the schools can do to remedy the deficiencies in some of the children. A further fair implication one could draw is that the schools are doing all they can do at present to help these kids.<BR/><BR/>It's not the school's fault some kids aren't learning. The kids themselves are the problem.<BR/><BR/><I>Stop childish finger pointing in edu circles, can we just agree most of us want kids to learn?</I><BR/><BR/>Let's agree. So when kids don't learn who's to blame?<BR/><BR/>Today, most educators continue to blame the student and almost never question the possibility that their own instructional delivery system may be defective.KDeRosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06853211164976890091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25541994.post-1145618252568117822006-04-21T07:17:00.000-04:002006-04-21T07:17:00.000-04:00Thanks Edwonk.I think that is right.I believe Cath...Thanks Edwonk.<BR/><BR/>I think that is right.<BR/><BR/>I believe Catherine made the same point recently at Kitchen Table Math.KDeRosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06853211164976890091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25541994.post-1145604815172239092006-04-21T03:33:00.000-04:002006-04-21T03:33:00.000-04:00Well written.Do you think that it's possible that ...Well written.<BR/><BR/>Do you think that it's possible that parents are more optimistic about their local school's effectiveness in the same way that many folks earnestly believe that Congress is full of crooks but their own Representatives are basically good?<BR/><BR/>I'm enjoying your site; hope that you continue expressing your ideas.EdWonkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07487951830278757474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25541994.post-1145588122947963632006-04-20T22:55:00.000-04:002006-04-20T22:55:00.000-04:00If teachers believe that they can't teach kids fro...If teachers believe that they can't teach kids from certain backgrounds how to read and write and do arithmetic, then I think they are honour-bound to return the money for those kids to taxpayers. <BR/><BR/>There's no excuse for taking money to do something when you have no intention of doing it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25541994.post-1145582670410537292006-04-20T21:24:00.000-04:002006-04-20T21:24:00.000-04:00The funny (not ha ha) thing is that any education ...The funny (not ha ha) thing is that any education article you read has these kid of quotes in them. The "blame the student" mentality is so engrained, they don't give it a second thought.KDeRosahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06853211164976890091noreply@blogger.com