One of the original purposes of public education was to teach children to be productive members of society. Students learned moral standards and were also trained to enter the workforce in public schooling. These foundational tenets of education seem to have been forgotten over the years. What public schools are producing today hardly reflects the original purpose of public education. In fact, it appears that we are simultaneously creating a dysfunctional society and are teaching our students to function within it.
Public education has abandoned the social model and has evolved into a business model that seems to value the perception of high scores and ranking more than authentic student achievement. Educators are chided to adapt teaching to align with students’ learning styles but are concurrently rushed through instruction to prepare for a variety of assessments that lead to the state standardized test, eliminating opportunities to tailor instruction to students’ diverse needs. The result has been devastating to student achievement.
To give the appearance of student achievement, the academic bar has been lowered, disruptive behavior has been condoned to keep students in school and district designations have been created to allow districts to sidestep accountability measures among other things. The No Zero policy in effect in many Texas districts is a great example of giving the appearance of achievement. Many education stakeholders are not aware that students can be awarded a grade of 50 or 60 for an assignment they didn’t even turn in. How does awarding points for doing nothing prepare students to compete successfully in the community and workplace?
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