The school district report cards are out, for what they're worth.
I'll admit right up front that I have no idea the purpose of these reports. In looking at the reports for the five districts in Athens County, as well as "The Guide to Ohio's Accountability System", all I can garner is that these report cards are pretty much based on how well the kids in a given district can take those stupid proficiency tests. And if you don't yet realize that the teachers now have to 'teach to the test', you likely haven't been paying attention.
I like most teachers and they have a tough job at times. I don't know how well I'd put up with some kids and their parents. I suppose I would eventually learn how to be more tactful if I had to but some parents just need to hear the truth straight out about how their little Johnny is a royal pain in the rear in class. But what would be worse for me is having to deal with teaching so the kids could pass this goofy, color in the circle with a number 2 pencil, stress-inducing test that was developed by over-educated morons.
Are the high school graduates of today any smarter then previous generations because they know how to pass this test? My grandparents, who didn't go beyond the eighth grade, could do figures in their heads. I generally need to use paper and pencil. My kids, however, wouldn't understand the need to have either of those skills because you have a calculator on your phone, for cryin' out loud. But at least they can make change, unlike the college grad with the liberal arts degree who gives you a blank stare if the power blinks out at a most inoportune time. Would you like fries with that?
I would think teachers would be a bit ticked off with all this testing. After spending four or five years getting a degree to presumably learn how to teach, develop lesson plans, and evaluate the needs of students, they toss them in a classroom full of kids who aren't prepared because they're too busy texting their friends on their cell phones. Then they're told exactly what material must be covered because we have to get these kids to pass this test so we can get 'No Child Left Behind' money from the feds and so some administrators can have bragging rights. A teacher's job isn't so much teaching as it is creating little robots who have to learn to stay in the lines when they're coloring in the little bubbles. On top of that, they have to go back to college to get the next level degree so we can be sure they still know how to color within the lines themselves.
There are plenty of issues within our education system and these tests are only a part of the problem. I don't have a problem with testing kids to measure their progress as they make their way from grade to grade. Bean counters like to count beans, afterall. What I have a problem with is putting so much emphasis on them that they become the focus rather than a tool to measure. Couldn't we just look at the overall scores and determine where the strengths and weaknesses lie within a district and deal with it? Must so much emphasis be placed on testing that school districts learn how to circumvent the system in order to increase their own scoring?
It's been reported that more and more college freshmen are not ready for collge level classes and have to take remedial classes. We are either forcing kids into college who aren't college material or these tests are giving the kids the idea that once they pass the test to graduate, they're good to go and plenty smart enough. How can our schools be rated excellent yet the colleges are saying you aren't sending us even average students?
Kids are no longer being taught how to learn. They aren't taught how to problem solve. They're taught to identify the mostly likely correct answer on a multiple choice test and color. Which is why the kid behind the fast food counter can't make change without the aid of the cash register computer. “It wasn't on the test.”
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Ohio House Bill 191
House Bill 191:
The Ohio state legislature is wanting to change a few things about the school schedules. If there is one thing that legislators at the state and federal level can do, it's complicate things.
When I was a kid, we didn't start school until the Tuesday following Labor Day. We were never out before the first week of June. One year it was June 30th. There was no such thing as calamity days. If we missed a day because of snow, a day was added at the end of the school year. We had the standard holidays off including the first day of buck season. Teacher in-service days, or whatever they're calling them now, were nonexistent.
As it stands, schools are credited as having been in session for a day if the day is not shortened by more than two hours. They are wanting to change this to be figured on an hourly basis rather than a daily basis. I sort of like this idea. So rather than schools having to be in session for 182 days, they have to meet an hourly requirement of 1,050 hours for grades 7 through 12, and 960 hours for grade school. I think this gives the local school districts more latitude with scheduling. If they had time to make up, they could opt to lengthen the school day for a certain number of day, for example. A school district might choose a longer school day for four days/week rather than shorter days five days/week. A lot of options could open up with this part of the proposed bill.
On the other hand, they are also wanting to limit the school year to between Labor Day and Memorial Day. I have no idea what they are thinking on this part. This takes options away from the schools. I could sort of understand if they used one or the other. If you start before Labor Day, you must be out before Memorial Day but if you start after Labor Day, you can finish the school year after Memorial Day. Something to that effect. But why even bother with that? Let the schools set their individual schedules according to their needs. What's wrong with starting in mid-August, having three weeks off for Christmas break and ending the first week of June? But then I'd like to see year round school schedules become more of the norm.
Wouldn't it be easier if the state just said: You have to provide 1,050 hours of instruction time for the students. You have between July 1 and June 30 to work it out as your district sees fit. One part of this bill seems to counteract the other part of this bill. In one section, the state says you can have more flexibility with scheduling your school year, and another section takes it back away. Sheeeeeesh.
This bill hasn't really gone anywhere yet. It's still in committee. But I did send an email to Rep. Andrew Thompson, 93rd. Even though Mr. Thompson is not my representative, his name is on the bill. I've also met Mr. Thompson and have seen him several times at various events where he has addressed the public and answered questions or otherwise made himself available to his constituents. One of the good guys from my perspective. Anyway, he did email me back and said he'd take my points back to the sponsors of the bill. For the record, I believe he will do what he says.
The bottom line is, the local school districts should be able to set their own schedule based on the needs of their students. Any legislation at the state level should be only to assist local school districts rather than restrict them and otherwise make educating our kids more difficult.
To amend sections 2151.011, 3306.01, 3313.48, 3313.533, 3313.62, 3314.03, 3317.01, 3321.05, and 3326.11; to enact new section 3313.481 and section 3313.621; and to repeal sections 3313.481 and 3313.482 of the Revised Code to establish a minimum school year for school districts, STEM schools, and chartered nonpublic schools based on hours, rather than days, of instruction and to prohibit public schools from being open for instruction prior to Labor Day or after Memorial Day except in specified circumstances.
The Ohio state legislature is wanting to change a few things about the school schedules. If there is one thing that legislators at the state and federal level can do, it's complicate things.
When I was a kid, we didn't start school until the Tuesday following Labor Day. We were never out before the first week of June. One year it was June 30th. There was no such thing as calamity days. If we missed a day because of snow, a day was added at the end of the school year. We had the standard holidays off including the first day of buck season. Teacher in-service days, or whatever they're calling them now, were nonexistent.
As it stands, schools are credited as having been in session for a day if the day is not shortened by more than two hours. They are wanting to change this to be figured on an hourly basis rather than a daily basis. I sort of like this idea. So rather than schools having to be in session for 182 days, they have to meet an hourly requirement of 1,050 hours for grades 7 through 12, and 960 hours for grade school. I think this gives the local school districts more latitude with scheduling. If they had time to make up, they could opt to lengthen the school day for a certain number of day, for example. A school district might choose a longer school day for four days/week rather than shorter days five days/week. A lot of options could open up with this part of the proposed bill.
On the other hand, they are also wanting to limit the school year to between Labor Day and Memorial Day. I have no idea what they are thinking on this part. This takes options away from the schools. I could sort of understand if they used one or the other. If you start before Labor Day, you must be out before Memorial Day but if you start after Labor Day, you can finish the school year after Memorial Day. Something to that effect. But why even bother with that? Let the schools set their individual schedules according to their needs. What's wrong with starting in mid-August, having three weeks off for Christmas break and ending the first week of June? But then I'd like to see year round school schedules become more of the norm.
Wouldn't it be easier if the state just said: You have to provide 1,050 hours of instruction time for the students. You have between July 1 and June 30 to work it out as your district sees fit. One part of this bill seems to counteract the other part of this bill. In one section, the state says you can have more flexibility with scheduling your school year, and another section takes it back away. Sheeeeeesh.
This bill hasn't really gone anywhere yet. It's still in committee. But I did send an email to Rep. Andrew Thompson, 93rd. Even though Mr. Thompson is not my representative, his name is on the bill. I've also met Mr. Thompson and have seen him several times at various events where he has addressed the public and answered questions or otherwise made himself available to his constituents. One of the good guys from my perspective. Anyway, he did email me back and said he'd take my points back to the sponsors of the bill. For the record, I believe he will do what he says.
The bottom line is, the local school districts should be able to set their own schedule based on the needs of their students. Any legislation at the state level should be only to assist local school districts rather than restrict them and otherwise make educating our kids more difficult.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Ohio SB165
On May 3, 2011, SB 165 was introduced by Senator Larry Obhof and Senator Tim Grendell.
Students entering ninth grade in the fall of 2012 will be required to study The Declaration of Independence, The Northwest Ordinance, The Constitution of the United States with emphasis on the Bill of Rights, and The Ohio Constitution. Also included will be the Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalist Papers for historical reference.
Really? We have to legislate this? I would think that teaching our founding documents in high school would be a no-brainer. Evidently, we have no brains in education. Or at least none in those positions that make curriculum decisions if we have to resort to this.
For that matter, why is the state making these decisions anyway? Shouldn't these decisions be made at the local school board level? Oh yea. That's right. We've turned all that over to the state and federal governments. And we wonder why so many kids can't read but graduate from high school anyway.
In my world, education would be privatized. Decisions would be made by a board made up of parents, teachers, and others who have a vested interest in how well the school performs. We could call it "The School Board".
Good teachers would be kept and poor teachers would be fired. Great teachers would be in demand and would ultimately make the most money. No more tenure. No more last hired, first fired. Teachers would have input about what to teach and how to teach.
The school board would make the decisions about what classes would be offered. If a school wants to offer classes in religion, they could do that based on the demands made by parents. Yes, God would be in more schools. The 'extra' classes that could be offered would not be limited. If a school chooses to offer a course in underwater basket weaving, that would be up to the board, parents, and teachers. The board could even choose to have parents teach some courses or be guest speakers. Try doing that now.
Funding would come directly from parents. Tuition payments could be made monthly, or annually if you prefer. Parents would become more involved because when they write out that tuition check every month, it would remind them to attend school board meetings. Scholarships would be available for those who need help with tuition funded by companies and anyone else interested in voluntarily contributing.
That's my world. For the time being, education is primarily a public service funded by taxes.
Under the current system of funding, the taxes are lumped in with all of the other taxes collected whether it's property taxes or income taxes and it's easy to ignore just how much you are paying to fund your failing school system. And everyone who owns property and/or works for a living must pay them regardless of whether or not you have kids in the school system.
A public school system would have a greater chance of success if we could get away from the notion that the state knows how to educate. They do not. We should allow the local school boards to make the decisions based on the needs of those in their district. What works in a rural district, probably will not work in an urban district. But in this country, we seem to think that what works for one, works for all.
But there are other issues as well. More parents must be involved in the workings of their school board. More citizens must become involved. We need to realize that the school exists to help the parents, not the other way around.
In the meantime, I do want to thank Senator Larry Obhof and Senator Tim Grendell as well as cosponsors Senator Keith Faber, Senator Jim Hughes, Senator Shannon Jones, Senator Kris Jordan, Senator Tim Schaffer, Senator Bill Seitz, Senator Tom Sawyer, and Senator Cliff Hite, for SB165. It's a good step in the right direction. Somewhere in Ohio, there may be a junior high student who will be inspired by those documents to lead the transformation of Ohio's school system closer to my utopia. But I hope it happens before then.
"To amend sections 3301.079, 3313.60, and 3313.603 of the Revised Code to include content on specified historical documents in the state academic standards and in the high school American history and government curriculum."
Students entering ninth grade in the fall of 2012 will be required to study The Declaration of Independence, The Northwest Ordinance, The Constitution of the United States with emphasis on the Bill of Rights, and The Ohio Constitution. Also included will be the Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalist Papers for historical reference.
Really? We have to legislate this? I would think that teaching our founding documents in high school would be a no-brainer. Evidently, we have no brains in education. Or at least none in those positions that make curriculum decisions if we have to resort to this.
For that matter, why is the state making these decisions anyway? Shouldn't these decisions be made at the local school board level? Oh yea. That's right. We've turned all that over to the state and federal governments. And we wonder why so many kids can't read but graduate from high school anyway.
In my world, education would be privatized. Decisions would be made by a board made up of parents, teachers, and others who have a vested interest in how well the school performs. We could call it "The School Board".
Good teachers would be kept and poor teachers would be fired. Great teachers would be in demand and would ultimately make the most money. No more tenure. No more last hired, first fired. Teachers would have input about what to teach and how to teach.
The school board would make the decisions about what classes would be offered. If a school wants to offer classes in religion, they could do that based on the demands made by parents. Yes, God would be in more schools. The 'extra' classes that could be offered would not be limited. If a school chooses to offer a course in underwater basket weaving, that would be up to the board, parents, and teachers. The board could even choose to have parents teach some courses or be guest speakers. Try doing that now.
Funding would come directly from parents. Tuition payments could be made monthly, or annually if you prefer. Parents would become more involved because when they write out that tuition check every month, it would remind them to attend school board meetings. Scholarships would be available for those who need help with tuition funded by companies and anyone else interested in voluntarily contributing.
That's my world. For the time being, education is primarily a public service funded by taxes.
Under the current system of funding, the taxes are lumped in with all of the other taxes collected whether it's property taxes or income taxes and it's easy to ignore just how much you are paying to fund your failing school system. And everyone who owns property and/or works for a living must pay them regardless of whether or not you have kids in the school system.
A public school system would have a greater chance of success if we could get away from the notion that the state knows how to educate. They do not. We should allow the local school boards to make the decisions based on the needs of those in their district. What works in a rural district, probably will not work in an urban district. But in this country, we seem to think that what works for one, works for all.
But there are other issues as well. More parents must be involved in the workings of their school board. More citizens must become involved. We need to realize that the school exists to help the parents, not the other way around.
In the meantime, I do want to thank Senator Larry Obhof and Senator Tim Grendell as well as cosponsors Senator Keith Faber, Senator Jim Hughes, Senator Shannon Jones, Senator Kris Jordan, Senator Tim Schaffer, Senator Bill Seitz, Senator Tom Sawyer, and Senator Cliff Hite, for SB165. It's a good step in the right direction. Somewhere in Ohio, there may be a junior high student who will be inspired by those documents to lead the transformation of Ohio's school system closer to my utopia. But I hope it happens before then.
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