- by nearly all accounts, constructivism taught in schools of education to the exclusion of all other pedagogies
- baby boom teachers retiring
- teaching staffs consisting almost entirely of young, childless females who know one thing and that one thing is constructivism
- in some communities, parents who are appreciably more affluent and/or better educated than parents in previous generations - i.e., parents who have some hope of remediating the deficiencies of the school either through their own reteaching of content or by availing themselves of the tutoring that can be provided by district teachers for a handsome fee
The result, perceptible only to parents who have children currently enrolled in the public schools, it seems, is a role reversal Tex calls "the new normal."
- newsletters sent home in the backpack telling parents they are responsible for teaching the math facts, and assigning them a deadline by which this feat is to be accomplished
- first-grade spelling lists drawn up for parents along with instructions that the words are to be mastered by the end of the school year
- pages and pages of text and PowerPoint slides posted at the DOE telling parents how to "help with homework"
- official, university-sponsored involve parents in schoolwork programs with names like "TIPS" (Teachers Involving Parents in Schoolwork)
- "contracts" and "acknowledgement of letter" forms for parents to sign re: involvement in child's grades and/or homework
- etc.
I feel as if I'm living in a parallel universe.
Our pundits, wonks, and columnists reside in a land where wealthy white schools are good to excellent; poor black and Hispanic schools are wretched.
Apparently, in the world of policy analysis, people get what they pay for.
Excellent summary!
ReplyDeleteThat is EXACTLY what we live through.
In addition: children are denied any responsibilities until they are 20 or older.
It really is extraordinary.
ReplyDeleteThey are denied the responsibilities they could actually handle; they are handed responsibilities for "asking large questions" and conducting "research."
I just commented on Linda Moran’s Beyond TERC group (http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/beyondterc/) about an upcoming horror movie that features this parallel universe. The title is "Honey, We're Going Back to School".
ReplyDeleteHere's the story line. Parents are horrified to find out they will have to teach their kids the things they're not learning in school. While searching for math books at the local bookstore, one mom finds that her friend only got a B- on her last book report! What will the neighbors think? Meanwhile, the kids on the other side of town are rescued by "Special Ed Man" and thankfully will not be left behind. In the end, the parents devise a way to open a "Cram `Um" franchise where they can become gazillionairs by taking in customers/victims who will pay them big bucks for the privilege of learning their multiplication tables. And everyone lives happily ever after, because at least they know how to use calculators!
So even if I wasn't homeschooing my kids but sending them to public school, in some places I'd still be homeschooling my kids?
ReplyDeleteHi, Dawn!
ReplyDeleteNo!
You wouldn't be homeschooling!
You'd be AFTERSCHOOLING!
WHICH IS MUCH, MUCH WORSE!
That title - "Honey, We're Going Back to School" - for a couple of years now I've been thinking that the one good thing about having to reteach content is that I'm learning things I missed in my own not great public school.
ReplyDeleteDawn
ReplyDeleteThe non-flip answer appears to be "yes" in all areas of the country I've seen.
Parents are now expected to "help with homework," it appears, AND the homework assigned is frequently far over kids' heads.
Beyond that, schools aren't accountable for student learning (beyond what NCLB now imposes).
They aren't legally responsible for results (though, as Myrtle pointed out, a parent could be arrested for educational neglect).
Parents are also on the hook for seeing to it their kids have actually learned the material being "covered" in school.