THIS is the reductio ad absurdum of the American (read Bush/Paige/Obama/Duncan/Gates/Broad/Bloomberg/Rhee/Klein) education reform movement. If my child had been sitting in this classroom, I'd have pulled him/her out of that school the same day. If you want to give schools letter grades, I'd give this one an "F".
My younger son started in Klein's second year (seven years ago). In kindergarten at the public school he was attending the teacher was already grading their work according to the NYC Stupid Standard Scores of 1 to 4.
My wife and I talked to the teacher about this and she agreed that she should not be doing this to five year olds but was compelled by the principal who in turn said she was compelled by the Tweed "know nothings."
And yet even with just a moderately proactive PA and SLT we could not get enough parents to oppose this.
Now, I fear this is becoming entrenched, and we still lack a large enough strong, organized opposition.
The sleeping giant that is the parents of New York City has to wake up and start to roar if they want to save their children from becoming cogs in the corporate machine that is taking over the public schools.
I couldn't continue seeing the video. I was getting very annoyed and angry at what the teacher was doing to these children. It's offensive and divisive when there's propaganda in the workplace but it's abuse and obscene when an adult, a supposed educator, is brainwashing these children to react to their stats. Our responsiblity as educators is to open their minds, to have children embrace education, to develop their love for learning, and for our children to learn through inquiry.
But, this was so disturbing that it is just impossible to sit and watch it in its entirety. Shame on that educator. Shame on the school. Shame on the parents who allowed this to occur in their child's school.
Actually anonymous I see a whole lot of math..I am not a supporter of Klein or Bloomberg..but I actually like the fact that students set goals and work to achieve them....it gives them a reason for their schoolwork. They all seem very excited by their achievement...In my school I am amazed by teacher's close contact with children and analysis of their reading levels..it is very one on one...Children are so proud when they move from a J to a K..for example. Rantingwoman..the girl in the coat.....this is second grade..perhaps there is some emotional attachment going on...maybe she wanted to keep it on and the teacher decided it wasn't an issue..perhaps the girl likes PINK...perhaps she was cold...the classroom itself is so cozy and inviting..there is a lot of things going on in this room...This was..I am sure... not a daily occurence - it was a setting of goals...this is where we were...this is wHere we are...this is where we hope to go.....sounds OK to me.
I'm a bit puzzled by all of the negative comments ... I must be missing something that is really onerous. What I see are kids excited about setting and achieving goals. The video does not show how the goals were set and what work went into achieving and exceeding them ... but kudos for doing so. I teach 9th graders who often simply shrug off and accept mediocre performance and are loathe to set measurable goals ... oh ... well they do all want "A"s and they do ALL feel that they are above average ... and so do their parents. SO ... I say Kudos to the school that makes setting and achieving goals a part of the learning environment. Tim
Horrifying. My son always asks me if he's still smart if he only got a low 4 on his recent math test. Getting children involved in this ridiculous data nonsense is criminal.
THIS is the reductio ad absurdum of the American (read Bush/Paige/Obama/Duncan/Gates/Broad/Bloomberg/Rhee/Klein) education reform movement. If my child had been sitting in this classroom, I'd have pulled him/her out of that school the same day. If you want to give schools letter grades, I'd give this one an "F".
ReplyDeleteLet's see...no math, no science, no language arts, no social studies, no art, no music...welcome to the Fouth Reich!
ReplyDeleteLies, damn lies, and statistics.....Poor kids,they do not know they not learning anything of use in the real world...
ReplyDeleteVile.
ReplyDeleteI hate how they use testing against schools and teachers - but kids?
Jonathan
My younger son started in Klein's second year (seven years ago). In kindergarten at the public school he was attending the teacher was already grading their work according to the NYC Stupid Standard Scores of 1 to 4.
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I talked to the teacher about this and she agreed that she should not be doing this to five year olds but was compelled by the principal who in turn said she was compelled by the Tweed "know nothings."
And yet even with just a moderately proactive PA and SLT we could not get enough parents to oppose this.
Now, I fear this is becoming entrenched, and we still lack a large enough strong, organized opposition.
The sleeping giant that is the parents of New York City has to wake up and start to roar if they want to save their children from becoming cogs in the corporate machine that is taking over the public schools.
ReplyDeleteThe data is so important no one bohtered to tell the little girl on the left to take off her coat indoors. Thsi was just sad.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't continue seeing the video. I was getting very annoyed and angry at what the teacher was doing to these children. It's offensive and divisive when there's propaganda in the workplace but it's abuse and obscene when an adult, a supposed educator, is brainwashing these children to react to their stats. Our responsiblity as educators is to open their minds, to have children embrace education, to develop their love for learning, and for our children to learn through inquiry.
ReplyDeleteBut, this was so disturbing that it is just impossible to sit and watch it in its entirety. Shame on that educator. Shame on the school. Shame on the parents who allowed this to occur in their child's school.
Actually anonymous I see a whole lot of math..I am not a supporter of Klein or Bloomberg..but I actually like the fact that students set goals and work to achieve them....it gives them a reason for their schoolwork. They all seem very excited by their achievement...In my school I am amazed by teacher's close contact with children and analysis of their reading levels..it is very one on one...Children are so proud when they move from a J to a K..for example.
ReplyDeleteRantingwoman..the girl in the coat.....this is second grade..perhaps there is some emotional attachment going on...maybe she wanted to keep it on and the teacher decided it wasn't an issue..perhaps the girl likes PINK...perhaps she was cold...the classroom itself is so cozy and inviting..there is a lot of things going on in this room...This was..I am sure... not a daily occurence - it was a setting of goals...this is where we were...this is wHere we are...this is where we hope to go.....sounds OK to me.
I'm a bit puzzled by all of the negative comments ... I must be missing something that is really onerous.
ReplyDeleteWhat I see are kids excited about setting and achieving goals. The video does not show how the goals were set and what work went into achieving and exceeding them ... but kudos for doing so.
I teach 9th graders who often simply shrug off and accept mediocre performance and are loathe to set measurable goals ... oh ... well they do all want "A"s and they do ALL feel that they are above average ... and so do their parents.
SO ... I say Kudos to the school that makes setting and achieving goals a part of the learning environment.
Tim
Horrifying. My son always asks me if he's still smart if he only got a low 4 on his recent math test. Getting children involved in this ridiculous data nonsense is criminal.
ReplyDeleteIt is remarkable, the valuable information
ReplyDelete