Jen, I agree

I think the bug is in his leg under the other bandage.

That teachers and administrators and parents are just doing things out of some touchy-feely hippy ideology without paying attention to the real task of school.

Interesting. Because Emmett's going to school in the East Bay (next door to Berkeley) and his curriculum is like...8 kerjillion (yes, I've documented this) times more difficult and demanding than mine was in third grade and what I clearly see on a daily basis is a strong grasp of exactly what works in education.

Alias: I definitely have bad feelings about Dr. Lenny. Michael McKean does a great job at being cheerful creepy (see X-Files), and he's doing it in spades here. If they kill off SpyDaddy, Ima gonna be mad.

Hec... um. That's good! But, uh, were you making a point? That's not me being snarky sarcasticperson -- I'm not sure if you're disagreeing with me, or pointing out that there are people with a good grasp, or what?

Yeah, I absolutely agree, Emily. She's got a lot of anecdotes, but I don't think they neccesarily add up to a large-scale problem. And actually, when I think about a whole bunch of schools where I've volunteered, I think that half of them don't even have playgrounds big enough for playing tag, which I'd say is a much bigger problem.

I think there's got to be a balance in there somewhere. She's not it.

Hil: Yup! On the other hand, who needs another book about how schools need more money, teachers need better pay, and the culture needs more respect for learning? Boring.

the real task of school

Here's a problem phrase. People have different views for what that task is. Is it mastery of core subjects? Is it teaching metacognitive skills? Is it producing a work force? Is it teaching interpersonal skills? Is it keeping kids off the streets/babysitting? Ask different people and you'll get different answers.

Personally, I think it's a combination of all those things. But, its also knowing that not every kid is going to achieve these things and you have to work with the individuals and their capabilities.

In college, grades should be determined by mastery of subject. But in high school? You can't fail kids in Special Ed no matter how poorly they do. They can make no progress over the year and they will still pass because you have to pass them. Is it fair to the kid who works through high school in regular classes or advanced classes when there's another kid who takes Special Ed classes and they have the same GPA? Depends on your definition of fair, I guess.

In my "Reading in the Content Area" class we watched a video on learning disabilities in which the guy leading the workshop said that he gets a lot of teachers telling him they can't make specific accomodations for an LD child in their classroom because it wouldn't be fair to other students. This is, he said, an essentially childish definition of fair -- fair isn't everyone getting the same thing, fair is everyone getting what they need. Which seemed pretty insightful to me.

fair is everyone getting what they need

That would be my definition. I see no problems with some social promotion depending on the situation. But, people need to realize in those situations, something besides mastery of subject is more important for those students. A lot of people don't get that.

People (and I do include myself in this) would really like for there to be one simple answer -- one right way to teach, one right way to treat kids (and other people), one True Way that would turn out well-adjusted, high-scoring, pleasant, and respectful kids. Seriously, I would really like this. And I keep catching myself thinking, "Oh, maybe they're going to tell me the secret of classroom management, or motivation, or whatever" and having to remember that that's just not going to happen.