Wow, my last entry definitely needed "spell check"! I just spoke with Nelda yesterday, and she was accompanying her sweet husband to Pizza Hut in Falfurrias. Her spirits were high; however, she felt that things were perhaps not good for her friends in the SPIRIT...aka...me. She was right! We just lost our sweet puppy Hershey to a snake bite. That precious puppy helped me get through Mom's death three years ago this November. Hershey or "Hershel" as Doc renamed her will be greatly missed. I have also been sharing in my cousin Cindy Robinson's loss of her Mother-in-Law, Marilyn Robinson. They were very close. Cindy and her families' pain and loss is shared by us all. Nobody can replace the LOVE OF A MOTHER!
Nelda also invited Pete and I to a July 4th celebration planned for this weekend in Premont, Texas. Nelda's hometown is really pulling together trying to overcome the problems their school system has faced. I think there are many systems facing similar woes. The conflict(s) and pressures placed on the public school systems from State and Federal mandates-which have increased ten-fold in the last 10-12 years= have driven public school systems into the ground.
The legislators at both levels have not only created conflicting "Accountability Systems", but they have shrouded the criteria which labels a campus or entire district as unacceptable in statistically-based pedagogical language. This language,, and the unclear, ever-increasing "statistical" standards create fear for the average parent. Finally, further complicating the issue, in place of alleviating irrational fears with laymen-based, logical explanations for the "negative" accountability label which was created to concretely pinpoint minor areas in need of improvement. The lawmakers reacted in a knee jerk fashion, to settle the turmoil they created. They fueled the fire, diverting attention from an accountability system they could not even understand themselves, and placated "well-intentioned" parents with the choice to move their child to another campus with an "Acceptable" rating. If this occurred in a small District, with only one campus at that level, this placed another kink in the plan leading to further confusion and decline especially for small school districts.
The subsequent changes placated the parents with the means to move their child to neighboring districts; however, the receiving districts had the option to accept or deny these childrens' enrollment based on policy/criteria determined by that District's Local Policy.
Please excuse the sarcasm, but it does not take the sharpest "tool in the shed" to figure out that the above average students will be accepted and the struggling, over-aged students will be denied....leaving only one option....returning to the "Unacceptable" District from whence they came.
What happens next, all struggling, over-aged students who have historically been economically disadvantaged are concentrated, homogeneously into the "Unacceptable" Districts/Campuses.
In reality the only entities gaining from the entire calamity are companies selling "fix it" solutions which are marketed under the "research-based" label to meet that nebulous criteria required prior to any federal/state purchases.
Most school systems have been jumping blindly from one program to the next simply praying that the "band-aid" works....all the while....CHILDREN....not just one, as implied by the singular tense used in... "No Child Left Behind", but hundreds of school age children are being left behind. They are not only being Left Behind one grade-level but two and three grade-levels which has left them discouraged, embarrassed, and ready to give up.
I pray that legislators at all levels open their eyes, quit bickering over self-serving issues, and own the legacy which will be theirs in five to ten years and beyond. The ripple effect of their decisions is immeasurable; subsequently and sadly, all dedicated, devoted educators know that it will devastate our future generations-to what degree-is the unknown variable. However, free, equitable, public education for all citizens is imperative for an authentic, resprentative, democracy to be built, maintained, and thrive. Our forefathers built it, but we are not maintaining it. If this lack of maintenance continues, it will not thrive-nor will our free, representative democracy which has been the "light on the hill" for others to follow. The light is smoldering but the wick has not gone out. So, like Premont, join hands, fan the fire, and together we can shine brighter together-indivisible!
Nelda also invited Pete and I to a July 4th celebration planned for this weekend in Premont, Texas. Nelda's hometown is really pulling together trying to overcome the problems their school system has faced. I think there are many systems facing similar woes. The conflict(s) and pressures placed on the public school systems from State and Federal mandates-which have increased ten-fold in the last 10-12 years= have driven public school systems into the ground.
The legislators at both levels have not only created conflicting "Accountability Systems", but they have shrouded the criteria which labels a campus or entire district as unacceptable in statistically-based pedagogical language. This language,, and the unclear, ever-increasing "statistical" standards create fear for the average parent. Finally, further complicating the issue, in place of alleviating irrational fears with laymen-based, logical explanations for the "negative" accountability label which was created to concretely pinpoint minor areas in need of improvement. The lawmakers reacted in a knee jerk fashion, to settle the turmoil they created. They fueled the fire, diverting attention from an accountability system they could not even understand themselves, and placated "well-intentioned" parents with the choice to move their child to another campus with an "Acceptable" rating. If this occurred in a small District, with only one campus at that level, this placed another kink in the plan leading to further confusion and decline especially for small school districts.
The subsequent changes placated the parents with the means to move their child to neighboring districts; however, the receiving districts had the option to accept or deny these childrens' enrollment based on policy/criteria determined by that District's Local Policy.
Please excuse the sarcasm, but it does not take the sharpest "tool in the shed" to figure out that the above average students will be accepted and the struggling, over-aged students will be denied....leaving only one option....returning to the "Unacceptable" District from whence they came.
What happens next, all struggling, over-aged students who have historically been economically disadvantaged are concentrated, homogeneously into the "Unacceptable" Districts/Campuses.
In reality the only entities gaining from the entire calamity are companies selling "fix it" solutions which are marketed under the "research-based" label to meet that nebulous criteria required prior to any federal/state purchases.
Most school systems have been jumping blindly from one program to the next simply praying that the "band-aid" works....all the while....CHILDREN....not just one, as implied by the singular tense used in... "No Child Left Behind", but hundreds of school age children are being left behind. They are not only being Left Behind one grade-level but two and three grade-levels which has left them discouraged, embarrassed, and ready to give up.
I pray that legislators at all levels open their eyes, quit bickering over self-serving issues, and own the legacy which will be theirs in five to ten years and beyond. The ripple effect of their decisions is immeasurable; subsequently and sadly, all dedicated, devoted educators know that it will devastate our future generations-to what degree-is the unknown variable. However, free, equitable, public education for all citizens is imperative for an authentic, resprentative, democracy to be built, maintained, and thrive. Our forefathers built it, but we are not maintaining it. If this lack of maintenance continues, it will not thrive-nor will our free, representative democracy which has been the "light on the hill" for others to follow. The light is smoldering but the wick has not gone out. So, like Premont, join hands, fan the fire, and together we can shine brighter together-indivisible!
posted by Unknown @ 5:36 PM
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