The Free Ride In Public Schools
|
|
To protect children's self-esteem or deflect complaints by parents, many public schools today automatically advance failing students to the next grade level. In other schools, some students are left back a maximum of one year, then promoted again regardless of their academic skills.
The No Child Left Behind Act tries to solve this problem. The federal government is pressuring public schools to set minimum standards that each student must pass before advancing to the next grade.
However, in spite of these new laws, many states still have semi-automatic advancement based on the student's overall per-formance. Many schools consider a student's "portfolio" of work, attendance record, or other mitigating factors. Based on these factors, the school may advance students to the next grade, even though they do poorly on their tests or read at a previous grade level.
For example, a dedicated California 7th-grade math teacher wrote to Dr. Laura Schlessinger, radio talk-show host, about this problem. She said that about 30 percent of her students did not do their daily homework assignments, but she could do nothing about this. That is because the California Education code forbids teachers from "punishing" students for failing to do their homework.
She also said that students are "not retained" if they fail one class or fail all their classes. "Not retained" is a polite way of saying not left back.
Students may not want to do their homework because it bores them to death, but these kids are smart anyhow. Why should they bother doing homework or studying hard if they advance to the next grade no matter how bad they do in class? That would be dumb, and these kids are not dumb.
When students who should be failing automatically advance to the next grade from elementary school through high school, the problem keeps getting worse. By graduation day, some students who graduate can barely read their own diplomas. In effect, these students get a counterfeit diploma that is nothing more than a twelve-year attendance record.
What does automatic promotion teach children? Many students tend to set their standards no higher than what their teachers or school expects of them. Automatic promotion lets students coast along with little or no effort, knowing they will advance to the next grade even if they never study or do their homework, or receive low grades on their tests. Automatic promotion also tells kids they can succeed in life without effort or perseverance.
Besides creating millions of graduating illiterates, automatic promotion tells kids that mediocrity and laziness are acceptable. It tragically sets children up to fail later in life when reality smacks them in the face -- when they apply for college or a job. These are not lessons that schools should be teaching our children.
Parents can avoid this problem by taking their children out of public school and taking advantage of the great education options Joel Turtel describes in his book, "Public Schools, Public Menace."
Joel Turtel is the author of "Public Schools, Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie To Parents and Betray Our Children."Website: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com, Email: lbooksusa@aol.com, Phone: 718-447-7348. Article Copyrighted © 2005 by Joel Turtel. NOTE: You may post this Article on another website only if you set up a hyperlink to Joel Turtel's email address and website URL, http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com
|
|
|
Your Big Yellow Bus
The big yellow school bus is coming down my road again. The neighborhood kids seem happy. The dogs are not. The kids are no longer around during the day and Jersey is going to drop a litt...(related: Parenting)
Potty Training Caveats- Dont Start Too Soon
The First Reason: For one thing, child development experts are concerned that previous generations of parents were putting too much pressure on their children to potty train early. Children were often being punished for not learning to use the toilet.Another Reason: Behind the delayed...(related: Parenting)
Is It Attention Deficit Disorder Or Is It Tourettes Syndrome?
During the assessment process it is of great importance for the physician or clinician to consider other possible causes of inattention, impulsivity, or hyperactivity in your child (or teen, or yourself). In fact, this is probably the most important element of a good assessment. There are several possible causes of these behaviors, especially in children, and the clini...(related: Parenting)
Homeschooling ? Can I Do It?
Many parents would like to homeschool their children but are afraid they don't have the training or ability to be their children's teacher. This is certainly understandable, because most parents never had any formal training to be a teacher. However, most parents don't have to worry about this issue.There is literally a supermarket of education resources available for parents to choose from to help them homeschool their children. These include low-cost Internet private schools that take most of the homeschooling burden off parents' backs.There are also hundreds of low-cost instruction books on how to teach your child reading, math, and many other subjects. These are available in most libraries and great book stores like Barnes & Noble and Borders. There are also thousands of computer sof...(related: Parenting)
How To Find The Best Time To Be With Your Kids
"Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well."-Josh BillingsIf parents want to be able to make best use of time with their children, then it is crucial for a parent to start becoming alert to the state that their children are in. Tired? Satisfied? Bored? His shoe hurts him? She has a stomachache from ...(related: Parenting)
Water! Water Everywhere!
What one word best sums up summer fun? Water. I bet your favorite memories as a child involved getting wet, running through sprinklers on a sweltering afternoon, water fights in the backyard, wading at the beach, playing on the slip & slide, and skipping rocks across the river. Your kids will relish the same experiences if they share them with you.The real secret to having fun with kids is to be easy going enough to enjoy their company. Be sure to appreciate the little things like their suggestions for other games, their planning other times for play and the compliments that are sure to follow!The memories will be of a parent who made the time to play with them, talk with them and laugh with them. More than anything else children want time with loving, relaxed parents, something they cannot get from a televis...(related: Parenting)
?mommy, I Can?t Sleep!?: Sleep Disturbance In Children
Oh Please, Don't Say Maybe!!!!Are you often a participant in an unraveling parent-child interaction? Well you're not alone. Interactions between parents and their children often transgress before our eyes.All ch...(related: Parenting)
What Are Your Children Really Watching?
Saturday mornings. Cold cereal and Scooby Doo. How many parents started out our childhood weekends with this simple ritual? The trick was to wake up early enough to see all of the Saturday morning cartoons because after about 10 am, the children's programming was over until Sunday night's Wonderful World of Disney show came on.My kids also like to get up on Saturday morning and watch cartoons. And on Sunday. And Monday? and Tuesday? You know the rest. While I had only a couple of channels to choose from, my kids have...(related: Parenting)
Taking Home Souvenirs, Not Junk
Gift shops are a kid magnet and often a trip highlight! Do you cringe at the sight inexpensive trinkets and novelty items that will be lost or brok...(related: Parenting)
7 Ways Busy Families Can Volunteer
Volunteering together is a fantastic way to spend time as a family. Volunteering--teaches kindness, compassion and respect.--deepens family relationships. --gives kids a sense of empowerment.--promotes learning about areas of interest, such as hunger, homelessness or human rights.--doesn't require a lot of time.--is fun.--changes lives.An excellent resource for finding volunteer opportunities is "The Busy Family's Guide to Volunteering" by Jenny Friedman (Robins Lane Press). Visiting www.volunteermatch.org can help you locat volunteer opporunities in your area.Here are my favorite family volunteering opportunities:1. PREPARE A MEAL FOR A HOMELESS SHELTER OR SOUP KITCHEN. Even young children can help with shopping, washi...(related: Parenting)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 | Contact Webmaster | Baby Care Info | All Rights Reserved. | Parenting