It's All About the Kids!
This past Saturday in downtown Chicago the 2012 Midwestern Marxism Conference was held. And surprise, surprise, the conference was filled with many public school teachers.
I wonder if we would see the same turnout in Ontario? That's a no-brainer...
The children are our future...
The best thing I ever did for my kids’ education is getting her out of the Saskatoon Public School System(SPSS). She now attends a Charter School in the Phoenix area, and it truly is apples and oranges compared to the SPSS.
In Arizona she got a swift kick in the butt her first year, especially in math and English. Now I'm happy to say she is achieving A's again because of a lot of hard work. It was a "swift kick in the butt" because the students at her school are at least 1 year(probably 2 years) ahead of the kids in the same grade (8) in the SPSS, especially in Math and English. Furthermore, they use “traditional” teaching methods including phonics, word and sentence structures, essay writing for English. In math they must memorize math formulas and tables; and, they are not allowed to use calculators. I believe that using calculators in Saskatchewan elementary schools is gravely hurting the students, but I digress.
At my daughter’s school they don’t bother with the “new and improved” teaching methods, they regularly fail students, hand-out zeros, they shame students that under achieve. On top of that, they spend next to NO CLASS TIME on frivolous escapades such as art, music and so on. Those things you must do on your own time, by joining clubs before and after school( you must be passing all classes to qualify). Finally, they recognize achievement, as the top math student in 2011-12 received a full scholarship to ASU for her first year; a grade 8 student! All of that said, the most significant difference is they will kick a student out of the school if they cannot “keep up” to make room for someone who can. This is quite different from the SPSS’s ‘race to the bottom’.
I reckon if my kid returned to the SPSS she would have to be moved-up at least one or two grade levels. The SPSS is an embarrassment, and the expectations for the students is embarrassing. If your kids are in this school system, they are being robbed of a decent education. Get them out somehow! Unfortunately, I didn't know how little was actually being taught to my kids in the SPSS relative to other students abroad; but I am glad to now see the truth of things. I suspect most kids graduating from the SPSS will not be able to compete abroad because of the poor quality of education they are receiving; and, my kid was at an ‘achieving’ school, which makes it all the more shocking.
Finally, I always was suspicious of the SPSS because of the unavoidable comparison between my kid's academic education and her athletics. In past years I've said at sda that "the teachers at school never challenge my kid nearly as much as her softball and basketball coaches who demand perfection, and accept no excuses". Well, I'll tell you what; I can now say that my kid is challenged as much, if not more at the Ward Traditional Academy in Tempe than she is by her club team basketball coach. And that is saying quite a bit, considering the ramp-up in athletic competition is at least a factor of 2X more competitive than what she was used to in Saskatchewan.
Posted by Kate at 11:27 AM| Comments (30)
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