the even scarier thing is, I know that you and I are in the same state which is actually one of the tougher in the nation as far as benchmarks and learning standards..... but of course with massive budget cuts because the state can't seem to manage money properly, they will have no choice but to dumb things down because districts are not going to have any money for anything other than the absolute bare minimum and then not even that in some cases!

these kids will just be pushed through the system and end up graduating (if they are lucky) and going on to a successful life of collecting welfare, food stamps and unemployment since college won't even be a remote option and they won't have the tools to do any better for themselves....

Its called Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) in South Africa. It is currently being phased out of our schools because it is failing the kids. It was a model "borrowed" from Brazil, where it also failed.

Having portfolios (binders) weigh as strongly as tests. it's crazy. Its a model that works well with adult learners because it is assumed that they have the motivation and discipline to complete their tasks on their own. However in kids, this system is dangerously flawed because it places a lot of the hard-core learning imperative on children. Children need instruction, not mentoring when it comes to their education. They dont know, therefore they need to learn. And the best way of learning is teaching in such young ages, not facilitation.

I just blogged about my skids going to summer school. In my area...summer school is for 6 weeks of the summer and depending on how many classes the student fails for the year dictates how long they must stay each day (ex: one failed class=3 hours, 2 failed classes=5 hours; 3 failed classes=all day). The student is allowed to miss 2 days during that 6 weeks. My SD has been in summer school twice now and is on target for needing to go again this summer. Both times before, I never saw any homework, never saw anything come home in the form of work to study for a test or anything of the sort. Yet...she passed summer school and passed on to the next grade. So...basically...if the student shows up to summer school enough..they will pass to the next grade. My SD has consistently failed 3 classes all school year...and if she doesn't end up failing a 4th class, she would be eligible to attend summer school. If she attends summer school, she will get passed on to the next grade. Is that really the best thing for her? She obviously doesn't understand/comprehend most of what she was given this school year and she will still get to go on to the next grade?!?!?!? I can't believe it, I feel that if a student failed more than one class...there shouldn't be any summer school for that student. I am still hoping that I can get DH to understand that we are doing SD a great dis-service if we allow her to attend summer school...

Oh God, Auteur.

Once again, our situations are almost 100% identical when it comes to skids' grades/education.

FSD16's teachers have all been doing the EXACT same thing with her - and NOW it's starting with FSS13's failing test grades, too.

Oh, and another thing FSS13 has been saying, in response to poor exam grades - wait for it, wait, wait...

"The teacher drops the lowest grade, so who cares - I'll pass."

Test grades are VERY similar to your skids' test grades, too. They fail exams, but get higher grades on "take-home quizzes", homework, etc... and in the end, a 65-67 final grade is given. On to the next grade they go...NEXT!!!!

By the way, FSD16 was just home "sick" from school AGAIN yesterday - she averages about 1 absence per month now this year (so far she has 7 or 8). Her answer to FDH when he said to her she's been absent too much this year - oh, I was only absent ONCE (maybe this QUARTER, dear, not the whole YEAR) and then her response was - wait for it, wait, wait....

"Daaadddy, they allow 23 absences per year! I can be absent 23 times! So I haven't been absent that much at ALLL."

He replied "no, they allow ZERO (0) absences." but that was it...she disagreed again and he dropped it! No punishment, no discussion, no lesson learned, nothing, nada, zilch.

OH WAIT!! I'm wrong, my bad! FDH took FSD16 to the nearest cell phone store yesterday and bought her a brand new $500 (retail price) smartphone with unlimited EVERYTHING!!!

:jawdrop: :jawdrop: :jawdrop:

Wait a minute, wasn't she too sick to go to school from BM's house yesterday????? But yet she was miraculously well enough to accompany Daddykins to the local cell phone store to get a NEW CELL PHONE!!!!

GGGRRRRR!!! Honestly, I sometimes want to EXPLODE from my experiences with this Steplife!!! It is honestly UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

I find this all very interesting & wonder if it just depends on your state. My stepsons are both straight A students, the 5th grader is in advanced classes & does 7th grade math & reading, he is learning powerpoint & excel ( has offered to help me out with it, one day at work we were struggling with something & I actually tried to call him to ask a question) the 7th grader is doing 9th grade math & science & is learning illustrator. They both attend plain old public school. They both love learning so maybe that is the key. Even my 3 1/2 year old loves to do " homework" at his home daycare. He is learning to write numbers, can spell is name & we are starting to teach him to read.

Now that I think about this..... maybe the key truly is the parents fostering a love of learning and taking that time to teach them that is the key. I want my child to be brilliant & be somebody some day & chose to push him in a manner while learining is fun it is still learning.

WTF, do people want their kids to grow up to be losers? I wonder who came up with that plan.

Parental involvement I think is the key. Are kids so screwed up because parents are so lazy that they expect the school to do everything? Parents need to be involved & have expectations. My mom always tells me to remember that I am the boss with BS 3 1/2 & to make sure he knows it. ( lately he tests it a lot & I can so see why some parents just give in & let their kids do whatever. After working all day & commuting I am exhausted, BUT I always stand my ground & don't give in.) Heck my skids give me far less issue than BS lately, they have a good healthy dose of respect/fear of step mom.

I really don't want anyone paddling my child other than me. I hate spanking ( had to give BS 3 1/2 a swat on the butt today... my normally perfect child has been very challanging of late, testing all of my parenting skills ) but sometimes as a last resort I have used it. I think that it can be really easy to get caught up in the frustration of the moment & lose control and get into it too much, I don't want someone else to have that power. That said I parent my child there are many people who don't.

OMG... FSD (in 5th grade) makes A's and B's in school. She can't spell simple words, doesn't know multiplication tables, doesn't know what city or state (or address for that matter) we live in and can't spell either one, and has terribly messy printing (cursive was never taught to her). It just doesn't seem right to me. My son is older and goes to the same school system and his work seems pretty normal (he has some honors classes and some regular and is in 2 extra curriculars). FSD is either playing dumb to get attention or the school she goes to is trying to get recognition for good grades by being easy...who knows

***

Give them actual math tests with right and wrong answers, put grammar, spelling, science and fact based history back in the curriculum, require the old ratio of 1hr of homework for each hour of class per day and fail the ones who don't turn in their HW, get rid of the "whole child" philosophy and pass the ones who actually pass and fail the ones who don't. Give them A’s, B’s, C’s, D’s and F’s, grade with red ink and require each kid to pick the their paper up at the front of the class. Post every kid’s grades at the end of the grading period on the wall outside of the Principles office.

Have teachers use paddles in class on the kids that refuse to act appropriately, kick the kids out of school who refuse to learn or behave and free up teacher time to focus on the kids who give a shit and actually perform.

Suddenly we will return to a status of literate, capable and well behaved graduates with a work ethic and even failures with a work ethic and our society will actually become one of accomplishment again.

Rather than the culture of excuse that we have now.

I went to both private and public schools at various phases of my primary -HS career. Performance was required or you failed. Even in the public schools I attended but that was decades ago.

The "students" who passed stayed and the ones who failed went away. As it should be in every school including public today. IMHO.

Our entitlement every kid passes and every kid gets a trophy system has created generations of "special" people many with no redeeming qualities and no idea that many of them are actually worthless PsOS.

If we actually failed the kids that do not perform then there would be fewer jobs to draw illegal aliens. Failures who should be flipping burgers, digging ditches, mowing lawns, etc would actually be working instead of sitting in gov't provided housing consuming tax payer provided food playing video games and bitching about how they are being ripped off by society would be doing the jobs that they are qualified to do to provide for themselves.

The ones who are going to succeed will study and be successful regardless of what the ones who are lazy and “special” do.

As for the lazy …. Paddle 'em, fail 'em and work 'em.... DON'T CODDLE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The ones with truly special need should get the help they need. The lazy should get tossed out.