High School Flunks in Florida But Aces the Ivy League

How do we determine what we are doing, as a class, school, city, state, nation? Any test should reflect what the teacher has taught. In the texts, there are questions at the end of the chapter to be answered by the student and recorded to determine if he understood what the teacher taught. These are questions, or tests, or problems, or skills, or pupil performance objectives. These same type questions are placed with such questions from other academic areas, and placed within a booklet to record what all the students know; first, so that progress can be determined and recorded; so that teachers can improve weak areas, and curriculum directors and principals can organize classes. Good textbooks have more skills for teaching students a little advanced. Also, the state curriculum director, the city curriculum director, and the principal should have organized the students for study based to a great extent on what they reflect on the test, so that a teacher does not have students on a 4th grade level of reading with 7th grade readers. For many years, many schools have identified advanced students, and pulled them out of basic classes so that they can work in research and units and explore on an advanced level as they wish. Many inner city schools always had advanced students capable of Harvard, MIT, and Ivy League. Also, a person of average progress and intelligence is capable of acquiring a doctorate degree. The skills in academics advance cumlatively meaning that each year what was learned in prior classes is included with an expansion of knowledge for that same skill. Knowledge of this helps to teach advanced students, since several levels of skills could be brought into the lecture and explanations, rather than just limiting it to the one objective mentioned in the text lesson presented. I wonder if it would be easier for teachers to accept testing, if they had been taught in the university classes the pupil performance objectives for all academic areas and for all grade levels, for which they intended to be licensed. I wonder if the universities are fully aware of the impact this information would have on the techniques and methods that a teacher uses in the classroom. Much time is needed to teach the English Language Arts. Why are we teaching students Spanish when they do not know many of the skills of the English Language Arts. Are they all preparing to become interpreters. Principals need to know curriculum. Parents are busy working, and are pushing more off to the schools. Good Parental teaching begins at home at birth, and continues for a lifetime. Disciplines beyond '3 time outs' do not belong in the school; it belongs with the parents (plural), the welfare, and a new police juvenile justice. The church and civic organizations offer social courses and life skills. Community Service for most:painting, and learning to cut grass, dig, plant, and care for flowers, shrubs, and shoveling snow for disabled, old taxpayers, and government property.

Beverly J Hawkins of OH 1:58PM February 10, 2010