Why are Maryland schools so anti-achievement?

[Anonymous]

To the pp who is college professor, I hope that you would agree that a fourth grade assignment should a lot easier to grade objectively than your postgraduate essays?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:16 AKA MCPS Snowflake poster has graced us again with their presence. Where do you teach when you aren't working on the curriculum committee, Strayer University or McDonalds U? Personally, I am fed up with your MCPS walks on water, this is so wonderful nonsense.

I don't think that there is a "MCPS snowflake poster". There does seem to be a "MCPS snowflake poster" poster though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why montgomery county schools are so anti-academic achievement. It doesn't make sense. Why would an education system not want kids to rise to the level they are capable of achieving?

The teachers and schools will not tell you if your child is in a high, medium, or lower reading group.
Its not just that they don't want to offer accelerated classes anymore but they don't want anyone to be accelerated at home.
The grades are all Ps. Show up you get a P, go far beyond you get a P.
The science fair can't be a competition because someone might feel bad if they didn't win.

The sports culture in this area is completely the opposite. You get trophies for practicing hard and being the best. The coaches tell you what you are doing wrong, how to fix it and expect you to fix it. The coaches encourage you to practice. Everyone knows who the best athletes are and kids work harder not to let the team down.

Why is it OK to encourage sports achievement but you are expected to slow down, stop, or hide any academic achievement?

talk about your straw man arguments...

[Anonymous]

To 14:41 I think 14:35 is thinking of another 'snowflake' poster as your post wasn't as bad as others I have seen. I see the term snowflake come up whenever someone complains about MCPS. It is a characterization of parents as just entitled idiots who think their kid is special/different and is not being treated properly. In this line of thinking, the reality is that all the students are the same as specs of snow and any problems are with the kid, not the system. I actually think it says a lot about the state of MCPS and parents. I really don't think MCPS gives a hoot about what parents think and I think they just want to make all kids at the ES level go through the same cookie cutter education. This reduces costs and allows them to spend money elsewhere. Special Education and G&T differentiation are discouraged or minimized in MCPS (at least at the ES level). MCPS wants to mix all the kids so that disadvantaged kids get a lift, but this might come at a cost of holding back gifted kids. They think special ed is just a waste of money and so it is just used to get your kid back to grade level, which is pretty low, and not to the kid's potential. When a school system takes this approach, there are naturally going to be kids that do not fit this system well. The more your kid is not like the majority, the harder it is for your kid. IF you have an ADHD kid, who can't focus in the large class sizes, you are in trouble. When these parents complain, they are just shamed into thinking that they are entitled. Sure some parents are like this, but there are legit concerns about Special Ed and G&T in MCPS. People may disagree, but it is a legit discussion to have. That is why I resent the 'snowflake' label. It is a way to dismiss an argument without having to put up any real counter-arguments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I volunteer often at our school. I have overhead school staff make rude comments about the parents that do enrichment at home and specific nationalities that do better academically. It really bothered me that the school staff has such small minds. If they aren't going to teach the kids in schools, they can't expect parents to sit back and do nothing.

I wish someone would compare test scores by students that receive enrichment at home vs students that do not. The schools ride on the coat tails of parents who provide education that the school does not.

That.We do extra homework at home.He is ready and understands the things we do.Not sure why they are still doing coloring/gluing at school.He gets so excited when he understands work I give him that seemed very hard when he first looked at it.

[Anonymous]

Come people. What do you expect? This area is full of liberals who hate competition. Most people believe that everyone should get the same outcome no matter how hard they work or don't work. Leave these people in charge and you will end up with Greece. I'm all about equal opportunity, which we do have here, but the county is going over board with its attempt to treat everyone equally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Come people. What do you expect? This area is full of liberals who hate competition. Most people believe that everyone should get the same outcome no matter how hard they work or don't work. Leave these people in charge and you will end up with Greece. I'm all about equal opportunity, which we do have here, but the county is going over board with its attempt to treat everyone equally.

Snort. I'm particularly fond of the idea that if you put liberals who hate competition in charge, then the government will cook the books, and everybody will evade their taxes. Those being the problems with the Greek economy.

[Anonymous]

Yea, That is it dumb ass. Forget the fact that Greece is the one of the least economically competitive members of the EU. Please get back to the point, tool, liberals don't like compeition. Even POTUS denies that this country was built on economic competition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yea, That is it dumb ass. Forget the fact that Greece is the one of the least economically competitive members of the EU. Please get back to the point, tool, liberals don't like compeition. Even POTUS denies that this country was built on economic competition.

He does? I must have missed that.

[Anonymous]

Of course in my MCPS school district about half of the school is on the honor rolls and 20 to 25% of the school carries straight As.

But with all this abounding brilliance the dumb principals don't feel any of these kids merit advancement even when they present these sterling grades and outside grades/accomplishments and standards. It seems all these fools do not believe in the grades they award. Are these grades unreliable and invalid then?

The same kids go on to flunk external assessment exams in math and the dumb Superintendent says it's because this evaluation doesn't count and the kids did not study.

But, many of these so-called educational experts have their own kids they are pushing in the athletic clubs (soccer, lacrosse, swimming, gymnastics, tennis etc) and I watch them beat their puny, hairy pigeon breasts when coaches accelerate their kids for their achievements and performance. They do not object when "Joe Montana" son is playing with the big boys or "Missy Franklin" daughter was just advanced to the higher training swim group because of her fast times. They seem proudly blind to all the hypocrisy.

I have schooled and taught all over this globe and the educational leadership here is so anti-achievement and anti-academic and anti-intellectual. They do not know what they want to do with education careening from one position to the next etch-a-sketch style like a yo yo. They are definetely pro-sports and pro-athletics as a drive by the various high schools in our district.

What message do the schools send the students, the families, their constituencies when half the student body is on the honor roll, a quarter have straight As, but some how very few (to none) of these students are deserving or capable of doing more at a more advanced or accelerated level in their system. The teachers, the Principal, the downtown offices put up time consuming road blocks (steeple chase fashion) to capable students only seeking opportunities for academic stimulation and challenge.

It is a damn shame that in Montgomery County it is so far easier for talented students in music and sports to get appropriate challenge and stimulation to match their achievements, accomplishments, performance, and ability than in reading, writing, mathematics, computer science and science.

Something does not compute. But, one can't expect these characters to understand for absence of critical thinking ability.

[Anonymous]

I volunteer often at our school. I have overhead school staff make rude comments about the parents that do enrichment at home and specific nationalities that do better academically. It really bothered me that the school staff has such small minds. If they aren't going to teach the kids in schools, they can't expect parents to sit back and do nothing.

I wish someone would compare test scores by students that receive enrichment at home vs students that do not. The schools ride on the coat tails of parents who provide education that the school does not.

You're right about teachers at particular schools ganging up on parents they do not like (they resemble the local police department when it comes to rally and revenge). I have heard the same (even out of the mouth of a Principal) and seen the system screw the parent by way of a capable and competitive child's rejection into magnet programs and the like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To 14:41 I think 14:35 is thinking of another 'snowflake' poster as your post wasn't as bad as others I have seen. I see the term snowflake come up whenever someone complains about MCPS. It is a characterization of parents as just entitled idiots who think their kid is special/different and is not being treated properly. In this line of thinking, the reality is that all the students are the same as specs of snow and any problems are with the kid, not the system. I actually think it says a lot about the state of MCPS and parents. I really don't think MCPS gives a hoot about what parents think and I think they just want to make all kids at the ES level go through the same cookie cutter education. This reduces costs and allows them to spend money elsewhere. Special Education and G&T differentiation are discouraged or minimized in MCPS (at least at the ES level). MCPS wants to mix all the kids so that disadvantaged kids get a lift, but this might come at a cost of holding back gifted kids. They think special ed is just a waste of money and so it is just used to get your kid back to grade level, which is pretty low, and not to the kid's potential. When a school system takes this approach, there are naturally going to be kids that do not fit this system well. The more your kid is not like the majority, the harder it is for your kid. IF you have an ADHD kid, who can't focus in the large class sizes, you are in trouble. When these parents complain, they are just shamed into thinking that they are entitled. Sure some parents are like this, but there are legit concerns about Special Ed and G&T in MCPS. People may disagree, but it is a legit discussion to have. That is why I resent the 'snowflake' label. It is a way to dismiss an argument without having to put up any real counter-arguments.

Thanks for saying this. It is exactly right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To 14:41 I think 14:35 is thinking of another 'snowflake' poster as your post wasn't as bad as others I have seen. I see the term snowflake come up whenever someone complains about MCPS. It is a characterization of parents as just entitled idiots who think their kid is special/different and is not being treated properly. In this line of thinking, the reality is that all the students are the same as specs of snow and any problems are with the kid, not the system. I actually think it says a lot about the state of MCPS and parents. I really don't think MCPS gives a hoot about what parents think and I think they just want to make all kids at the ES level go through the same cookie cutter education. This reduces costs and allows them to spend money elsewhere. Special Education and G&T differentiation are discouraged or minimized in MCPS (at least at the ES level). MCPS wants to mix all the kids so that disadvantaged kids get a lift, but this might come at a cost of holding back gifted kids. They think special ed is just a waste of money and so it is just used to get your kid back to grade level, which is pretty low, and not to the kid's potential. When a school system takes this approach, there are naturally going to be kids that do not fit this system well. The more your kid is not like the majority, the harder it is for your kid. IF you have an ADHD kid, who can't focus in the large class sizes, you are in trouble. When these parents complain, they are just shamed into thinking that they are entitled. Sure some parents are like this, but there are legit concerns about Special Ed and G&T in MCPS. People may disagree, but it is a legit discussion to have. That is why I resent the 'snowflake' label. It is a way to dismiss an argument without having to put up any real counter-arguments.

Thanks for saying this. It is exactly right.

+1. We are moving our GT/LD kid out of MoCo and into private because I can't stand to watch a bright, motivated 6th grader get beaten down and discouraged day after day. I'm sure there are good teachers out there, and to be fair he has a couple who get him and push him, but we've been told outright by the principal that the school's job is not to have kids reach their potential, but to get them to proficiency. I think it's a crime for a school system encourage proficiency (mediocrity) rather than encouraging each child's potential for excellence. Parents and students are not the customers in MoCo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course in my MCPS school district about half of the school is on the honor rolls and 20 to 25% of the school carries straight As.

But with all this abounding brilliance the dumb principals don't feel any of these kids merit advancement even when they present these sterling grades and outside grades/accomplishments and standards. It seems all these fools do not believe in the grades they award. Are these grades unreliable and invalid then?

The same kids go on to flunk external assessment exams in math and the dumb Superintendent says it's because this evaluation doesn't count and the kids did not study.

But, many of these so-called educational experts have their own kids they are pushing in the athletic clubs (soccer, lacrosse, swimming, gymnastics, tennis etc) and I watch them beat their puny, hairy pigeon breasts when coaches accelerate their kids for their achievements and performance. They do not object when "Joe Montana" son is playing with the big boys or "Missy Franklin" daughter was just advanced to the higher training swim group because of her fast times. They seem proudly blind to all the hypocrisy.

I have schooled and taught all over this globe and the educational leadership here is so anti-achievement and anti-academic and anti-intellectual. They do not know what they want to do with education careening from one position to the next etch-a-sketch style like a yo yo. They are definetely pro-sports and pro-athletics as a drive by the various high schools in our district.

What message do the schools send the students, the families, their constituencies when half the student body is on the honor roll, a quarter have straight As, but some how very few (to none) of these students are deserving or capable of doing more at a more advanced or accelerated level in their system. The teachers, the Principal, the downtown offices put up time consuming road blocks (steeple chase fashion) to capable students only seeking opportunities for academic stimulation and challenge.

It is a damn shame that in Montgomery County it is so far easier for talented students in music and sports to get appropriate challenge and stimulation to match their achievements, accomplishments, performance, and ability than in reading, writing, mathematics, computer science and science.

Something does not compute. But, one can't expect these characters to understand for absence of critical thinking ability.

I agree with most of what you said. The bolded part particularly bothers me.

My kids took swimming lessons for years at Kids First. Once they mastered a level, they were moved up to the next level. Regardless of age/size/skin color/weight/whatever other random characteristics MCPS bases it's stats on. Why can't we do this in education?

Kids learn at different rates. There is nothing wrong with that. It took my DD several tries to move past Level 2 for some reason. So, she stayed in that same level until she got it. And then, something clicked and she moved along pretty quickly.

Works the same way for reading, IME.

Why do we let kids move up levels in swimming, but not in school? It's crazy.

[Anonymous]

+1. We are moving our GT/LD kid out of MoCo and into private because I can't stand to watch a bright, motivated 6th grader get beaten down and discouraged day after day. I'm sure there are good teachers out there, and to be fair he has a couple who get him and push him, but we've been told outright by the principal that the school's job is not to have kids reach their potential, but to get them to proficiency. I think it's a crime for a school system encourage proficiency (mediocrity) rather than encouraging each child's potential for excellence. Parents and students are not the customers in MoCo.

Same experience. Our principal has said the same thing that 504 and IEPs are only to get kids to the base proficiency. It doesn't matter if they are working well below their potential, frustrated, and make no progress for 1-3 years as long as they don't fall below grade level. In MCPS, a child has to start failing to get accommodations or services to address their learning disability.