Curriculum 2.0, the New Report Cards and Other Points of Displeasure: What Can We Do as Parents?
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Anonymous
| I've been reading through the archives of this forum and I'm hoping we can have a thread that consolidates ideas of what parents can do at their elementary schools to modify the impact of this curriculum. There has got to be something we can do besides just accepting that this is how it will be. |
Anonymous
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As a parent in MCPS for 6 years, I think the only realistic chance at change is to change the BOE. While I have no problem with most teachers, I think the the BOE and MCPS central office employees work in a bubble. They don't hear parents, they don't respect parents, and they just want parents to go away. If you ask a legitimate question or raise a logical argument against their policy, they either 1) blame the parents who all think their kid is special (check out BOE member Pat O'Neill's comment) or deflect the question (check out Star pivot to 21st century skills whenever an academic question comes up).
Yes, I think we have to keep complaining to the schools, etc., but I think little will come of it until we change the BOE. Most people just find it convenient to vote for the apple ballot, so I am not very confident. |
Anonymous
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What about talking to our principals about differentiating for math? Is this something that each school can decide to do on their own within the context of 2.0?
What about reading? What can be done there? |
Anonymous
Absolutely! Some schools continue to offer differentiation and acceleration (including grade skipping) under 2.0. |
Anonymous
Okay so what do we do? How do we ask for this? What schools do this? How do you get your school to consider this? |
Anonymous
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Which school allows grade skipping under 2.0? I find it hard to believe.
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Anonymous
The first thing we can do is get accurate information out in the open. Not talk about "some" schools. Please name the schools who do and don't do this. I will start. Chevy Chase Elementary does not allow cross-grade differentiation (i.e. all classrooms are heterogenously grouped). There is moderate differentiation in the class room through the use of occasional "challenge" problems on homework. Apparently there are two different sets of homework and "kids know which ones to take," but parents don't see these dual sets, only the one paper that their child brings home. Thus, many parents do not know which "group" or "track" their child is in or even realize that there is more than one homework set. There is no acceleration and no grade skipping. The principal claims she has no flexibility to accelerate or grade skip, will not discuss publicly any criteria to do so, and will only say that she will meet privately with parents to discuss (at which time, she tells them again, NO.) All kids who were accelerated at RHPS, were decelerated under C2.0 this year. If you are at "some school" which differentiates, accelerates, or grade-skips in math, please name it and explain how it works. |
Anonymous
| Diamond Elementary (Gaithersburg) does not differentiate either. |
Anonymous
| What was the alternative to the Apple Ballot? |
Anonymous
Morris Panner was one alternative. Another person favorable to differentiation also ran as I recall, but I don't remember the name. It would be nice to have more parent-focused candidates. |
Anonymous
| Apple Ballot is provided by? |
Anonymous
| I'm tired of hearing about the need to get out and vote. We just voted, so we've got some new board members. Starr is someone I do not respect. He is arrogant and dismissive. I don't think you can fight city hall. MCPS does not view parents as stakeholders and they don't care if you leave the system. Truth be told, they are probably glad to see some discontent, hoping it will get some people out of the system. It is a giant bureaucracy run by Starr, who is a giant bureaucrat himself. |
Anonymous
Does not compute. You don't think voting matters. The BOE hired Starr. They can fire him too. Yes, we just voted for 3 BOE members. 2 of 3 three were incumbents. The third person replaced a retiring incumbent. We didn't get new members, we got 1 new member. Both of the incumbents hired Starr, so we just re-affirmed their choice in Starr. The names of the incumbents are Chris Barclay and Phill Kauffman. One reason these same guys keep getting elected is that no-one cares. People like you are 'tired' of elections. The Post ran an article after the last election that quoted an elderly couple who said they were anti-union, but voted for an older white man who looked trustworthy. They were surprised he was an apple ballot Union candidate. Anyway, I know the union always wins, but I will be dammed if I am going to support them. I completely support teachers, but I don't support the Union's education policy issues or the 'parents/taxpayers don't matter' culture of this union. The union should be one stakeholder voice among parents and taxpayers. They should not be the only voice. As Samuel Jackson said in his wonderful Obama ad "Wake the F*@# Up!". You are part of the problem even though you seem to want change. |
Anonymous
| 18:08, we do not have an election coming up. YOU need to wake the eff up. What shall we do while waiting around for another chance to vote for incumbents and ineffectual candidates? |
Anonymous
Good luck working with the school system. Elections matter. There is not much individual parents can do, IMHO. |