Teacher exposes the craptastic decline iof MCPS in Reddit rant

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That was a pretty enlightening Reddit thread. If a student is not self-motivated and high-performing, they are completely failed by MCPS schools today. It's a race to the bottom for average kids. And it's entirely caused by central office bureaucrats. Monica McKnight cannot leave soon enough.

So in summary, to increase graduation rates, MCPS stopped requiring kids actually go to class and stopped teachers from giving zeros for not doing any assignments. That caused a drop in attendance rates, so they redefined absences as just very tardy. The result is that kids without parental oversight are hanging out in the hallways and graduating with no skills, knowledge, or self-discipline. However, the graduation and attendance rates are meeting metrics.

Lol, you all need to name schools for me to believe this. And even more, you need to name schools because all that was done in the name of equity, but if true, it's actually hurting the kids who need equity.

What will naming schools actually accomplish for you? I know there is the 50% rule at Blair and Eastern. Does that make it real for you now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MoCo residents got the superintendent they, just not the teachers, deserved.

But she's fighting hard to reverse the decline and elevate all our students!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That was a pretty enlightening Reddit thread. If a student is not self-motivated and high-performing, they are completely failed by MCPS schools today. It's a race to the bottom for average kids. And it's entirely caused by central office bureaucrats. Monica McKnight cannot leave soon enough.

So in summary, to increase graduation rates, MCPS stopped requiring kids actually go to class and stopped teachers from giving zeros for not doing any assignments. That caused a drop in attendance rates, so they redefined absences as just very tardy. The result is that kids without parental oversight are hanging out in the hallways and graduating with no skills, knowledge, or self-discipline. However, the graduation and attendance rates are meeting metrics.

Lol, you all need to name schools for me to believe this. And even more, you need to name schools because all that was done in the name of equity, but if true, it's actually hurting the kids who need equity.

What will naming schools actually accomplish for you? I know there is the 50% rule at Blair and Eastern. Does that make it real for you now?

I genuinely am not a fan of these sky-is-falling MCPS posts, but this one does hit the nail on the head. Instead of educating failing students to close the gap they're purposefully harming the better students to make the bad ones look better. This is kind of nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MoCo residents got the superintendent they, just not the teachers, deserved.

But she's fighting hard to reverse the decline and elevate all our students!

lol - your statement is based on what exactly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That was a pretty enlightening Reddit thread. If a student is not self-motivated and high-performing, they are completely failed by MCPS schools today. It's a race to the bottom for average kids. And it's entirely caused by central office bureaucrats. Monica McKnight cannot leave soon enough.

So in summary, to increase graduation rates, MCPS stopped requiring kids actually go to class and stopped teachers from giving zeros for not doing any assignments. That caused a drop in attendance rates, so they redefined absences as just very tardy. The result is that kids without parental oversight are hanging out in the hallways and graduating with no skills, knowledge, or self-discipline. However, the graduation and attendance rates are meeting metrics.

Lol, you all need to name schools for me to believe this. And even more, you need to name schools because all that was done in the name of equity, but if true, it's actually hurting the kids who need equity.

It's all true for Magruder. I am not sure what to even say to students anymore about accountability. We are asked to "always assume the best" in our students, but we can't hold them accountable in any way. In my experience asking a kid to go back to class may result in an "f u" without any consequences, so why bother even telling them to get to class. As long as the kid in class 5 minutes we have to mark it as late instead of absent. Staff would like something basic like a list of students who failed the previous year's classes, but we are not given anything. So, interventions are difficult to plan for.

Somehow we had a 97% graduation rate last year. Now, about half of this year's seniors are behind in credits at the start of the year. None of the numbers make sense to staff. The kids just roll into Edmentum for easy credit recovery.

The whole 10 rule was forced on us by the state after MCPS got caught with an extra 800+ kids on the rolls who ever showed up at all yet MCPS still got state funding for.

I am going to start locking assignments after two weeks from now on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That was a pretty enlightening Reddit thread. If a student is not self-motivated and high-performing, they are completely failed by MCPS schools today. It's a race to the bottom for average kids. And it's entirely caused by central office bureaucrats. Monica McKnight cannot leave soon enough.

So in summary, to increase graduation rates, MCPS stopped requiring kids actually go to class and stopped teachers from giving zeros for not doing any assignments. That caused a drop in attendance rates, so they redefined absences as just very tardy. The result is that kids without parental oversight are hanging out in the hallways and graduating with no skills, knowledge, or self-discipline. However, the graduation and attendance rates are meeting metrics.

Lol, you all need to name schools for me to believe this. And even more, you need to name schools because all that was done in the name of equity, but if true, it's actually hurting the kids who need equity.

It's all true for Magruder. I am not sure what to even say to students anymore about accountability. We are asked to "always assume the best" in our students, but we can't hold them accountable in any way. In my experience asking a kid to go back to class may result in an "f u" without any consequences, so why bother even telling them to get to class. As long as the kid in class 5 minutes we have to mark it as late instead of absent. Staff would like something basic like a list of students who failed the previous year's classes, but we are not given anything. So, interventions are difficult to plan for.

Somehow we had a 97% graduation rate last year. Now, about half of this year's seniors are behind in credits at the start of the year. None of the numbers make sense to staff. The kids just roll into Edmentum for easy credit recovery.

The whole 10 rule was forced on us by the state after MCPS got caught with an extra 800+ kids on the rolls who ever showed up at all yet MCPS still got state funding for.

I am going to start locking assignments after two weeks from now on.

Oh yeah, on Friday a kid "accidentally" set off the fire sprinkler system by kicking a soccer ball at the ceiling during lunch time flooding three floors. Almost half the day wasted.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think enough criticism or scrutiny is being aimed at MSDE. Some of these idiotic policies are being driven by equally idiotic demands, audits, arbitrary metrics, etc. from the bureaucrats in Annapolis. They’ve picked some random number of what percentage should be in self-contained classes, how much suspension makes you racist, etc. based on fantasyland research from their third-rate PhD program and use it as a cudgel. The push toward inclusion for all that is dumping kids in classrooms with inadequate support is not just an MCPS initiative and MSDE wants to make it even worse, without realizing that not every county is the same or that their pie in the sky figures on paper don’t work in reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MoCo residents got the superintendent they, just not the teachers, deserved.

But she's fighting hard to reverse the decline and elevate all our students!

lol - your statement is based on what exactly?

I believe that was sarcasm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That was a pretty enlightening Reddit thread. If a student is not self-motivated and high-performing, they are completely failed by MCPS schools today. It's a race to the bottom for average kids. And it's entirely caused by central office bureaucrats. Monica McKnight cannot leave soon enough.

So in summary, to increase graduation rates, MCPS stopped requiring kids actually go to class and stopped teachers from giving zeros for not doing any assignments. That caused a drop in attendance rates, so they redefined absences as just very tardy. The result is that kids without parental oversight are hanging out in the hallways and graduating with no skills, knowledge, or self-discipline. However, the graduation and attendance rates are meeting metrics.

Lol, you all need to name schools for me to believe this. And even more, you need to name schools because all that was done in the name of equity, but if true, it's actually hurting the kids who need equity.

"

It's a tiny bit more complicated than that. I'm not arguing in favor of the 50% policy, but it's not exactly as described above.

The rule was meant to help kids who had one really bad assignment or one missed assignment not to just give up on the class. So, instead of getting a 0 and seeing that pull down your entire grade, you got a 50% up until the end of the semester, while the teacher was meant to help you get the assignment caught up. Yes, it is onerous on the part of the teacher and both students and parents should be paying better attention than this, but the actual origin of the policy was not nearly as cynical as PPs are making it out to be. It was meant to give kids some grace, and keep them from just giving up and thinking there was no way to even get close to a passing grade if everything they turn in afterward is being pulled down by the 0.

The child can absolutely still get a 0 if the work isn't caught up by the end of the semester, though.

I do think this policy is hurting kids, but it's not hurting the high achieving ones because we're still talking about kids who are getting Ds and Fs. They aren't "competing" with college-bound kids.

What I do think is hurting college-bound kids is the "honors for all" approach that has now pervaded every single grade level up to 11th grade. It means there is no differentiated option for most 9th and 10th graders in English, social studies, or science. Even math isn't differentiated because even the "advanced" kids are still in mixed-grade classes. So, "Honors Pre Calculus" is a mix of super advanced 9th grades, regular advanced 10th graders, grade level 11th graders, and below grade level seniors. That's absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That was a pretty enlightening Reddit thread. If a student is not self-motivated and high-performing, they are completely failed by MCPS schools today. It's a race to the bottom for average kids. And it's entirely caused by central office bureaucrats. Monica McKnight cannot leave soon enough.

So in summary, to increase graduation rates, MCPS stopped requiring kids actually go to class and stopped teachers from giving zeros for not doing any assignments. That caused a drop in attendance rates, so they redefined absences as just very tardy. The result is that kids without parental oversight are hanging out in the hallways and graduating with no skills, knowledge, or self-discipline. However, the graduation and attendance rates are meeting metrics.

Lol, you all need to name schools for me to believe this. And even more, you need to name schools because all that was done in the name of equity, but if true, it's actually hurting the kids who need equity.

What will naming schools actually accomplish for you? I know there is the 50% rule at Blair and Eastern. Does that make it real for you now?

I teach at one of these schools and have a DC at the other. I can confirm that the 50% rule is used. I have another child at a third secondary school and it is used there as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That was a pretty enlightening Reddit thread. If a student is not self-motivated and high-performing, they are completely failed by MCPS schools today. It's a race to the bottom for average kids. And it's entirely caused by central office bureaucrats. Monica McKnight cannot leave soon enough.

So in summary, to increase graduation rates, MCPS stopped requiring kids actually go to class and stopped teachers from giving zeros for not doing any assignments. That caused a drop in attendance rates, so they redefined absences as just very tardy. The result is that kids without parental oversight are hanging out in the hallways and graduating with no skills, knowledge, or self-discipline. However, the graduation and attendance rates are meeting metrics.

Lol, you all need to name schools for me to believe this. And even more, you need to name schools because all that was done in the name of equity, but if true, it's actually hurting the kids who need equity.

It's a district wide policy, genius. Every single school. No one needs to waste their time naming schools in order for some uninformed idiot on a message board to "believe" them.

[Anonymous]

I teach dance at a high school in MCPS (dream job-or so I thought). The students in the ALL of my classes don't want to do anything except TikTok dances. They don't want to learn anything. They don't think they need to because they can do a 10 second TikTok dance and therefore, they are "dancers." They get tired after about 5 minutes of moving. They complain everything is "too hard." It's pathetic and embarrassing. I don't know where everything went wrong, but it's a joke. Quitting at the end of this year, if I make it that long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That was a pretty enlightening Reddit thread. If a student is not self-motivated and high-performing, they are completely failed by MCPS schools today. It's a race to the bottom for average kids. And it's entirely caused by central office bureaucrats. Monica McKnight cannot leave soon enough.

So in summary, to increase graduation rates, MCPS stopped requiring kids actually go to class and stopped teachers from giving zeros for not doing any assignments. That caused a drop in attendance rates, so they redefined absences as just very tardy. The result is that kids without parental oversight are hanging out in the hallways and graduating with no skills, knowledge, or self-discipline. However, the graduation and attendance rates are meeting metrics.

Lol, you all need to name schools for me to believe this. And even more, you need to name schools because all that was done in the name of equity, but if true, it's actually hurting the kids who need equity.

"

It's a tiny bit more complicated than that. I'm not arguing in favor of the 50% policy, but it's not exactly as described above.

The rule was meant to help kids who had one really bad assignment or one missed assignment not to just give up on the class. So, instead of getting a 0 and seeing that pull down your entire grade, you got a 50% up until the end of the semester, while the teacher was meant to help you get the assignment caught up. Yes, it is onerous on the part of the teacher and both students and parents should be paying better attention than this, but the actual origin of the policy was not nearly as cynical as PPs are making it out to be. It was meant to give kids some grace, and keep them from just giving up and thinking there was no way to even get close to a passing grade if everything they turn in afterward is being pulled down by the 0.

The child can absolutely still get a 0 if the work isn't caught up by the end of the semester, though.

I do think this policy is hurting kids, but it's not hurting the high achieving ones because we're still talking about kids who are getting Ds and Fs. They aren't "competing" with college-bound kids.

What I do think is hurting college-bound kids is the "honors for all" approach that has now pervaded every single grade level up to 11th grade. It means there is no differentiated option for most 9th and 10th graders in English, social studies, or science. Even math isn't differentiated because even the "advanced" kids are still in mixed-grade classes. So, "Honors Pre Calculus" is a mix of super advanced 9th grades, regular advanced 10th graders, grade level 11th graders, and below grade level seniors. That's absurd.

That’s always been the case. The advance as of the class has nothing to do with its content. Honors in the designation has nothing to do with when you take the course. You take the course when you are ready/prepared regardless of grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That was a pretty enlightening Reddit thread. If a student is not self-motivated and high-performing, they are completely failed by MCPS schools today. It's a race to the bottom for average kids. And it's entirely caused by central office bureaucrats. Monica McKnight cannot leave soon enough.

So in summary, to increase graduation rates, MCPS stopped requiring kids actually go to class and stopped teachers from giving zeros for not doing any assignments. That caused a drop in attendance rates, so they redefined absences as just very tardy. The result is that kids without parental oversight are hanging out in the hallways and graduating with no skills, knowledge, or self-discipline. However, the graduation and attendance rates are meeting metrics.

Lol, you all need to name schools for me to believe this. And even more, you need to name schools because all that was done in the name of equity, but if true, it's actually hurting the kids who need equity.

"

It's a tiny bit more complicated than that. I'm not arguing in favor of the 50% policy, but it's not exactly as described above.

The rule was meant to help kids who had one really bad assignment or one missed assignment not to just give up on the class. So, instead of getting a 0 and seeing that pull down your entire grade, you got a 50% up until the end of the semester, while the teacher was meant to help you get the assignment caught up. Yes, it is onerous on the part of the teacher and both students and parents should be paying better attention than this, but the actual origin of the policy was not nearly as cynical as PPs are making it out to be. It was meant to give kids some grace, and keep them from just giving up and thinking there was no way to even get close to a passing grade if everything they turn in afterward is being pulled down by the 0.

The child can absolutely still get a 0 if the work isn't caught up by the end of the semester, though.

I do think this policy is hurting kids, but it's not hurting the high achieving ones because we're still talking about kids who are getting Ds and Fs. They aren't "competing" with college-bound kids.

What I do think is hurting college-bound kids is the "honors for all" approach that has now pervaded every single grade level up to 11th grade. It means there is no differentiated option for most 9th and 10th graders in English, social studies, or science. Even math isn't differentiated because even the "advanced" kids are still in mixed-grade classes. So, "Honors Pre Calculus" is a mix of super advanced 9th grades, regular advanced 10th graders, grade level 11th graders, and below grade level seniors. That's absurd.

MCPS also did not make up the 50% rule. It is used by many school systems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of it is true, but we have a few really good teacher this year who are holding the kids accountable and really tuff with grading but they are also teaching them the the skills that they didn't get in ES or MS. The teachers can do far more and some choose not to. The worst are the ones who will not read or return email when you try to work with them.

Your email is not their priority. Schedule an in person meeting with the principal if you have an issue. Chances are the teacher can’t make decisions without the principal anyways.

I don’t email when my child is struggling and the teacher does not respond to theirs. Our principal is a problem. He’s terrible.