s/o from the 2.0 discussion, please move if you're that unhappy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This comment is akin to "America: Love it or Leave it" and is inconsistent with the nature of our PUBLIC, publicly-funded school system. I am a taxpayer and the school board is accountable to ME. I don't have to shut up or put up. This is a democracy. In theory at least, if I don't like the way things are going in MY school system, I have the RIGHT and the OBLIGATION to speak up and request change.

Don't tell me to leave the system that I pay for. I am entitled to demand change if I think my kids and their classmates are being shafted (and I do).

Then go to a Board of Education meeting. Don't dominate a back to school night meeting. I think OP's issue is not with your right to complain. It is the time and place you are doing it. And you are correct, it is a democracy. A democracy that elected the Board of Education, Govenor, etc. that put this curriculum in place. So you can assume you are in the minority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This comment is akin to "America: Love it or Leave it" and is inconsistent with the nature of our PUBLIC, publicly-funded school system. I am a taxpayer and the school board is accountable to ME. I don't have to shut up or put up. This is a democracy. In theory at least, if I don't like the way things are going in MY school system, I have the RIGHT and the OBLIGATION to speak up and request change.

Don't tell me to leave the system that I pay for. I am entitled to demand change if I think my kids and their classmates are being shafted (and I do).

Then go to a Board of Education meeting. Don't dominate a back to school night meeting. I think OP's issue is not with your right to complain. It is the time and place you are doing it. And you are correct, it is a democracy. A democracy that elected the Board of Education, Govenor, etc. that put this curriculum in place. So you can assume you are in the minority.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, my DC (who consistently tests 3-4 grade levels ahead in reading and math--which I state only b/c you imply such kids don't exist) isn't learning anything new because she is being taught recycled material she could have easily completed 2-3 years ago. This absolutely the function of the new curriculum because its intention is to squelch acceleration. At least last year she was in a math class geared more to her academic level, even if it wasn't perfect. But this year they aren't allowed to be grouped by ability and the kids all have to be given the same lesson even if it's something they were previously taught. The 2.0 rhetoric about going "deeper into the material" to challenge advanced learners is pure bunk as far as I can tell from what she is bringing home. She used to love math and now dismisses it as boring. I've heard the same from many other parents about their kids. How's that for improvement?

I'm sorry that yoga pants bother you so much. It's obvious from your complaints about these other mommies that you live in one of the upscale school districts -- why don't you move downcounty where I am, so you won't be afflicted by them so much? Unfortunately you'll still find parents who aren't impressed by the new curriculum, but at least you won't see so many yoga outfits.

We can't go elsewhere for academic enrichment as you so blithely suggest, because it's not in our budget -- and it's the same story with other parents at our school I know who also dislike the new curriculum. (FWIW, parents who care deeply about their kids, who are reasonably intelligent, and have many advanced degrees.)

So for those of us without the financial resources to put our advanced learners in a better academic situation, there's nothing left for us to do but complain and make as much noise as we can until our children are given material commensurate with their abilities.

If your kid is truly 3-4 grades ahead in both reading and math and you truly cannot afford any enrichment, have you looked into CTY? They offer financial assistance. I don't know the requirements to qualify, but you may want to at least consider it.

[Anonymous]

OP, you sound like a nut. You are just a different kind of nut than the "mommies" you so revile. Your contempt and lack of respect for the mothers at your child's school comes across loud and clear in your posts. Boy do they get under your skin! None of that changes the fact that in our public school system, parents can and should advocate for the greater good (as well as for our own kids). I'm glad patents speak up about lots of issues -- it generally makes the schools better to have this vibrant discourse. Ifor one am glad that there are many well-meaning parents raising questions about 2.0. Just because this mediocre curriculum is good enough for your family doesn't mean it is good enough for ours.
Maybe if you do t like that, You should leave. Better yet, maybe stop being so personally upset and insulted when these moms voice their concerns. Who knows, maybe your own child might actually benefit from all of their advocacy. Oh, I guess you probably can't see past their role as "mommie" or past their yoga pants to give them the respect they deserve as the front line educational advocates that they really are. Fortunately, your child will still benefit from whatever change they can bring to MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you sound like a nut. You are just a different kind of nut than the "mommies" you so revile. Your contempt and lack of respect for the mothers at your child's school comes across loud and clear in your posts. Boy do they get under your skin! None of that changes the fact that in our public school system, parents can and should advocate for the greater good (as well as for our own kids). I'm glad patents speak up about lots of issues -- it generally makes the schools better to have this vibrant discourse. Ifor one am glad that there are many well-meaning parents raising questions about 2.0. Just because this mediocre curriculum is good enough for your family doesn't mean it is good enough for ours.
Maybe if you do t like that, You should leave. Better yet, maybe stop being so personally upset and insulted when these moms voice their concerns. Who knows, maybe your own child might actually benefit from all of their advocacy. Oh, I guess you probably can't see past their role as "mommie" or past their yoga pants to give them the respect they deserve as the front line educational advocates that they really are. Fortunately, your child will still benefit from whatever change they can bring to MCPS.

Yes, well put!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. First, 1739 I'm not condemning anyone to anything we haven't already experienced; my kid is in third grade and as such has been part of the rollout of 2.0 since the beginning, I believe. So I'm not praising a system that is different than what my child has experienced. 1219 PP, I don't know why your child isn't learning anything but have you ever considered that is not a function of the curriculum? Unless you're suggesting that your child already knows All That There Is To Know, in which case, congratulations on birthing the Second Coming. Can't wait to meet him/her.

Second, 1741PP (same person at 1739, perhaps??) I am profoundly skeptical that MCPS/MoCo will experience an outmigration of educated parents of means who value education. I am willing to bet you that there are more advanced degrees in my household than in yours, and we're not going anywhere. Neither are any of our neighbors, or the parents of our child's classmates, most of whom seem to be reasonably intelligent and care deeply about their kids. And as I said in my original post, I'll help any of the whining mommies at our school's meetings pack if they choose to go... I'll believe it when I see it, but I'd be happy if I do.

And shapes and colors PP, your patronizing words suggest a small mind. And they do nothing for your cause.

Finally, if any of the complainers had any serious expertise, I might be inclined to listen. If you are a teacher with 20 years experience and a Harvard Ed degree, feel free to opine on the merits of 2.0 versus other curricula till the cows come home. But otherwise, all you can do is speak for your child. Which you have every right and obligation to do in speaking with your child's teachers. However, you don't have the right to tell the entire school system how to educate. You're a parent, you know your child, you don't (and this means you, PP with the dramatic lectures on comparative international education based on having spent a few years in Japan as a child) know the first thing about the design of a curriculum for an entire school system. Neither do I. Which is why I moved to a place that has good schools. Not perfect, I fully admit. And if I were in charge, and could construct a system that did precisely what my child needs, it would probably look very different. (Hint, a lot more science and a lot more recess.) But even if it doesn't suit my every need/desire, MCPS is still very good, and very well-regarded, and staffed mostly by professionals who care and who invest a lot of time and effort in keeping the schools high quality.

And this - I have zero attachment to curriculum 2.0 - I'm just so sick of the conversation about education in this area dominated by the armchair experts in yoga pants, whose only frame of reference is their conviction that their child is super exceptional. Here's the thing - they are all super exceptional, even if they don't do algebra in second grade. So please, go to Arlington or private school or whereever, and let the rest of us get on with supporting our kids and our schools.

You are a breath of fresh air. I am glad there's at least one other reasonable person here.

OK, now I know there are three of us. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This comment is akin to "America: Love it or Leave it" and is inconsistent with the nature of our PUBLIC, publicly-funded school system. I am a taxpayer and the school board is accountable to ME. I don't have to shut up or put up. This is a democracy. In theory at least, if I don't like the way things are going in MY school system, I have the RIGHT and the OBLIGATION to speak up and request change.

Don't tell me to leave the system that I pay for. I am entitled to demand change if I think my kids and their classmates are being shafted (and I do).

Don't you think that maybe the old system that served your kids and their classmates well was not serving low-income or otherwise less exceptional kids well at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You do all realize that this is all about corporate profits made off the backs of our children?:

http://www.gazette.net/article/20120118/NEWS/701189629/1122/pension-shift-could-hurt-teachers-critics-say/Montgomery-school-system-deal-trip-raise-ethics-questions&template=gazette

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2010/06/weasts-tuesday-surprise-mcps-sold-to.html

Wow, 24 hours for the MoCo board to receive, read and vote on Curriculum 2.0 that publishing/edu giant Pearson created and offered to give a cut of sales to MoCo.

Yuck.

Pearson didn't create it. I know several people who worked on The writing team. They all work (and have always worked) for MCPS. Pearson basically bought what they wrote after it was written to then edit and package up themselves (though differently than MCPS uses it) and sell to other districts.

yeah - Team of teachers designed the lessons.

I am designing a framework right now as a consultant for private schools - all based on the Common Core Standards.

It's a fabulous change! As a teacher myself, I'm proud to say that I'm delighted people are finally embracing critical thinking skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This comment is akin to "America: Love it or Leave it" and is inconsistent with the nature of our PUBLIC, publicly-funded school system. I am a taxpayer and the school board is accountable to ME. I don't have to shut up or put up. This is a democracy. In theory at least, if I don't like the way things are going in MY school system, I have the RIGHT and the OBLIGATION to speak up and request change.

Don't tell me to leave the system that I pay for. I am entitled to demand change if I think my kids and their classmates are being shafted (and I do).

Don't you think that maybe the old system that served your kids and their classmates well was not serving low-income or otherwise less exceptional kids well at all?

I live in the red zone and my kids attend a school with a high FARMS rate. My school's test scores were improving each year under the old system and yes, I think it was serving exceptional and less-exceptional kids equally well. Both groups are entitled to a good education.

So no, I will not move. I will insist that the system I fund and support be as good as it can be. I will continue to object to mediocrity for as long as I have kids in this system.

[Anonymous]

The fight is at the school board, not at your local school's PTA meeting or back to school night. You can talk to your teacher about the tactics that will keep your kid engaged. I haven't yet met an MCPS teacher who doesn't care. They all care, but they do have to work with 20-30 students. Asking a single teacher to meet each child's acceleration needs is a problem with 2.0, but not something you can affect at the school level. My child's teacher told me "2.0 is not ready for prime time" but they are working out the kinks in each classroom. Sorry my kid is part of working out the kinks, but I am satisfied with what she is learning, so I guess I agree with the OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fight is at the school board, not at your local school's PTA meeting or back to school night. You can talk to your teacher about the tactics that will keep your kid engaged. I haven't yet met an MCPS teacher who doesn't care. They all care, but they do have to work with 20-30 students. Asking a single teacher to meet each child's acceleration needs is a problem with 2.0, but not something you can affect at the school level. My child's teacher told me "2.0 is not ready for prime time" but they are working out the kinks in each classroom. Sorry my kid is part of working out the kinks, but I am satisfied with what she is learning, so I guess I agree with the OP.

16:43 here, and I am not fighting or ranting or otherwise communicating inappropriately at BTS night or PTA meetings. I do not own yoga pants. OP is suggesting however that we should put up or shut up, and I disagree with that.

I believe OP and others also suggested going to BOE meetings in Rockville. I've done that before and it is a farce. No one is permitted (!) to participate in the process in any meaningful way. So I will keep writing and calling and doing what I can to effect change.

(This is where I say again that the town-based system I grew up with is far better than this, because taxpayers have an actual voice. They are heard. Their input is taken into consideration. This county-based system is anything but democratic, truly it is.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I live in the red zone and my kids attend a school with a high FARMS rate. My school's test scores were improving each year under the old system and yes, I think it was serving exceptional and less-exceptional kids equally well. Both groups are entitled to a good education.

So no, I will not move. I will insist that the system I fund and support be as good as it can be. I will continue to object to mediocrity for as long as I have kids in this system.

Well, Starr clearly disagrees that the old system was serving all of them well. I found this recent article http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Magazine/September-October-2012/The-Gifted-Left-Behind/index.php?cparticle=4&siarticle=3#artanc in which he is quoted as saying “the remediation issue is larger than the acceleration issue. We must attend to all of it—and I must be accountable for attending to all of it.” In other words, the need for improvement among the children at the bottom is greater than the need for acceleration among the children at the top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I live in the red zone and my kids attend a school with a high FARMS rate. My school's test scores were improving each year under the old system and yes, I think it was serving exceptional and less-exceptional kids equally well. Both groups are entitled to a good education.

So no, I will not move. I will insist that the system I fund and support be as good as it can be. I will continue to object to mediocrity for as long as I have kids in this system.

Well, Starr clearly disagrees that the old system was serving all of them well. I found this recent article http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Magazine/September-October-2012/The-Gifted-Left-Behind/index.php?cparticle=4&siarticle=3#artanc in which he is quoted as saying “the remediation issue is larger than the acceleration issue. We must attend to all of it—and I must be accountable for attending to all of it.” In other words, the need for improvement among the children at the bottom is greater than the need for acceleration among the children at the top.

This is an opinion, not a fact.

And Starr was practically run out of town. He was pretty universally hated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I live in the red zone and my kids attend a school with a high FARMS rate. My school's test scores were improving each year under the old system and yes, I think it was serving exceptional and less-exceptional kids equally well. Both groups are entitled to a good education.

So no, I will not move. I will insist that the system I fund and support be as good as it can be. I will continue to object to mediocrity for as long as I have kids in this system.

Well, Starr clearly disagrees that the old system was serving all of them well. I found this recent article http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Magazine/September-October-2012/The-Gifted-Left-Behind/index.php?cparticle=4&siarticle=3#artanc in which he is quoted as saying “the remediation issue is larger than the acceleration issue. We must attend to all of it—and I must be accountable for attending to all of it.” In other words, the need for improvement among the children at the bottom is greater than the need for acceleration among the children at the top.

This is an opinion, not a fact.

And Starr was practically run out of town. He was pretty universally hated.

Sorry, that should say Weast.

[Anonymous]

The skinny on Starr and high performers:

http://themorechild.com/2011/04/25/buh-bye-jerry-hello-josh/