Great article about education from the NY Times

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To get back to the original topic, I loved this article and recognized many of the elements that she mentions in my kids' progressive school. In fact, my fifth grader this fall did "build a contraption" to learn the physics/machines part of their science curriculum. She loved it. They do a ton of reading what they choose to read, do creative writing projects about subjects the kids like, reenacted a battle in history/social studies and filmed it, etc. My third grader uses her math skills and writing skills in projects like running the school's holiday gift shop (they practice their math so that they are ready to be cashiers and make the correct change, for example). Reading and telling stories (sharing) is a big part of the learning and the kids all love DEAR (drop everything and read) time. They even started a voluntary class "book club" during lunch time where kids could talk about books they have been reading outside of school. I hope that my kids will have the skills that Englel mentions before they leave elementary school and still enjoy the process of learning.

It's wonderful that your children are in a program that you like. However, they may feel somewhat shortchanged when they get to college and discovery the deep gaps in their knowledge base.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
So why didn't this magical wishful thinking work at Shaw Middle School, where all the teachers had high expectations?

I don't understand where you are seeing "magical thinking". There's nothing magical about keeping the bar high, grading students according to grade level expectations, but providing intensive remediation over the course of, very likely, several years to help struggling students achieve those expectations.

Nothing magical, nothing wishful about it at all. It's damned hard and often thankless work. Expectations alone will not bring progress, but unless you have those expectations in the first place, children will not improve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
So why didn't this magical wishful thinking work at Shaw Middle School, where all the teachers had high expectations?

I don't understand where you are seeing "magical thinking". There's nothing magical about keeping the bar high, grading students according to grade level expectations, but providing intensive remediation over the course of, very likely, several years to help struggling students achieve those expectations.

Nothing magical, nothing wishful about it at all. It's damned hard and often thankless work. Expectations alone will not bring progress, but unless you have those expectations in the first place, children will not improve.

You drank the Kool-Aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
You drank the Kool-Aid.

Helpful comment.