Piney Branch Elementary—do you like it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you mean by problem teachers in RLA? Is RLA reading/language arts?

I think PP means the 4th grade CES teacher who did her best to destroy any love of learning and joy for life in her students.

She was a demanding teacher that had high expectations of the students which isn't opular. However, my children learned a lot in her class .

High expectations in this case = excessive volume, quantity over quality

I know she didn't hand out A's like candy so a lot of parents were upset.

I know she expected 9 and 10 year olds to write 25-40 pages typewritten ten chapter + assignments (longer than anything they produce in high school) so a lot of parents were upset.

I know she expected kids to write ludicrously detailed and highly specific book reports every week but write them on a t-shirt they designed or on a dodecahedron they built or on a cereal box or some other ridiculous time consuming build at home design so a lot of parents were upset.

I could go on.

Huh. We had her 4 years ago and none of this happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you mean by problem teachers in RLA? Is RLA reading/language arts?

I think PP means the 4th grade CES teacher who did her best to destroy any love of learning and joy for life in her students.

She was a demanding teacher that had high expectations of the students which isn't opular. However, my children learned a lot in her class .

High expectations in this case = excessive volume, quantity over quality

I know she didn't hand out A's like candy so a lot of parents were upset.

I know she expected 9 and 10 year olds to write 25-40 pages typewritten ten chapter + assignments (longer than anything they produce in high school) so a lot of parents were upset.

I know she expected kids to write ludicrously detailed and highly specific book reports every week but write them on a t-shirt they designed or on a dodecahedron they built or on a cereal box or some other ridiculous time consuming build at home design so a lot of parents were upset.

I could go on.

Huh. We had her 4 years ago and none of this happened.

Lucky you. I guess not every year was the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you mean by problem teachers in RLA? Is RLA reading/language arts?

I think PP means the 4th grade CES teacher who did her best to destroy any love of learning and joy for life in her students.

She was a demanding teacher that had high expectations of the students which isn't opular. However, my children learned a lot in her class .

High expectations in this case = excessive volume, quantity over quality

I know she didn't hand out A's like candy so a lot of parents were upset.

I know she expected 9 and 10 year olds to write 25-40 pages typewritten ten chapter + assignments (longer than anything they produce in high school) so a lot of parents were upset.

I know she expected kids to write ludicrously detailed and highly specific book reports every week but write them on a t-shirt they designed or on a dodecahedron they built or on a cereal box or some other ridiculous time consuming build at home design so a lot of parents were upset.

I could go on.

Huh. We had her 4 years ago and none of this happened.

We had her 3 years ago. Maybe I forgot, but none of that sounds familiar to me either. I mostly remember her class was hard but my kid learned to write well because of her.

[Anonymous]

DP. It depended on what group your child was placed in. Agree - count yourself lucky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DP. It depended on what group your child was placed in. Agree - count yourself lucky.

Please stop repeating this myth over and over. Kids were in separate spelling groups according to ability based on a spelling test, yes. But the reading groups were up to the kids - they choose what books to read from several choices. And those group were constantly changing based on what book the kid chose. There were not two separate groups - unless you are saying the teacher had a group of favorites, but they were not assigned different work - except for levels of spelling words. Or when the kids got to choose which type of project to do - or how involved to get in the project. At least we never saw that in the two years we experienced with the 4th grade teacher with two different kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. It depended on what group your child was placed in. Agree - count yourself lucky.

Please stop repeating this myth over and over. Kids were in separate spelling groups according to ability based on a spelling test, yes. But the reading groups were up to the kids - they choose what books to read from several choices. And those group were constantly changing based on what book the kid chose. There were not two separate groups - unless you are saying the teacher had a group of favorites, but they were not assigned different work - except for levels of spelling words. Or when the kids got to choose which type of project to do - or how involved to get in the project. At least we never saw that in the two years we experienced with the 4th grade teacher with two different kids.

I don’t know about different groups (though I heard that was the case the year there were two CES classes) but definitely very obvious favoritism and conversely kids that were very much out of favor regardless of who hard they worked. It sucked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. It depended on what group your child was placed in. Agree - count yourself lucky.

Please stop repeating this myth over and over. Kids were in separate spelling groups according to ability based on a spelling test, yes. But the reading groups were up to the kids - they choose what books to read from several choices. And those group were constantly changing based on what book the kid chose. There were not two separate groups - unless you are saying the teacher had a group of favorites, but they were not assigned different work - except for levels of spelling words. Or when the kids got to choose which type of project to do - or how involved to get in the project. At least we never saw that in the two years we experienced with the 4th grade teacher with two different kids.

Not according to the complaint. Grade tampering, grading under the same criteria even though the assignments were tougher. You say your kid was allowed to choose a project, but that was one of the complaints. CO didn't deny it happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. It depended on what group your child was placed in. Agree - count yourself lucky.

Please stop repeating this myth over and over. Kids were in separate spelling groups according to ability based on a spelling test, yes. But the reading groups were up to the kids - they choose what books to read from several choices. And those group were constantly changing based on what book the kid chose. There were not two separate groups - unless you are saying the teacher had a group of favorites, but they were not assigned different work - except for levels of spelling words. Or when the kids got to choose which type of project to do - or how involved to get in the project. At least we never saw that in the two years we experienced with the 4th grade teacher with two different kids.

Yes, you are correct. This poster is stretching the truth or is delusional. Both my kids had her. Sure, she was tough but not anything like what they're describing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. It depended on what group your child was placed in. Agree - count yourself lucky.

Please stop repeating this myth over and over. Kids were in separate spelling groups according to ability based on a spelling test, yes. But the reading groups were up to the kids - they choose what books to read from several choices. And those group were constantly changing based on what book the kid chose. There were not two separate groups - unless you are saying the teacher had a group of favorites, but they were not assigned different work - except for levels of spelling words. Or when the kids got to choose which type of project to do - or how involved to get in the project. At least we never saw that in the two years we experienced with the 4th grade teacher with two different kids.

Yes, you are correct. This poster is stretching the truth or is delusional. Both my kids had her. Sure, she was tough but not anything like what they're describing.

Two groups in the same class. One group had "Thursday" and "apple" on their spelling exam when the other group had "tetrarchy" but were graded on the same grading rubric?

But if you were someone who signed off on the paperwork or a parent who's kid benefitted from that, I can see why you would try to defend it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. It depended on what group your child was placed in. Agree - count yourself lucky.

Please stop repeating this myth over and over. Kids were in separate spelling groups according to ability based on a spelling test, yes. But the reading groups were up to the kids - they choose what books to read from several choices. And those group were constantly changing based on what book the kid chose. There were not two separate groups - unless you are saying the teacher had a group of favorites, but they were not assigned different work - except for levels of spelling words. Or when the kids got to choose which type of project to do - or how involved to get in the project. At least we never saw that in the two years we experienced with the 4th grade teacher with two different kids.

Yes, you are correct. This poster is stretching the truth or is delusional. Both my kids had her. Sure, she was tough but not anything like what they're describing.

Two groups in the same class. One group had "Thursday" and "apple" on their spelling exam when the other group had "tetrarchy" but were graded on the same grading rubric?

But if you were someone who signed off on the paperwork or a parent who's kid benefitted from that, I can see why you would try to defend it?

My kid was in the lowest level spelling group, but in his year they never had words like Thursday or Apple. They were more challenging than that, but not super tough like the highest group. He was not given easier words because he was a “favorite”. but because he just wasn’t a strong speller. As for using the same rubric for all spelling groups, do you think he should have gotten Cs because his words were easier? Or should there have only been one spelling group? And all the kids could choose their own books and projects when there was a choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. It depended on what group your child was placed in. Agree - count yourself lucky.

Please stop repeating this myth over and over. Kids were in separate spelling groups according to ability based on a spelling test, yes. But the reading groups were up to the kids - they choose what books to read from several choices. And those group were constantly changing based on what book the kid chose. There were not two separate groups - unless you are saying the teacher had a group of favorites, but they were not assigned different work - except for levels of spelling words. Or when the kids got to choose which type of project to do - or how involved to get in the project. At least we never saw that in the two years we experienced with the 4th grade teacher with two different kids.

Yes, you are correct. This poster is stretching the truth or is delusional. Both my kids had her. Sure, she was tough but not anything like what they're describing.

Two groups in the same class. One group had "Thursday" and "apple" on their spelling exam when the other group had "tetrarchy" but were graded on the same grading rubric?

But if you were someone who signed off on the paperwork or a parent who's kid benefitted from that, I can see why you would try to defend it?

My kid was in the lowest level spelling group, but in his year they never had words like Thursday or Apple. They were more challenging than that, but not super tough like the highest group. He was not given easier words because he was a “favorite”. but because he just wasn’t a strong speller. As for using the same rubric for all spelling groups, do you think he should have gotten Cs because his words were easier? Or should there have only been one spelling group? And all the kids could choose their own books and projects when there was a choice.

I went back and re-read the original complaint. It was so awful, I can't believe this was done to a child.

On the spelling words, it was already provided in writing. The sheets used for the spelling tests were provided as evidence. Same went for the books that were "choice". When the only two books "permitted" by the teacher were so difficult that they had no Lexile rating, and listed as "appropriate" for 8th grade GT (in 4th Grade), while other children were free to choose books under 1300 Lexile, but assignments were graded on the same grading rubric? When a teacher erases the child's choice of different assignments then writes in herself "how game theory affects our lives"?

Ever hear of the "literary tests" given to Blacks to prevent them from voting? How is this different?
https://americanhistory.si.edu/democracy-exhibition/vote-voice/keeping-vote/state-rules-federal-rules/literacy-tests

The answer is it's not.

[Anonymous]

Can you post the complaint here?

Also, isn’t she not at PBES anymore?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. It depended on what group your child was placed in. Agree - count yourself lucky.

Please stop repeating this myth over and over. Kids were in separate spelling groups according to ability based on a spelling test, yes. But the reading groups were up to the kids - they choose what books to read from several choices. And those group were constantly changing based on what book the kid chose. There were not two separate groups - unless you are saying the teacher had a group of favorites, but they were not assigned different work - except for levels of spelling words. Or when the kids got to choose which type of project to do - or how involved to get in the project. At least we never saw that in the two years we experienced with the 4th grade teacher with two different kids.

Yes, you are correct. This poster is stretching the truth or is delusional. Both my kids had her. Sure, she was tough but not anything like what they're describing.

Two groups in the same class. One group had "Thursday" and "apple" on their spelling exam when the other group had "tetrarchy" but were graded on the same grading rubric?

But if you were someone who signed off on the paperwork or a parent who's kid benefitted from that, I can see why you would try to defend it?

My kid was in the lowest level spelling group, but in his year they never had words like Thursday or Apple. They were more challenging than that, but not super tough like the highest group. He was not given easier words because he was a “favorite”. but because he just wasn’t a strong speller. As for using the same rubric for all spelling groups, do you think he should have gotten Cs because his words were easier? Or should there have only been one spelling group? And all the kids could choose their own books and projects when there was a choice.

The groups were Chewy and Yoda. My kid was originally in the "easier" one but wanted to be in the "harder" one with a friend, and she was fine with it. I got to see the words for both groups. As far as I could tell there was no real difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. It depended on what group your child was placed in. Agree - count yourself lucky.

Please stop repeating this myth over and over. Kids were in separate spelling groups according to ability based on a spelling test, yes. But the reading groups were up to the kids - they choose what books to read from several choices. And those group were constantly changing based on what book the kid chose. There were not two separate groups - unless you are saying the teacher had a group of favorites, but they were not assigned different work - except for levels of spelling words. Or when the kids got to choose which type of project to do - or how involved to get in the project. At least we never saw that in the two years we experienced with the 4th grade teacher with two different kids.

Yes, you are correct. This poster is stretching the truth or is delusional. Both my kids had her. Sure, she was tough but not anything like what they're describing.

Two groups in the same class. One group had "Thursday" and "apple" on their spelling exam when the other group had "tetrarchy" but were graded on the same grading rubric?

But if you were someone who signed off on the paperwork or a parent who's kid benefitted from that, I can see why you would try to defend it?

My kid was in the lowest level spelling group, but in his year they never had words like Thursday or Apple. They were more challenging than that, but not super tough like the highest group. He was not given easier words because he was a “favorite”. but because he just wasn’t a strong speller. As for using the same rubric for all spelling groups, do you think he should have gotten Cs because his words were easier? Or should there have only been one spelling group? And all the kids could choose their own books and projects when there was a choice.

I went back and re-read the original complaint. It was so awful, I can't believe this was done to a child.

On the spelling words, it was already provided in writing. The sheets used for the spelling tests were provided as evidence. Same went for the books that were "choice". When the only two books "permitted" by the teacher were so difficult that they had no Lexile rating, and listed as "appropriate" for 8th grade GT (in 4th Grade), while other children were free to choose books under 1300 Lexile, but assignments were graded on the same grading rubric? When a teacher erases the child's choice of different assignments then writes in herself "how game theory affects our lives"?

Ever hear of the "literary tests" given to Blacks to prevent them from voting? How is this different?
https://americanhistory.si.edu/democracy-exhibition/vote-voice/keeping-vote/state-rules-federal-rules/literacy-tests

The answer is it's not.

The books used are a standard part of the CES curriculum which is for advanced learners. You really need to let this go and seek therapy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. It depended on what group your child was placed in. Agree - count yourself lucky.

Please stop repeating this myth over and over. Kids were in separate spelling groups according to ability based on a spelling test, yes. But the reading groups were up to the kids - they choose what books to read from several choices. And those group were constantly changing based on what book the kid chose. There were not two separate groups - unless you are saying the teacher had a group of favorites, but they were not assigned different work - except for levels of spelling words. Or when the kids got to choose which type of project to do - or how involved to get in the project. At least we never saw that in the two years we experienced with the 4th grade teacher with two different kids.

Yes, you are correct. This poster is stretching the truth or is delusional. Both my kids had her. Sure, she was tough but not anything like what they're describing.

Two groups in the same class. One group had "Thursday" and "apple" on their spelling exam when the other group had "tetrarchy" but were graded on the same grading rubric?

But if you were someone who signed off on the paperwork or a parent who's kid benefitted from that, I can see why you would try to defend it?

My kid was in the lowest level spelling group, but in his year they never had words like Thursday or Apple. They were more challenging than that, but not super tough like the highest group. He was not given easier words because he was a “favorite”. but because he just wasn’t a strong speller. As for using the same rubric for all spelling groups, do you think he should have gotten Cs because his words were easier? Or should there have only been one spelling group? And all the kids could choose their own books and projects when there was a choice.

I went back and re-read the original complaint. It was so awful, I can't believe this was done to a child.

On the spelling words, it was already provided in writing. The sheets used for the spelling tests were provided as evidence. Same went for the books that were "choice". When the only two books "permitted" by the teacher were so difficult that they had no Lexile rating, and listed as "appropriate" for 8th grade GT (in 4th Grade), while other children were free to choose books under 1300 Lexile, but assignments were graded on the same grading rubric? When a teacher erases the child's choice of different assignments then writes in herself "how game theory affects our lives"?

Ever hear of the "literary tests" given to Blacks to prevent them from voting? How is this different?
https://americanhistory.si.edu/democracy-exhibition/vote-voice/keeping-vote/state-rules-federal-rules/literacy-tests

The answer is it's not.

This doesn’t sound familiar to me. But I do recall assignment questions that were both vague and advanced and also abstract that I struggled to understand what they could possibly be asking my child to write about. Given that I, with a PhD, couldn’t fully understand the point of the questions, it did seem to perhaps be aimed a little higher at times than a “gifted” 9 year old. The teacher just didn’t get it when asked what the point was.