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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

[b]I am tired of seeing teachers (or whoever you are) say things like "you can't criticize the schools/curriculm, because you're not a teacher".[/b]  That's ridiculous.  We can judge outcomes, and teaching is not that complicated.  If you saw a doctor who had bad outcomes over and over again, you would certainly draw conclusions about that.  If you saw a plumber getting worse results using a new technique, you would question that new technique.  
I have no opinion about group work *generally*, though I certainly have seen it used as a way to occupy kids' time while not actually teaching them anything.  But this notion that parents shouldn't question or criticize because we aren't the "experts" is ridiculous.[/quote]

Luckily nobody has said that here.

And yes, teaching actually is that complicated. Please read the linked piece on math education. Or this piece:

http://www.veanea.org/home/2254.htm

What's more, people would never say, "I've used indoor plumbing all my life. I know all about plumbing. What's so complicated about plumbing?" Or "My electrician said that I needed a bigger circuit breaker panel, but I know that's ridiculous, because I've turned light bulbs on and off for decades." But somehow, if you've spent enough years in school, you think you know all about teaching.

Further, one of the questions is whether the educational outcomes actually are worse with the new curriculum. And I don't think parent complaints constitute proof of worse educational outcomes.[/quote]

Yes, actually, people are saying that here.  They are saying parents' opinions are wrong because parents aren't "experts" in education.  But I have not seen a good basis in research or logic for many of the things MCPS is doing these days.  I most certainly AM an expert in social science research, so I can certainly judge that quite well.  And the notion that you have to have an ed degree, or be a teacher, to know that giving Ipads to kindergarteners, or teaching math primarily through word problems when kids are still learning to read and write, or, for that matter, removing the emphasis on handwriting at all, and removing acceleration (I could go on, of course) is wrongheaded.  If you can show me something compelling that says otherwise, then I'm happy to read it.  I'd love to feel better about this situation.  But simply saying "well, parents aren't experts, leave it to the experts" doesn't fly.  These "experts" don't seem to have a great handle on their "expertise". 
Your analogy to the electrician or plumber isn't logical.  As a reasonably educated person, I can certainly say "Hm, the electrician used to use grounded sockets for our kitchen appliances, and these new outlets aren't grounded.  That seems fishy.  I'm going to look into that.  Hmmm.., let's see, this copy of the electrical code says we should have grounded sockets for all appliances.  I better mention that to the electrician, and if he acts defensive about it, I'd better get a different electrician."
That's much more analogous.  [/quote]

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