Reply to "Not a Meritocracy"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Ok.  Everyone is disappointed when their hard working student does not get into a desired college.   That is true across the board.[/quote]
Yes, but private school parents seem to be blaming the private school, as if paying for the $$ private school should mean they should get special treatment.[/quote]

I have no dog in this fight but it seems the position of the private schools is that their kids with lower GPAs are being evaluated more harshly. Like the appropriate adjustments are not being made for the rigor of the grading. [/quote]

This. My kid has been in public and private. Public school was not rigorous (even though it’s one of the “top area public schools). My kid’s gpa would be much higher in public. Maybe colleges were never really distinguishing between the rigor of schools or mandatory SATs disguised this.[/quote]

The public school applicants have AP scores to validate their grades. If we're talking about public school kids applying to the type of schools the OP think he kid deserves to attend, you are talking about a lot of 4s and 5s in classes with curriculums that are supposed to be consistent across all schools offering the course. [/quote]

Is it MCPS where you get an 82 one semester and a 92 the next and they end up with an A for the year? That’s the crazy grade inflation I’m talking about.[/quote]
Indeed, but as a PP stated, just look at their AP test scores.

Everyone games the system to their advantage.  Kids will put in the minimal effort to get the A, but when it counts like the AP test scores, they will show their ability.

Lots of public school kids get majority 5s on APs and 1500+ SAT scores. No amount of grade inflation is going to help with the AP test scores.[/quote]

I don’t care about AP scores. The colleges are screening by GPAs which are artificially inflated. [/quote]

AP scores validate or discredit a GPA. They are the one objective measure of course rigor that colleges have. Schools can talk about how rigorous their classes are until they are blue in the face, but a kid with and A and a 5 in a similarly titled class from a no name public school is going to be viewed as having done well in a rigorous class. [/quote]

There are many schools that don't do AP for many unique and valid reasons. [/quote]
What valid reasons do private schools use to get rid of AP classes?[/quote]

They think they can create better classes. [/quote]
Yet, based on the grade inflation argument, AP exams (and classes) are really the only objective measurement of ability.  Basically, private schools are getting rid of AP classes because they don't want to pay College Board. IMO, it's a financial reason.  Their teachers aren't even certified teachers.

When I see job postings, I always see how the employers want certifications in abc, xyz, but I guess for private K-12, certifications need not be required.  I guess it's because they don't get paid as much.   Private school parents are happy to spend $$ on schools being taught by teachers who don't get paid that much and aren't certified.  Then, those same parents expect high results for college admissions.

Go figure.[/quote]
Lots of Towson-educated “education” majors teaching in our local public schools. The vast majority of them wouldn’t have survived or gotten into a top college or a difficult subject-matter major.[/quote]
Sure, but the little kid who was educated by the Towson education major could grow up to go into a public magnet program and do exceedingly well in college.

Whereas, a private school kid whose parents spent a ton of money on K-12, and  taught by a liberal arts major at some SLAC could end up at UI or Michigan State.

YMMV.[/quote]

???[/quote]
What's the ??? about?  What major or college the teacher went to, especially in the lower grades, does not really impact what college a kid who was taught by such a teacher ends up at, nor does it indicate what their SAT scores are.    So, what does it matter if a private school teacher went to a fancy school or that a public school teacher went to to Towson?  At least the public school teacher is certified.  Don't you look for certifications when you hire someone?  Why wouldn't you want your expensive private school teacher to be certified? Seems weird.[/quote]

Thanks for clarifying - I didn't understand the point.

Personally, I'm more interested if the teacher's major is in the subject they are teaching and if they continue to take CEUs, especially in the sciences.[/quote]

I've flipped on this now that I have kids. Having a major gives you a great deal of knowledge about a subject 99% of which is irrelevant to a given high school course let alone elementary school. I'd rather a teacher who understands the subject matter enough to teach it and has actually learned to teach. FWIW the worst teacher that I ever had was a chemistry PhD in his first year of teaching. He had no clue how to deal with a classroom let alone impart knowledge [/quote]

First, chemistry is considered the most difficult subject to teach and I have never really met anyone who is successful at it. They either hold their PhDs, but cannot convey the material. Or have teaching skills, but lack any real mastery of the subject.

Second, most teachers I know who have a major in the subject also take graduate ed classes along the way and pick up the teaching skils. [/quote]
But education majors take classes IN teaching, and also continue to get trained.

I am not saying that all public education teachers are all great.  My kids have had some lackluster ones for sure.  But, a PP's comment that some Towson education grad would make for a lackluster teacher is wrong.  They can be good teachers even if they are not smart enough to go to an  Ivy.[/quote]

It's much, much easier to obtain a masters in teaching/education than it is to get a PhD in Chemistry (or, frankly, even a BS in Chemistry). So, smart schools hire teachers with subject mastery and teach them how to teach, best practices, assign an experienced mentor, etc. What's extremely difficult is getting someone who has a BA in Education to then try to earn a degree in Chemistry to acquire enough understanding of the subject matter to teach it at a high level. Not going to happen.[/quote]

Public HS teachers major in the subject they teach, not education. They then take an education minor or pursue a MEd for licensure.  Elementary teachers major in education. [/quote]
exactly.. and often times, STEM HS teachers have a masters because they get paid more.

As for ES teachers, they don't need to have majored in a particular subject like math because most ES teach a variety of subjects, and at this level, knowing how to teach to a variety of learning abilities in young kids is more important than knowing how to do Calculus.  Like I said, I'm good at math, but teaching simple division to an ES child is challenging if you don't know how to teach a young child.  That is what ES teachers should be better at than math majors.[/quote]

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