Reply to I want a school without parents who want "pathways for advanced students"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]Yikes! This is so unpleasant. 
A couple of points: 
1. The GT thread (discussing Starr's forum and MCPS policy) did not in my opinion attack teachers. The parents there were focused primarily on MCPS policy and school administration (from Starr down to inflexible principals). There was nothing on that thread about teachers. 
I personally do not have a problem with the quality of teaching in MCPS although I have heard on good authority that teachers are not specifically trained (at university) to teach gifted children and that might be an area to address. 
I will say however, that often when people post about GT concerns, they seem to incite a post from someone who says something like "oh you parents who think your kids are so special make me sick. You just want your kids to get A's and you whine and email the teacher constantly with requests/complaints". I have often wondered whether this person is a teacher, in which case I pray my child never ends up in her class. I will also say that I believe this person(s) if a teacher is not representative of a MCPS teacher.

2. For the parents/teachers who are criticizing parents who are advocating for "pathways for advanced students", some of you seem to imply that if 40% of students are labeled as "gifted" by MCPS, perhaps these children are just barely above average and don't need any academic support. Others on this thread have called us a "vocal minority" which presumably means our concerns can be dismissed or ignored easily. Well, which is it? 
In my opinion, most of the parents who were posting on the GT thread had children who were performing (as evidenced by MAP-R scores or Math assessment scores perhaps) several grade levels above grade. I have no idea how many children like this exist in MCPS (maybe 10%?) but I am willing to bet they did not all qualify for the too limited magnet spots. 
They may be a minority but they are not an insignificant minority and their needs should be taken seriously. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. [/quote]

If you are referring some PP.  Your premise does not apply.  I am not referring to "GT" or "gifted" or "magnet" kids.  My reference is to regular garden variety MCPS schools.  I believe shareholders --- parents and kids--(Property, State and Federal tax payers of their salary and benefits) should hold teachers accountable to providing a challenging education for all our children.  When you take away potential pathways you are failing in your mission and many of our kids are stuck in a quagmire.   MCPS consumes $2 billion/yr of our investment.  I gather you disagree with this?

PS:  Simply ask the kids in your classrooms.  Teachers love to hand out the grades (stick vs carrot).  In many other sectors this evaluation can be  a 2 way street.  I think we all would be surprised if we read the evaluations of the teaching going on from the students themselves.

Do you routinely have your students evaluate your own teaching performance?  All MCPS teachers should do this to get feedback (anonymously, of course, since teachers are not immune from bias and future retribution). 
 
 
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