Reply to MCPS just isn't so great anymore

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Reply to "MCPS just isn't so great anymore - WashPo Opinion 9/6/2013"

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[quote=Anonymous]I grew up in Wheaton and was the first in my family to graduate from college.  Because of my academic successes, I have made a good living for myself and my family.  We now live in one of the county's "W" school districts.

Everyone assumes life is greener if you live on the right side of the county.  Because of the high test scores at my children's schools, you would think they do an adequate job at teaching basic state standards.  As a parent though, I have multiple times caught the schools in my cluster putting grades on my children's report cards that they did not earn just to cover up problems.  I have learned not to trust the system and the staff at our local schools.  I have held my children to a higher standard of education than what MCPS has deemed to be acceptable.  I have also paid for private help when my children's teachers failed to teach them basic life skills.

Sure I am an involved parent.  But should my level of involvement and my level of financial support for education be the norm for parents with children in public education?  My answer would be no.  All children deserve a Free Appropriate Public Education, no matter if they live in 20906 or 20854.

Current barriers to success for all students in Montgomery County include the lack of resources with the roll out of curriculum 2.0.  Math is a great example.  The textbooks don't match the curriculum.  The children do not come home with notes that explain the new concepts the teacher wants the child to learn.  So how is a child supposed to learn the new concepts without being given the proper resources?  What happens if the child doesn't know what to do?  You can't google it.  You can't look it up on Edline.  There is no place to check as a reference because the curriculum has not been fleshed out yet and our kids are just guinea pigs in the system.

Another barrier to the learning process in the county - the number of secured documents.  Take math again as an example.  At my child's school, the homework is collected and graded for accuracy.  If a child get's less than a 60%, then that child only receives half credit (an E) on the homework.  The child then has a quiz, before the homework is returned.  How can the child study for the quiz?  The teacher then keeps the quizzes till after the child takes the unit test.  Then how can the child study for the unit test?  Next, the unit test never comes home because the school has declared it to be a secured document.  How can the child learn from his/her mistakes and review for the exam?  For the parent to even see the unit test, the parent has to make an appointment, leave work, and review the test at the school.  How many parents are able to do that for their children just so they can show the child what he/she needs to review at home?  How many parents and students take the time to see their exams because these documents are so secure it is next to impossible to schedule an appointment at the school to see them.  How do you even know the grade on the report card is your child's true grade without taking the time to see?  All test documents (quizzes, unit tests, and even exams) should come home so parents can monitor their child's progress and step in with extra support when necessary.  I believe most parents in the county would be willing to help their children provided doing so did not put their livelihood in jeopardy.

I do believe all children have the desire to learn and succeed.  They just need to be given the proper tools to do so.  Cut some jobs at the Carver Center and perhaps the funds would be there for the kids.

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