Reply to Who said there isn't a North-South divide?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I live in Barcroft and agree with much of what PP said. There are lots of people who are sick and tired of the constant drum to build more affordable housing, but the old timers who don’t care and pro affordable housing proponents are extremely quick to call you a racist and put you down. The vocal people in the neighborhood rule the roost. I hate it.

I choice out my kid not because I care about scores, but because I care about learning. I know parents who choice out or simply moved as their kids rose beyond first grade because they were not learning much. It isn’t a lack of teaching to the test, but teaching at all. They teach to the bottom. Teachers in the school have LOW expectations for all kids. Kids were not expected to reach certain milestones, and parents have to be on top of their education too much.

Parents who moved found their kids behind at other Arlington schools, including another title I School. I have heard several Barcroft parents tell me that they pushed super hard to get their kids in the gifted program, even kids who really shouldn’t be there, in order to make sure they got a decent education at Barcroft. I hope the new principle can change that.

In sum, it isn’t that the school and parents don’t care about teaching to the test. What I make from 6 years in this neighborhood and lots of parental comments is that they teach to the bottom.
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Teachers EVERYWHERE teach just below the median of the classroom. This is a fact of life. The idea that a single teacher, or even a team of several teachers can provide "individualized learning" to 20 children is a fantasy in theory and a farce in practice. Learning is a social activity anyway; you learn from your peers. That is why families with kids who have spent their early years learning instead of being babysat by television, and who are often but not always MC and UMC want out of these neighborhood schools. They know that these schools teach to the middle of ability at best and can't challenge their children without leaving other kids behind; there's no tracking. Or, they just teach to the test ... a joyless approach that will kill any child's curiosity and desire to learn in school. [/quote]

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