I'm a second generation teacher--my mom has taught special education for close to 40 years and I've had inclusion for close to 10 years. I've always been perplexed with accommodations and such.
If someone is missing a leg, prosthetics allow them to walk. But what accommodations or so forth provide *mental* prosthetics? Under past administrators, if IEP's aren't getting A's and B's, you face pressure. When I taught high school ten years ago, some students with IEP's would flat out just demand the answers, or refuse to work because the system had created learned helplessness.
Even from here in the midwest, I agree with many of your points. You're gutsy for being this honest.
I'm terrified. It took me 8 weeks to write this, mostly procrastinating because I couldn't let it go. I got the flu yesterday and had some real down time, and just figured it was time to pull the trigger. I only regret that I missed a few typos.
If we were just honest and had clear, consistent standards for EVERYONE kids could grow at their own pace and not feel like something is wrong with them.
I think we need to change how we measure education. Sir Ken does a brilliant talk on this which I love. I am also exploring things that are not taught in schools and offering workshops to students.
I taught middle school for a decade, and saw exactly what you described. I have one bright memory of one of my 6th grade students explaining everything he learned at parent teacher conferences with SUCH enthusiasm- he loved my social studies class and was obviously passionate about it. But, his grades were D’s because he struggled to read and write at grade level. Of course I tried many accommodations and gave verbal tests to him (along with many other academic and behavioral modifications for many students). But at conferences, with his trusted adult, in a non-pressured situation, he opened up and talked about what he found fascinating. Grades DON’T capture learning. I left in 2020 to homeschool my kids so they can get a truly differentiated and tailored education at their own pace, not the pace of industrial education that only cares about grades and jumping through hoops. Thank you for laying it out, even though it may cause some friction.
This is a great analysis of the current public school education. I don't put blame on any individual. I think the system is completely dysfunctional. I see both sides of the issue. On one hand, I have an advanced child who is bored at school. She says her math tests are exactly the same questions as the pretest review work. We do more advanced work at home. On the other hand, I have a kid who has very slow processing speed, so math is difficult. Unless I keep up with his assignments and review the problems daily, he is left behind. He has an IEP which is useless. It's very difficult to balance the needs of the advanced child while helping the other one keep up, all the while working a full time job. I am looking forward to your next essay. This one was tough but truthful.
Thank you so much for the honest feedback and the anecdotal evidence that I'm not totally out to lunch on this issue. We're just not doing anything well anymore -- not even teaching to the middle. I'm so glad there are parents who can see this and who are doing the heavy lifting at home for the sake of their children. Your kids are very lucky to have you.
As a former public school teacher, I learned this over 40 years ago - sp. ed. has been the same since mainstreaming began in the 1970s. I worked in a sp. ed. classroom, and also tutored students in most levels. When I had my own kids, I chose to homeschool after seeing what happens in a public school, no matter how excellent the teachers and the curriculum. Not sure when it happened, but what public school used to be, no longer is. It may have been a good idea at one time, but it's time to end it, if not altogether, at least with vouchers that allow parents to choose the educational environment that works best for their child. A lot of parents who would homeschool are prevented by the expense. Teacher's unions have promoted the idea that only "certified" teachers can teach, and parents are unsure they can teach their own children adequately. IMO, homeschooling is the best, but teachers could function as consultants to encourage parents in educating their own children. An alternative could be to go back to the neighborhood school with 10 or 12 students - I know, this seems impossible, but I think it's doable, and much preferable to trying to work with hundreds of students at once. I taught a one-room school, K-8, and the parents were highly engaged - they were the school board, in fact. Perhaps it's an idea that could be resurrected.
I couldn't agree more. Homeschooling is the best option, and with the technology we have now, means every parent can access tools to support the education of any child. Unfortunately, too many people have zero faith in their ability to teach their own kids; I think K12 did that to them too.
If we could put power back in the community, where parents had a close relationship with the teacher and the community had the power to hold parents accountable for some level of involvement in their kids' education, I think things would improve quickly for all kids.
Public schools are a waste of time as well as a training ground for Marxist and LGBTQ ideology.
I'm a second generation teacher--my mom has taught special education for close to 40 years and I've had inclusion for close to 10 years. I've always been perplexed with accommodations and such.
If someone is missing a leg, prosthetics allow them to walk. But what accommodations or so forth provide *mental* prosthetics? Under past administrators, if IEP's aren't getting A's and B's, you face pressure. When I taught high school ten years ago, some students with IEP's would flat out just demand the answers, or refuse to work because the system had created learned helplessness.
Even from here in the midwest, I agree with many of your points. You're gutsy for being this honest.
I'm terrified. It took me 8 weeks to write this, mostly procrastinating because I couldn't let it go. I got the flu yesterday and had some real down time, and just figured it was time to pull the trigger. I only regret that I missed a few typos.
If we were just honest and had clear, consistent standards for EVERYONE kids could grow at their own pace and not feel like something is wrong with them.
Nothing is wrong with them.
NOTHING.
I think we need to change how we measure education. Sir Ken does a brilliant talk on this which I love. I am also exploring things that are not taught in schools and offering workshops to students.
https://open.substack.com/pub/dompaynetutoring/p/education-needs-to-change?r=7yhjg&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Homeschooling with a la carte tutoring or microschooling with plenty of educated tutors moving from school to school is a promising future.
I taught middle school for a decade, and saw exactly what you described. I have one bright memory of one of my 6th grade students explaining everything he learned at parent teacher conferences with SUCH enthusiasm- he loved my social studies class and was obviously passionate about it. But, his grades were D’s because he struggled to read and write at grade level. Of course I tried many accommodations and gave verbal tests to him (along with many other academic and behavioral modifications for many students). But at conferences, with his trusted adult, in a non-pressured situation, he opened up and talked about what he found fascinating. Grades DON’T capture learning. I left in 2020 to homeschool my kids so they can get a truly differentiated and tailored education at their own pace, not the pace of industrial education that only cares about grades and jumping through hoops. Thank you for laying it out, even though it may cause some friction.
Thank you for sharing your story. I've experienced the same -- even when kids struggled in it, almost all of my students loved my history class best.
More importantly, thank you for puttin gyour kids' first. I'm so happy for all of you. The time just flies by...
This is a great analysis of the current public school education. I don't put blame on any individual. I think the system is completely dysfunctional. I see both sides of the issue. On one hand, I have an advanced child who is bored at school. She says her math tests are exactly the same questions as the pretest review work. We do more advanced work at home. On the other hand, I have a kid who has very slow processing speed, so math is difficult. Unless I keep up with his assignments and review the problems daily, he is left behind. He has an IEP which is useless. It's very difficult to balance the needs of the advanced child while helping the other one keep up, all the while working a full time job. I am looking forward to your next essay. This one was tough but truthful.
Thank you so much for the honest feedback and the anecdotal evidence that I'm not totally out to lunch on this issue. We're just not doing anything well anymore -- not even teaching to the middle. I'm so glad there are parents who can see this and who are doing the heavy lifting at home for the sake of their children. Your kids are very lucky to have you.
As a former public school teacher, I learned this over 40 years ago - sp. ed. has been the same since mainstreaming began in the 1970s. I worked in a sp. ed. classroom, and also tutored students in most levels. When I had my own kids, I chose to homeschool after seeing what happens in a public school, no matter how excellent the teachers and the curriculum. Not sure when it happened, but what public school used to be, no longer is. It may have been a good idea at one time, but it's time to end it, if not altogether, at least with vouchers that allow parents to choose the educational environment that works best for their child. A lot of parents who would homeschool are prevented by the expense. Teacher's unions have promoted the idea that only "certified" teachers can teach, and parents are unsure they can teach their own children adequately. IMO, homeschooling is the best, but teachers could function as consultants to encourage parents in educating their own children. An alternative could be to go back to the neighborhood school with 10 or 12 students - I know, this seems impossible, but I think it's doable, and much preferable to trying to work with hundreds of students at once. I taught a one-room school, K-8, and the parents were highly engaged - they were the school board, in fact. Perhaps it's an idea that could be resurrected.
I couldn't agree more. Homeschooling is the best option, and with the technology we have now, means every parent can access tools to support the education of any child. Unfortunately, too many people have zero faith in their ability to teach their own kids; I think K12 did that to them too.
If we could put power back in the community, where parents had a close relationship with the teacher and the community had the power to hold parents accountable for some level of involvement in their kids' education, I think things would improve quickly for all kids.