These two kids slept their weight their way through high school, occasionally failing classes and then making them up the following term. Luckily for them, no one said, "Poor baby. Do these 75 problems online and you can make up the credit" or "Go to summer school for two weeks, just show up and the credit will be yours." These kids were forced to take real classes and to do something that would probably be considered capital punishment today--they were forced to show competence in the subjects they failed.I said these two kids were lucky and they were. Both sleepers made it through high school and graduated with a diploma that meant something. Both went on to college. One is now a doctor, doing her residency at a major hospital in Queens. The other is an aeronautical engineer, working for NASA. Both of these kids are close to 30 years old, one of the last generation to get a real high school education.
We might have higher graduation rates today, but the late bloomers, like these kids, will not be so successful. (Even kids who did the right thing will have a hard time do to the lack of education they received in high school.) Pursuing a college education without the proper foundation will insure their failure, something I see every day. How long will it take for the powers that be to realize this? How many generations will be lost until things change?
1 comment:
You are singing my song, Sister!!
I have wasted this week with paperwork because of my failure rate. It is high. It is always high because I have high standards and they blow the first test - I remediate, grades go up, they do better on the next one, etc.
I bet they never do better again because the remediation I have been having to go through this week with the administrators is so onerous, I will never put myself in this position again.
And the kids will suffer.
But the administrators, state, federal people never seem to see that.
How long before we see suits like the early 1990s from kids who have graduated and cannot read?
My verification word is privi. Apparently only teachers are privy to that kind of thought.
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