DeBlasio thinks grade fixing is no big deal, Well, if he saw what I see in the
community college, he would change his mind quickly. I have been teaching mathematics at a community College since 2003. In only 12 years I have seen the
caliber of our students go down dramatically. Students, not all as we do have
many fine ones, are coming in who cannot work with fractions, who cannot divide
and do not even know multiplication tables. These same students brag about
passing regents exams and doing well in high school. I have seen students who
refuse to buy books or even use the free ones in the laboratory and library.
Many never do homework and don't know the meaning of the word study. They got a
free ride in high school and expect that ride to continue into college. They
expect extra credit, grade forgiveness and grade curving. They are totally
unprepared for college or for much else. Grade scrubbing improves high school
graduation rates but it does nothing to prepare students for college and for
life. In fact, it hurts them infinitely more than a failing grade ever could.
As someone who has taught both on the high school and college level, I urge the
Mayor to take this grade fixing seriously and do something to fix it. Fixing it
is all about the future of our city.
