Tuesday, March 16, 2004
New York City Schools
My daughter Amy brought to my attention an extremely interesting article regarding education in NYC. The Times reports that Mayor Bloomberg fired three of his own appointees to the board that governs city schools in order to pass a strict graduation requirements for third grade students. It seems that any child who gets a 1 (out of a possible 4) on a standardized test is not promoted to 4th grade. No exceptions, even for kids who may be learning disabled or who speak English as a second language.
It was certainly a controversial move by the Mayor, as you can see by the details in the story. But it is something that all schools should be doing. Social promotion is what has destroyed public education in this country. If students cannot keep up due to learning a new language or because of a physical or mental handicap then there does need to be a way to make exceptions. However, education in the U.S. has gone in the completely wrong direction for too many years. Why do you think so many parents yearn for alternatives to traditional schools?
PermaLink | 7:27 PM |
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It was certainly a controversial move by the Mayor, as you can see by the details in the story. But it is something that all schools should be doing. Social promotion is what has destroyed public education in this country. If students cannot keep up due to learning a new language or because of a physical or mental handicap then there does need to be a way to make exceptions. However, education in the U.S. has gone in the completely wrong direction for too many years. Why do you think so many parents yearn for alternatives to traditional schools?
PermaLink | 7:27 PM |
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