I have written about the concern I have for the college prep path we are forcing many students down with the Collegeboard curriculum. This focus is causing enrollment to drop in career tech programs. When enrollment runs too low the programs are dropped all together in some cases. Which means students do not have access to certain classes.
People must understand that we must have a balance between college prep and career prep if we are going to afford opportunities for success for all of our students. And I don't believe the two paths are mutually exclusive.
We are doing our students and our community a dis-service by putting all of our focus on one or the other.
Read the article in Farm and Ranch News highlighting this issue and share your thoughts.
Update: September 25, 2008 Tampa Tribune editorializes about CollegeBoard.
13 comments:
When the Department of Agriculture or Labor gives the superintendent $30 for every student that enrolls in an Ag or Vocational Program you will see enrollment in those programs increase.
C'mon April, didn't you raise your eyebrows a little bit over her "AP bonus"?
The kids don't have to be successful, just enrolled, right?
The bonus isn't paid on passing a test, right? The instructors are rewarded up to a cap ($2000) for passing scores, right?
I hope I'm merely misinformed. Maybe an experienced AP teacher will set the record straight.
BTW: I agree completely with your sentiments. Does Springboard support Ag and Vocational standards?
Anonymous 24, 2008 5:45 PM,
You are correct that teachers get a bonus based on pass rates and there is a cap of $2000.
As far as the AP bonus after I read her contract there were a lot of things that raised my eyebrow. I did not vote on this contract.
I do believe that finances are driving this CollegeBoard push in our schools, all the way from Eric Smith, the Commissioner of Education in Florida (who by the way worked for the CollegeBoard and is one of the fathers of the Excelerator program that SpringBoard falls under) to MaryEllen Elia, the Superintendent of Hillsborough County Schools.
We MUST offer vocational choices for our students! I've been screaming about this for years--we've lost program after program after program---and kids drop out with every program dropped. Get business involved--they need trained/trainable employees!!!ALL kids cannot &/or will notgo to college!!! HELP!!!!!
There is great reluctance locally to dig beneath the College Board's hard sell. The school board was supposed to have a workshop on the issue this summer when teachers loudly objected to the manner in which a new curriculum was being imposed on them, but the workshop never materialized. [The Tampa Tribune]
April, is the above statement true?
Goader,
Yes that statement is true. It has been superceded by other workshops.
April
After reading the article and seeing those faces:
There is something to be said for any program the teaches love and nurturing for another living thing.
A love and nurturing not found in a book, lesson or worksheet.
A love and nurturing built upon yet developing commitment, maturity, and responsibility.
A love and nurturing that doesn't require spreading your legs but opening your heart.
I have never known an ag teacher not up to the task.
I grew up on a 160 acre farm.
I submit that the work ethic of those who tend to plants or animals meets or exceeds most other employment.
When I hear teachers make comments about how much work they do off the clock, I appreciate their effort and dedication, but I remember my upbringing too.
When I was four years old, I gathered eggs from 3000 chickens. I carried buckets of cow feed. I shoveled the cow patties out of the feeding area.
Work started before dawn and usually ended at dark.
Farmers and ranchers don't punch a time clock nor are they paid a salary.
The passion to do what they do is "bred" in them.
Without them, we would not have food. And they don't give a rat's ass about a quadratic formula or how many commas there are in "today, we have to fix the fence on the north 40, repair the bailer, make sure that the black bull is cut from the herd and drop the transmission in the tractor."
And most of them have a heart of gold and love life.
They also know when they are looked down upon by educators who do not respect them.
Suzie-- There are those that teach love and nurturing in every program--BUT--point well taken. Ag teachers have got to be some of the best teachers and people I know !
Interestingly enough, administrators in the adult, technical and career are required to have two certifications to be eligible to lead, but are paid less than their K-12 counterparts. Why the discrimination?
This is the population that K-12 administration has either given up on kicked out because of age, attendance or behavior. If anything, the pay inbalance should swing the other way.
Mrs. Griffin please explain why this is.
We are doing an injustice to our students with our curriculum and our push for them to enroll in AP classes. I don't know whether there was a financial incentive for us to switch to Springboard as pre-AP training for the entire district or not, but Springboard doesn't meet their needs. We've changed the focus of our classes. Last year my junior honors students read eighteen dramas or novels. This year the junior honors will read four. An honors student said to me yesterday, "I used to love English. We read and discussed literature all the time. Now we do surveys on the American Dream and are working on Op-Ed pages."
I am not a statistics professor, a journalism teacher, or a film studies teacher (the next unit in junior English). I am an English instructor. I have three classes this year of students who failed Freshman English last year. Last week one of those students asked me, "Can we have Fun Friday again?" I was shocked.
"We never have Fun Friday," I said. "What are you talking about? We ALWAYS work in here."
His answer was a reality check for me. He replied, "But twice now when you said we were ahead of the other classes, you let us read from that book over there! (pointing to my class set of the literature books that have been replaced by Springboard)"
What are we doing? Springboard has some good elements. It does encourage critical thinking. However, a program that has no objective tests or time for real writing instruction not only will not prepare a student for AP classes, but it won't prepare them to pass college classes or succeed in the workplace.
In addition, too many students who would be successful in honors programs are being pushed into AP classes, where they are frustrated and, frankly, will not pass the AP test.
We had a program several years ago in Hillsborough County for which I wrote the curriculum. Our school piloted it, and it was quite successful. All students took college prep English and took the same semester exams, so that they could all attend college if they desired; but students then chose whether they wanted Academic English or Workplace English. The Academic English classes had definite college prep exercises. They wrote characterizations, literary analyses, etc. The Workplace English classes read the same works, but their assignments were to prepare resumes for the characters, do a performance review, a project analysis, etc. Students in those classes were formed into cooperative learning groups that were mini-companies, and the students rotated positions within the "companies." The program had positive feedback and served as a model for several counties who observed our classes.
What's more important is that students' needs were addressed, and our students were prepared for their futures.
There's something wrong with our educational system when we are losing ten percent of our vocational teachers and classes a year. A large portion of our students will never go to college, but they will go to post-secondary career training. They need to see that vocational training is valuable and as necessary as college preparation to our economy.
Thank you, April Griffin, for challenging status quo, Springboard, decrease in vocational training, etc. Thank you for putting our students and their needs first.
Dr. Judi Briant
Why is so much effort and money being spent on ginning up the AP enrollment?
If we concentrated on developing alternative curricula that provided our kids with an opportunity to be trained in a recession-resistant career, we would truly be doing them a favor.
No matter, people must have their hair cut, their cars repaired, their plumbing and A/C fixed, their homes maintained, their pets attended to, etc. They can work on the clock or off the clock. They can survive on the skills and experience they got in a vocational class!
My English degree is very limiting.
Perhaps you can find common ground on which to collaborate with this neighboring school board member.
Thank you Goader. I have been using the German education model as an example for years. I lived in Germany for some years while my husband was in the military. I will contact member Starkey.
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