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.
Tell me what you think
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
SpringBoard or is it SpringBored?
What do you think? You've been doing for over a month now. So tell me how it is going.
What do the kids think? Have you been getting feed back from them?
Here are some posts on SpringBoard from a blog posting I did on another subject:
Anonymous said...
Now that I am personally using SpringBoard, which takes up about 75 percent of classroom time, so far, I can say that it is as poor as I thought it would be. Yes, there are some lessons that, if adapted, I would use. But the majority of those lessons are not challenging and not entirely appropriate for every population of students that are in this county. Also, some of the stories and poems use to be in the middle-grade classrooms. Guess what? I teach 9th grade honors. I don't believe that placing lower level literature in the honors classroom is one of the best practices. I would still like to see the research that “proves” that this curriculum really does improve student-achievement in every type of classroom, whether it is varying grade-levels, honors, regular, inner-city, suburban, etc.Teachers are afraid to speak out. I haven’t spoken to a single English teacher that believes that SpringBoard is better for all students. They are all concerned. Most teachers believe it should be a tool for the classroom, not obligatory to the extent that it is. It is sad that the only people in the classroom everyday are the very people that are not listened to and are afraid to speak up. It speaks volumes about the climate of this county. We will all have to wait and see what happens. Sadly, some of the very best teachers may not be around to find out. What's even sadder, is I am afriad to post this...
September 7, 2008 12:17 PM
Anonymous said...
Anonymous-- I'm feeling your pain --and mine. We will not only lose teachers, but students. I teach E4 Regular. I feel sick every day with the crap I'm pushing. Yes--some activities are good, however, I can't see this class prepping my kids for college--or life after high school.My seniors will "only" lose a year--what about those starting this in 6th grade? God help us all--no one downtown is! anonymous, too
September 10, 2008 6:55 PM
Anonymous said...
You know it's bad when the children themselves are saying they don't like it. Here are some comments I got from some of my students:"I don't feel like I'm learning anything""Why is this all about CHOICES? This is dumb""I can't even remember what we learned about yesterday""We're doing a lot of stuff"Here's my take on it...my analogy...I once felt like a gourmet chef serving up 5 course, 5 star meals to my hungry students. I put my heart and soul into each and every one of customized recipes, and always took special requests when necessary. Now, with Springboard, I feel like a cashier at a fast food drive thru, dishing out pre-cooked, re-heated meals that are quick, easy, and ready to serve, but not all that filling or healthy in the end. :(
September 12, 2008 4:50 PM
Anonymous said...
SpringBoard has essentially broken my spirit and my love of teaching. Sucks.Double sucks that I, too, feel the fear of repercussion if I speak out.Triple sucks that our school TOLD us not to say anything negative to the supervisors when they come and randomly observe us this year.Quadruple sucks that the parents HAVE NO CLUE about what's going on and that WE have to spin this garbage into something good.I swear, when my child hits 6th grade, home schooling's-a-coming!
September 12, 2008 4:56 PM
What do the kids think? Have you been getting feed back from them?
Here are some posts on SpringBoard from a blog posting I did on another subject:
Anonymous said...
Now that I am personally using SpringBoard, which takes up about 75 percent of classroom time, so far, I can say that it is as poor as I thought it would be. Yes, there are some lessons that, if adapted, I would use. But the majority of those lessons are not challenging and not entirely appropriate for every population of students that are in this county. Also, some of the stories and poems use to be in the middle-grade classrooms. Guess what? I teach 9th grade honors. I don't believe that placing lower level literature in the honors classroom is one of the best practices. I would still like to see the research that “proves” that this curriculum really does improve student-achievement in every type of classroom, whether it is varying grade-levels, honors, regular, inner-city, suburban, etc.Teachers are afraid to speak out. I haven’t spoken to a single English teacher that believes that SpringBoard is better for all students. They are all concerned. Most teachers believe it should be a tool for the classroom, not obligatory to the extent that it is. It is sad that the only people in the classroom everyday are the very people that are not listened to and are afraid to speak up. It speaks volumes about the climate of this county. We will all have to wait and see what happens. Sadly, some of the very best teachers may not be around to find out. What's even sadder, is I am afriad to post this...
September 7, 2008 12:17 PM
Anonymous said...
Anonymous-- I'm feeling your pain --and mine. We will not only lose teachers, but students. I teach E4 Regular. I feel sick every day with the crap I'm pushing. Yes--some activities are good, however, I can't see this class prepping my kids for college--or life after high school.My seniors will "only" lose a year--what about those starting this in 6th grade? God help us all--no one downtown is! anonymous, too
September 10, 2008 6:55 PM
Anonymous said...
You know it's bad when the children themselves are saying they don't like it. Here are some comments I got from some of my students:"I don't feel like I'm learning anything""Why is this all about CHOICES? This is dumb""I can't even remember what we learned about yesterday""We're doing a lot of stuff"Here's my take on it...my analogy...I once felt like a gourmet chef serving up 5 course, 5 star meals to my hungry students. I put my heart and soul into each and every one of customized recipes, and always took special requests when necessary. Now, with Springboard, I feel like a cashier at a fast food drive thru, dishing out pre-cooked, re-heated meals that are quick, easy, and ready to serve, but not all that filling or healthy in the end. :(
September 12, 2008 4:50 PM
Anonymous said...
SpringBoard has essentially broken my spirit and my love of teaching. Sucks.Double sucks that I, too, feel the fear of repercussion if I speak out.Triple sucks that our school TOLD us not to say anything negative to the supervisors when they come and randomly observe us this year.Quadruple sucks that the parents HAVE NO CLUE about what's going on and that WE have to spin this garbage into something good.I swear, when my child hits 6th grade, home schooling's-a-coming!
September 12, 2008 4:56 PM
Thursday, September 4, 2008
I believe...
This is an amazing message and an amazing key note speaker at a back to school conference.
Please take the time to watch.
Please take the time to watch.
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