Sunday, August 21, 2005
Miss teacher, I don't understand!
Dorothy Dimitre says:
In regard to the California standards (STAR) test, I'm wondering how many eighth-graders (or most anyone, for that matter) need to know how many seconds it takes Ramon's penny to reach the ground.
Ah, I guess they don't need to know the specific fictional detail in the test. I guess the test is completely pointless!
Or... you know... maybe the point is to see if, given a problem, folks are able to solve it.
Then there is California Superintendent Jack O'Connell's grandiose statement: "A rapidly changing global economy demands that all students be excellent communicators and rigorous problem solvers, if they are to succeed."
Two questions: What is success? And what is being done to develop well- functioning people for trade vocations?
Let's ask this another way. Pick a definition of success, and tell me if excellent communication and rigorous problem solving are unimportant for it. Maybe instead of training everyone to do every trade, we can train them how to solve problems and communicate so that they can learn any trade in the future. Maybe.
Julie Wilder-Sherman asks the question:
The other thing was the perception that we who are opposed to the war don't support the troops. How much more supportive can one be than to try to save a life?
A whole lot, actually. There's a difference between supporting someone and locking them in a cage so they don't get hurt. Some things in life really are more important than simply continuing to breathe.
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