I'm sure many won't agree with me, but I am going here anyway. This is the questions that's been asked since the dawn of education. People have gotten entire doctorates on this. But here it is from my simple teacher's view.
I believe the answer to your question is the almighty dollar. The higher up the food chain you go the less important the kids are and the more important the money becomes. You and I know the score. We are in the trenches and see the little faces every day. We understand that people are all different. The principal sees them even less than we do (usually the ornery ones) and the superintendent only sees the ones we choose to parade in the front. These children are numbers on a page and nothing else. Many with control of the money want to run education as they would a factory turning out Fords. Save money. Do it efficiently. No waste. Everyone in the group gets the same education at the same time. If you don't learn as fast or as well than the expectations, you are defective and pushed aside (thrown into intervention or special ed.). I am so sick of hearing "more bang for your buck" in staff meetings, I could spit. The government and private sector have a different agenda than we do. They want happy little automotons that smile and do what they are told. I know someone who works for a large government agency. He has made it very clear to me on more than one occasion that they don't want thinkers. This agency won't hire anyone who knows too much. They want compliant, obedience-trained people to read the directions and follow them. No creativity, no questions, no challenges. Commercial curriculum is developed with this in mind. Textbook companies thrive on manipulating the numbers so that you will find all the answers you seek in their textbook. We are not professionals in their eyes. Those that sell the books don't want us to be able to manipulate their systems. They want monkeys to be able to use their systems so that they continue to look good and keep making that money. Because they see nothing but numbers, our research isn't always respected. We understand that children are all different and learn at different rates. Numbers can't always appropriately show what they want to see. Nor are anecdotal records easy to manipulate to fit a specific agenda. They need that agenda to continue sucking money our of our districts. Sorry to be so cynical. Did I answer your question? We have to keep fighting for what's right. Those same atomotons that we are educating now are the ones who will be running the world when we get old. If they can't think, reason, and creatively tackle problems, the future is doomed. Kim ------- Kimberlee Hannan Department Chair Sequoia Middle School Fresno, California 93702 Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, let go of what you can't change, kiss slowly, play hard, forgive quickly, take chances, give everything, have no regrets.. Life's too short to be anything but happy. [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
