A personal reflection on tracking. I went to my 40th (!) H.S. reunion in September and was brought up short by the realization that I'd really known only about 70 of my 670 classmates. In addition to college prep classes, we had "Delta" advanced courses that meant most of us stuck pretty close to the same circle of people. So there were probably 4 tracks: specific trades, general, college prep, and hothouse flowers.
At the reunion, I realized that kids I'd only known casually from study hall or lunchroom had taken quite respectable classes and ended up with a variety of careers. I was a nice kid, but I see now that I was also something of an intellectual snob. I wish I'd mixed more with the people who are now librarians, computer whizzes, real estate salesmen, even a breeder of American Shorthair Cats. Those of us in the advanced classes have not distinguished ourselves any more than those who were tracked into less demanding courses. We all would have done well to learn more about each other. But where does that put the small focus Joe is talking about? Unquestionably, it's a mistake to let kids get lost in huge schools, but I'm not sure about limiting their chances to meet a wide variety of people. (In fact, that's my principle objection to homeschooling. Those students are given socializing opportunities with kids exactly like themselves.) So what's the optimum number and structure? Gail O'Hare St. Paul Message: 7 Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2004 07:58:56 EDT From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [StPaul] Tracking and choice To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Matt describes tracking and asks if this is choice. Tracking is a system that encourages some students to take rigourous, college prep courses, and encourages others to take other, much less challenging courses. It is exactly the opposite of what we are working for - we are trying to help St. Paul high schools develop small more individualized schools in which ALL students are challenged, all students are prepared for some form of post-secondary education when they graduate, and ALL students have thought hard - and investigated various careers. The is high expectations for all - not high expectations for some, and lower for others. Joe ************************************** _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
