3 ms·

It's it the admin or the politics. At least in some areas there is such pressure around graduation rates, attendance (for the money) and such sensitivity around

It's it the admin or the politics. At least in some areas there is such pressure around graduation rates, attendance (for the money) and such sensitivity around disparate impact (ie, poor/minority students with higher than average detentions etc) that you end up with basically no failing allowed, attendance is everything including students who are massively outside of classroom ability to manage in a large class, and limited discipline

Clubber 5y ago
>basically no failing allowed Both my parents were teachers. My mother was a teacher in public schools. When we would talk about this very thing, she said whenever they would fail students, it would glut up the system and it would start to cease to function. It's a tough problem. When I was young, they had alternate schools for bad kids. At least two levels. The bad kid school, then if you got kicked out of that, the really bad kid school. If you got kicked out of that, you didn't go to school anymore. I don't know why we stopped doing that. The public school system was bad then and it's bad now, so it might not matter.
- onphonenow 5y ago
  It's complicated. At least in SF race is a major item - there is a real push to avoid disparate impact. Things like D's and F's they have shown disparately impact certain groups. Race is a major topic at least in SF school district. "A gay dad volunteers for one of eight open slots on a parent committee that advises the school board. All of the 10 current members are straight moms. Three are white. Three are Latina. Two are Black. One is Tongan. They all want the dad to join them. The seven school board members talk for two hours about whether the dad brings enough diversity. Yes, he’d be the only man. And the only LGBTQ representative. ... The gay dad never utters a single word. The board members do not ask the dad a single question before declining to approve him for the committee." https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/heatherknight/article/San-Francisco-school-board-s-antics-would-be-15948058.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/heatherknight/article/Sa... They have trouble recruiting for these spots. He was white. His credentials, interest, commitment, skills he might bring to the position were not relevant.

Clubber 5y ago

>basically no failing allowed Both my parents were teachers. My mother was a teacher in public schools. When we would talk about this very thing, she said whenever they would fail students, it would glut up the system and it would start to cease to function. It's a tough problem. When I was young, they had alternate schools for bad kids. At least two levels. The bad kid school, then if you got kicked out of that, the really bad kid school. If you got kicked out of that, you didn't go to school anymore. I don't know why we stopped doing that. The public school system was bad then and it's bad now, so it might not matter.

onphonenow 5y ago
It's complicated. At least in SF race is a major item - there is a real push to avoid disparate impact. Things like D's and F's they have shown disparately impact certain groups. Race is a major topic at least in SF school district. "A gay dad volunteers for one of eight open slots on a parent committee that advises the school board. All of the 10 current members are straight moms. Three are white. Three are Latina. Two are Black. One is Tongan. They all want the dad to join them. The seven school board members talk for two hours about whether the dad brings enough diversity. Yes, he’d be the only man. And the only LGBTQ representative. ... The gay dad never utters a single word. The board members do not ask the dad a single question before declining to approve him for the committee." https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/heatherknight/article/San-Francisco-school-board-s-antics-would-be-15948058.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/heatherknight/article/Sa... They have trouble recruiting for these spots. He was white. His credentials, interest, commitment, skills he might bring to the position were not relevant.