4 ms·
The discussion about this on the teachers subreddit repeated the claim of 'Of course they can't read a clock, NY teachers are only allowed to teach things that
by OgsyedIE 10mo ago
The discussion about this on the teachers subreddit repeated the claim of 'Of course they can't read a clock, NY teachers are only allowed to teach things that are explicitly specified on any of the syllabi or tests and reading a clock isn't on the list.'. The other internet fora for teachers have exactly as much cynicism as you'd expect too, but there is an implied grain of truth:
Teachers don't have the time to meaningfully teach anything except the test contents, because truancy has exploded. RAND estimated K-12 unexplained absences reached 21% in 2023 and early estimates for the last year suggest that strong attention to fixing it has brought it down to 13%, which is an improvement but is still way too high.
- themafia 10mo ago> Teachers don't have the time to meaningfully teach anything except the test contents, because truancy has exploded. That buries the lede. Why don't they have time? Isn't education their goal? Or is test taking their goal? And why? Is it because the school gets federal funding based on test results and student attendance? We've ruined schools the same way the British found the Cobra Effect. We've created entirely the wrong incentives for everyone involved.
- supertrope 10mo agoEducating and socializing kids takes more than 180 days a year. It takes a village to raise a kid. Think of all the things you learned from your parents, your extended family, your sports coach, your neighbor, or the manager of the corner store you frequented. Did you ever have a lesson at school about tying your shoe laces? How did you learn that advertisements don't have tell the truth? Teaching to the test is about pulling low achieving students up to standard, not so much about supporting high performing students. Even though a lot of difference between a good school district and bad school district comes down to out of classroom factors like socioeconomic class and parental involvement, the district gets praise or blame. The district can't fix food insecurity, absent parents, abuse, and anti-intellectual attitudes. But it can focus those 180 days on reading and math and specifically what's on the test.
- themafia 10mo agoMy parents beat me when I disappointed them. It takes a village to turn their back on apparent and obvious child abuse too. This is probably why I find it difficult to put on what I perceive to be the standard issue hacker news rose colored glasses. You've completely avoided the topic of money. Presumably we have to pay these teachers somehow. The way we've decided to do this is inimical to all the things you've otherwise described.
- cindyllm 10mo ago[dead]
- mytailorisrich 10mo agoMaybe so but children/teenagers also have parents and it is problematic when parents pass the buck to schools to teach their children everything.