“Hey, everyone, we got fooled again.”
A learning process
It’s difficult to concentrate with this distraction
Editor, The Times:
David Marshak’s analysis of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) and dropout rates, albeit technically a bit of a stretch, is mostly accurate [”The great WASL scam,” Times guest commentary, Nov. 20].
I would add that the WASL and No Child Left Behind boondoggles have made us so focused on standards and performance that we have lost sight of the fact that we are educating people, and that each person is different.
The fanatical obsession with test scores was certainly not the intention of education reform in this state. However, it is now the reality for educators and, unfortunately, students (I could tell many stories about the pain and suffering of my own students during test-taking).
The otherwise good people at the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction have lost touch with classroom realities and have begun to pick and choose the statistics that will help them see systemwide efficacy.
We should be focused not on standards, but on creating healthy learning communities for children and adults where each person can learn and grow.
Building community in schools will have far greater effects on academic achievement and the dropout problem Dr. Marshak points to. But it is complex, costly, and hard work.
I worry that we have traveled too far down the standards road to get in touch with reality any time soon.
- Scott Mauk, director, Bayview School, LangleyHow to build a ladder
The shrinkage in the number of 12th-grade students compared with the number of ninth-grade students in public schools is a nationwide phenomenon that understandably causes grave concern.
But what has been unappreciated in understanding the attrition rate is the counterproductive role that an academic curriculum plays. By failing to acknowledge the reality that not all students have the ability or desire to go to a four-year college, we set ourselves up for a continuation of the present trend.
When students perceive no connection between their courses and their future plans, they either act out or drop out. In either case, they have effectively been written off.
If vocational education were accorded greater respect and recognition, these same students would in all likelihood not only graduate, but would do so with distinction.
- Walt Gardner (teacher of 28 years in the L.A. Unified School District and former lecturer at UCLA Graduate School of Education), Los Angeles, Calif.The elite cheat
“A break for schools” [editorial, Nov. 18] misinterprets the key issue regarding special levies. The Times claims “voters were smart enough to separate genuine basic needs, such as levy money to pay for teachers and instructional materials … ” Therein is the crux of the matter.
It is irresponsible to rely on an off-again, on-again funding source - that is, special levies - to pay for recurring costs such as teachers’ salaries and school supplies! That funding is the duty of the state of Washington and our Legislature.
The school districts have played the “politics of fear” far better than those we decry in the current administration, writing horror stories of closed schools and fewer teachers if we don’t line up for our regular bloodletting at the polls.
However, the administrators in my district seem downright pampered in their $54 million digs compared with the children (or teachers) in my daughter’s school, who only recently were allowed to use the drinking fountains again. (The majority of renovations, from paint to carpets, are actually funded by the school PTA.)
It seems there is plenty of money for fancy Sodo offices and fancy titles to populate them, but the real needs of children are left to the luck of the electoral draw. Am I the only one who sees a problem here with priorities?
Making it marginally easier to pass special levies (most already passed under the supermajority formula) does not address the real problem: an unworkable funding model and inadequate accountability for the funds that are delivered. It just means the Legislature and district bureaucrats can breathe a bit easier, as even fewer voters determine the ever-rising tax burden carried by us all.
Hey, everyone, we got fooled again.
- Ian King, SeattleNo-credit class
Why is it that University of Washington President Mark Emmert gets a raise that is the equivalent of two annual salaries when the professors who really do all the work that matters get next to nothing? [”UW’s Emmert gets another raise: $150,000,” Education, Nov. 16, and “An investment in UW leadership,” editorial, Nov. 20.] Emmert’s claim to fame is helping LSU win a national championship, and nothing else.
It’s nice to see the UW regents and the state show their lack of support for education by rewarding with a king’s ransom a man who has done nothing to better the quality of teaching at the UW, while those charged with passing on knowledge continue to make chump change by comparison.
Raises need to go to those who work hard enough to earn them. Emmert is not that man.
- Taiji Tamura, ShorelineEmerald committee
You’re into the woods
The intent to conserve the Cascade-area forest is absolutely wonderful and is an awesome idea [”Reichert bill would add to Alpine Lakes,” News, Nov. 9]. I’m so happy that something is being done to stop suburbia from expanding and ruining what Washington is known for. This is the best thing that has been done in a long, long time and I want to thank these people for taking action! I know the public supports it!
- Leda Grembowski, ShorelineYou’re into the park
I am saddened but not surprised at the pending closure of Fun Forest [”Proposal: Shut down Fun Forest by late 2009,” Local News, Nov. 20]. My family makes regular trips to Seattle and my youngest insists each time that we go to the Seattle Center. He and his older brother, to some extent, enjoy the Fun Forest for a short time.
It seemed odd that the park did not update. With the science museum right next door, it was never hard to convince the boys to move on.
Given your weather, may I suggest an indoor sports arena - batting cages, a place for soccer drills (since Seattle will have a team by 2009). Make it high-tech so that pitch speeds can be measured and arcs can be tracked. Serve healthy food and provide plenty of bike parking. Or maybe an indoor bike or skatepark with rails, jumps and drops.
I can’t imagine this wouldn’t serve the youth of Seattle well. And we’ll stop by, too, after we rent awesome bikes over in Montlake.
See you soon.
- Terri-Lynn McCormick, Boston, Mass.