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Robb
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
 Posted - 08/21/2008 : 07:36:22
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Quote from bngbuck
| Never, NEVER, NEVER underestimate the stupidity of the American Electorate! |
Maybe this is why you think we are all so stupid.
From Dallas ISD New Grading Guidelines:
Guidlines
GRADES 9-12 GRADING GUIDELINES
A grade of 50 is the lowest grade that will be recorded as a six-weeks grade. While 50 is the lowest six weeks grade recorded on the report card, teachers and teacher teams determine appropriate grades for daily work, homework, tests, etc.(which may include a grade lower than a 50).
Giving zeros as a grade for late work is not a best practice, and, therefore it is recommended that a parent call/notification be made prior to recording a grade of zero, (especially for students for whom the zero will likely result in a failing grade). Efforts should be made to assist students in completing missed work.
Students shall be permitted to retake any major test that she or he has failed, with the exception of ACPs, within 5 school days the failing grade was received or no later than 10 days of the date of the test. The higher score earned on either test will be recorded in the grade book, and the lower score removed (not averaged).
GRADES 2-5 GRADING GUIDELINES
At grades 2-5, grades from homework assignments grades will be recorded only if they improve the student grade average, but feedback should always be provided on homework.
Students shall be permitted to retake any major test that she or he has failed within 5 school days the failing grade was received or no later than 10 days of the date of the test. The higher score earned on either test will be recorded in the grade book, and the lower score removed (not averaged).
Grade Weights Class work/Homework* 50% (Homework grades recorded if they improve grade average) Tests 20% grade weight Projects/Products 20% grade weight (ex: composition, research paper, presentation, report) Six weeks test grade 10% grade weight
GRADES 6-8 GRADING GUIDELINES
Homework assignments may or may not be awarded a grade at the teacher's discretion. When recording grades, primary consideration should be given to recording homework grades that raise a student's average, not lower it. |
All these do is help students get higher grades at the expense of them learning life lessons or learning anything academically.
Some quotes from teachers:
Dallas Morning News Story
"It's like we're sending the message to kids that deadlines don't matter, studying is optional, and no matter how little you do, you're still [going to] pass all your classes anyway," said Ray Cox, who teaches world languages at Franklin Middle School.
The intent may have been to create a uniform grading policy, but the result was to lower standards, said Dale Kaiser, president of the teachers' group NEA-Dallas.
The school board and superintendent "talk about elevating standards and holding high expectations for kids, but we're telling the kids that whether they do the work or not is irrelevant," he said. |
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Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. - George Washington |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 08/21/2008 : 08:14:43 [Permalink]
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"The American voter is just as drunk and stupid as ever! ~~ Nixon's head, Futurama"
But this only applies to the 50% (or less?) who acrually involve themselves in at least part of the political process. It doesn't say much for the rest, does it?
I don't have the attention span to read the whole set of guidelines, but if the comments in the newspaper article are any indication, they suck. What, are they trying to turn their high-school system into a diploma mill?
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2008 : 08:14:50 [Permalink]
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Is overall school performance tied to funding issues? I did not see mention of that in the story, but standardized testing and the continued pressure on schools to improve or loose funding may be at issue here. Bush's "no child left behind" is basically a disaster from a learning standpoint because teachers are forced to teach to the test. Dumb rules have been implemented all over the country to keep schools monetarily viable. Of course, the kids are the losers.
I am only guessing but something was behind the implementation of this stupid policy. And I bet with a little digging it will turn out that the real culprit is the need to maintain or increase funding to the school district. |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2008 : 08:21:35 [Permalink]
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| I am only guessing but something was behind the implementation of this stupid policy. And I bet with a little digging it will turn out that the real culprit is the need to maintain or increase funding to the school district. |
With no digging at all, I'll hazard a guess that you are right. Grist-mill graduations look good on paper, and can bring in the fed bucks, but look not so good anywhere else -- like in the SATs.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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Robb
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2008 : 08:24:48 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Kil
Is overall school performance tied to funding issues? I did not see mention of that in the story, but standardized testing and the continued pressure on schools to improve or loose funding may be at issue here. Bush's "no child left behind" is basically a disaster from a learning standpoint because teachers are forced to teach to the test. Dumb rules have been implemented all over the country to keep schools monetarily viable. Of course, the kids are the losers.
I am only guessing but something was behind the implementation of this stupid policy. And I bet with a little digging it will turn out that the real culprit is the need to maintain or increase funding to the school district.
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Yes. Administrator (not teacher) salaries and bonuses are related to the state standardized testing performance for the school and district. |
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. - George Washington |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2008 : 08:29:47 [Permalink]
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filthy:
What, are they trying to turn their high-school system into a diploma mill? |
Yes. But in many cases, it's because their backs are to the wall in terms of funding. Districts that don't preform will (usually poorer districts that lack active participation by parents in their children's education) actually loose funding. It's counter productive because those are the districts that need better teachers and councilors the most. If better grades are the way to get funding, those districts will figure out a way to do it. Again, the kids are the losers, but at least they still have a neighborhood school. |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Robb
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2008 : 09:21:16 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Kil
filthy:
What, are they trying to turn their high-school system into a diploma mill? |
Yes. But in many cases, it's because their backs are to the wall in terms of funding. Districts that don't preform will (usually poorer districts that lack active participation by parents in their children's education) actually loose funding. It's counter productive because those are the districts that need better teachers and councilors the most. If better grades are the way to get funding, those districts will figure out a way to do it. Again, the kids are the losers, but at least they still have a neighborhood school.
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I agree mostly with your assessment. What the article also said was that the board did not have to approve the changes in grading policy. It seems that the elected board members get thier cake and eat it as well. They get the policy they want but not the backlash from the citizens.
Another fact is that Dallas in general is the most corrupt and inept city I have ever lived near. Millions of dollars goes unaccounted for each year. The city council is a joke and with the exception of the last year the mayors have not been qualified for the job. (i.e. Dallas did not get the new Dallas Cowboys stadium when it was clear early on that the Cowboys wanted to play back in Dallas and they are putting $50 million into the cotton bowl for 2 games a year when they are trying to find money to hire more police officers). |
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. - George Washington |
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bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2008 : 09:38:37 [Permalink]
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Robb, Kil, Filthy.....
You begin to wonder, why don't they just post the test answers on the bulletin board?
Funding is undoubtedly a major problem both as it affects curricula and teaching methodology, but I believe that the biggest problem is teaching attitude and teaching aptitude. Far too many professional teachers are college graduates with degrees in Education and little else. They may be well educated in how to educate, but they get caught up in methodology at the expense of content. Textbooks all the way from primers to advanced calculus have to be secondary to the ability of the teacher to illustrate and convey the essence of the subject matter.
I have felt for a long time that the education of a teacher should be as focused on the subject matter that they intend to teach as it is on the latest pedagogical methodology. I have had many conversations with teaching professionals and I frequently come away amazed at the superficiality of the knowledge base of some of these people!
I realize we all can't be Renaissance Men and Women like us favored folks here on SFN, but I would be a lot happier if your average middle-school or high-school teacher could sit down and discuss a bit of Bach, Boole and Blaise Pascal with some comfort!| All these do is help students get higher grades at the expense of them learning life lessons or learning anything academically |
Yes, it is appalling how many high-school graduates come away from secondary education poorly educated but with good grades! At least that was true years ago! In my 20's, I taught briefly at the college freshman level, and the educational innocence of many of the folks in my classes never ceased to astound me! |
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2008 : 09:55:07 [Permalink]
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Robb said:
Quote from bngbuck
Never, NEVER, NEVER underestimate the stupidity of the American Electorate!
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Maybe this is why you think we are all so stupid.
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What bng probably means, Robb, is that people like yourself are convinced to vote against your own self interest by a political faction that could give a fuck about you in between elections. Yeah, they will give you your token judge and supreme court justice(only because it doesn't conflict with their agenda), and for some reason you are so obsessed with that single issue.... you don't even notice that you are being raped and robbed six ways to sunday. They have your fucking number, and like an abused wife you keep returning to your asshole wifebeating man.
The apparent "closeness" of this current election is a fine example. No rational person can support a candidate who has adopted, fully, the energy and foreign policy of the Bush admin. Despite the beatings you have recieved over the last 8 years, you fuckers are STILL lining up to vote for republicans.
Thats why bng thinks the electorate is a bunch of retards. And really, he is right.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2008 : 10:21:53 [Permalink]
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Bill:
...Bach, Boole and Blaise Pascal with some comfort! |
Aaaaah. The three B's.
But seriously, our school district happens to be well funded to the point of, shall we say, rich compared to most? Almost every teacher I have met over the years of having to shlep to every back to school night and open house had a passion for the subject they were teaching. My guess is that they receive generally higher salaries than they would in other districts. (This is the Santa Monica/Malibu unified school district.) Hell, there is even a limit of 20 kids per class! Poorer area's can't touch our districts ability to fund raise locally given the affluence of this area.
It seems to me that the upshot is that poorer districts can't compete and worse, loose funding based on what? Our unfair advantage? I understand what you are saying Bill but even the best educated educators are going to be looking for the plum jobs unless their dedication is close to saintly.
I also know teachers who were very good at what they did but opted out of teaching for higher salaries in the private sector. That includes my first wife and my girlfriend.
The problem is multi faceted. |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Robb
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2008 : 11:01:02 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dude
What bng probably means, Robb, is that people like yourself are convinced to vote against your own self interest by a political faction that could give a fuck about you in between elections. Yeah, they will give you your token judge and supreme court justice(only because it doesn't conflict with their agenda), and for some reason you are so obsessed with that single issue.... you don't even notice that you are being raped and robbed six ways to sunday. They have your fucking number, and like an abused wife you keep returning to your asshole wifebeating man.
The apparent "closeness" of this current election is a fine example. No rational person can support a candidate who has adopted, fully, the energy and foreign policy of the Bush admin. Despite the beatings you have recieved over the last 8 years, you fuckers are STILL lining up to vote for republicans.
Thats why bng thinks the electorate is a bunch of retards. And really, he is right.
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I love your argument style. In one response you called me a moron because I cant tell when I am "being raped and robbed six ways to sunday". You compared me to an abused housewife (have you ever known any), a fucker (7th grade insult) and a retard. Wow. You don't come across as enlightened but as a hothead that cannot fathom that he is ever wrong.
Really Dude, I have a family and I respect this country for what it is. I want what's best for it. Because of your apparant pride you will not recognise that other people with different political opinions can possibly have valid arguments for voting for McCain. You just say they are all morons because you are the smart one who knows what's best for 300 million people. I think you need to grow up a little Dude.
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Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. - George Washington |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2008 : 11:39:07 [Permalink]
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| Robb, it looks like we've got eight years of examples of where McCain's policies will take us. What is a valid argument for voting for someone who will drive us regular folks deeper into debt and further damage our kids' education? |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2008 : 11:55:33 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Robb
I want what's best for it. Because of your apparant pride you will not recognise that other people with different political opinions can possibly have valid arguments for voting for McCain. |
Why don't you enlighten the rest of us, because it looks like we're clueless.
What could possibly balance out the disaster Bush have brought onto USA, indeed the entire world?
What compelling evidence can you provide that McCain will not continue to complete his turn-around into a Bush-clone?
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Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Cuneiformist
The Imperfectionist
USA
4955 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2008 : 12:34:35 [Permalink]
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Robb, while I'm not going to object to the notion that we are having problems in our schools (and homes) as far as educating children goes.
However, the "stupidity of the American Electorate" is a different issue. Knowing calculus or having familiarity with War and Peace is good, but isn't absolutely essential when voting.
What is really troubling is when I see polls showing that a majority of Americans are so ill-informed that they actually think that, for instance, Iraq had some role in 9/11. Or that drilling for oil off the continental shelf will immediately lead to significantly lower gas prices.
There are plenty of smart, educated Americans who nevertheless believe in an alternate reality that exists only on AM talk radio, Fox News, and other far-right outlets. And that sort of stupidity isn't going to be fixed by having a stricter curriculum and grading policy in elementary school. |
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bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2008 : 17:04:34 [Permalink]
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Robb.....
Let's clear the smoke and break the mirrors here.
Would you mind clearly stating, in detail, your opinion of the eight year administration of George W. Bush; and following that, your opinion of the Republican-dominated Congress that prevailed until 2007?
I ask this with respect and sincere interest in your answer.
I cannot comment on your inclusion in what I define as the significantly "stupid" American Electorate until you answer these two questions. Although I agree emphatically with Dude's politics, I cant assume anything about your politics until you state them.
So how about it? |
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2008 : 18:24:40 [Permalink]
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Robb said:
I love your argument style. In one response you called me a moron because I cant tell when I am "being raped and robbed six ways to sunday". You compared me to an abused housewife (have you ever known any), a fucker (7th grade insult) and a retard. Wow. You don't come across as enlightened but as a hothead that cannot fathom that he is ever wrong.
Really Dude, I have a family and I respect this country for what it is. I want what's best for it. Because of your apparant pride you will not recognise that other people with different political opinions can possibly have valid arguments for voting for McCain. You just say they are all morons because you are the smart one who knows what's best for 300 million people. I think you need to grow up a little Dude.
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The only valid argument for voting for McCain is if you think Bush has been good for the US. And if you think that, well, I will retract all the nice things I have said about you.
McCain isn't hiding his sellout to the neocons, hell, he has hired them to run his campaign! You religious conservatives, who have revised US history to make it a "christian nation", and want to codify your INSANE beliefs as law... have been fooled. The neocons have manipulated you Robb. They don't care about your issues, they will never pass laws on your issues (they NEED you pissed off and worked up, to make you go vote), they will just pay lipservice to your issues, all the while their politicians are passing laws (like the ENRON Loophole and deregualting banks) that fuck you over....hard. And you cheer them on.
Why wouldn't I think you are retarded?
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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I don't understand how this will help
