PC and Risk Management gone crazy

[DutyCat]

Some of you guys know that I teach Aerospace in high school. My school is a "technology academy" where students can get some specialized pre-professional training. One of our academies is structured around communication...TV and Radio. Every morning they have a five minute TV spot where they do the Pledge of Allegiance, morning announcements, lunch menu, weather, etc.

Last Tuesday, one of the students who anchors this show accidentally left out "under God" when reciting the pledge on TV. She is a nice girl and it was an innocent mistake. Before the day was out, this had gotten home to parents, and the teacher who runs our Communication Academy had received a personal visit from the principal. Worse yet, someone made a phone call to the school board and the city council found out about it. By Friday, the girl was in tears, and our Principal felt it necessary to issue a letter to students, parents, and teachers explaining the incident. Every student in the school (about 1100) received their own copy of the letter to take home to Mom and Dad....or as is often the case...just Mom or Grandma.

I will briefly expand into a broader discussion of education politics, so you know what teachers are dealing with as we try to educate your children.

This incident shows how public schools have become compromised by the politics of risk management. Risk Management is driving hyper-accountability standards to be adopted in classrooms. Because of poor academic performance in general, and specifically among certain segments of our population, public education in America is under almost microscopic scrutiny. Every year, new educational initiatives are rolled out, along with the older ones that are still in favor. They often are the result of some Ivory Tower PHD who thinks he/she can use a targeted, intellectual approach to solving the broader problems of public education, when all it really boils down to is structure, discipline, and a willingness to let students fail who don't deserve to pass.

CYA paperwork is the order of the day, every day. If it is not documented, it did not happen. Well, I have news for you...just because it is documented, doesn't mean it actually happened either. But it illustrates that administrator micromanagement of teachers is the norm. Again, it is driven by risk management, which in itself is a response to aggressive legislation tying funding to the Annual Yearly Progress requirements of political hack programs like "No Chiild Left Behind," or its current iteration "Race to the Top."

Yes, there are some bad teachers out there. Yes, unions do over protect some of them with cumbersome due process requirements. But the vast majority of teachers are hard working, caring individuals who want to see America become a better and brighter place and live up to its potential as a nation. Americans need to wake up and smell the coffee. Teachers are not the enemy. It is our social value system.....the breakdown of the American family..combined with the guilt complex of left leaning education culture. Lack of effort, absenteeism, tardiness, disruptive behavior, disengaged parents......those are the real enemies. Students don't want to work to earn their grades, and because of politics, we make excuses and provide safety nets. Learning from failure is politically unacceptable. Failing students withdraw or transfer and the school loses money... can't have that now, can we? Very few of these factors are the fault, or responsibility of the classroom teacher

Students do best with structure, discipline, and accountability. We are doing them a disservice not to demand it and as a result, enabling their underachievement.

Teachers need more authority...not less. They need effective discipline tools and backing from leadership, instead of Principals who placate an upset parent out of fear of a call to the school board. They need more autonomy to run their class as they see fit, provided they are qualified and competent. Principals, Deans, bureaucrats, politicians,and parents...yes I said parents, need to have a little faith and get out of the way. The vast majority of teachers know what they are doing.

Let us do our job, will ya? Quit meddling. You don't go into a hospital and tell a doctor how to do his job. You don't go into an airliner cockpit and tell the pilot how to fly the plane. And so on. But when it comes to education, everyone thinks they are an expert, and they are driving the real experts...the teachers, nuts.

There is no magic methodology for teaching and no secret to educational success. It is simple and straightforward.......hard work and study. Just like it always has been.

Edited October 7, 2012 by DutyCat

[gonzalo]

Hear Hear Excellent! Very well said and stated. I could not agree with you more with what you have typed. You hit the nail right on the head.

[ChippyWho]

Well put indeed, Sir. All your comments would apply just as accurately (possibly more so) here in the UK.

I'm not sure about the 'Ivory Tower PHD' with a 'targeted, intellectual approach', though -like economists, the dudes with the theories have little or no executive power, and those who do will pick 'n' mix whatever they think they can sell to their supporters. So, basically, education becomes an electoral commodity first and foremost.

What the heck, it's only the kids' future, after all!

[Jinxter13]

Thank you DC, very, very well said. Some of you here in the US may remember the failed attempt to provide kids in less affluent areas with a better quality education, and the lead balloon solution of busing kids farther from home passing the school they normally attended. It was my argument then that the answer was not busing students, but providing them with better qualified teachers. It seems that some of those same folks or their proteges and/or those who shared the same thought processes who thought that idea was the way to go have migrated into other areas, and PC and risk management is their current area of operations. For a student to make a mistake and forget two words I can live with, a lot more than some supposed professional performer who blows it or the National anthem. The poor kid may have had stage fright knowing she would be seen by a lot more than 25-30 peers in a single classroom, and for the faculty to blow it way out of bounds as you described is a disgraceful shame. My mom had a term for such folks to put it simply she call them "Institutional Idiots", they had all the book smarts one would ever need, but outside that they couldn't blow their own nose without aid and instructions.

Here in California, it seems a childs education is an afterthought. No where else in the US that I know of is a "D" considered a passing grade. Not many kids IMHO are going to do the work to earn better grades if they know all they have to do is basically show up and they will pass a given course. Which leads to them probably looking for the same once they are out of High School, and in adult life. A prime example is a city here in SoCal, Rosemead has had programs to help kids cut by the school board and teachers let go, yet that same school board thought it fine to give the superintendent a whopping raise, and she is already making a 6 figure salary, this they did without approval from the parents or anyone else.

Edit: Clarification

My comments are in no way meant to cast doubt or distrust in any politician or political party...they are to give thought to an idea that shows illogical thinking no matter of it's origins. I equate the first one to using a piece of duct tape to stop a pressurization leak on jumbo jet, and the second to the needs and wants of the one outweigh the needs of the many, the callousness of some people is beyond explanation.

Edited October 7, 2012 by #1 Greywolf

[bmccarron]

Amen, brother

After spending 30+ years in the education system, I agree wholeheartedly with your comments. Even if you get a strong teacher or dare I say it, an administrator who works for the benefit of all the students, he/she will still get cut off at the knees by the high-priced help who have been over-educated and politicized to the point of

being useless. Brian

[Exhausted]

What part of "No Politics" do you not understand? Your comments on culture leaning one side or the other and that side being responsible for a schools successes or failures is not fair, or objective. I have very real input to give to a topic like this, but it's not fair for me to violate the rules I just pointed out. General Discussion is a forum without politics, and this thread is fundamentally political.

[TaiidanTomcat]

Education has become another giant monolith where its once upon a time primary job of teaching kids is now about number 5 on the priority list. Welcome to the future.

D is a passing grade by the way.

Edited October 7, 2012 by TaiidanTomcat

[Fishwelding]

DutyCat, as a fellow teacher (higher ed) I can sympathize with a lot of what you say. But I'd offer some caveats. One is that "Left-leaning" is a politically misleading term here. At my institution, I deal with students from all ends of the political and socioeconomic spectrum, and lemme tell you, those coming from very wealthy, politically conservative families can exhibit as much or more a sense of victimology and entitlement about their student's expected paper-performance. Indeed, more, because they have lawyers at their disposal, and because they often come to the discussion with cheap, prefabricated political opinions about universities and profs as rationalizations for why their kid isn't doing so hot.

So it's not political, but it is American culture. People both left and right have never really respected teachers. Baby Boomers pine for some past where they supposedly revered and obeyed their teachers, but I've seen report cards from the period, and heard more than a few boasts from Boomers themselves about bad classroom behavior, contempt for teachers, and even academic dishonesty. Read old newspapers, and people gripe constantly about delinquent schoolkids, while the comics page sneers at teachers. America has had a cultural streak where we want to be able to succeed without doing well in school. Because that's democracy, baby. We don't like aristocracies, unless we elected them because they look good on a TV screen or can score more touchdowns, and even then we delight in seeing them fall. So for every American who genuinely respects intellectual or academic achievement, another three think it's a punchline for a comedy movie. As a historian, I know it's at least as old as the Jacksonian era and as a teacher, I've just reconciled with it.

And as for "Ivory Tower Ph.D.s:" Lots of us in traditional disciplines are getting the same "new teaching" rhetoric coming from the Education Experten, who in our case are just down the hall. We often feel the same way you folks do. It's particularly frustrating when the Education Experten have little idea of what it is we teach, and assume that their methods--or goals--are universally applicable across disciplines.

[TaiidanTomcat]

Baby Boomers pine for some past where they supposedly revered and obeyed their teachers, but I've seen report cards from the period, and heard more than a few boasts from Boomers themselves about bad classroom behavior, contempt for teachers, and even academic dishonesty. Read old newspapers, and people gripe constantly about delinquent schoolkids, while the comics page sneers at teachers.

Lost track of how many teachers tell me the student and the parent are reflections of each other at conferences. And nobody, I mean nobody is better at nostalgia than baby boomers. They rocked.

America has had a cultural streak where we want to be able to succeed without doing well in school.

Its not just school everyone loves a short cut. Believe me, I work in fitness. I'm off to take steroids now and do my 8 minute abs, so I can be super strong like a Navy SEAL.

Edited October 7, 2012 by TaiidanTomcat

[Sunliner]

Actually, people DO tell their physicians (and therapists ) how to do their jobs all the time. Seriously though, I do agree with your post.

[Fishwelding]

Lost track of how many teachers tell me the student and the parent are reflections of each other at conferences. And nobody, I mean nobody is better at nostalgia than baby boomers. They rocked.

Its not just school everyone loves a short cut. Believe me, I work in fitness. I'm off to take steroids now and do my 8 minute abs, so I can be super strong like a Navy SEAL.

Oh, so when the internet ad tells me about a guy who supposedly invented an awesome muscle-boosting pill, that "Trainers HATE him," you're one of the trainers that hate that guy? Huh. I wondered who their data-set included.

That's a good point. Americans tend to celebrate a quick fix, too. Something democratic about that.

Actually, people DO tell their physicians (and therapists ) how to do their jobs all the time.

And that, too. Increasingly, experts of any kind are coming in for a bigger beating than is usual. I think Americans really only embraced experts from about 1920 to about 1980. Since then, experts who say something we don't agree with are obviously greedy or politically conspiring against us.

[Jinxter13]

D is a passing grade by the way.

Waaaay back when I was in the elem/High school 50/60's of the last century , any one who maintained a "D" average didn't expect and/or wasn't expected to be passed or promoted to the next grade level or graduate in the case of seniors. A "D" was below a passing grade, however after doing a little research it seems that the grading curriculum has been changed and instead of a "C" being from 70-79 "D's" are now 70-74 in some cases. It saddens me to know that we as a nation seem to be lowering our standards to such a point that mediocrity becomes the accepted standard. The one saving grace is that not all are willing to accept mediocrity and strive for excellence. My parents would have thrown a major conniption fit had my teachers/instructor been ushering me thru school and lowering the standards by which I was graded, and not seeing to it I got a proper education, and earned every passing score I received.

Perhaps all is not lost and we have time can still turn the situation around before we reach a point of no return :pray: .

Edited October 7, 2012 by #1 Greywolf

[TaiidanTomcat]

Oh, so when the internet ad tells me about a guy who supposedly invented an awesome muscle-boosting pill, that "Trainers HATE him," you're one of the trainers that hate that guy? Huh. I wondered who their data-set included.

That's a good point. Americans tend to celebrate a quick fix, too. Something democratic about that.

I'm usually the guy laughing and shaking my head! There are certain areas, where people seem to be very intelligent. Fitness is one of those areas where people seem to turn off their brains to an alarming degree and magic beans are best sold in these places.

The flip side of the coin "Scammers HATE him" Because I remind people that like any goal in life, its only going to be your hard work and dedication that gets you where you want to go. That and the human body has been kind of the same for thousands of years, and there is no amazing modern way to "trick it" like you can a smart phone. The same stuff that works now, is the same stuff your grandpa was doing, that his grandpa was doing.

And that, too. Increasingly, experts of any kind are coming in for a bigger beating than is usual. I think Americans really only embraced experts from about 1920 to about 1980. Since then, experts who say something we don't agree with are obviously greedy or politically conspiring against us.

I think another thing tha hurts the "expert" title is that it is thrown around far too often. All talking heads on TV are experts. They either aren't, or they are and have to answer some of the basic, basic questions that a rookie could probably tell you. "Youre a Military history expert? whats a tank?"

[TaiidanTomcat]

Waaaay back when I was in the elem/High school 50/60's of the last century , any one who maintained a "D" average didn't expect and/or wasn't expected to be passed or promoted to the next grade level or graduate in the case of seniors. A "D" was below a passing grade, however after doing a little research it seems that the grading curriculum has be changed and instead of a "C" being from 70-79 "D's" are now 70-74 in some cases. It saddens me to know that we as a nation seem to be lowering our standards to such a point that mediocrity becomes the accepted standard. The one saving grace is that not all are willing to accept mediocrity and strive for excellence. My parents would have thrown a major conniption fit had my teachers/instructor been ushering me thru school and lowering the standards by which I was graded, and not seeing to it I got a proper education, and earned every passing score I received.

Perhaps all is not lost and we have time can still turn the situation around before we reach a point of no return :pray: .

Im guessing that even if we returned to a point where D no long passed, they would just make the F lower, and stretch the C wider:

100-85 A

84-75 B

74-60 c

59- 45 D

44 and below F

But then again Im a pessimist. One clever thing New Mexico did was make a rule that counted kids that would be graduating after 5 years of high school, instead of the regular four. Bam! 100 grad rate completion baby! Before that they just reregisted seniors as juniors. So if little billy at the start of his 4th year didn't have enough credits to graduate in a year, then he was classified a junior, because seniors graduate silly. bam! 100 percent completion baby.

I just know that when its time to renew the contract for the super intendant that made the five year plan ok, is going to point to his "improved number" compared to how it was when he got there.

Edited October 7, 2012 by TaiidanTomcat

[Raymond]

would it be unfair to say that the root of the problem seems to lie in the current american psyche and how its become so hyper-sensitised due to various reasons, that it results in non-issues like this getting blown massively out of proportion?

I mean, the art of rolling ones eyes and clucking ones tongue seems to be becoming lost.

I'd argue the parents need to go back to school, as in kindergarden; to learn how not to have a tantrum when someone does something you dont like :D

[TaiidanTomcat]

would it be unfair to say that the root of the problem seems to lie in the current american psyche and how its become so hyper-sensitised due to various reasons, that it results in non-issues like this getting blown massively out of proportion?

I mean, the art of rolling ones eyes and clucking ones tongue seems to be becoming lost.

I'd argue the parents need to go back to school, as in kindergarden; to learn how not to have a tantrum when someone does something you dont like :D

It has certainly taken away from the objective no matter the job. One of my friends in the Marine Reserve gets to spend the precious 48 hours his unit has to train for combat (after he has driven 300 miles to get there) to talk about mandated government topics that haven't anything to do with the training they never have enough time for already. Yes you can bet I chide him for being a "soviet Political officer"

I like to think that if we could peer into the future and see how this obsession with PC and risk aversion would lead to a degradation of so much, we might have decided it wasn't worth it.

But here we are, have my bureaucrats call your bureaucrats, we will have a tax funded lunch for the sake of togetherness/diversity.

Edited October 8, 2012 by TaiidanTomcat

[zerosystem]

would it be unfair to say that the root of the problem seems to lie in the current american psyche and how its become so hyper-sensitised due to various reasons, that it results in non-issues like this getting blown massively out of proportion?

I mean, the art of rolling ones eyes and clucking ones tongue seems to be becoming lost.

I'd argue the parents need to go back to school, as in kindergarden; to learn how not to have a tantrum when someone does something you dont like :D

you mean the we're all equal, but you're all special idea?

[Raymond]

Be sure to get him a political commissar hat taiidan :D

you mean the we're all equal, but you're all special idea?

more the; 'take 10 deep breaths before kicking up a storm'

*but yea; that idea also needs a revamp :D

Edited October 8, 2012 by Raymond

[TaiidanTomcat]

Be sure to get him a political commissar hat taiidan :D

Its a Rocket artillery unit too. "how are your Katyushas comrade?" Luckily he gets the joke

I guess like the OP points out its the idea that if someone is offended by something, its suddenly means the entire system grinds to a halt and instantly goes into "diagnostic" mode to find out what went "wrong". Ironically its in the field of education which suffers in this case, when time could be better spent teaching things like "critical thinking":

As in "hey do we really have time to micro analyse a 5 minute high school broadcast done by the students when I could be teaching something that will be critical to landing a career in a scientific or mathematical field like aeronautics?" instead we get the fiasco and at some point it becomes a self propelling storm as each new twist of a mole hill becomes an even greater mountain, before its all forgotten as fast as it appeared. However the time lost will never be recovered and time is the constant in this little experiment called life and it can not be recovered. If kids only have a finite amount of time in school it should probably be used on little things like education. but im old fashioned.

I liked it better when we put our differences aside, and worked together to accomplish something. Instead of setting aside accomplishment to work on our differences.

Edited October 8, 2012 by TaiidanTomcat

[Jennings]

Crap like this is why the rest of the world laughs at America.

[Raymond]

You Hit the Nail square on the head

[TaiidanTomcat]

Crap like this is why the rest of the world laughs at America.

They are just jealous because we are number 1 in education. Amiright? I mean we must have one helluva lead if we can worry about petty nonsense like this

[Darren Roberts]

I'm near on my 20th year of teaching, all in 1st and 2nd grade. This has been a very interesting discussion, one in which I'd like to add my input. Here's where education is today, in a nutshell:

-- Children have no responsibility for their learning. If they fail, it's ALWAYS the teacher's fault.

-- Parents are not held accountable for their children's learning.

-- Everyone passes. Trying to get a kid retained in the early grades is now next to impossible.

-- With the new Common Core standards being implemented, it's going to get worse...a lot worse!

I've always been told that if you complain about something, you should have some answers. Here are a few of my ideas that I think would help.

-- Have a very basic end of year skills test. If the kid doesn't pass, he doesn't move to the next grade.

-- Move to a year-round school year.

-- De-emphasize sports.

-- Find some way to hold parents and students accountable for their learning.

-- Get rid of this idea that all kids should go to college. Bring back vo-tech skills and have kids who obviously aren't college material to be tracked to these classes starting at middle school.

-- LET THE TEACHERS DO THEIR JOBS!!!!!!!!!

Edited October 8, 2012 by Darren Roberts

[Darren Roberts]

They are just jealous because we are number 1 in education. Amiright? I mean we must have one helluva lead if we can worry about petty nonsense like this

Here's the dirty little secret no one seems to share about the world rankings of education. Europe and Asia test only the top 30% or so of their students. The rest are tracked to vocational schools. Here in the US, we include EVERYONE, including the special needs kids. How stupid is that? If we were to only report the test results of the top 30% of our students, we would probably at or near the top spot in the world. We're doing more with kids today than we ever have.

[TaiidanTomcat]

Here's the dirty little secret no one seems to share about the world rankings of education. Europe and Asia test only the top 30% or so of their students. The rest are tracked to vocational schools. Here in the US, we include EVERYONE, including the special needs kids. How stupid is that? If we were to only report the test results of the top 30% of our students, we would probably at or near the top spot in the world. We're doing more with kids today than we ever have.

We need to get better at cherry picking kids it would seem.

I agree with everything you suggest as well. Its a long shot. College has become the new highschool and its big business. Kids are required to have a college degree so they can work at Target and move back in with ma and pa. sports are driven by a lot of that. Yes moving to Texas I was a little surprised to see that High School Football games are shown here on TV right down to pre game interviews and such. There are also magazines. I think they get all this attention because people down here are just really into education.

Edited October 8, 2012 by TaiidanTomcat