For all the high-minded talk, (authors) Mr. Hacker and Ms. Dreifus conclude, colleges and universities serve the people who work there more than the parents and taxpayers who pay for "higher education" or the students who so desperately need it.
From an article by an Emory University professor.
I think it's also true of far too many k-12 schools; far too many have poor curriculum and are enamored of inefficient and/or ineffective instructional methods (discovery learning etc.) In addition, full inclusion and differentiated instruction may be huge problems. I have been told by a resident that over 50% of the first graders in Scarsdale (!) are being tutored in reading and/or math; totally unacceptable in a wealthy NYC suburb which spends almost $30k per student!
ReplyDeleteFull inclusion is a major logistic hurdle. We have SpEd teachers who think it is somehow within our scope to include non-speaking, non-writing, wheelchair disabled students in a regular classroom without an aide. While I understand the need to mainstream disabled students, the amount of time tending to one student's needs takes away from instructional time for the class as a whole. In a math, science or other class, that means that other kids who are struggling may not get access to the help they need. Of course the usual SpEd inclusion is dressed up with glitter and gauze as if this is never a problem in the classroom. Try that if you have a child with Tourettes, or one that wears diapers.
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