François Hollande has a bold new plan to tackle social injustice and inequality in France: ban homework. Introducing his proposals for education reform last week at the Sorbonne, the French president declared that work "must be done in the [school] facility rather than in the home if we want to support the children and re-establish equality."Coming soon to a high school near you.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Bringing Everyone to the Lowest Level Is Not Progress
What sickness is it that causes people to think this way?
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4 comments:
My first thought was that if I was a French mom interested in my kid's education I'd be thinking "Cool! Now we'll have time to study what *I* want her to study!" The only kids who will be adversely affected by this are the ones whose parents are already uninterested.
This is the new paradigm and yes, it's coming here. Right now we have high level education admin types who not only advocate no homework, but lower passing grades for minorities, mainstreaming of the most disabled students to the point where average students will either be held back through lack of instruction or experience classes watered down in order to accommodate special needs. It is madness. And it is PC liberals gone amok. I hope my son can afford a private school for his son because folks, it's going to get worse if the same tactics are applied.
A HE history-teacher relative took early retirement ten years ago because he was fed up with the full inclusion, removal of honors classes, endless admin pressure for less work of all kinds and undeserved grades (nothing less than a B). It took his school several years to have a student with a cognitive age of ONE (couldn't speak, wasn't toilet trained etc)removed from regular classes. He should never have entered an academic facility, because he was unable to benefit from it and because he was extremly disruptive. What idiocy!
Of course, some of the kinds of kids who were not schooled prior to the 70s do belong in school, but many don't belong in an academic (vs. training) program (at least at HS level) and the most severely disabled, like the kid I mentioned, should have their custodial needs addressed through HHS, not in schools. Pretending that everyone has the same educational qualifications and needs doesn't make it so. Let no child get ahead.
It depends on how you define progress. If you define the acquisition of power as progress then Hollande's progressing right smartly. Now that he has power he can indulge his conceits and impose his views. More evidence of progress.
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