Quote:
Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Perhaps I am naive, but your picture doesn't ring true to me, not least because the parents I know -- lefties and righties alike -- want their kids to learn the right answers, and not just to have good self-esteem. Maybe other board parents could chime in?
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Just to flesh out a bit - the Minneapolis school system is right now going through this same debate. They adopted some program about six years ago - brought in by the second-to-last (now fired) superintendent - that was dreadfully "feel-goodish." Too many kids were getting failing scores in the old, objective systems. With the "modern" systems, there was little pressure to have kids "know" things when they were finished. The new system in Mpls allowed for passing grades for working hard, collaberatively, to creatively find ways in which answers could be found, if someone were looking for answers. Unfortunately, the kids, who could huddle and discuss theoretical plans, couldn't make change.
Generally, you'll find the most obvious "esteem" kinds of programs in those areas with a history of poor fundamental education. It was, for quite a few years, easier and cheaper to buy those systems than to actually fix the lack of learning that was going on. That was part of the impetus behind Kennedy and Bush's NCLB testing emphasis.
