Posted on 12/29/2005 8:08:09 PM PST by ddjones007
Our local Catholic High School recently announced its intention to eliminate class ranks, and also to stop weighting student GPA's to reflect honors and college credit courses. I've done a lot of research on the Net over the past few days, enough to find out that this is a growing trend across the country. Arguments in favor of dropping class ranks and weights mainly have to do with "making children feel we value all educational choices". Arguments against have to do with the issue of incentive and reward for taking on challenges.
This might affect class rank/class standing (i.e. valedictorian,etc.), but most colleges do their own figuring and ranking and don't even look at how a high school weighs/ranks a student.
Suggest they just stop keeping score in sports along with this nonsense.
This started happening at my public school in 1985. At least you can move your kid to a different school. We delayed this action a few years by organizing the the AP kids. Your group can just threaten to quit the school...
Is the school willing to eliminate salary bands, tenure, and other other perks based on faculty academic achievement?
Clearly this Catholic h.s. isn't being run by the Franciscan Nuns!!
Any parent who was hoping to get assistance from academic scholarships for college bound students should be at the next school board meeting to let them know of their concern.
I like the idea of no longer keeping score at sporting events, too. ;>)
I'm stunned that tripe like this is coming from a Catholic School.
The bible says "Spare the rod, and spoil the child".
This scripture (IMHO) has different meanings. Does it tell parents to go beat their child? No, not necessarily, in my opinion; it tells parents to discipline their child; to teach their child that there are consequences to choices.
One could say that the bible teaches us to punish poor choices, and reward good choices. By extension, a Christian school should strive to instill positive moral values to it's students, to encourage each student to be the best that they can be; and punish students who rebuke the lessons. Striving for growth is, and always has been a competitive personal challenge. This teaches self-discipline, it instills motivation; traits that will serve the child long after the High School experience ceases to have relavent value.
Exactly how many Popes, Bishops, Cardinals and priests have made it to their station in life through mediocrity? How may successful businessmen have found sloth, doing 'average' work and not being held accountable as a positive influence in their lives? If they can list a number greater than '1'; they are either liars, or they are on to something that has bypassed mankind's historical perspective.
Perfection doesn't just 'happen'; anything worth doing, having or earning requires work. America is failing misearably in the world market (look at our students graduating from High School, and compare/contrast these scores with Japan, India, and other emerging 3rd world nations), and instead of reverting to the time proven method of hard work; they are still looking for the easiest route possible. What else would you exect from a Union?
Please do not allow this nonsense to happen in the United States. The New Zealand "experience" with the NCEA should prove salutory.
Here is a link to assist you -- it goes to the government's website, so take it for what it's worth:
http://www.minedu.govt.nz/index.cfm?indexid=1004&layout=index
(the first one's free! the rest you can Google...)
Nobody likes NCEA. Not the Teachers, not the Students, not the Parents. Only pointy-headed Intellectuals in the Government ministry seem to think it's a good idea.
Google around NCEA, collect a few objective views (plenty have been published), and I'm sure you'll have plenty of ammo to fight the good fight!
Hope this helps
"DieHard the Hunter"
The leaders of the school are obviously not Catholic. They are not even Christian. Catholicism has always been based on hard work and achievement. Living out one's commitment to Christ means becoming the very best in a competative world. Christianity is not another word for mediocrity.
Valuing all educational choices disvalues achievement. Failure is not commensurate with success. These people confuse false praise with lovingkindness. We certainly should love children who are limited. We should never tell them that their limited achievement is just as good as the superior achievements of a hard working student.
If this is their intent it would be wise to pull your children out of this Marxist, dumbing down Godless noneducational institution and teach them yourself.
School: "we value all educational choices"
Student B: "You guys are lame."
Student A: "Yes, your grasp of educational philosophy is very weak."
I am an high school principal who has seen some of this happening although not in my district. I wopuld be against it if it were to be approached in my district. AP courses should be weighted more heavily than local courses or Regents course (New York) because they are excellerated. Students taking those should be rewarded for taking that challenge and risk. Class rank and AP level courses are looked at by universities as a way to discern a students ability to be successful academically. A school that would stop weighting courses or not track class rank is risking their student's chance to make it into many colleges and universities.
I homeschooled my son and he took some classes at the local univewrsity as well as did some honors level work in a co-op. I asked an admissions counselor about weighting his GPA and she said it wasn't necessary that the admissions board would look at the overall picture and take the classes he took into consideration.
He applied to 4 schools was admitted to all 4 and received scholarship offers from 2.
As a public school teacher... do not put your child in a public school; ever, ever, ever, ever. It is worse than what you hear.
They are planting the seeds for disaster in these kids. Is a boss going to give all his employees the same yearly work apprasial so they will all feel good. Is everyone going to be paid the same? If this happens basic hunan nature will take over and these kids will do as little as possible, and they will feel good about it. When they go out into the real world they will be ill equiped to handle life's ups and downs.
univewrsity = university
Past my bedtime. :)
I've got news for this school and all others adopting similar approaches. The WORLD doesn't value all educational choices the same. Just check the figures. Median income for college educated students is higher than those with just a high school diploma. Granted, you CAN be successful without a college degree, or even a high school diploma, but do you really want to encourage students closing doors at such an early age?
I've watched too many kids opt for non-AP classes, or non-college prep degrees because they wanted to avoid extra math and sciences classes. I think it's a shame.
Wow. You don't expect Catholic Schools to go down the same liberal toilet as the government schools. What a shame.
Sounds like the possible weakening of educational and Christian values. "Christianity-and-water," as C.S. Lewis said. In this case more like education-and-water. Are we so intellectually anemic that we can't take anything straight any more?
What would the new system do to competition for grades and honors? eliminate it or water it down ? Don't the teachers realize that the kids will soon leave their nicey nicey creampuff high school and run right into the ceaseless firestorm that is the real world. Better to toughen them up now, one would think. Especially the really bright kids who will without a doubt be scrambling up the ladder of success for the rest of their lives in direct competition with really bright people who want desperately to make them fail. It's not exactly a tea party out there.
In other words, their new plan sux. I thought that Catholic schools were good at turning out intellectually tough people. They sure used to be. Who would Sean Hannity be today if his Catholic schools had succumbed to political correctness and stressed "getting along" over standing up for what he knows is RIGHT.
It will be almost impossible to stop. I've personally witnessed it at 3 school in the past 10 years.
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