The Wah-ASL?
I just read this article on the WASL, and I have to wonder, are 25% of our students really that screwed? When I went to school, back in the olden days where one had to walk five miles through snow uphill both ways just to get to class, we called this kind of "reclassification" being left behind. Now, to read the comments of the unnamed embarrassed student, it seems only now do they realize they're going to have to hunker down and really focus on their grades.
Who here is failing these students? Is it the parents? The teachers? Media, or society itself? Who is failing to adequately impress upon these sixteen year olds, just two years away from being legally voting and working adults, that yes, life is hard, and that to not be a burden on society and your parents, you must master a certain set of skills in verbal and written communication, math with variables, a few historical facts, and the notion that reason and science produce verifiable and useful results?
Are we that wrapped up in the culture of consumerism and continuous entertainment that we don't realize that at some point we must contribute to the world in order to eat, clothe and house ourselves? I went to school, and while I've been told that I'm smarter than the average bear, really, outside of the social aspects, High School wasn't that hard. It's a bunch of tasks set up to ensure success, with achievable results that millions of people have done before.
The real world is certainly more difficult than school. Sometimes, I never know if some obscure feature request is possible at all, never mind within the budgetary and time constraints I'm given. And in my line of work, no one will die if I screw up my job. Which is untrue of the auto mechanics, nurses and doctors, electricians, police officers, and soldiers of the world.
Maybe kids just don't care, and have never cared, and it's not until Reality sucker-punches them in the solar plexus that they're going to catch on. However, from a purely selfish point of view, I'm worried about our future. If 25% of the 2010 entry-level work force of this state can't pass their Freshman year of High School, the rest of us are going to have a hell of a time picking up the slack.
Who here is failing these students? Is it the parents? The teachers? Media, or society itself? Who is failing to adequately impress upon these sixteen year olds, just two years away from being legally voting and working adults, that yes, life is hard, and that to not be a burden on society and your parents, you must master a certain set of skills in verbal and written communication, math with variables, a few historical facts, and the notion that reason and science produce verifiable and useful results?
Are we that wrapped up in the culture of consumerism and continuous entertainment that we don't realize that at some point we must contribute to the world in order to eat, clothe and house ourselves? I went to school, and while I've been told that I'm smarter than the average bear, really, outside of the social aspects, High School wasn't that hard. It's a bunch of tasks set up to ensure success, with achievable results that millions of people have done before.
The real world is certainly more difficult than school. Sometimes, I never know if some obscure feature request is possible at all, never mind within the budgetary and time constraints I'm given. And in my line of work, no one will die if I screw up my job. Which is untrue of the auto mechanics, nurses and doctors, electricians, police officers, and soldiers of the world.
Maybe kids just don't care, and have never cared, and it's not until Reality sucker-punches them in the solar plexus that they're going to catch on. However, from a purely selfish point of view, I'm worried about our future. If 25% of the 2010 entry-level work force of this state can't pass their Freshman year of High School, the rest of us are going to have a hell of a time picking up the slack.