The Bloomberg/Walcott Administration continues to destroy the New York Public Schools by using any means possible to close the large comprehensive high schools by warehousing the most vulnerable of students with high educational needs in those schools and then blame the schools for failing the already failing students dumped into these schools. Now, the Bloomberg/Walcott Administration is expanding online education, be it bogus "credit recovery programs" or a "school of one". Soon all who reach high school will be getting a high school diploma. Even the DOE's Lisa Nielsen advocates online learning using the IZONE and wrote a guide for high school students on how to opt out of school and use online learning at home. All these programs use technology as a crutch and not an aid for learning. Worse, these programs are subject to abuse as there is little oversight to ensure the student is actually doing the work.
That brings me to the Bloomberg/Walcott Administration's goal to achieve a 100% graduation rate by the time they are booted out of office. While the 100% graduation rate is a worthy goal, it should not be at the expense of real learning and with the rapid explosion of online course work, that is what is happening. The Administration must have received inspiration from the State of Texas as they awarded a dog who took online courses with a high school diploma. Quite a smart dog I say, I'm sure the dog did her classwork all by herself too, just like all the students who take those online courses that has shot up all over the New York City school system. If that is not enough, the Bloomberg/Walcott Administration can send these students who are obviously not prepared for work or college here. Of course, to my knowledge no dog or cat for that matter have received a high school diploma in NYC but the potential of abuse of the online learning process is real and makes most educators wonder if the City only cares about awarding diplomas without proof that the student achieved academic success necessary to survive the adult world.
In the Bloomberg/Walcott Administration anybody taking online courses can earn a worthless high school diploma, even a dog, as what happened in Texas. The education Mayor claim is just a sick joke in his failed "smoke and mirrors" education policy.
5 comments:
It's so easy to get a diploma in NYC these days that even Bloomberg, Walcott and all their cronies could do it - which would be about the only thing they could accomplish and will have accomplished in 10 years. so true -- we have entire meetings on how to get kids the credits they need - remember a teacher can decline to offer credit recovery for a failed class - now there are ways to get around our professional opinions which apparently just get in the way!
"While the 100% graduation rate is a worthy goal, it should not be at the expense of real learning and with the rapid explosion of online course work, that is what is happening."
When, in the history of NYC schools, was there ever a 100% graduation rate? The problem also is that the DOE wants this drive-by diploma earned in 4 years; in my many years as a special educator, many of the students took 4 1/2, 5, or even 6 years to earn a local, never mind a Regent, diploma. Now, all kids are being asked to earn that Regent diploma in 4 years, whether it is educationally sound and realistic for them or not. Perhaps we should call them "diorama diplomas" since for one credit in, for instance, history, a kid does a diorama and takes some fake online course in less than 2 weeks for the credit that used to take a semester or 6 weeks of summer school. This is a shame and a scam. Thank you, Chaz, for keeping the spotlight on the perpetrators of the disgrace that used to be the NYC school system.
The urban legend idea of "easy credit" that even a dog was sent a Credit Card has turn strangely into reality...with academic credits in NYC....and the dumb ones at the DoE and City Hall wonder, why all these people are "unprepared" for rigorous academic work at the college level.
They cannot be so dumb to believe that easy credits and hyped up graduation rates would be directly linked to rigor, right? Right. Either their IQ is inversely proportional to their wealth and lack of shame or they are as clueless as there can be.
They ought to redefine the term "Dumb and Dumber"
Luddites Unite! While it is almost certain that any Bloomberg/Walcott initiative will look to make it appear students are learning and graduating the fact is the computer can be and should be used to whatever extent is possible to provide education that is tailored to the individual. Computer programs can and have been designed to take into consideration many different learning styles, abilities and preferences. Progress can be easily monitored and plans can be modified on the fly. Let's face it, it won't be long until computers take up much of the less desirable parts of teaching.
Chaz,
My name is Joel Hanson, I want to use the image from this blog in a paper for Eng. 102 class where I am pushing for online education to only be allowed through actual schools with real accountability to their students. I cannot find a copy wright or your last name. Can I have permission to use the image of the kid holding his degree with the word "DANGER" across it?
Sincerely,
Joel Hanson
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