[AAACE-NLA] Is adult ed becoming de-legitimized?

Tue Oct 31 21:12:41 EST 2006

Good points on becoming de-legitimized. The political system dictates 
funding so we all play along to get the funding.Merit pay is creeping into 
Iowa school political thought. Focus groups are formed to get merit pay 
going. Most of the group is made up of businessmen, political appointees, 
change agents and higher ups. Maybe throw in a few educators and you have a 
formula for change. The teacher is in a corner now days for showing 
improvement. It just is not good enough to get the kid into the next grade 
but they must show improvement, even if they hate school or have other 
problems that teachers spend to overcome to get learning accomplished. Much 
is asked of the teacher these days. They need to be supported by the 
parents, politicians, public and administrators and legislatures. The mantra 
to raise teacher pay looks good to the legislature, raise scores looks good 
for the district,and good for the test makers. Positioning is somewhat a 
selfish endeavor to get all you can. If you do that something else has to 
givekor dropped. That is called change.

Merle Ayres
412 8th st. North
Humboldt,Iowa 50548
Tel.1-515-332-4630
Fax 515-332-1738

>From: "Peter MacMonagle" <Peter.MacMonagle at cpcc.edu>
>Reply-To: National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by 
>AAACE<aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>
>To: <dwyoho at earthlink.net>,"National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by 
>AAACE"<aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>, "aaace-nla" 
><aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>
>Subject: Re: [AAACE-NLA] Is adult ed becoming de-legitimized?
>Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 22:06:10 -0500
>
>
>To the Group:
>
>As I see it, and as we actually discussed in the graduate course I attended 
>tonight, the powers-that-be in publishing, testing, and state general 
>assemblies who have power over educational policy think that only strictly 
>mechanical, testable, quantifiable lessons need to be learned, because that 
>is the only way test scores can be gathered and success shown. There is 
>also money to be earned by publishers and their investors by squeezing 
>schooling into this rigid pattern of non-education, or what I call 
>educational malpractice.
>
>It will fail in the end because as my professor says, "Education is messy;" 
>and teaching people how to read and write cannot be reduced to a simple 
>equation of using scripted lessons in lockstep; often regulated 
>district-wide.
>
>Unless we get real about providing creative educational processes for our 
>children; students who become so bored with focused lesson plans and 
>"teacher-proof"  directions from the school district, there is no way all 
>but the most determined in public school will stick it through to the end.
>
>Many more under-educated people - not fewer - will enter a tougher 
>workplace and will end up in remedial classes as we go along. Adult 
>education is a bit late for a national failure at the Pre-K - 12 
>educational system.
>
>Undoubtedly we will loose good teachers.  In the Charlotte-Mecklenburg 
>School District, the new Superintendant has stated that teachers who don't 
>bring up student scores will be let go. This sounds like the old phrase 
>"The beatings will stop when morale improves."
>
>Firing teachers and punishing children for poor educational policy from the 
>federal level on down will not improve scores.  This is supposed to be a 
>democracy, so we actually get what we vote for, the policies we put in 
>place (national priorities) and are willing to tax ourselves to accomplish. 
>Future nationwide illiteracy may be the price we pay as a nation for 
>fooling ourselves.
>
>
>Wm. Peter MacMonagle, M.Ed.
>Central Piedmont Community College
>Community Development/Workplace Basic Skills
>West Campus 2219
>704-330-4668
>
>"I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly 
>makes living worthwhile?"Death thought about it."Cats," he said eventually. 
>"Cats are nice." Terry Pratchett, Sourcery
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: aaace-nla-bounces at lists.literacytent.org on behalf of Debbie Yoho
>Sent: Mon 10/30/2006 11:42 AM
>To: aaace-nla
>Subject: [AAACE-NLA] Is adult ed becoming de-legitimized?
>
>I'd like to offer the following if anyone cares to comment.  This is
>excerpted from the book Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic and
>Educational Reforms to Close the Black-White Achievement Gap by Richard
>Rothstein, published by Teachers' College Press,  2004.  This perspective
>to me seems to be prophetic:
>
>".In American education today, policymakers and educators frequently invoke
>slogans like 'no excuses' or 'all students can learn to the same high
>standards', proclaiming what they say is their commitment to close the
>achievement gap between lower-class and middle-class children.  Some say
>these.serve the useful purpose of spurring...school officials to greater
>efforts to raise achievement levels.Such whips can serve a useful purpose.
>But they also do great damage.  They de-legitimize good and great teachers
>who dedicate themselves to raising minority student achievement in
>realistic increments.  They drive out.teachers who feel inadequate to the
>task of reaching utopian goals, or who resent the cynicism of politicians
>and administrators who demand that such high goals be attained.  If this
>disconnect continues between what is realistically possible and the goals
>we establish for educators, the nation risks abandoning public education
>only to those willing to pander to political fashion.'no excuses' slogans
>provide ideological respectability for those wanting to hold schools
>accountable for inevitable failure."
>
>I dare say Rothstein identified a trend that has come to full fruition in
>adult education.  Anyone feel "de-legtimized" lately?
>
>The excerpt I read mentions that Rothstein can be reached at
>rr2159 at columbia.edu.
>
>
>"Turning Pages into Possibilities",  Debbie
>
>Deborah W. Yoho
>Director, Turning Pages
>     a community service of Volunteers of America Carolinas
>    formerly the Greater Columbia Literacy Council
>2728 Devine Street,  Columbia, SC  29205
>803-765-2555   Fax  803-799-8417   dwyoho at earthlink.net
>
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>AAACE-NLA mailing list: AAACE-NLA at lists.literacytent.org
>http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/aaace-nla
>LiteracyTent: web hosting, news, community and goodies for literacy
>http://literacytent.org

_________________________________________________________________
Try the next generation of search with Windows Live Search today!  
http://imagine-windowslive.com/minisites/searchlaunch/?locale=en-us&source=hmtagline