I don’t know about you, fellow homeschoolers, but when my children fail a math test, I review the concepts they do not understand, make them complete additional exercises covering those concepts, and make them retake the test. That is, of course, if the test doesn’t reveal that the incorrect answers were the result of simple math errors that could have been corrected by double-checking their work before handing in the test. One thing I do NOT do is ask my children to empty their piggy banks in order to purchase a higher score. It’s too bad The Charlotte County School District cannot say the same thing.
Charlotte High School math teacher Jeff Spires allowed students to purchase higher grades on tests and quizzes by stapling cash to the back of the paper in question and returning it to him. This must be another example of new math. For amounts ranging from $10 to $70, this math teacher raised student grades. One student offered him $200 to raise her grade for the quarter, but Mr. Spires turned her down. Far from experiencing Sudden Onset Conscience Syndrome, the reason for denying the young lady the opportunity to buy her math grade was that the grades for the quarter had already been submitted to the administration. It is safe to assume that if the student had made the offer earlier, Mr. Spires would have accepted. You can read news reports for this story here, here, or here.
Now, the National Education Association firmly believes that “home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience.” For once, I must agree with them. My children will NEVER learn how to buy grades for cash in my homeschool. I believe in a comprehensive education, but I have my limits. So, I cannot provide my children with the comprehensive education on how to cheat in school that is being taught to the math students at Charlotte High School.
Did you catch *why* he needed the money? DUI, driving with a suspended license, and probation violation! Wasn't there a time when that kind of behavior would get a teacher fired long before he was to the point of corrupting his students. And you know what baffles me? NC is not a union state. Teachers can presumably be fired more easily here due to the lack of a union. I guess they pretend they have union contracts protecting bad teachers so they don't have to do the nasty work of enforcing those judgmental morals. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteThis is the kind of reason I love this blog. I never would hear news like this on my own. And think what I would be missing? I needed to have my thinking expanded. Here I have been teaching for almost 17 years and never thought about teaching economics and profiting from it at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to have Thanksgiving break coming up and a few days to work up some new lesson plans. I am sure Mr Music will be glad to see his math scores improve.
GAHCindy, this took place in Charlotte County, FL, not Charlotte, NC.
ReplyDeleteAha! That explains it. OK, not really. There is no reasonable explanation for this kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to take the contrarian view (tongue firmly in cheek of course) that we are all depriving our children of the unique learning opportunity that this man was providing his students. Namely, the lesson of why bribery is wrong. Of course, you are all thinking that you just teach your kids that bribery is wrong without giving them the opportunity to try it themselves and see what happens... I get it. But just in case your child grows up to think they know more than you do (that NEVER happens), they will have no opportunity to game the system and see what REALLY happens when you cheat.
ReplyDeleteOn a serious note: Do you all really give your children tests, or is Arby just kidding?
My husband and I were just talking last week about how increasingly sending your kids to public schools is like playing russian roulette. The odds are increasing exponentially that SOMETHING will be taught to and/or experienced by a child in a public school that I would far rather my children not learn and/or experience. It's getting hard for me to be civil to people who have the nerve to challenge my decision to homeschool. I don't gamble with my money. I certainly won't gamble with my children's emotional, sexual, academic and spiritual well-being.
ReplyDeleteAnd, no @sleepless, I don't think Arby was kidding about tests. Lots of homeschoolers give their children tests. I've homeschooled for 20+ year and have always used tests to measure progress.
Sleepless, it would be a gross disservice to my children to homeschool them and not hold them to a high academic standard. What would be the point of homeschooling them if I didn’t attempt to give them the best education possible? So, we test regularly, but I do not teach to the test. I believe that if teachers teach their subject well, their students will pass any test presented to them (within reason). If you asked my children, they would probably tell you the same thing that my former students used to say about me. I’m tough, but fair.
ReplyDeleteWow. I'm speechless.
ReplyDeletePlease tell us that teacher was fired?