"A child's learning is the function more of the characteristics of his classmates than those of the teacher." James Coleman, 1972

Friday, June 04, 2010

Red-shirt the mind, not just the body

Sent to the Indianapolis Star, June 3
State superintendent Bennett wants high school to be more like college ("Ind. calls for more students to pass AP exams," June 2). In the meantime, there is a trend to condense college into three years, and at the other end, kindergarten is looking more like fourth grade these days, and preschool has become school, with instruction in pre-literacy skills to help children cope with kindergarten.
Our attitude regarding sports is the opposite: Coaches carefully "bring along" young athletes. "Red-shirting" is an honor, not something to be ashamed of: It means that the organization has faith in an athlete's potential.
We are far more careful with the body than with the mind.
Stephen Krashen

Ind. calls for more students to pass AP exams
INDIANAPOLIS — The state Department of Education says a quarter of Indiana students should pass at least one Advanced Placement exam before graduating high school.
State schools chief Tony Bennett says too many Indiana students don’t take advantage of the rigorous academic opportunities available to them.
He says that he wants least 25 percent of graduates to pass at least one AP exam or International Baccalaureate exam, or earn at least three semester hours of college credit during high school.
Only 12 Indiana schools currently meet that new measurement benchmark.
Because students only count once under the formula regardless of how many AP exams they pass, schools must get more students to take and pass AP tests to move closer to the 25 percent goal.
More information is available online at http://bit.ly/bfzJC3

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