vision2020@moscow.com: Re: graduation requirements
Re: graduation requirements
schmidt6 (schmidt6@TurboNET.com)
Sat, 21 Feb 1998 11:17:17 -0800
>Thank you for all the time you and the committee on graduation requirements
>have spent on this important issue. I think the proposed graduation
>requirements are an improvement over the first draft. However, it is my
>understanding that the requirements are not more rigorous because we are
>concerned that more rigor will result in more high school dropouts. I am
>concerned that we are underserving the children of Moscow under the guise
>of "protecting" them from the consequences of failing to graduate.
>
>I appreciate all the effort that has gone into developing the proposed
>graduation requirements, and I think the current proposal is an improvement
>over the earlier version. However, I continue to believe the graduation
>requirements should be more rigorous. More academic courses should be
>required. More math should be required.
>
>Let me compare the current "core" requirements of Moscow High School to the
>current "core" requirements of the NCAA for athletes seeking to play sports
>at a Division I school. I bring up this comparison not because I think the
>NCAA should be a standard, but because the NCAA standards were designed, I
>think we all know, to allow all but illiterate high school students to be
>able to play sports in college.
>
>1. The NCAA requires four yeas of English as does MHS.
>2. The NCAA requires two years of math, as does MHS, but the NCAA requires
>that those classes be Algebra, Geometry, or a higher course for which
>Geometry is a prerequisite. MHS does not require Algebra or Geometry.
>3. The NCAA requires 13 units, or the equivalent of 26 MHS credits in
>their "core." MHS requires 31 credits in the "core", but 6 of those credits
>would not meet the NCAA requirements for an academic core course (P.E.,
>Economics, Health). In other words, the NCAA requires more in the way of
>"core" courses than MHS.
>4. Of the additional 6 credits required by MHS, all could be courses that
>do not meet the NCAA requirements for an academic core course. In this
>comparison, MHS "core" requirements are also less rigorous than the NCAA.
>5. Both the NCAA and MHS require a minimum 2.0 average in "core" courses.
>
>Clearly, MHS graduation standards are below those minimal standards
>currently required for athletes wanting to compete at NCAA Division I
>schools. I think this speaks for itself.
>
>The current discussion of graduation requirements seems to be driven as
>much or more by what we, the patrons of MHS, think the students are capable
>of by the time they reach high school than by what they need by the time
>they have completed 12 years of public education. I hope when this
>discussion is over, a similar amount of effort can be given to looking at
>the bigger picture. What do MHS students need to have learned by the time
>they graduate from MHS and what kinds of changes need to be made in our
>school system, our classrooms, and our curriculum, so that we can both
>expect more of our high school graduates and be confident that they can
>achieve more?
>
>
>Lois: You seem confused. What does the nat.COLLIEGIATE athletic assn
expectation for Entering College have to do with graduating from high
school? NOT EVERYBODY GOES TO COLLEGE! Do we design a system that allows for
flexible learning and growth? That system can still expect excellence and
industry. But the guidelines do not have point to College! That is, unless
your goal is to promote the higher education industry. My goal is for
children to grow into healthy citizens. Dropping out of highschool for
whatever reason(boredom, distractions, lack of relevance, ad infinitum) gets
in the way of that goal. High school dropouts CAN be healthy citizens...but
it's hard.Let's design a system the allows for variety and promotes
excellence and growth. And keep working on the system.
I have greatly enjoyed R. Probasco's notes. Maybe we can share war
stories about the JR high sometime. Dan Schmidt
>
This archive courtesy of:
First Step Internet
This archive courtesy of:
First Step Internet