Educational Vignettes from the Golden State: A Story in Three Parts

 

img_1694Part I: Dress to Impress

It begins, of course, where else but in mighty Alameda County.

Halloween is more than two weeks away, and one Berkeley elementary school is giving fair warning that ethnically based costumes will not be allowed…

Some examples of what not to wear — Arab costume, Hey Amigo costume, or a Native American costume. These costumes and others like them are not allowed on campus because of cultural sensitivity…

Spider-Man or Superman are still OK.

Part II: It Is Not Who Casts the Votes, It Is Who Counts the Votes

colorstalinNext, a tale from the City by the Bay.

An election controversy has students and parents up in arms. A middle school in San Francisco is refusing to tell kids the winners of the student body government election. It is because, as one student told KRON’s Justine Waldman, the principal does not like who won…

Sebastian said the results of the student government election, held on Oct. 10, have not come out yet. He and the other candidates were told this week it is because the principal believes the winners are not diverse enough…

“The organizers are saying things like, ‘we want everyone’s voice to be heard,’ but in truth, the voters’ voices are not being heard,” Kaplan said. “Most kids are in agreement that the results need to come out because kids worked really hard on it.”

In summation this student grew reflective and opined:

“The whole school voted for those people, so it is not like people rigged the game, but in a way, now it is kinda being rigged,” Kaplan said.

Part III: Everybody Has Won and All Must Have Prizes

250px-De_Alice's_Abenteuer_im_Wunderland_Carroll_pic_10We conclude this tour with a brief stop in lovely Sonoma County.

A new grading scale that redefines what constitutes an “A” or an “F” is causing strife and confusion in the Cotati-Rohnert Park school district…

The new system is called the equal interval scale. Essentially, it makes it harder to get a failing grade. It departs from the traditional A to F scale in which students receive F’s for scores below 59 percent. Instead, the scale awards F’s only for scores below 20 percent…

Under the new policy, grades rise in 20-point increments. For example, scores of 20 to 40 percentage points earn D- through D+ grades — and so on, up the ladder. Students get an A- for scoring between 80 and 85, which traditionally is low B territory.

Some teachers have tried to hang on to the traditional grading system but have been tripped up by a blanket new policy that students, even if they do not hand in homework or take a test, get 50 percent. Under the new rule, it’s possible for a student who skips a test to receive a better grade than a student who takes the test and does poorly.

What news in public education from your neck of the woods my fellow Ricochet citizens? What interesting and innovative policies are being tried in your local municipality?

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  1. EThompson Member
    EThompson
    @

    Some folks express themselves better than I ever could with a groan.

    • #1
  2. Lego Scientist Inactive
    Lego Scientist
    @LegoScientist

    Is it wrong for me to laugh that the Halloween Costume flier banning ethnic costumes is from the Rosa Parks Elementary School?  If I were to wear a costume honoring person the school is named after, would I be expelled?

    • #2
  3. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    They just wring every drop of fun from life.

    • #3
  4. Jordan Wiegand Inactive
    Jordan Wiegand
    @Jordan

    Respect other cultures by not interacting with them in any way.

    Everyone should just stay in their own racially approved space, and we’ll be fine.  We could call it the separate but equal policy, oh… wait.

    So what this is like, Whites Only, but for Halloween costumes?

    • #4
  5. Don Tillman Member
    Don Tillman
    @DonTillman

    Roberto: The rules prohibit any costume that is racially or ethnically based. Some examples of what not to wear — Arab costume, Hey Amigo costume, or a Native American costume. These costumes and others like them are not allowed on campus because of cultural sensitivity… Spider-Man or Superman are still OK.

    What?  No cultural sensitivity for European ethnicities?

    That’s discriminatory.  Prejudiced.  Racially offensive.  A hate crime.  Macroagression.  Racism.  Europhobia.

    Lawsuit city!

    • #5
  6. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    Jordan Wiegand:So what this is like, Whites Only, but for Halloween costumes?

    Commissar approved!

    approved

    Commissar denies! Nyet!

    denied

    • #6
  7. Fake John Galt Coolidge
    Fake John Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    I am offended about the schools name “Rosa Parks”. All schools should be numbered so as not to offend.

    • #7
  8. Brandon Shafer Coolidge
    Brandon Shafer
    @BrandonShafer

    Roberto:

    The new system is called the equal interval scale. Essentially, it makes it harder to get a failing grade. It departs from the traditional A to F scale in which students receive F’s for scores below 59 percent. Instead, the scale awards F’s only for scores below 20 percent…

    Under the new policy, grades rise in 20-point increments. For example, scores of 20 to 40 percentage points earn D- through D+ grades — and so on, up the ladder. Students get an A- for scoring between 80 and 85, which traditionally is low B territory.

    Some teachers have tried to hang on to the traditional grading system but have been tripped up by a blanket new policy that students, even if they do not hand in homework or take a test, get 50 percent. Under the new rule, it’s possible for a student who skips a test to receive a better grade than a student who takes the test and does poorly.

    The first part isn’t such a big deal.  I had tests in college where a 40% would get you an A because that was the highest anyone got.  The scale doesn’t mean anything unless you know how difficult the material is.

    But that second part is just bizarre. 50% if you don’t show up, and now that is C?  Tommy Boy wouldn’t have taken 7 years of college with that scale.

    • #8
  9. Ryan M Inactive
    Ryan M
    @RyanM

    so if a little black girl wants to dress like pippi longstocking, these people will be horribly outraged, correct?

    • #9
  10. Jordan Wiegand Inactive
    Jordan Wiegand
    @Jordan

    Ryan M:so if a little black girl wants to dress like pippi longstocking, these people will be horribly outraged, correct?

    Only outraged at you for thinking that’s an analogous situation to white imperialism.

    • #10
  11. Fake John Galt Coolidge
    Fake John Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    RyanM, you know that minorities can never be racist or sexist or homophobic or etc. suggesting it is just plain silly. You need to check your privilege.

    • #11
  12. Whiskey Sam Inactive
    Whiskey Sam
    @WhiskeySam

    Jordan Wiegand:Respect other cultures by not interacting with them in any way.

    Everyone should just stay in their own racially approved space, and we’ll be fine. We could call it the separate but equal policy, oh… wait.

    So what this is like, Whites Only, but for Halloween costumes?

    I better not see any brown leprechauns at St Pat’s.  Fair’s fair.

    • #12
  13. Hydrogia Inactive
    Hydrogia
    @Hydrogia

    It is your prejudice and bias that makes you think I am Zorro, I am actually The Green Hornet in disguise and I hope the Martians are not offended.

    • #13
  14. Jimmy Carter Member
    Jimmy Carter
    @JimmyCarter

    Whiskey Sam: I better not see any brown leprechauns at St Pat’s. Fair’s fair.

    The rainbow leprechauns have already got that covered.

    • #14
  15. Jimmy Carter Member
    Jimmy Carter
    @JimmyCarter

    RightAngles:They just wring every drop of fun from life.

    Some of the fun can be in upholding the rules and/or pushing back:

    “Sorry, kid. You can’t be Superman. He’s white.”

    “But He dressed up as Pippi Longstocking!”

    “That’s ze. And ze’s Parents filled out the required paperwork stating ze self-identifies as a white girl with red pigtails today.”

    “Where can My Parents get that paperwork?”

    “Hahaha. Everybody knows that no one self-identifies as a white male. Now, go change.”

    Or

    “Hay, I thought We said no ‘NativeAmerican’ costumes!”

    “It’s not. I’m a Redskin.”

    • #15
  16. She Member
    She
    @She

    Lego Scientist:Is it wrong for me to laugh that the Halloween Costume flier banning ethnic costumes is from the Rosa Parks Elementary School? If I were to wear a costume honoring person the school is named after, would I be expelled?

    I don’t know any more.

    Here is an article about an Arizona high school that has banned ‘patriotic’ gear from their next football game “in order to avoid any possible offensive connotations the theme would have.”

    According to the school newspaper staff offensive  connotations can be taken from, “Anything perceived to be offensive/racist: green, USA, flags, Trump, etc.  It’s not the clothing but the intent behind it.”

    Well, all righty, then.

    Before you read the article, though, you should know that the student body at this paragon of politically correct and namby-pamby establishmentarianism likes to be identified by a collective noun.

    The student body calls itself “The Tribe.”

    • #16
  17. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    Brandon Shafer:

    Roberto:

    The new system is called the equal interval scale. Essentially, it makes it harder to get a failing grade. It departs from the traditional A to F scale in which students receive F’s for scores below 59 percent. Instead, the scale awards F’s only for scores below 20 percent…

    Under the new policy, grades rise in 20-point increments. For example, scores of 20 to 40 percentage points earn D- through D+ grades — and so on, up the ladder. Students get an A- for scoring between 80 and 85, which traditionally is low B territory.

    The first part isn’t such a big deal. I had tests in college where a 40% would get you an A because that was the highest anyone got. The scale doesn’t mean anything unless you know how difficult the material is.

    Indeed. But setting aside whether or not grading on a curve may be more appropriate for a college and not elementary and middle school, the more salient point is that this is not what they are doing. The grade ranges are irrespective of tested outcomes, the ease or difficulty of the material does not factor into it.

    • #17
  18. Cow Girl Thatcher
    Cow Girl
    @CowGirl

    Don’t even get me started…I’ve been teaching for 20 years. The amazing waves of [redacted] that are continually crashing over me in this world are not to be believed.

    • #18
  19. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    One of my favorite communications from my daughter’s school came when she was in elementary school and they had the stupid D.A.R.E. program. They sent home a flyer with all kinds of parental guidance for us, including:

     This week one evening, have drug-free activities with your child.

    (As opposed to every  other evening, when we all sit around the kitchen table cutting cocaine)

    • #19
  20. tabula rasa Inactive
    tabula rasa
    @tabularasa

    Fake John Galt:I am offended about the schools name “Rosa Parks”.All schools should be numbered so as not to offend.

    I call this privileged numberism.

    • #20
  21. EThompson Member
    EThompson
    @

    I could be arrested for serious war crimes because I always dressed as Cinderella (WPF) for Halloween and even worse, I attended the kappa alpha old south ball three consecutive, incriminating years during college.

    • #21
  22. Lucy Pevensie Inactive
    Lucy Pevensie
    @LucyPevensie

    Ryan M:so if a little black girl wants to dress like pippi longstocking, these people will be horribly outraged, correct?

    I am sure that if that happens then you and I should feel guilty for creating a social environment in which she does not feel positive about her race.

    • #22
  23. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    Cow Girl:Don’t even get me started…I’ve been teaching for 20 years. The amazing waves of [redacted] that are continually crashing over me in this world are not to be believed.

    On the contrary this would be the ideal place for it, the bureaucracy of public education is something few have time to follow in their 9-5.

    If you have one or two stories from your work in the trenches that you’d be willing to share, I will guarantee that you have an audience. Well at least me, I can’t make any promises for these other rascals.

    • #23
  24. Lucy Pevensie Inactive
    Lucy Pevensie
    @LucyPevensie

    Lucy Pevensie:

    Ryan M:so if a little black girl wants to dress like pippi longstocking, these people will be horribly outraged, correct?

    I am sure that if that happens then you and I should feel guilty for creating a social environment in which she does not feel positive about her race.

    I  should mention that if she wants to dress as Rosa Parks,  we should feel guilty about forcing her to conform to stereotypical racial roles.

    • #24
  25. Kim K. Inactive
    Kim K.
    @KimK

    I live in a relatively sane part of CA and this kind of nonsense hasn’t hit us…yet. In fact, the elementary schools seem to be moving away from Halloween parties to generic “harvest” activities.

    Re: costumes. When I was growing up my parents didn’t make a big deal out of Halloween (did anybody back then?) and we kids usually dressed up as hobos or something similar. However, my mom, a great seamstress, had sewn a generic ghost costume complete with neatly finished eye holes that got passed down the line from kid to kid. She made it out of an old sheet. Recently my folks were dividing their stuff among us kids and I got the ghost costume. Funny, but I hadn’t remembered it looking so much like a Klan costume. Yikes!

    • #25
  26. Joseph Stanko Coolidge
    Joseph Stanko
    @JosephStanko

    Kim K.: Recently my folks were dividing their stuff among us kids and I got the ghost costume. Funny, but I hadn’t remembered it looking so much like a Klan costume. Yikes!

    I was just thinking that would be the perfect costume to wear to protest the PC edicts.  “What, I’m a ghost, why is that offensive?  It’s a Halloween classic!”

    • #26
  27. Vicryl Contessa Thatcher
    Vicryl Contessa
    @VicrylContessa

    This makes me want to take a long dive into the shallow end of the pool.  This is Idiocracy come to life. They should just not make kids go to school, and go ahead and sign them all up for welfare now. Isn’t that the goal anyway?

    I am so happy I don’t live in California anymore.

    • #27
  28. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    For me, the school election was even more disturbing than the Halloween costume thing, which has been going on for years. I saw the dumb principal on TV. I was speechless. How can this be happening in this country?! I’ve since heard that she backed off. I hope it’s true. I read an article that quoted one of the kids as saying that she’d done it because she wanted all voices to be heard, but he said they had all voted fairly, yet their voices were not  being heard. This boy gave me hope.

    • #28
  29. JimGoneWild Coolidge
    JimGoneWild
    @JimGoneWild

    Can kids wear a Che Guevara outfit or would that offend commie pinko’s? .. Or wait. Do I have this backwards? I’m so confused.

    • #29
  30. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    JimGoneWild:Can kids wear a Che Guevara outfit or would that offend commie pinko’s?..Or wait. Do I have this backwards? I’m so confused.

    I hope someone tries it. Their heads will explode.

    • #30
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