Comments on: New Dallas ISD Grading Policy: This Whole Thing Has Been a Matter of Miscommunication

By: Charles

Charles — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:05:54 +0000

Oh yeah, and for those of you who think you can come to me with your “you were not good” crap, I took several AP classes and I was by far the most advanced kid on my classes. I graduated with an 84.3 GPA and I got praise by most of my peers who were in high honors and highest honors, just to give you an idea of what kind of people I got myself accross (I even dare to say that everyone I met knew I was a smart guy) and this is not bragging, these are hard facts.

By: Charles

Charles — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:02:52 +0000

I agree with Carlos, and the main reason is that I come from Central America as well. You see, I had the luck to be in DISD, and I believe in rigorous standards even if that means that some students will fail the class. I was not the best in class, I admit. However, the classes were below what I considered important and challenging and up to a certain point I got a 70 simply because I was lazy. That is not the point here however, the point is that with the new standards for education among the DISD schools more and more students are getting the developmental classes that they need not be there in the first place.
To say an example, many of the people who were a year lower than myself are taking Arithmetic on community colleges. Do you believe that? 18 year olds taking elementary math at a community college! For shame! I did not applied myself as I should have done on my self study of Algebra and so I got the boot into Elementary Algebra, and that was my mistake and I have to live with it. However, most students are not as lucky or as bright as I was to give myself more experience rather than comply to standards that were not going to help me at all. In fact, when I got into my first job I did not have any problems getting in whereas other kids from my class were struggling through the technical bits. And this is just talking from experience.
Now then, what do children really spend their time on instead of myself who is a book nerd (I am trying to test out of Calculus and Physics just to give you a taste of what kind of person I am)? They spend it more in their MySpace or in watching TV rather than studying! The more I think about it, the more it makes my head boil. If I would introduce my children into DISD as it is right now, I’d have to be either poor enough so I can’t move to another state or a total moron. And should I stay here because my family is here there is no way I am putting my children through the intellectual disappointment I experienced. I’d rather home school them than send them to a school where they are not going to learn but to socialize, and I wish the guys at 3700 Ross Ave. try to raise the standards, which I firmly believe it won’t happen *sigh*
Oh yeah, and for the morons who said that DISD is getting better, just take a look at our graduating students over here at the simplest and lowest of levels: community college (yeah I am going to a community college because I wanted to tackle my basics first, not because I was an idiot). And most importantly, look at your children’s ability to solve a simple error on a computer which can be solved by restarting the damn thing and ask yourself “are these the kind of skills my child is learning?”

By: Carlos

Carlos — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:48:33 +0000

Sorry.
There were some words I mispelled and I meant “(1988 – 1992)”.
I was writting too fast and I did not proofread.
In any way: it is not about me, and the way I performed during those years – it is about the standards being enforced by the DISD this time around. The DISD should worry about the quality of their workforce, being such and the most important of all: “The Teachers.”
If teachers are excellent and care about theirs students, inspire them to do better and work hard, then the GPA of every single student would be considered in the Honors level (and why not “High Honors” and “Highest Honors”).
DISD should not look for solutions on the end-product, they should look for solution on their processes. Don’t lower the standards on students evaluations, raise the standards in the qualifiations of the teachers, and continually train the District’s teachers to improve the quality of education given to our students.
Listen to this irresponsible statement: “…the students are not capable of doing better … that’s why the standards need to be lowered. If we don’t lower the standards, then we will have a lot of drop-outs. Lowering the standards does assure us of retaining more students than raising the standards would. By asking less from our students we will encourage them to stay in school.” What kind of leadership is that?

By: Carlos

Carlos — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:21:56 +0000

Not too long ago, I went back to my High School. What I saw where a bunch of kids being disrespectful to each other … using abusive language, pushing and going at each other like roosters in a palenque.
Back when I was in High School (1998 – 1992), we were given enough homework and reading material. It was challenging! Teachers were taugh and extremely helpful, if we showed interest, asking questions, and making sure that our questions were properly answers. Teachers showed interest on keeping our curiosity alive.
I come from Guatemala. My experience in the DISD was as challenging as it was back in Guatemala. I enrolled myself in every sport I thought I had some potential for (Cross-country, soccer, swimming, baseball). I enrolled for summer school every year, just to get ahead. I also stayed in school to finish my homework; and once I got back home I read the material for the next day, so that I would have a better chance to understand all the lectures. I did this because I came from another country and I felt that being in the United States was the greatest opportunity of my life. I graduated with High Honors, member of the National Honor Society, received the award of Most Improved Athlete, and in the top 3% of my class (North Dallas High School – 1992).
Now I hear that the standards are lowering.
Now there is a debate about whether grades should be or not be 50 as the lowest.
Now … teachers do things on their on discretion (with the correction of being only the ones that teach from 6 – 12 grades).
Are we going to keep teaching our children that words are more valuable than Action?
Are we becoming politicians and people who are so good on sugar-coating every weakness?
Should the loser in every sport receive a medal for being the loser?
Recently, in the Olympics, we saw great Americans earning medals. They earned them because they were capable and unquestionably Champions. That is the United States of America I always dreamed of being part of. Push our kids to do better … they will always amaze us on how much wonder they capable of doing and how beautifly they can make every single thing be.
Don’t ever lower the standards – not even if that would make the leaders of the DISD look good on paper.
Always remember: Our Kids Are the Future.

(English is my second language, the USA is in my blood)

By: Ronald Gross

Ronald Gross — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 19:51:24 +0000

I have one kid that graduated with honors at a well respected DISD high school (attending A&M on full scholarships) and a daughter that is in her junior year at the same school and is doing better than her brother did. I work in computer support for an adjacent school district and have successfully defended DISD for almost a decade from attacks by the suburban snobs. These kids are some of the multiethnic group of kids that have brought honor to DISD by periodically whipping the intellectual cans of school districts like Highland Park, Plano, Mesquite, Richardson etc. and fancy private schools like St. Marks, Hockaday and Greenhill etc. However, the DISD administration has invalidated my efforts and almost 2 decades of my kids’ hard work with the stroke of a pen. Have those idiots at 3700 lost their collective minds!!!! They should be making standards harder not easier! That encourages the parents of better students to come to Dallas to fight the good fight which increases property values and increases the money available for the existing students and the facilities. They have made DISD the laughing stock of the ENTIRE COUNTRY! I found out about this on FOX NEWS on the morning drive to work. What an embarrassment. I am going to work on getting anyone associated with this moronic episode canned. There should be a mass resignation at 3700! TODAY!!!

By the way, most parents make school district decisions when their kids are going to attend ELEMENTARY school not high school. What caring parent would put their precious child into a school system that is designed to undercut a child’s abilities and future? The youngest kiddo’s need discipline and life experiences that teach them how to succeed after failure. These policies do the worst damage and harm to the most vulnerable and needy children. They need long term intensive tutoring not a white wash!!!! The shame and cruelty of these policies is almost beyond belief.
Ron Gross

By: avacenna

avacenna — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:31:11 +0000

Can you imagine the publicity the suburban schools would get for their faux pas, if they spent every day under the microscope of the Dallas Morning News? But Irving and Plano and Garland don’t have a “Plano Morning News”. Well, there are exceptions, I guess … the DMN staff did take an interest in the naughty cheerleaders up in McKinney.

By: Diane Birdwell

Diane Birdwell — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 04:18:37 +0000

Louisa-

Did you ever pay attention to the Dallas ISD “since 1993″?

Students SUE teachers, threaten to sue teachers and schools ALL the time! They will bypass the “chain of command” to have Momma call the Superintnendent’s office to say that a teacher was “mean to them.” Heck, they threaten to sue to get to walk across the stage, even if they didn’t pass TAKS! (And I am not even mentioning the number of physical assaults on teachers every year.)

And you bet your behind I am mad. Google me? You had to google me? Heck, just read the DMN blog, as I am on there every other day. Why not check me out on Youtube, too, so you can see what I do with kids in my classes? Go ahead. Do it. Check out the skills I am teaching in world history.

And no, teachers were NOT represented fairly, as per policy of utilizing the CTO. Sounds like you have no idea what that is.

It was created around 1999–when you apparently had a kid in the district–to limit access to the admin staff. We had–still have–three unions in Dallas ISD. Hear that? THREE. The CTO was meant to consolidate all three, and we could only have “one voice” when going before the board, etc…

IT NEVER WORKED. Alliance-AFT won the popularity contest to be the CTO lead, and they have used to to try to shut out the other two unions in their attempt to be the sole union voice in Dallas. Makes sense, you when you realize they are a part of the AFL-CIO, and they have a history of not playing nice with other groups.

In fact, they (AFT) donate money to the political campaigns of sitting board trustees, for what, just the “hope” that the that the CTO stays just as it is. Well, I was born at night, but not last night.

So, Dr Collier asked the CTO head, AIMEE BOLENDER, for a list of names to sit on this committee. She NEVER contacted NEA to be on it, as the CTO policy says she should. (Dr. Collier now knows of this weakness, and it shouldn’t happen again, God love her.)

So, I was as shocked, as were the other teachers about this. She had FOUR people on the committee! Oh, and one was so mad about it, he basically wanted to disassociate from it. But did the others? Apparently, not. Did they try to call them out in public on the changes? Nope. Did they warn us it was pretty much a “done deal,” the way most things are done nowadays in Dallas ISD? Nope.

As usual, they let the Dallas ISD have their way, without so much as a peep. (So, for RAY, yea, it IS important who represents you. Silence is consent in my book of life.)

As for the charge of insubordination, you haven’t got a clue. In the corporate world, of which I have been a part of, thank you very much, the way we PROFESSIONALS are treated would not last long. We are treated with disdain. We are treated as insignificant, even though we are the ones who teach, not the admin team.

In fact, pilots have unions. Football players have unions. Actors have a guild. Doctors have associations, so do vets, dentists and even lawyers (the American Bar Association). Yep, they DO get lawyers to represent them in termination cases and in some negotiations. So, in the corporate world, you CAN be protected.

So, in “preparing students for college and workforce ready,” the policy changes originally proposed would have gutted them of learning personal responsibility. It would have taught them that nobody cares when you do something or how you do it, chances to do it again abound like water in a spring.

You see, and this is the point that you missed, we were first upset over the effect this would have on teaching kids personal skills, and on the effect on their effort and work product. Secondly, it was unbearably burdensome to someone like me, a teacher who teaches about 130 students in a semester. (My personal max was 197 four years ago.) I would have had to make over 100 calls per week—on my own time.

Now, when people read what I blog, they are shocked that a teacher (gasp!) would dare to speak out. What, we have no civil rights? Oh my God, teachers are not all wimps, especially someone like me who was also an Army Captain. I don’t like bullies, and what I see as a union rep borders on bullying every year. It would disgust you to know how some of the most humble or “innocent of charges” teachers are treated.

So, I learned to embrace the blogosphere, as have you and hundreds of others in Dallas ISD. This is one place where they can’t muzzle us.I am not wanting a confrontation. On the contrary, most of my union work is spent to reduce problems, tensions and upsets. I work well with most of the ones at 3700, because although I tick them off, they know I love our students and I stand up for the rights of my peers.

Well, anyway, the event is done. We got some pull back on the policy, and the kids will benefit from it. Another year begins…

By: Allen Gwinn

Allen Gwinn — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:09:18 +0000

Kent Fischer posted a link to an email sent August 7 in which the original policies/regulations were deemed “finalized.”

So it may not necessarily be a case of “what” the District says as to “when” it is said.

You know, I wonder why Denise Collier didn’t just simply say: “hey, we’re human, we messed up–here are the corrections” and be done with it?

Here’s the link: http://dallasisdblog.dallasnews.com/Grade%20changing%20finalized.pdf

By: Student

Student — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:46:42 +0000

So some support DISDs new policies. Ask universities and hear what they think of it and the students applying to their school. I would say that getting accepted to a good college is more important than these “Become a Better School” schemes (Since the DISD leader wants DISD to become the #1 district by 2010) which only provides the college recruiters with a good laugh.

By: Louisa Meyer, Dallas ISD parent since 1993

Louisa Meyer, Dallas ISD parent since 1993 — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:28:39 +0000

In a traditional corporate setting, Birdwell’s actions would be considered insubordination. In preparing our students to be college and workforce ready, let’s remember, not all of them will have union protections.