Well, it might just put pressure on the high schools to forgo social
promotion and give degrees only to those who don't need the remediation.
As a high school teacher I do not take exception to this response. I do
hope however, that the careful consideration of the complexities and of
the intractability of several conflicting expectations of our public
school school system is inherent in this seemingly simple solution.
Placing the burden of accomplishing this solution on classroom teachers
without the acceptance of the support and enabling responsibilities of
governance and management is yet another of the palliative solutions
which further dresses the emperor with additional accessories to his/her
wardrobe. An area of particular difficulty is the time honored and
politically sacrosanct concept of "local control." Of itself, in the
absence of enforceable guidance, this concept defeats any effort at
creating consistently interpreted educational standards. Education case
law in state courts, and to a lesser extent, in federal district courts
poses additional hurdles-particularly in the area of special education
law. State and local funding plans provide wide latitude to communities
for the establishment of standards based on local political
considerations.
If the nation is truly serious about tackling these issues, I believe
the bulk of teachers in the public school systems would be supportive.
Richard Kern
Napaskiak
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