After reading David Warlick's post about his ideas for The Next Kill App? , I am amazed and always appreciate how people can speak about education as if there is no achievement gap. Many parents and educators that are in favor of a progressive change in education are those whose have been successful in a traditional setting, attended good colleges, and have had relatively successful careers thus far. So why would someone want to change a system that is designed in their favor and probably their child's favor?
Perhaps it is because once they received their job, they realized that they were vastly under prepared or simply did not need the skills that were provided by their K-12 education. Or perhaps it was the realization that we have advanced in all aspects of society except for in the ways that we are educating and preparing our youth.
I am a mathematics teacher who is transitioning from a progressive high school more traditional school in the fall. My artificial successes and failures will be judged by test scores. Getting all of my students to pass these tests should be easy but given the history and population of my students which are 90% African American, this will be no small feat. As I try my best to accomplish this goal, I can't help but feel that all will be for naught, especially when the truest form of education will be taking place in those schools in which students have not problem passing standardized tests and therefore are allowed to truly collaborate, explore, and learn.
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