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[KNat <knat AT sprintmail.com>]

Lynda wrote:
> Ah, James or Denise, you're talking p.s. folks.  They are trained to raise 
> their hands to ask to go to the bathroom, for crying out loud. 
LOL. I remember one previously homeschooled student saying, "You mean he 
won't know I'm leaving the room if I don't raise my hand? Or that I 
might not know what he was doing well enough to pick an appropriate time 
to go?  Can I go at breaks?" He couldn't get the logic. Guess he'd been 
around adults enough to know they don't do that.
We had a student point out recently she felt it was disrespectful to 
have to raise their hands in class in a discussion because it inferred 
they don't listen to each other and instead wait a turn to recite a 
response and that is not actually a discussion. The student felt they 
would be better served if they required good conversation skills of each 
other instead. It took a while for the "teacher" to understand. We're 
talking about a GOOD teacher, but I had to repeat it for the student 
before the teacher heard it in the adult/mature voice necessary to hear 
and get it. As one who goes to many other town school board meetings and 
watches "grownups" doing the same, I understand. How much change can I 
as an individual be expected to affect if the adults are still so 
programmed that the government will dole out their safety, security, 
livelihood, opportunities and their justice? Nobody is looking at what 
education the government doles anymore than what security.
We have a state curriculum portrayed in the media as  a "standard to 
make all schools equally good."  It requires not only children jump thru 
corporate hoops of "progress" but mandates we fire or "retrain" teachers 
who will have access to the students to jump thru similar corporate 
hoops. Like how else can we get enough people willing to oppress 
children, only allow oppressed teachers. We've lost 3 excellent ones 
already simply because they do not believe their success as a teacher is 
measured by scoring a certain amount on standardized tests (costing an 
additional $200/year each.) The tests only test their ability to buy 
in/compliance with test$ as an evaluation of education.

Kathyann