Re: reporter wants to know...

[Judi Hirsch <judih@OUSD.K12.CA.US>]

Speaking ofa contractors, I was talking ot a carpenter at a barbecue
yesterday--he's a progressive man who just won his union's election
for president, and he was talking about how inportant it is for
apprentices to be able to read. His son is going into high school and
is very successful academically and his wife works with me, but he
represents many people 's ignorance about those who strruggle with
reading--the "learning disabled"--and it really bothers me that we aren't
more out there about this population, many of whom could learn to read
a manual and pass the necessary tests if they were just given a chance.
My students do fine once they know the context, so all that probably
needs to happen is for a high school teacher to meet with community
college people and people in the trades so that ways can be found to
help this laarge secment of our community who would like to find
meaningful work but struggle with reading...
Judi
----- Original Message -----
From: deborah gilman <dgilman@UIUC.EDU>
To: <ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, June 18, 2000 10:54 AM
Subject: Re: reporter wants to know...


> I agree.  The parents are the voices that the governing bodies
> "listen"to.  I do not think that the  majority of parents or the
> school's community, understand the tests or accountability.  I was
> talking to a contractor who came with his son to estimate a repair on
> my house.  He began to talk to me about testing and it's wonderful
> use as an accountability tool!  I tried explaining what the tests
> were created to do and what they are being used to do and why this is
> an invalid use of the test.  His comment to me was, "Well, we have to
> make the schools accountable!  There isn't a better way."  I then
> explained to him that there were many ways of assessing students,
> teachers and school systems.  He had never heard of anything else.  I
> think this is a case where the media has published test scores and
> the public has listened and accepted the misuse of tests.
>
> Deb
> Deb Gilman
> dgilman@uiuc.edu
> Graduate Student, Curriculum and Instruction
> College of Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
>
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