If you wanted to start a spirited discussion around public
schools, you could start with the definition of the school year.
You will find people who want to start earlier, and those who
feel as strongly that school should start later.
There are two "givens"; a school year will include 183 days,
and the first semester will end before the Christmas break.
The first semester has to end before the break, because
if you send kids home for two weeks and then administer
final exams; the scores on the exams will go way down.
Which speaks to the permanency of the learning;
and the very effectiveness of public school education.
Therefore, final exams will always precede winter break.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Little known fact about "school years"
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1 comment:
Why is the dynamic like that? The tail wagging the dog?
Ah, the same reason that there is no impetus for change for the better, for continuous improvement in matters financial, for assigning blame where blame should be placed, in school districts and contractors.
Was it Eisenhower that said that if we were not careful, the Congressional-Military-Industrial Complex would become the new Royal Tea monster the British Empire couldn't control eitherm the thing that BECAME Britain for all intents and purposes?
This is the same thing, but with different players. One billion bucks a year is a lot of money. The APS version might be called the Educational-Contractor-Lawyer-Industriousness Complex.
Because it really is complex - not a thing that is easy to consider from a moral or ethical standpoint, as we have refrained before, an inconvenient educational truth. No one wants to BELIEVE one of their Good Old Buddies is committing fraud by overcounting students or just plain old ignoring the rights of people to speak and be heard in Board Meetings. Or defending people you know are dirty - ignoring your duty to the bar as counsel for APS, not (insert allegedly evil employee).
How many confidentiality agreements did APS lawyers sign scooting child molesters and those who were strongly suspected but not yet convicted of molestation to other districts to molest other kids? The practice is now illegal, but how many? How many confidentiality agreements covered up felony crimes, like the one you signed and have told about here?
That is not representing APS, the entity, by a lawyer, it seems to be cronyism and paying for the lawyers of those employees who were caught stealing, the system actually working against its own best interests. I think APS lawyers should look out for the entity, not the person holding he purse strings and has been accused of wrong-doing.
Well, old and worn thoughts here, we have sung this hymn before, but not much has changed. Call me for more choir practice.
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