At 10:16 PM 9/18/2007, Paul E. Doniger wrote: . . .
>DD responded:"So true. But the schools seem to have no clearly 
>assigned missions.

>I'm not sure what DD means, but every school I've worked in has had 
>a mission statement, and mostly good ones.

DD: I meant an operationally definition. Not to improve the student 
in something not defined, but to improve the students' score on the 
ACT, or their results in some other test. Not feel good, achieve 
excellence, if that is not operationally defined. I don't mind a 
definition that strives for more students passing the National Latin 
Test, nor achieve a lower drop out rate.

>My present school's mission (and I hope to stay here for the rest of 
>my career) is as follows: "The mission of Pomperaug Regional High 
>School, a caring community committed to excellence, is to educate 
>each student to become a productive, responsible, enlightened 
>citizen and a creative life-long learner through high quality, 
>dynamic, innovative learning experiences in collaboration with the 
>Region 15 community."

DD: And how is one supposed to measure that?

>It seems a pretty "clearly assigned mission" to me, and one that 
>drives our curriculum; it's well worth supporting. We are constantly 
>asked to hold our students accountable to a high standard.

DD: What standard?

>We also try to keep the community involved (it's easy for me, 
>running a theatre program that depends on parents and local 
>businesses being involved).
>I often wonder where people get their ideas about public schools and 
>what goes on inside them Certainly, having taught both in the inner 
>cities and in a blue collar town, I have seen some of the failings 
>that have been mentioned in this thread, but mostly, I've seen good 
>teaching and very little "dumbing down." . . .

DD: I have also taught in the public school system. I did my utmost 
to achieve what I thought was desirable, but no clear mission statement had I.

>  What really causes problems for education are often those things 
> that are out of our control: Budget cuts, large classes (usually a 
> result of budget restraints), unfunded government mandates (like 
> Craig, I am "not a fan" of NCLB -- actually, I hate the thing), 
> standardized testing interrupting the process, consumerism, 
> materialism, technological distractions (TV was just the 
> beginning), and the drive to focus on the goal of creating a work 
> force rather than creating "good citizens" in a Jeffersonian sense.

DD: I note you specify "education." Undefined. No clear mission statement.

>Add to this that since the 1940s, 12 years of public education has 
>become the minimal requirement for every American; there is a 
>greater percentage of people who are expected to graduate from high 
>school than ever in history -- and the stigma of not graduating is 
>immense, both socially and economically.

DD: So the standards for so doing have been reduced to see it that they do.

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