Guys, I am BEGGING you to understand: there is no such thing as OFFICIAL curriculum. There is a process for selecting textbooks, but there is no limit as to what ADDITIONAL RESOURCES a teacher can bring into the classroom; almost every contract I've ever seen has a clause that allows a teacher methodological freedom.
Understand this: the public education system is a JOBS program for adults; both for the adults it keeps employed directly and for the 14-18 year olds it keeps OUT of the workforce.
There is no way one principal (who is usually the ONLY immediately dismissable employee at a school) can supervise what is going on in 20+ classrooms all day long.
Administration lets teachers do what they want as long as it "looks" okay because firing any teacher with tenure is such a HUGE pain in the ass it's not worth it.
Think about it this way: there are tens of thousands of hungry adults who'd like to be teachers. There are also tens of thousands of teachers that are mediocre at best that could be replaced by said lower-paid, hungrier teachers. Yet it never happens.
I can almost guarantee your kid has had a shit teacher, and yet that shit teacher is allowed to diminish the educations of 30+ kids a year, every year, because administration is willing to sacrifice your kids to keep their job. (200 if you're at a high school).
I keep saying it, but I'm going to say it again: pull your kids out of public school. Homeschool.
The only way this changes is if the school districts bleed cash.
School choice is the second best option, but that is going to be a longer fight and may not save YOUR kids now.
I agree mostly. A deeply entrenched, tenured teacher can do almost anything to curriculum. Non tenured will tote the line of normalcy, if they are smart.
It only takes two years to get tenure. That's roughly 360 days that you have to be on good behavior.
Not all teachers are lunatics, but because I'd tenure protections and the absolute shambolic nature if the system, those who are get cover and those who would toe the line otherwise feel comfortable pushing their views on a captive audience: our children.
Guys, I am BEGGING you to understand: there is no such thing as OFFICIAL curriculum. There is a process for selecting textbooks, but there is no limit as to what ADDITIONAL RESOURCES a teacher can bring into the classroom; almost every contract I've ever seen has a clause that allows a teacher methodological freedom.
Understand this: the public education system is a JOBS program for adults; both for the adults it keeps employed directly and for the 14-18 year olds it keeps OUT of the workforce.
There is no way one principal (who is usually the ONLY immediately dismissable employee at a school) can supervise what is going on in 20+ classrooms all day long.
Administration lets teachers do what they want as long as it "looks" okay because firing any teacher with tenure is such a HUGE pain in the ass it's not worth it.
Think about it this way: there are tens of thousands of hungry adults who'd like to be teachers. There are also tens of thousands of teachers that are mediocre at best that could be replaced by said lower-paid, hungrier teachers. Yet it never happens.
I can almost guarantee your kid has had a shit teacher, and yet that shit teacher is allowed to diminish the educations of 30+ kids a year, every year, because administration is willing to sacrifice your kids to keep their job. (200 if you're at a high school).
I keep saying it, but I'm going to say it again: pull your kids out of public school. Homeschool.
The only way this changes is if the school districts bleed cash.
School choice is the second best option, but that is going to be a longer fight and may not save YOUR kids now.
I agree mostly. A deeply entrenched, tenured teacher can do almost anything to curriculum. Non tenured will tote the line of normalcy, if they are smart.
It only takes two years to get tenure. That's roughly 360 days that you have to be on good behavior.
Not all teachers are lunatics, but because I'd tenure protections and the absolute shambolic nature if the system, those who are get cover and those who would toe the line otherwise feel comfortable pushing their views on a captive audience: our children.