Have you seen the Chick-Fil-A billboards? These cows exhibit intelligence far beyond that of normal cattle, and yet they are absolutely horrible at spelling. Just take a look at this billboard I passed the other day:
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| Sorry, cows, but I have never dreamed of chicken for breakfast. |
Do I blame the cows for this? No, it's not their fault. I have a beef with our public education system! There are so many things wrong that I don't know where to start.
Is it overcrowded classrooms? We herd our students into the classrooms and try to corral them 40 to a room. 20 is plenty; with fewer students the teachers can get them individual attention to steer them in the right direction.
Is it teachers who don't care? While there are some teachers who are just grazing through their jobs and should be put out to pasture, the vast majority of educators are trying as hard as they can to rustle their students into being successful in the rodeo of life.
Is it too much emphasis on testing? We all want Grade A students, but is wrangling them to fill in circles on a multiple choice test the best way to take stock in what they really know?
Is it a failure of school administrators? Sometimes superintendents and school board members try to lasso up a good education without ever visiting the farm and seeing the manure the teachers have to muck through on a daily basis.
Is it our expectations? Sometimes we brand cattle as being worth nothing more than fodder for the feedlot, but if we expect more from them maybe they'll show us what they're truly capable of accomplishing.
Maybe someday they'll even learn how to spell.
Edited from a post originally published on 5/9/2017.
Is it overcrowded classrooms? We herd our students into the classrooms and try to corral them 40 to a room. 20 is plenty; with fewer students the teachers can get them individual attention to steer them in the right direction.
Is it teachers who don't care? While there are some teachers who are just grazing through their jobs and should be put out to pasture, the vast majority of educators are trying as hard as they can to rustle their students into being successful in the rodeo of life.
Is it too much emphasis on testing? We all want Grade A students, but is wrangling them to fill in circles on a multiple choice test the best way to take stock in what they really know?
Is it a failure of school administrators? Sometimes superintendents and school board members try to lasso up a good education without ever visiting the farm and seeing the manure the teachers have to muck through on a daily basis.
Is it our expectations? Sometimes we brand cattle as being worth nothing more than fodder for the feedlot, but if we expect more from them maybe they'll show us what they're truly capable of accomplishing.
Maybe someday they'll even learn how to spell.
Edited from a post originally published on 5/9/2017.
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