A school district in Madison, Wisconsin, has made the controversial decision to abandon the common “A to F” grading system based in favor of a system that is “kinder” to students. Now, top students will be graded as “exceeding” while failing students will be “emerging.”
Christian Schneider, a parent in the school district, points out that the new grading system doesn’t apply directly to a student’s performance in each subject. Instead, students are graded on their ability to work in groups and tell stories.
It reads like satire. But it’s the truth.
Why should anyone be forced to pay for schools that don’t teach? “Working in groups” and telling stories does not constitute education. Why not just take their funds away? Better yet — why not take funds away from ALL schools, and privatize education?
The idea of privatizing education sounds shocking and radical, at least to many. But under a system of government-mandated funding, schools can act like they’re NOT schools, and get away with it. It’s not limited to Wisconsin.
The people endorsing these methods of teaching are lunatics. So long as you’re not insane, my assertion is self-evident. What’s less self-evident is what to do about it. The answer is simpler than you think: Put schools in the hands of the marketplace. Make it the parents’ responsibility. Massively slash (or eliminate) property taxes, which generally go to pay for these schools. Use tax credits to help people get there. By the way: Why are people with no kids, kids in private schools or grown kids forced to pay property taxes for the education of other people’s children — especially when no serious person could call it education, in many cases like this one?
It’s not going to get better. So long as schools are able to say, “We’re educating the children and you can’t touch us,” you’re going to see more and more of these kinds of things. It’s manipulation by guilt. Stop feeling unearned guilt, and the manipulation will end.
Schools have already, by and large, reached a point of mediocrity. The next step is insanity. And when it comes to insanity, this school district in Wisconsin is leading the way.
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