Quote:
Originally Posted by Ashartus
Actually, while it might not be written in law, teachers aren't allowed to hold back students these days. It comes down to funding - if a student is held back, the government has to pay for an extra year of their education, and they're refusing to do that, and instituted a policy that no student can be held back. This is the source of a lot of the problems in the education system IMO, since teachers have to spend a lot of time working with students who aren't functioning at anywhere close to their grade level, resulting in less time working with the rest of the class.
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I (really) appreciate your comments, and understand them fully. Teachers are placed in a tough spot in this regard - no question. I'm going to be SUPER clear here....I appreciate teachers and respect them very much! It's a hard job that gets harder every year. None of my comments are intended to diminish the respect that teachers deserve - they are purely to identify things that I don't happen to agree with.
That said, I still don't see why teachers can't 'Fail' a student. I understand the multiple reasons why it is an undesirable outcome, but I still don't see why teachers aren't allowed. Is the "...policy that no student can be held back" actual written policy?
At the very least, I think that teachers have a professional duty to flunk a lousy student, period. Unless there is an actual written policy that forbids it, the failing of students should be a regular occurrence. Lastly - if that written policy actual does exist, the teacher's union (and it's members) have a professional duty to bring it to light and argue against it.