Sherlock Holmes Removed from School Reading List

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

Yes. , I was not the happiest of campers.

I might add here that he didn't even READ it before banning it, he banned it on some right wing conservative talk show host's say-so.

Wow. I admit that my interest in the series is rather low - I've heard too much about it for me to be anything but disappointed at this point - but never has anything been banned in my house. (Well, except for the time my mom found out that I knew where all dad's Playboy's were...but that's a little different. )

I have a pretty extensive library that will only get bigger as time passes. My children will have complete access but (as my mom did me) book reports will be required.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Definitely, the unsolved murder mysteries in Utah back in the day would be a good conversation with a great teacher who was very well-informed on the subject, but given that one can't expect a grade school teacher to know every little facet of our nation's huge history, it seems better suited for maybe a specialty college class, since the whole thing IS pretty complex and there are good arguments on all sides.

I wonder why we get so upset here at MR about removing books from school...when I've not seen one thread about what's happening down in Atlanta. They've removed learning from school.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

I wonder why we get so upset here at MR about removing books from school...when I've not seen one thread about what's happening down in Atlanta. They've removed learning from school.

I can only speak for myself, but my lack of Atlanta outrage is that I have no idea of what you're talking about. But if you have a link or something, I can probably work up something.

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

I can only speak for myself, but my lack of Atlanta outrage is that I have no idea of what you're talking about. But if you have a link or something, I can probably work up something.

Yeah, I'd not heard anything about it. Had to start googling for something.

From what I saw, basically, teachers in the Atlanta Public School district would have get togethers on the weekends to change the answers students gave on standardized tests from incorrect ones to the correct answer. 179 people were fingered in the report that brought the issue to light.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

I can only speak for myself, but my lack of Atlanta outrage is that I have no idea of what you're talking about. But if you have a link or something, I can probably work up something.

Long story short:

An investigation into Atlanta’s public school system has uncovered evidence that teachers and principals have been secretly erasing and correcting answers on students’ tests for as long as a decade. A state investigation found that 178 educators at 44 of the district’s 56 schools engaged in cheating. The report is a huge blow to an urban school district that for years was hailed as one of the country’s most successful due to increased student performance.

Also:
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/1510...losing-her-job
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_903920.html

[anamardoll]

Well, I find that utterly outrageous. 179 teachers for changing test answers? That can be automated with computers, for crying out loud! What a waste of people-power.

In all seriousness, I assume this is a results of tying test results to school funding? I've been outraged about that for a long time.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Well, I find that utterly outrageous. 179 teachers for changing test answers? That can be automated with computers, for crying out loud! What a waste of people-power.

In all seriousness, I assume this is a results of tying test results to school funding? I've been outraged about that for a long time.

From what I've heard it, it's a combination of school funding as well as bonuses. The administrators get bonuses if students do well and test scores increase. What made it worse is that the schools who had consistently done well over the course of time suddenly fell under pressure to compete with schools who showed dramatic improvements. Then those teachers also started to get pressure to do "better" or "as good as" the teachers who sat around and cheated their students out of an education.

Among the other findings, the report stated that the changing of answers was often done at weekend gatherings, or so-called erasure parties. The report stated that children were denied special-educational assistance because their falsely reported CRCT scores were too high, and during testing, teachers pointed to the correct answer while standing at students’ desks.

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Well, I find that utterly outrageous. 179 teachers for changing test answers? That can be automated with computers, for crying out loud! What a waste of people-power.

In all seriousness, I assume this is a results of tying test results to school funding? I've been outraged about that for a long time.

Well, it was over the entire district, over a period of 11 years, and also included people who covered it up. The report made mention of 178 at first, and revised to include an additional person. Of those 179, 41 have already quit, and 13 of those who already quit were principals.

As far as using computers, well, the tests were done on paper. They had to erase the pencil marks and write in the correct answer.

[MrsJoseph]

It really burns me up. Over a decade. Can you imagine the lives that have been destroyed?! I bet there will be no recompense for those children. No second chances.

[jersysman]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

Long story short:
Quote:
An investigation into Atlanta’s public school system has uncovered evidence that teachers and principals have been secretly erasing and correcting answers on students’ tests for as long as a decade. A state investigation found that 178 educators at 44 of the district’s 56 schools engaged in cheating. The report is a huge blow to an urban school district that for years was hailed as one of the country’s most successful due to increased student performance.

Also:
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/1510...losing-her-job
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_903920.html

This is what happens when you base things on just numbers. People will do anything to make sure that they reach the appropriate numbers. This happens all over (in the workplace, in boardrooms, and now in school).

[SCION]

Originally Posted by jersysman

This is what happens when you base things on just numbers. People will do anything to make sure that reach the appropriate numbers. This happens all over (in the workplace, in boardrooms, and now in school).

Indeed!!! I've stopped being flabbergasted at such things a long time ago.

[Dillinquent]

I seem to remember that he had some rather derogatory things to say about the KKK too...

[joenunya]

Originally Posted by Phogg

Lets also remove anything that mentions the Spanish Inquisition.
It's derogatory.

Yup, we are living in the days of the Nouveau Inquisition. Anything different or straying just a hair from the dominant religion of a geographic area is deemed evil and seditious. Sad as I never expected to see us here as a planet ever again. The indications have become news, main stream news in fact.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by jersysman

This is what happens when you base things on just numbers. People will do anything to make sure that they reach the appropriate numbers. This happens all over (in the workplace, in boardrooms, and now in school).

Originally Posted by SCION

Indeed!!! I've stopped being flabbergasted at such things a long time ago.

What made me so upset is that this went on for YEARS. They are looking at more than a decade. Think about how many children's lives have been compromised by this action?

It's just ironic to me that we get so upset about a fiction book but no one blinks an eye about the fact that these children had a lot more than a single book taken from them.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

It's just ironic to me that we get so upset about a fiction book but no one blinks an eye about the fact that these children had a lot more than a single book taken from them.

Who says "no one blinks an eye"?

Everyone in this thread is upset about the incident, as far as I can tell, we just didn't know about it for various reasons.

Censorship is bad. Preventing children from getting a good education is bad. Kitten juggling is bad. I don't think anyone here disagrees with those points.

If you really want a profanity laced tirade on the incident, I can write one up.