There are all kinds of reasons parents choose to homeschool their child. Our #1 reason was to fulfill our role of advocating for our child. In everything we do for our children, we try to remember to always be our child’s advocate. Many times we fail, but often we get it right.

That sense of ‘getting it right’ came across me tonight after a day of lesson planning in preparation for this year’s curriculum. I feel sickened by the heinously abusive ideology being expressed in our school systems! Maybe the idea of a ‘new-world order’ was not so far fetched. This generation is lining it up quite nicely. At what point are people going to sit up and take notice and speak out against some very horrible abusive practices? Neglecting our children is one of the worst crimes we, as parents and a society as a whole, can commit!
What got me rowled up???

In looking for the six traits criteria-based assessment strategies, I ran across a PDF file describing the use of rubrics. Rubrics are basically an assessment tool. You’ve probably heard the reformist’s cry against the nerve of some teachers to use the dreaded “A-F” grading system and that abhorent “red” pen? Personally, I was on the bench about it. Slobo and I were having a heated discussion about the ‘grading’ issues when I decided to look up some information. He was the one against the reformist’s outcry of A-F and it’s stigmatization of children, I was against the “red pen” until I looked further into it. There is always another path taken than the reformist’s original arguments, isn’t there? Yes, they went down a harmful path under the guise of another. Following are some excerpts from this sickening ideology:

Choosing neutral words for each rating avoids the implication of good/bad
inherent in a generalized A-F or numerical grade. In addition, the natural
temptation of instructors — as well as students — to award a middle ranking is
avoided by the use of an even number of rankings. For example, in a 1-5
ranking system, 3 tends to be used as a “neutral” grade.

These are suggested alternative assessment terms:

Attempted Acceptable Admirable Awesome

Larvae Pupa Cocoon Butterfly

Peasant Artisan Noble Pharaoh

Page Squire Knight Lord

Sour Milk Milk Half and Half Cream

Jeans Sport Jacket Suit Black Tie

Amateur College Athlete Semi-Professional Professional

Byte Kilobyte Megabyte Gigabyte

Private Sergeant Lieutenant Captain

Pepper Cinnamon Nutmeg Saffron

Ground Round London Broil Sirloin Filet Mignon

Bob Cat Panther Tiger Lion

Minnow Flounder Tuna Shark

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT: RUBRICS
Weed Daisy Rose Orchid
First Base Second Base Third Base Home Run
Garden Rattle Cobra Python

The State of Kentucky, which uses a rubric system of assessment, utilizes
four non-pejorative ratings in its rubrics. In ascending order of competence, they are:

Novice Apprentice Proficient Distinguished
or
Novice Apprentice Veteran Master

So, tell me, would you want to be called sour milk instead of getting the “F”? Or half-and-half when you tried to be cream? How would you feel knowing that others in your class were Filet Mignon while you were Ground Round? Or you were a peasant and the pharoah sat in front of you? How would you feel knowing the teacher wrote things like that about you and not just in her little black assessment book, but as one teacher, on a laminated assessment chart on the wall of the classroom for all to see?

This brings me back to my own family member who told his kids, look guys, you probably won’t be able to cut it in college, so I’m not even going to consider sending you. Your options are trade-school or the armed services. Is this what we are coming to? Do we have a predetermined notion of that ideal Arian race and I just didn’t get the docs???

Maybe Robert Reich was right. The chasm between the classes has grown so far apart that it cannot recover it’s middle class and maybe it’s not just that wealthiest segment that is creating the chasm. The middle and lower middle classes seem to be doing a pretty good job of creating it on thier own! Dear God, Pray for us sinners now at the hour of our complacency!

Interesting footnote: I went back to see what this smallschoolproject url was. Interestingly enough it’s part of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to allow greater access (uh-huh) to college. For whose little gigabytes?

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports a variety of efforts in Washington State to improve schools and help more students attend college. Through the combination of school and district grants, scholarships, and technology enriched classrooms, the Foundation is working to eliminate inequalities in preparation for and access to college for all Washington State students.

Washington State grantees are invited to quarterly cohort meetings that are hosted by the Foundation and planned by the Small Schools Project. Each meeting focuses on a different teaching and learning theme and the materials and resources generated from these meetings are available to download…

And yes, the term ‘cohort meetings’ is their own verbage…. not mine. At least they learned to use their vocabulary correctly.