FrankRep
12-14-2007, 09:02 PM
Principal Tells Teachers To Dumb-Down Standards
City Hall Angered; Central Park East High Students Miffed
WCBS TV
Dec 13, 2007
HARLEM (CBS) ― Have teachers at an East Harlem school been ordered to lower their standards because many students there are poor?
That's the impression some got from their principal's memo.
...
Last month, Principal Bennett Lieberman sent off a stern memo to teachers.
"If you are not passing more than 65 percent of your students in a class, then you are not designing your expectations to meet their abilities, and you are setting your students up for failure, which, in turn, limits your success as a professional."
Was he ordering teachers to dumb down their classes?
The memo continued:
"Most of our students come from the lowest third percentile in academic achievement, have difficult home lives, and struggle with life in general. They DO NOT have a similar upbringing nor a similar school experience to our experiences growing up."
Some students took offense.
"That's not the way to pass," 12th grader Richard Palacios said. "That's not the way to get your education, so you're basically cheating yourself."
...
Full Story:
http://wcbstv.com/local/central.park.east.2.610529.html
City Hall Angered; Central Park East High Students Miffed
WCBS TV
Dec 13, 2007
HARLEM (CBS) ― Have teachers at an East Harlem school been ordered to lower their standards because many students there are poor?
That's the impression some got from their principal's memo.
...
Last month, Principal Bennett Lieberman sent off a stern memo to teachers.
"If you are not passing more than 65 percent of your students in a class, then you are not designing your expectations to meet their abilities, and you are setting your students up for failure, which, in turn, limits your success as a professional."
Was he ordering teachers to dumb down their classes?
The memo continued:
"Most of our students come from the lowest third percentile in academic achievement, have difficult home lives, and struggle with life in general. They DO NOT have a similar upbringing nor a similar school experience to our experiences growing up."
Some students took offense.
"That's not the way to pass," 12th grader Richard Palacios said. "That's not the way to get your education, so you're basically cheating yourself."
...
Full Story:
http://wcbstv.com/local/central.park.east.2.610529.html