Teachers union says San Francisco students shorted
San Francisco teachers union officials have refused to name names, but said Thursday they stand behind their allegations that some district schools are violating state law by depriving students of science, history, art, physical education and other required subjects to focus solely on boosting math and English scores.
The claim was first raised by union President Dennis Kelly in two newspaper op-ed pieces during the United Educators of San Francisco's campaign to oust incumbent school board members.
If the claims are true, teaching only math and English would be a violation of the state's education code and district policy, which requires a comprehensive curriculum at all grade levels.
"The relentless push to increase test scores is driving excellent teaching out of the classroom and replacing it with rote instruction that is hyper-focused on the tests," Kelly wrote in a Nov. 1 letter to a local newspaper. "How bad is it? At one Superintendent's Zone school, every subject except for math and English has been eliminated from the curriculum in many classrooms: no science, no social studies, no art, no music."
http://www.sfgate.com/education/article/Teachers-union-says-SF-students-shorted-4022126.php#ixzz2CKZJ0jmG
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In my experience, they don't say "Don't teach _______." They say, "spend less time on __________ and more time on reading (or math.)"
When art teachers are cut, they tell everyone that regular ed teachers will include art in their subject areas.
There are all kinds of ways to game it so that students aren't getting what they need, and that again is the teacher's fault, not the systems.
It doesn't surprise me to hear that some districts have been more blatant. 