CB>REposted with the permission of the American Federation of Teachers
CB>Where We Stand
CB>By Albert Shanker
[S]tudents who earn D's or below will be characterized not as borderline
CB>passing or failing but as EMERGING. Those earning A's will no longer be
CB>commended for excellent work but will be told merely that they are
CB>EXTENDING, and those in between will not be described as doing adequate
CB>or mediocre work but [that] they are DEVELOPING.
CB>EMERGING from what?
Obscurity??
CB>(What if a student is not emerging but is still stuck?)
If they haven't "emerged", then we can safely ignore them -
They're invisible/nonexistent!
CB>For example, officials in many school districts have become uneasy with
CB>the practice of honoring the two top-ranking students in senior classes
CB>by naming them VALEDICTORIAN and SALUTATORIAN.   Some have stopped the
CB>practice altogether. Others, even more mysteriously, have decided that
CB>seniors should elect classmates to those honors. It's as though a
CB>basketball team decided that the high scorer for the year should be
CB>elected.
Don't we already HAVE class presidents and vice-presidents?
Why would we need TWO sets of them??
CB>The real reason school officials insist on blurring the distinctions 
CB>between students is that they think it is somehow unfair to acknowledge 
CB>that some students have achieved more academically than others. (This 
CB>is seldom a problem when it comes to sports.)
But sports are -IMPORTANT-!     ;-)
___
 * MR/2 2.26 * It's OS/2, Jim, but not OS/2 as we know it.
--- Silver Xpress Mail System 5.4P1a
---------------