-> Michael Simpson, legal counsel for the National Education
  -> Association, said the bill would cause schools to provide a
  -> "designer curriculum" for each child.
DK>As it should be.  "Cookie cutter" education practices serve 
DK>everyone but the student.
I'm not sure if your response referred to the whole 
paragraph or only to this quoted section above... It would
be virtually impossible to create a "designer curriculum"
given the current staffing, time constraints, etc...
  -> According to Watson, "giving parents responsibility for
  -> schoolwide decisions without specifying who is accountable can be
  -> dangerous," writes the paper.  Few think they can manage IBM, but
  -> "Everyone thinks they can teach or run a public school," she
  -> said.
DK>What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. One could
DK>argue that giving educators responsibility for schoolwide decisions
DK>without specifying who is accountable can be dangerous, especially for
DK>the end product - the student and his/her education.
There's no question that it is difficult to assign ANYONE
accountability when so many factors are beyond the control 
of those we would hold "responsible".
DK>Accountability should carry standard management practices, like 
DK>IBM - you don't produce, you're gone, and a producer takes your place.
The problem is, of course, that in IBM management you have 
clear goals and complete control over materials, etc.  Not 
quite the same situation with regard to education....
-> She claims schools have been burdened by parents with single-issue 
-> agendas who influence key decisions.
DK>When "experts" like Epstein seek disenfranchise parents, viewing 
DK>them as a "burden", what does that tell you about her agenda?
I don't see anything in her statement which implies that
she views parents, in general, as a "burden"... She is
referring to those who have a purpose OTHER than education
per se... An example would be the many movements whose goal
is simply to lower taxes... 
DK> However, Chris Clicka, legal counsel with the Home School Legal
DK>Defense Association, said parents alone should determine what influences
DK>their child is exposed to.
One has to strike a balance between the wishes of the 
parents, the demands of "society", requirements of law, and 
a host of other concerns.  No one set of concerns should be 
the sole determiner of educational goals.  We could NEVER
get everyone, or even MOST people to agree to any common
base for education....
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 * MR/2 2.26 * I went window shopping...and bought OS/2 WARP!
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