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Morgante Pell
Hinesburg, VT
Recent Activity
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Morgante signed the petition | -
Morgante commented on the article |Well that's where we disagree... I don't think the solutions exacerbate the problem. They might not be the best solutions (I don't think they are) but they're better than no solutions at all.
As for the solutions being well-funded, I consider that a feature, not a bug. -
Morgante commented on the article |
While he certainly has his bias, I don't see why you spend so much time attacking Friedman, et al. Wouldn't energy be better spent actually trying to change things?
And change needs $$$.
Sure, he's looking at different metrics than I prefer, but I don't think anything Friedman says is objectively wrong. I don't doubt for a second that the US is falling behind other countries when it comes to education: even if you measure it based upon fuzzy things like "creativity."
The reasons for this aren't hard to find: a lack of commitment to public education, a growing class gap, etc.
Instead of attacking everyone who would like to see change in education, wouldn't it be better to try to change education? And if you want to create change on a larger level, you have to be willing to build a coalition and work on common issues. -
Morgante commented on the article |As far as I can tell (truth be told, I haven't been reading everything here), Clay's role here is less as a teacher and more as a editor/writer.
I sincerely doubt that too many students are reading this blog, so I don't think the fact of Clay being a teacher really has much to do with it.
If it were a classroom blog, or even a blog he regularly pointed students to, it would be a different matter. But clearly the majority of readers here are adults – and nobody needs for opinions to be censored simply because they are wrong. Intelligent adults can deduce that for themselves. -
Morgante commented on the article |
I firmy believe you shouldn't delete delete the comments. To silence the debate in such a totalitarian and harsh manner simply serves to prevent discourse.
The comment thread should be a forum of open discussion – even among those with entirely unintelligent views. Fallacies are not contradicted by destroying them, but by rebutting them. This thread serves as testament to the ignorant arguments made by Creationists, which are easily rebutted by science.
Instead, consider closing comment threads when they get out of hand. This does not destroy "the evidence" but simply raises the bar for further discussion. Arguments should be ended when they no longer serve a purpose, but we shouldn't pretend they never happened.
Or, Happy New Year! It's 1984. -
Morgante commented on the article |In Vermont, we tried to equalize with Act 60. However, there is widespread distrust of the reforms–especially since they didn't work too effectively.
Honestly, I like the current system. Maybe it's because I'm selfish and like being able to go to a good school since local (wealthy) towns finance it. But I also think there is a lot to be said for local control and investment.
On a state level, there is a lot of animosity towards education. If our Governor had control of it, I have no doubt he'd be slashing our budgets like a serial killer.
The fact is that it is far easier to chant "lower taxes" when the issue is far-removed. When you never have to see or know the people affected, it's easy to decide in favor of low taxes while also lowering education quality. By maintaining local control, at least voters have to actually _see_ the students affected. When you vote to take away resources, you're taking them away from your son/daughter, or that boy you saw in the store, etc.
Naturally, inequitably arises. Wealthy districts are willing to spend far more than the poorer ones. The solution is in a mixed system.
Allow local school boards to set their own tax rate, based upon their ability to pay and foresight to invest in education. But for everything over the median state rate, some has to go into a general fund, out of which poorer districts are given additional grants and support. Sounds good–in theory. -
Morgante commented on the article |As a student, I am continually unimpressed with special education systems.
The goal of IDEA was noble: allow students to get a free public education.
However, activists have pushed so that all students are expected to receive and attain the same level of education–including special education students.
The fact is, special education students hold the entire class back. Instead of bringing special education students up to the level of their peers, their peers are forced to slow down to the level of those slower students.
This does an injustice to all students. No wonder intelligent or even regular students are increasingly turning to private school for a decent education. In public schools, thanks to the constraints of special students, it is difficult to get a strong education.
All this happens while millions of dollars are dumped into special education, even as other parts of the budget are cut. It doesn't sound very equal to me that a disabled student gets far more resources and finances applied than a regular student.
Schools have failed to recognize that all students deserve an education appropriate to them. Appropriate does not mean equal.
Not all students should be expected to master advanced skills. Not all students are capable of keeping up with the speed at which most students can process information. Some students can move far faster than that speed.
We do so much to slow down the herd for the stragglers, but those who can go the fastest get very little support. In reality, not everyone is capable of mastering the concepts. It would be a far better investment to focus on those who are.
