Did you ever wonder what goes in to Montgomery County Public Schools decision to write curriculum?
Special ed parents, science families, parents with family members who are academically advanced - wouldn't you like the ability to write some of your child's lessons?
Take note from Emily and Mitch Rales.
In addition to seeking MCPS assistance in getting a sewer line put in to their Potomac/Gaithersburg property, they write curricular matters too! What a resource.
Invite Dr. Starr and the County Council to your house, and you can have a say as to what is in your child's classroom.
But you better hope that those with other types of political agendas get there first. Just think if the sex ed folks invited Josh and the Board of Education to tea. We might have an entirely different high school health class.
Get on the schedule early. Who knew that this was easier than trying to get testimony in public comments before the Board of Education?
Here's the documentation:
2012 Glen Stone 5
When the Rales had the party for Starr, did they have someone prepare a packet about the art for the guests? or perhaps a packet about the desire for a sewer? Did the County Council members get a packet when they went on their tour?
ReplyDeleteHow did MCPS decide which school groups were invited to tour the museum? Did the parents have to sign the "field trip waiver" form purporting to absolve MCPS of any liability if the kids were injured on a Rales-provided bus?
If an MCPS studio art or art history class scheduled a field trip to an art museum (maybe the Hirshhorn or the American Art Museum) or to an art gallery (at UMD perhaps), wouldn't the curator, gallery director or education liaison send the MCPS art teacher specific information in advance about the exhibitions that the students would be viewing? Often art museums and galleries--especially those focused on contemporary art or hosting special temporary exhibitions--offer background info about the artwork and the artists, which may be difficult or time consuming for a public school art teacher to gather together prior to her class visit. I wouldn't term this "writing curriculum," but instead making the visit a more meaningful use of field trip time.
ReplyDeleteThis is how i read the letter..... an information packet for visitors.
DeleteI'd be curious to get more information about the sewer line, though. Do you have documentation on that?
Sewer article in The Washington Post:
Deletehttp://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2012/07/starr-i-am-writing-to-voice-my-support.html
The "information packet" is for MCPS students who were being bused in to the museum, by the museum. The packets were given to the teachers to use in class before the bought and paid for PR visit. What goes on in our public school classrooms is curriculum.
DeleteThis is a private entity writing what is to be taught in our public school classrooms. How many other private entities get to do that?
Well, there was the Gum Game "informational packet" aka curriculum that was used in MCPS for many years. Again, another private group inserting content into classes, that is, changing the curriculum from what has been publicly approved.
But, for the vast majority of public school courses the curriculum is set by MCPS through a public process as per Maryland law. What is taught in the classrooms is the approved curriculum.
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/office/
When was the Glenstone curriculum reviewed and approved by the Board of Education? Answer: It never was.
But, all of the Montgomery County Councilmembers had apparently toured the facility, so that must make it OK.
Can a urinal be art?
ReplyDelete@Anonymous Aug 20 11:46 PM, printed or teaching matter available at public museums, inclulding those that are part of the Smithsonian Institution, are put together by well-respected professional curators who have spent years in their field. Who put together the material from Glenstone? Who is the curator for Glenstone?
ReplyDeleteJanis, please clarify your reference to Washington Post coverage of the Glenstone sewer line issue; the link you cited is to an earlier PC blog entry. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThe post links to The Washington Post article.
Deleteok, I found the Wash. Post article; however, it's linked to this blog post: http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2012/07/starr-attends-party-writes-letter-for.html
ReplyDelete