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Has this Happened to Your Kids?

By Gene Riemenschneider

Real Estate Broker/Owner with Home Point Real Estate DRE # 01492725

January 08, 2012 05:10 AM

Has this Happened to Your Kids?

Most of my kids go to School here in our Excellent Brentwood Schools. However, son number 2 goes to Middle School in Walnut Creek.

Now Walnut Creek is one of the more “upscale” communities in Contra Costa County. My son is an excellent student; primarily A's with some B's.

He was given a quiz in math where he was assigned with a team of 4 and each had to solve a problem. Then they were given a grade as a group. My son gets his problem right, the others do not. He gets a poor grade on the quiz and this drags down his semester grade. My ex is fighting this battle – I fight other battles for my older son who is with me in school.

I have seen similar assignments in my older sons high school, but not this extreme. But I wonder what the motive is.

My thinking is that the schools need to drag down those that are most successful to promote others that should fail or at least get remedial help. They can also avoid having to admit failure with some kids and it helps them to do social promotion.

I have not seen a lot of this but I note it is creeping in. I suspect teachers unions and liberal educators are slowly working on something to help them achieve the Socialist Agenda many desire.

Has anyone else seen this?

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Catherine Ulrey

Keller Williams Capital City - Salem, OR

Equestrian and Acreage Property Specialist

I have heard of this, though I don't think my daughter experienced any of it in school. You hit the nail on the head, Social Agenda.

Jan 08, 2012 05:25 AM

Randi Brammer

Randi Brammer, Acctg. - Hinckley, MN

Accountant & Tax Preparer

I have only seen where the group worked together on a project or some problems and teh group got a grade.

Jan 08, 2012 06:55 AM

Gene Riemenschneider

Home Point Real Estate - Brentwood, CA

Turning Houses into Homes

Catherine - There is something going on. I suspect it is buried in some teaching manual or class.

Randi - I think there can be real value in kids working on a joing project but this is a twist on the issue. It is individual work being graded jointly. I also think it is a problem when kids are put in situations where other students weaknesses hold them back.

Jan 08, 2012 06:58 AM

Vern Eaton

Askov, MN

Realtor 651-674-7449

WE don't seam to ahve the radical baloney in the rural schools like many of the large ones do.

Jan 08, 2012 09:53 AM

Dale Terry

Yadkinville, NC

Of course this is by design. I can hear the teachers now. " If we can get Johnny to pair up with Jose and Mohammand, maybe they will get better grades!" Never mind Johnny not getting paid as a teacher, because that is what he really is, isn't he?

Jan 08, 2012 10:36 PM

Karl Hess

Keller Williams Shore Properties - Barnegat, NJ

on The Jersey Shore

Dale, really?

In reference to the blog I would be upset if someone else's poor performance affected my kids grade, though the point of the exercise may have been to get the kids to work together.

Jan 09, 2012 01:04 AM

Than Maynard

Coldwell Banker Heart of Oklahoma - Purcell, OK

Broker - Licensed to List & Sell - 405-990-8862

It doesn't sound like they are working together. It sounds like they hope the brighter kids will either pull the others grades up or be pulled down to the average. This is one of the dumber attempts that I have ever heard of. I would be interested in hearing what the 'logic' was behind sharing a grade, unless they are supposed to be working together and then you end up with the brighter kids doing all the work to keep their grades up.

My oldest was having trouble in school because he was bored. (Straight As), but he didn't want to go. The school sends us a letter every year about him being a Gifted and Talented Student (GTS) and we are supposed to sign the letter accepting ALL the programs offered. The problem is the GTS programs are mostly for high school and they have 1 or 2 in a grade that go down to 6th grade. For 5 years my kid was shown as a GTS on the ratings for the school yet he received NO GTS classes or programs.

BUT the school gets more state or federal funds for ever GTS they identify.

Jan 09, 2012 03:30 AM

Karl it had nothing to do with getting them to work together. My son could not and did not work with the other kids on their part of this. It is social manipulation.

Jan 09, 2012 03:59 AM

Rob Arnold

Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. - Altamonte Springs, FL

Metro Orlando Full Service - Investor Friendly & F

I had a similar scenario like that in College. We did a group project and got a group gade. But we also had to anonymously tell the teacher what grade we thought we deserved and what the other members of the group individually deserved based on their contributions and other factors. To do anything less becomes more of this "It Takes a Village" mentality.

Jan 09, 2012 09:40 AM

Rob - Right now it seems that it takes a Village Idiot - Called a Math Teacher. My ex is following up.

Jan 09, 2012 10:47 AM

Satar Naghshineh

Satar - Amiri Property and Financial Services Corp. - Irvine, CA

Gene - My son is 7. haven't heard of this. Maybe it's part of Bush's "No child left behind". They dummy down the scores so that the majority of children pass and get Federal funding.

Jan 09, 2012 11:12 AM

Comment#5 Dale - From Gene's blog you took that as a possibility? Hopefully Jose and Mohammad can return the favor by providing Johnny a job in the future.

Jan 09, 2012 11:17 AM

If this wasn't a group project and your child's indvidual grade was affected by someone elses poor grade, then this is wrong and I'd be having a word with the school myself.

Jan 09, 2012 11:01 PM

Has this Happened to Your Kids?

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