I was impressed that Lewiston Schools Superintendent Bill Webster had the courage to mention the educational elephant in the room — poor parenting (Sun Journal story, Friday, March 13). Not the parents who are reading this letter, but the ones who never attend an open house, musical concert, sporting event, bake sale, or spelling bee. […]
education
Posted inLetters
S. Anderson: Longer school day not the way to go
This is in response to the “Making up for snow days” article (March 4). I am sure the intention of the proposed legislation is to be helpful, but adding an hour to a school day is unlikely to extend the academic environment effectively. I have been serving as a teacher assistant in the Auburn public […]
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Posted inOp-Eds
Bill Webster: The new Maine Educational Assessment — good, bad, opt-out?
This spring, Maine schools will administer the new Maine Education Assessment to students in grades 3 through 8 and third year of high school. This assessment will be the most effective tool yet for measuring student progress and identifying needed changes in classroom instruction. Maine has been using a state-wide tool since 1984, and the […]
Posted inLetters
D. Holcomb: Putting students into boxes
This is in response to a Bangor Daily News article printed in the Sun Journal, “Standardized test gets pushback” (March 2). Finally, parents and students are finding out the dangers of the Common Core national standards’ scheme since this is the year when standard assessments hit the fan. The testing seems to have more to […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
UMaine System chancellor pitches LePage budget to lawmakers
AUGUSTA — The chancellor of the University of Maine System is calling on lawmakers to support increased funding for its schools in Gov. Paul LePage’s budget. Chancellor James Page addressed a joint session of the Legislature on Tuesday. He says that LePage is proposing the biggest new investment that the system has seen in years. […]
Posted inLetters
K. McClure-Richard: Policies wrong for the children
As Lewiston parents and teachers we are deeply concerned about the upcoming MEA/Smarter Balanced Assessments and their implications for education in our community. Our concerns are deep and far-reaching. We are concerned for our children, whom we know will be required to forgo many hours of time spent learning to complete a test that is […]
Posted inLetters
In rebuttal, J. Handy: Sabine should stick to what he knows
In his column (Feb. 15), Richard Sabine used SAT scores as the final, empirical word in a student’s success. Even the College Board says the SAT does not measure any innate ability. Psychologist Claude Steele points out that the test has been found to measure only about 18 percent of the things that it takes […]
Posted inLetters
O. Gauthier: A poorly planned system
Bill Webster wrote in his letter (Feb. 18) that “lack of school readiness” is one of “three major reasons for the lack of student success.” Does his hypocrisy know no bounds? He and Sue Martin refused to apply for a waiver to avoid implementing a proficiency based learning program that was not and is not […]
Posted inLetters
E. Talmage: A deeper issue at stake
Recent responses to Richard Sabine’s column (Feb. 15) have been a welcome defense to educators. Most, however, have fallen short of addressing the deeper issue at stake. Unfortunately, Sabine is far from alone in his belief that teachers and school systems are failing the students. Instead, that misguided belief continues to dominate the national discussion […]
Posted inLetters
T. Conger: Adults need to be responsible
This is in response to the guest column from Richard Sabine (Feb. 15). The gentleman’s comments are spot on indicative of many adults in society who take no responsibility for anything happening in our communities, state or nation. There was a time in this society that when a child was failing to achieve in school, […]