From: thanks-to@Taf.com   
      
   Persons wrote in news:sci.electronics.design -   
   |------------------------------------------------------------------------|   
   |"American education isn't all that demanding. Giving the kids low marks |   
   |upsets their parents. Being analytical about how far some kids fall     |   
   |short is equally unpopular.                                             |   
   |>                                                                       |   
   |> I didn't take any Australian tests. I don't even speak their language.|   
   |>                                                                       |   
   |Australian and American are mutually intelligible dialects of English.  |   
   |You do speak a language that pretty much all Australian's can           |   
   |understand. American shows on Australian TV don't need sub-titles."     |   
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   Is it a myth that "Road Warrior" has subtitles in American English,   
   where "Road Warrior" is the 1st version of "Mad Max 2: Road Warrior"   
   in cinemas in the United States of America (where it had not been   
   presented as a sequel to "Mad Max", which supposedly had not yet been   
   released in the U.S.A.)?   
      
   It is not a myth that I in the West did watch English subtitles on TV   
   of a non-"Road-Warrior" video of a man speaking in Australian   
   English. These subtitles are for all viewers (i.e. not just persons   
   who cannot easily hear). They are not for a comedic effect.   
      
   A teacher in the United States of America wrote to the SciFraud   
   LISTSERV (Discussion of Fraud in Science):   
   |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|   
   |"Dewey,                                                                      |   
   |  I feel bad that I put you in a not-so-cheerful mood. Some explanation is   |   
   |necessary.                                                                   |   
   |                                                                             |   
   |  >What are you trying to state, or imply, in this message? That you         |   
   |caved in to parental pressure, and GAVE a mediocre student an "A" grade?<    |   
   |                                                                             |   
   |   I was threatened and intimidated by these people. Despite what I value as |   
   |a strong sense of integrity, I was going to give the girl an A. I have a     |   
   |family to support. I mentioned that story to point out that I was prepared to|   
   |fudge the grade for my own self-preservation and that the existence of       |   
   |conditions which would actually favor the parent in this situation, should   |   
   |not exist. It has become so common for parents to browbeat teachers, with the|   
   |support of their local school boards, that most teachers wouldn't dare to    |   
   |challenge the system by setting standards which would make them stick out    |   
   |like a sore thumb.                                                           |   
   |  When I first started teaching, I heard a principal challenging a teacher   |   
   |because his students got almost all A's and B's in his classes.  About ten   |   
   |years later, I heard a principal criticize a teacher for giving too many D's |   
   |in a gifted and talented class. This was the consequence of parental         |   
   |pressure. Times had changed quickly. Two years ago, I asked the principal why|   
   |a legal absence is given to a student who took four days extra vacation and  |   
   |didn't even have the required note prior to the absence. He responded by     |   
   |telling me the absence was legal because he said so. These things happen     |   
   |constantly. When students start their summer vacations two or three days     |   
   |before the end of the school year, we are specifically instructed to         |   
   |calculate the student's grade on the basis of the work possible as of the    |   
   |time of the student's departure. No extra work has to be submitted.          |   
   |  So yes, as a matter of confession, and one of which I am not proud, I was  |   
   |afraid to give the student anything but an A when the parents threatened to  |   
   |have my job.  For two years, our principal published grade stats by          |   
   |department, making sure to commend those with the highest grades for being   |   
   |the most successful teachers. He announced at a parent back-to-school meeting|   
   |that the goal for the year was "success for all students at all times." I was|   
   |probably the only teacher who really listened to this and I was extremely    |   
   |stressed out at the implications of how such a thing could be achieved.      |   
   |   My story was not to support the notion of grade inflation. I was, in a    |   
   |self-effacing way, pointing out how I, as a teacher, have been a victim of   |   
   |the trend. Furthermore, I know that the principal has the authority to order |   
   |me to change a grade or suffer disciplinary action for insubordination,      |   
   |ultimately ending with his authority to change the grade anyway.  (BTW, this |   
   |wasn't a high schooler, it was a sixth grader in Technology Education,       |   
   |formerly Industrial Arts.)  What I didn't say is that the student's B was    |   
   |largely due to the fact that she had not completed a major project. After I  |   
   |got roasted and was clearing out the room after students had left for the    |   
   |summer, I found the part of the girl's project which had been missing. She   |   
   |had put it in the wrong place. One simple step now, and the project was      |   
   |finished. The missing part was an assembly which constituted most of the     |   
   |work. Fortunately, I didn't have to lie about her grade, but I am pretty sure|   
   |I would have.                                                                |   
   |                                                                             |   
   |>And that their current difficulties must be the fault of the                |   
   |university professor--because they KNOW that they are "A" students. Because  |   
   |their high school teachers said so.<                                         |   
   |                                                                             |   
   |   The girl was an excellent student. She had always made straight A's. I    |   
   |know this doesn't mean as much as some would like it to. I also know that my |   
   |subject can often be inconsistent with other grades, either to the student's |   
   |advantage OR disadvantage. Most parents realize how different my subject is, |   
   |especially for 6th graders, and usually accept that as an explanation for an |   
   |unexpected grade. Some students are successful in school, not so much because|   
   |of their raw intellectual ability, but more because of their ability to      |   
   |conform and anticipate. The methods and activities in my subject do not      |   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)