I just heard the news report that Saddam Hussein loaded up three
trucks full of money just before the outbreak of war in Iraq. As
far as I’m concerned, this can mean only one thing: he is looking
to purchase a home in the Bay Area. Be on the lookout.
I just heard the news report that Saddam Hussein loaded up three trucks full of money just before the outbreak of war in Iraq. As far as I’m concerned, this can mean only one thing: he is looking to purchase a home in the Bay Area. Be on the lookout.
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I want to thank co-columnist Lisa Pampuch for her clarifying comments regarding the “Got Purpose?” campaign that has been such a hot topic here on The Dispatch editorial page. The 40 days of purpose may be officially over, but we are running into overtime in our local newspaper.
I am not going to spend another column on this topic, but I would like to give a little factual information to Betty McCarn, who is operating under the assumption that I don’t know many Christians. I do. Some are Protestant, some are Orthodox and some are Catholic. There are roughly two billion Christians on this planet, half of whom identify themselves as Catholic. St. Mary’s Church in Gilroy is the single largest Christian church in Gilroy. Frankly, I find it insulting to insinuate that a member of the Catholic community “doesn’t know many Christians.” But that’s just me. Anyway, I’m putting this topic to bed until next Easter.
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On April 17, the School Board adopted a new policy on Parent/Family involvement. It addresses a long overdue need for the school district to seek guidance and assistance from the stakeholders whom they serve; the families whose children are enrolled in our school district. There are many components to this policy, but the overriding one states that “Parent/families are full partners in the decisions that affect children and families.”
I applaud this statement; I am in utter agreement with it. It is so obvious that one wouldn’t think that it even needed to be adopted. However, after attending a parent forum at Gilroy High School on Monday evening, I’m thinking that perhaps it needs to be blown up and posted on all the doors on campus.
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On Monday night, an open parent forum was held in the library at Gilroy High School to discuss weighted grades, valedictorian and a proposed citizenship grade for all students. About a dozen parents attended this meeting. These dozen parents who cared enough to show up were the voice of the community. All were in agreement that AP classes should remain weighted, as is the norm in neighboring schools and in most high schools across the country.
The voice of dissent did not come from any parent at the parent forum. The voice of dissent came from within the leadership team at Gilroy High. And in that voice of dissent there was a clarifying moment when all was revealed.
The dissenter, Erin Gemar, spoke on behalf of three of the four advisors who also believe that AP classes should not have weighted grades. She acknowledged that biology and AP biology were not the same class. She acknowledged the much more rigorous work required in AP biology. Her reason for opposing weighting the grade in the AP course was astounding.
She opined that a student who takes regular biology might have to work just as hard to get an A in that course as a student who takes AP biology. Therefore, both students deserve equal marks. The flaws in this argument are many, but the bottom line is that a grade is not given for effort. If a student who could have taken AP biology and opts to take regular biology only needs to put in half the amount of effort to get an A, do they get to show up only half the time? Of course not!
AP classes are open to all, and the work required is substantial. The incentive of weighted grades does encourage students to take more rigorous classes. This is as it should be. The problem with not weighting the grade is that a student who has enrolled at the new Gilroy High, the one which encourages academic excellence, is now being penalized for taking AP classes. If that student had enrolled at Live Oak, Presentation or Mitty, the very same AP Biology would be a weighted class. Why it is proposed to be non-weighted at Gilroy High School is no longer a mystery to me. It is due to the culture of the leadership team at the school.
Here we go again! Didn’t they get the message after the debacle of last spring and summer? This leadership team chose to go their own way. In doing so, they chose to ignore the wishes of parents and students in this community. Principal Bob Bravo met with both groups, and everyone who cared enough to show up unanimously supported weighting the AP courses.
This leadership team chose to not even acknowledge the newly adopted board policy on parent involvement. Maybe we need to see a few new faces on that leadership team. I guess that Principal Bravo will soon propose to the School Board the recommendation that AP classes at Gilroy High School not be weighted. This looks to be one of those “bring your slippers and blanket” board meetings, at which time all those parents and students can reiterate their previously ignored remarks.
At that time, parents and families will find out if we are indeed full partners in decisions that affect our children.
