The FSA report card is out again and of course there is much to-do about its validity.
If you faired well then all is good and acknowledgment of improvements are made and the kids are acquiring the basic skills. Shouldn’t all students be acquiring those skills, or at least have a teacher who has the ability to relay them? Yes, tests suck and I hated them, but how else is anyone to judge how one compares with another if there are not tests?
The issues seem to be more around some teacher not wanting to be tested. We all know these tests are an average of the pupils and an indication of how the teachers are performing. And, yes, there should be some way of evaluating our teachers.
As in many jobs there are those who are good and some who are not so good. In certain arenas the good carry the load for the bad, especially when there is no acknowledgment for perfection and all are treated equally regardless of ability. Those same people like to take credit when all is well, but listen to them whine when things don’t go so well and they are all painted with that not-so-rosy brush.
We all know there are extenuating circumstances and the Fraser Institute says it takes those circumstances into consideration when the evaluation is done. This reminds me of the article where the economics professor never failed a student but did fail the entire class. That incidence had to do with economics and socialism but holds true in many cases. We have to remember these students will one day go out in the real world and need to hold a job. Not every job is protected and has a guarantee of a paycheque, even though they cannot perform the duties you were hired for, nor is that performance ever evaluated after your first day. Also, in real life if your boss wants you to do something you are being paid for then you should do it, unless it is illegal. If you don’t you should be fired.
Walt Cobb is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. He is a former Liberal MLA, former Williams Lake mayor, and current president of the Williams Lake and District Chamber of Commerce.