Hi Olivia,

On Wednesday in the panel discussion, you will be a 5th grade public school teacher in a working class community where a substantial proportion (over 35%) of students are having major academic struggles. The panel discussion will be a town meeting of various community, school, and district/state representatives to address concern over increasing student failure to meet requirements on basic skills competency tests. The discussion will deal issues such as the following:

Who or what is to blame for student achievement declines in the public school system?

Who should be responsible for student achievement on minimum competency examinations?

What role does the school play in student achievement?

Are the miniumum competency (basic skills tests) fair?

Are they (tests) tough enough?

Should individual teachers be held responsible for students who don't meet minimum competency requirements?

Should individual teachers be rewarded for student achievement?

What role should you as a parent play in your child's success?

Should parents be held accountable for their children's educational performance? If so, what does this mean? If not, what can or should you and other parents do?

Should the individual student be held most responsible for their academic progress? For instance, are there certain students who have lower abilities or who are less motivated then others regardless of teacher or school factors?

You should take the position of a teacher who feels that parents should be held more accountable and that community demographics and school resources play a major role in ensuring that kids are prepared for basic requirements.

Remember to take advantage of personal as well as academic/scientific/popular media resources. Also, you can see the webpage for some perspectives about these issues to help you think about possible points of contention.

See you in class!