I am tired of a standards based classroom with CRAPPY STANDARDS!!

I teach 8th grade GA studies, I dare anyone who teaches or has
a child in 8th grade to look at the standards right now...Go
ahead I will wait.

Ok, well since you didn't look. Most of the standards are based
on the history of GA, as it relates to the rest of the United
States, and the structure of the GA government. This is the
ONLY course in all of K-12 instruction MANDATED by state law as
approved by the legislature. First, most states have done away
with the state history courses, only the backwards, retarded,
southern hick states like GA and Texas really still have them.

Problem #1-Students in 6th and 7th grade social studies learn
very little history, only about 10% of those courses are
history. But BAM in 8th grade 85% of the course is history, so
talk about a wonderful ladder type focused curriculum in social
studies.

Problem #2-Who the HECK cares about these people anyway.
Example there is NO mention in the standards of ANY founding
father, except Washington, no Jefferson, Adams, Madison,
Monroe, etc. Yet the kids need to know obscure people from
Georgia. If education is about learning skills, why does GA
force a 12 year old to know who Nacy Hart was, and then vomit
it back to me on a CRCT test just to have it evaporate from her
mind the second the test is over! Talk about useless information.

Problem #3 The first 9 weeks the state of GA excepts kids to
know..the entire geography of GA physical and political, the
first inhabitants of the area, the 5 major time periods, their
culture and time periods. The discovery of America, and GA and
foundation of the area by the Spanish, English and French and
reasons why. The colonization of GA and its reasons why, the
movement towards independence and its hundred reasons why, the
fighting of the Revolutionary War including a look at the
Declaration of Independence, how the war was fought, who won,
the result. The creation of and failure of the Articles of
Confederation, the creation of the Federal Government, and an
extensive look at the state constitution the formation of the
GA government and ALL the rights and responsibilities of GA
citizens including voting, jury, taxation, etc. ALL of that in
9 weeks! With one week being thrown out for the first week of
school and the last week for review for a 9 week exam. So
really 7 weeks. HUH? Then totally skip any history from the end
of the revolution and jump RIGHT into causes of the civil war,
basically the Jacksonian era does not exist in GA.

I could go on...these standards suck, this course sucks, this
state sucks, I cant wait to leave, if I didnt buy a house I
would have quit and gladly taken a job flipping hamburgers.
What a joke.

On 10/30/09, Discouraged veteran teacher wrote:
> Is anyone else tired of all of the paperwork, data
> collection, and non-instructional tasks associated with the
> Standards Based classroom? In my county I are spending more
> and more time covering my butt and doing paperwork and
> spending less and less time teaching and enjoying my
> students. What does posting essential questions and
> standards in the classrooms and hallways have to do with
> good instruction. I just want to TEACH! I think that
> following standards is great, but the other stuff is OUT of
> CONTROL. I would love to have the money that the individuals
> that sold this model to the state of Georgia got. What can
> we do as Georgia teachers to stop the slow destruction of
> our profession?

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