What's going on with the West Springfield HS biology class? I've heard some rumors about the principal experimenting with a new format, where there are no longer separate honors and standard-level (non-honors) classes.

how the fuck am i supposed to know why dont you call the fucking school and ask "What's going on with the West Springfield HS biology class? I've heard some rumors about the principal experimenting with a new format, where there are no longer separate honors and standard-level (non-honors) classes."

APorIBMom Wrote:
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> What's going on with the West Springfield HS
> biology class? I've heard some rumors about the
> principal experimenting with a new format, where
> there are no longer separate honors and
> standard-level (non-honors) classes.


That school sucks. The kids are always on twitter or facebook and they are never learning. GOOD School if you like starting a food fight.

Why do you morons take the time NOT to actually answer the question, which was a good one. If you just want to rant do it somewhere else. Anyone actually know the answer to the question???

heyidiots Wrote:
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> Why do you morons take the time NOT to actually
> answer the question, which was a good one. If you
> just want to rant do it somewhere else. Anyone
> actually know the answer to the question???


Because its a question almost nobody on this forum can answer. The OP should address the question to the school's principal, not posting on FFXU.

Alpha Male, you are my new hero...a voice of reason and common sense among ranters hiding behind the anonymity of the internet!

I only come here once in a while to look for community information,like the post about the new museum opening in Centreville, but occasionally get brave and click on something else that pertains to my life (I have a child at West Springfield and one headed there next year...my oldest is not in biology, so I have no basis for comment on the topic at hand).

Alpha Male is dead on...ask teachers and administrators at the school, not people on a minimally moderated internet forum that consists mostly of griping, negativity and personal attacks. Notice that I did not say ask West Springfield parents, as they rarely have the full picture, either.

I've heard the same thing. They've started a new format which in my opionion really awful. Until the student masters the "concept" which is answering somewhere around 5 questions and if they miss even 1 they've not mastered the concept. They can retry tests as many times these till they "master" the concept check. The administration wants to expand this format to other courses.

WSHS Parent Wrote:
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> I've heard the same thing. They've started a new
> format which in my opionion really awful. Until
> the student masters the "concept" which is
> answering somewhere around 5 questions and if they
> miss even 1 they've not mastered the concept. They
> can retry tests as many times these till they
> "master" the concept check. The administration
> wants to expand this format to other courses.

If a kid doesn't master the concepts, he or she should fail! You object to giving kids unlimited opportunities to be successful? I'm confused by that...

It doesn't sound too awful. It would be good if a student who "masters the concept" quickly is allowed to go more in depth with the topic if the student is interested (instead of just moving on and "mastering concepts" by taking some kind of 5 question quiz). Quiz after quiz could get pretty dry. Hopefully there are some fun labs or projects/discussions along the way. There should be opportunities and support for students to ask questions and develop even more questions on their own (the basis for moving science forward). In the end, questions and feeling free to ask questions is more important than answers or "mastering" what has been predetermined to be important. This kind of learning is engaging and the student will be much more likely to retain information gained through such a process. My fear is that with overcrowded classes, this is not possible and they are reduced to "master the concept" drill and kill lessons. I hope not.

bigger picture on learning and scientific thinking Wrote:
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> It doesn't sound too awful. It would be good if a
> student who "masters the concept" quickly is
> allowed to go more in depth with the topic if the
> student is interested (instead of just moving on
> and "mastering concepts" by taking some kind of 5
> question quiz). Quiz after quiz could get pretty
> dry. Hopefully there are some fun labs or
> projects/discussions along the way. There should
> be opportunities and support for students to ask
> questions and develop even more questions on their
> own (the basis for moving science forward). In
> the end, questions and feeling free to ask
> questions is more important than answers or
> "mastering" what has been predetermined to be
> important. This kind of learning is engaging and
> the student will be much more likely to retain
> information gained through such a process. My fear
> is that with overcrowded classes, this is not
> possible and they are reduced to "master the
> concept" drill and kill lessons. I hope not.


First of all, the classes aren't really overcrowded. When I was in FCPS, the classes were anywhere from 35 to 54 kids per class. They don't see those kinds of numbers anymore (maybe 35, but no where near 54). Plus, they now have recess, excuse me, SpartanTime, or Lancer Time or whatever the hell each school wants to call the extra study time they put into the week, during the school day, where EVERY kid can get remedial help with ANY subject.

This sounds like a great way to let students that have mastered a concept move on, instead of sitting around going over the same simple thing over and over while some other students can't grasp it.

OP, you really should address this issue to someone at the school. Maybe your student's counselor if you're not comfortable asking the principal or AP.

It actually has nothing to do with the new principal. This system has been in place for almost the past 2 years. And it actually makes sense - the kids actually have to show they have LEARNED the material in order to get a GOOD grade. Many more courses in FCPS will be doing this - not just at West Springfield, but all over.

35 kids in a class is too many. Plain and simple. It doesn't matter whether there is "recess" time. The teacher cannot give assignments that take much time to correct with a load of 5 classes at 35 each (and 54 is just plain ridiculous). A load of 175 students (35 in each class) means a teacher who spends just 2 minutes on each student for correcting assignments is spending 350 minutes per week. If you increase that to 5 minutes per student you are looking at 875 minutes per week. This would be in addition to actual teaching, planning, meetings, emails from parents, actual individual time spent with students and other staff, etc. There is no time to assess in a detailed and reflective way (which is necessary in order to how to improve lessons). This is not a quality environment for education.

What is honestly happening is that the parents are becoming teachers or are hiring tutors after hours. Ask any high school student about this and you will understand what is really going on. This leaves students who do not have parents with "resources" behind. The very parents who are employing tutors and helping out are the ones paying the majority of the taxes as well. How long before they figure out that private schools will free them from the home burden and maybe even the tax burden if they rally to stop paying so much in taxes (or ask for vouchers)? This is the reality.

The purpose of this forum is to get information that may otherwise not be available from traditional sources...opinions and community input. Asking the administration for the truth would be like chewing up your own tongue, get real. Why should you be offended because YOU don't know, apparently some here do.

Duh - sounds like more attempts by FCPS to erase the achievement gap.

Spartan100 Wrote:
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> It actually has nothing to do with the new
> principal. This system has been in place for
> almost the past 2 years. And it actually makes
> sense - the kids actually have to show they have
> LEARNED the material in order to get a GOOD grade.
> Many more courses in FCPS will be doing this - not
> just at West Springfield, but all over.



Ahhhh, so it's the fault of the incompetent buffoon former principal! Who'd ever guess that?

I've heard the new biology classes are much more "hands on" (if you know what I mean).

you mean the teachers are being handsy with the students?
because that's definitely not the case.

the science department at WSHS just sucks in general, and they need to get their act together. the fact that "x amount" of students fail or do bad isn't a wake-up call to have them think, "hmm...well maybe there's something wrong with the way we're presenting the information". herp derp.