A few questions for anyone with experience in FCPS:

-Is 'Global Warming' taught?
--Are students instructed to lower their 'carbon footprint'?
--Is the movie, 'An Inconvenient Truth' shown?
--Is geo-engineering described, mentioned in passing, etc...?
-Is 'Intelligent Design' taught, described, mentioned in passing, etc...?
-Is creationism taught, described, mentioned in passing, etc...?
-Are assigned reading lists composed of books from 'Oprah's Book Club' or any other popular collection?
-Is 'showing your work' emphasized in mathematics?
-Is memorization of mathematical shortcuts emphasized?
-Is scientific history taught?
-Is vocabulary taught?
-Is grammar taught?
-Does poor grammar lower the grade of an essay?
-Do essays have to be typed?
-Are bibliographies mandatory?
--Is there a blacklist for bibliographical sources?
-Is the 'Jewish Holocaust' taught?
--Is the movie, 'Schindler's List' shown?
--Is 'The Diary of Anne Frank' required reading?
--Do 'survivors' give live speeches?
-Are any classes discussion-based?
-Is finance or economics taught as part of the core curriculum? as an elective?
-Are programming languages or computer literacy taught as part of the core curriculum? as an elective?
-Is human nutrition taught?
--Is the 'food pyramid' central to this?
--Is 'AIDS Awareness' central to this?
-Is running laps mandatory/not a part of/optional in gym class?
-Does gym class include weight-training?
-Are tests and quizzes ever 'open book'?
-Is note-taking ever mandatory?
-Is www.blackboard.com ever required for submitting/receiving assignments?

-Does the school...
--Have metal detectors?
--Gamma-ray body scanners?
--Give drug tests?
--Have police patrol the hallways? with dogs?
--Search lockers randomly?
--Hand out condoms?
--Allow knives in the cafeteria?
--Allow vitamins or prescription drugs?
--Offer a vegetarian option?
--Vend Coke-a-cola
--Offer subsidized field trips to foreign countries?
--Have a dress code?
--Have wireless internet access in every classroom?
--Allow cell phones and/or cell phone use?

-Do you feel that...
--Essays will be graded downward by having taken a controversial view?
--You shouldn't ask questions during a lecture?
--Teachers will respond with hostility to pointed questions?
--Lectures in history or english classes are given from a 'culturally relativist' point of view?
--The 'English as a Second Language' program causes disruption?
--The 'learning-disabled' 'immersion' programs cause disruption?
--Most school work is 'busy-work'?
--Grades are too subjective?
--Academic life is negatively affected by school sponsored feminist groups, racial pride groups, sexual deviancy groups, etc...?

Feel free to answer any way you like. All input is appreciated.

Forbesanton Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A few questions for anyone with experience in
> FCPS:
>
> -Is 'Global Warming' taught?
No
> --Are students instructed to lower their 'carbon
> footprint'?
no
> --Is the movie, 'An Inconvenient Truth' shown?
Not as a rule though it's possible it may have been shown at some time
> --Is geo-engineering described, mentioned in
> passing, etc...?
No
> -Is 'Intelligent Design' taught, described,
> mentioned in passing, etc...?
No
> -Is creationism taught, described, mentioned in
> passing, etc...?
No
> -Are assigned reading lists composed of books from
> 'Oprah's Book Club' or any other popular
> collection?
Not that I've seen, but the lists are public so you can go look it up
> -Is 'showing your work' emphasized in
> mathematics?
yes
> -Is memorization of mathematical shortcuts
> emphasized?
not certain exactly what you mean
> -Is scientific history taught?
somewhat
> -Is vocabulary taught?
yes
> -Is grammar taught?
yes
> -Does poor grammar lower the grade of an essay?
yes
> -Do essays have to be typed?
it's preferred but not usually required until high school
> -Are bibliographies mandatory?
Depends on the assignment, but yes
> --Is there a blacklist for bibliographical
> sources?
Not sure
> -Is the 'Jewish Holocaust' taught?
yes
> --Is the movie, 'Schindler's List' shown?
no
> --Is 'The Diary of Anne Frank' required reading?
Well, my son didn't have to read it, but they watched the movie
> --Do 'survivors' give live speeches?
yes
> -Are any classes discussion-based?
yes
> -Is finance or economics taught as part of the
> core curriculum? as an elective?
yes, but not nearly enough IMHO
> -Are programming languages or computer literacy
> taught as part of the core curriculum? as an
> elective?
As an elective. Most kids have computers at home, so it's assumed they know how to use them. Personally, I taught my kids about computers and computer history, but then I'm a bit of a geek
> -Is human nutrition taught?
yes
> --Is the 'food pyramid' central to this?
yes
> --Is 'AIDS Awareness' central to this?
yes
> -Is running laps mandatory/not a part of/optional
> in gym class?
yes

> -Does gym class include weight-training?
at times
> -Are tests and quizzes ever 'open book'?
yes, but not often
> -Is note-taking ever mandatory?
yes
> -Is www.blackboard.com ever required for
> submitting/receiving assignments?
yes
>
> -Does the school...
> --Have metal detectors?
not here
> --Gamma-ray body scanners?
nope
> --Give drug tests?
no
> --Have police patrol the hallways? yes
with dogs? no
> --Search lockers randomly?
Not that I'm aware
> --Hand out condoms?
no
> --Allow knives in the cafeteria?
no
> --Allow vitamins or prescription drugs?
only if dispensed from the clinic
> --Offer a vegetarian option?
yes
> --Vend Coke-a-cola
not during school hours
> --Offer subsidized field trips to foreign
> countries?
I know there are foreign travel trips but we've never done them, so I don't know the financing of them
> --Have a dress code?
yes, but it's pretty loose
> --Have wireless internet access in every
> classroom?
depends on the school, but all the ones I've been around do
> --Allow cell phones and/or cell phone use?
not during school hours.
>
> -Do you feel that...
> --Essays will be graded downward by having taken a
> controversial view?
no
> --You shouldn't ask questions during a lecture?
no
> --Teachers will respond with hostility to pointed
> questions?
no
> --Lectures in history or english classes are given
> from a 'culturally relativist' point of view?
> --The 'English as a Second Language' program
> causes disruption?
no, but I do think it slows things down in elementary school dramatically
> --The 'learning-disabled' 'immersion' programs
> cause disruption?
no
> --Most school work is 'busy-work'?
no, though it is more in the lower grades.
> --Grades are too subjective?
no
> --Academic life is negatively affected by school
> sponsored feminist groups, racial pride groups,
> sexual deviancy groups, etc...?
no
>
> Feel free to answer any way you like. All input is
> appreciated.


From a parent who went through FCPS and is a parent to a graduate, a senior and a grade schooler currently in the system.

You have way to much time on your hands. I think using them on your prick may make you happier.

I see a slant to your questions that I don't completely agree with, but I'll respond on one.

> --Is there a blacklist for bibliographical
> sources?

My kids 4th grade teacher told him he could not use Wikipedia, but could use other websites. So he can't use an worldwide collaborative encyclopedia with millions of contributors, but some wingnut with a website, that's ok.

Oh, and then she handed him his error-ridden 4th grade text book, you know, the one reviewed and approved by VA teachers.

The ignorance is stunning.

I'm home sick today. Bored. It passed a few minutes time for me. The OP on the other hand...

Instead of trolling, try researching:

http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/index.htm

http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/pos/index.htm

I think you are way too worried. FCPS isn't perfect, but it's very good. There is no need to worry about grammar and vocabulary---my kid is getting lots of that. If you really want your kid to learn grammar, put him/her in a foreign language class---that's where the rubber meets the road on grammar. They still offer Latin at the high schools if you want your child to learn vocabulary that way (Latin roots). Math is pretty good as well. But, far and away, history is the bomb around here. My kid LOVES it. He has had fabulous teachers and gained incredible insight living around here. Don't be afraid of the cultural diversity here---he has made friends from all over the world and this has been very positive for him---he believes that anyone is capable of anything and he is a much better friend to his peers than I ever was (maybe that's also because he's an only child). I think he will do well in life because of his experiences here. I'm not saying that I don't think there are improvements that could be made in FCPS (because there certainly are), but the whole picture is much more positive than negative.

I'm curious, what agenda do you think you are advancing by framing these questions the way you have? I have my suspicions, but I'd like to have them confirmed, or dis-proven.

Firstly, you are asking and looking in the wrong location. As with all local school systems in Virginia, Fairfax County doesn't have unbridled control over the curriculum taught. That is defined by the State. Local jurisdictions tweak, they do not set. If you want to know want is being taught at each grade level in Virginia schools, of which FCPS is one, then you should visit the web site of the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Education. You will find clear answers to such questions as "is grammar taught" or "are programming languages or computer literacy taught as part of the core curriculum or as an elective".

Secondly, a number of your questions are not about curriculum at all but rather are about pedagogy. Sorry to go stand behind my lectern for a moment, but do you know the difference? Simply put, curricula is the material taught, pedagogy is how it is taught. Nowhere among the VA DOE standards will you find the statement "The movie 'Schindler's List' will be shown to teach students X". Rather, you will find something to the effect of "students will be taught about the human cost of World War II, including the events commonly known as the 'Holocaust'". Through a wonderful and firmly established process called "academic freedom" teachers are granted a certain latitude to determine how best to teach the lesson. One teacher may feel Schindlers' List visually and thematically describes the difficulties of that time. Another may show the file "Night and Fog" for its visual candor. Yet another may choose to have students read testimonies from the "Doctors' Trial" at Nuremberg. Teachers are professional, and have the right and the duty to exercise this freedom, constrained by community standards and student maturity.

Some of your questions are baffling. "Is 'showing your work' emphasized in mathematics?" As opposed to what, sending it via telepathy? I'm not a mathematician (I'm an engineer, close but not quite), but I can't imagine a math teacher not stressing proof. That IS mathematics. Do you know any that don't?

"Is www.blackboard.com ever required for submitting/receiving assignments?" The link you cite is the web site for the company that produces this software. It is one of a number of options available to electronically manage instruction. Colleges, Universities, and school districts purchase and run their own BlackBoard sites. I teach at a regional college/university (not too much PII, if you know what I mean) and I use BlackBoard extensively. It's a good tool, and that's all it is. Is this merely a "placebo" question meant to assure the reader that your questions are unbiased, or do you think BlackBoard is involved in some sort of conspiracy. The only conspiracy I could see them in is trying to hold down the market share of SchoolTool.

"Is scientific history taught?" What in the world do you mean by this? Do you mean the history of science -- I don't think so, but I had to ask. Are you referring to methods such as historiography? Or are you suggesting that there is a brand of history that uses "scientific" methods to ferret out the truth of what really happened. History is a liberal art, not a science. As such it will always be subjective and interpretive. You might be horrified to learn that there is one "group" that unabashedly used the term "scientific history" to describe methods to be applied in its study -- Marxists. Karl Marx regularly wrote of using pure, scientific criticism to expose the "truth" of history.

"Academic life is negatively affected by school sponsored feminist groups, racial pride groups, sexual deviancy groups, etc...?" You are committing the fallacy of the loaded question here. This completely invalidates any response you may get. That being said, I'll answer in as unbiased a way as possible.

Anyone involved in Academic Life knows full well that knowledge grows through the healthy competition of ideas. Anyone challenged by a "school sponsored ...sexual deviancy groups" had better examine their own counterarguments. Odd that so many tout the wisdom of the free market economically, but are threated by the intellectual free market.

profess-

Grow up. You have demonstrated why "academic life" is where the corrupt retire.

To "as the saying goes"

Please explain what is corrupt about the professor's post. He is correct on many points.

Obviously I can't speak for all teachers, but my responses are based on the norm at my middle school.

-Is 'showing your work' emphasized in mathematics?
yes
-Is memorization of mathematical shortcuts emphasized?
sometimes
-Is the 'Jewish Holocaust' taught?
yes
--Is the movie, 'Schindler's List' shown?
no
--Is 'The Diary of Anne Frank' required reading?
yes
-Is finance or economics taught as part of the core curriculum? as an elective?
yes, financial literacy is taught in 8th gr math and civics and the kids go to "finance park"

--Is running laps mandatory/not a part of/optional in gym class?
mandatory unless doctor's note, etc
-Does gym class include weight-training?
yes
-Are tests and quizzes ever 'open book'?
rarely
-Is www.blackboard.com ever required for submitting/receiving assignments?
sometimes

-Does the school...
--Have metal detectors? no
--Gamma-ray body scanners? no
--Give drug tests? no
--Have police patrol the hallways? with dogs? our school has one police officer- no dogs
--Search lockers randomly? no
--Hand out condoms? no
--Allow knives in the cafeteria? no
--Allow vitamins or prescription drugs? has to be kept & taken in the school clinic with parent/doc note
--Vend Coke-a-cola - no
--Have a dress code? yes (i.e. no spaghetti straps, fingertip rule) but it's not strictly enforced
--Have wireless internet access in every classroom? yes
--Allow cell phones and/or cell phone use? yes but the phone is supposed to be hidden and turned off during the school day