Is the APS School Board out of touch?

APS Board Members, on occasion, say things that make one wonder if they really know what's going on in schools.

At the meeting where the eCADEMY was being discussed, Board Member Lorenzo Garcia raised questions about whether students will learn how to debate ideas.
“The challenge with this kind of setup is there isn’t an opportunity for debate.  There isn’t an opportunity to kind of practice interactions with other peers, to be able to put forward one’s thinking and then have some opportunity to kind of filter that through the way other people think that may be different."
I am wondering if Garcia believes that an average student, sitting in a desk in one of five rows of six desks, spends a lot of time putting forth their ideas and debating them with other students.

The truth is, they don't, and Garcia's concern that online students will be missing out on something that regular students get, is simply misguided.

Board members could get in touch is they really wanted to.  They could substitute teach for a couple of days every year.  The same experience would benefit administrators who themselves may not have had to maintain order in a classroom for many years.

They will miss the whole point of the experience if they arrange to substitute in an Honors English class.




photo Mark Bralley

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