Dispatches from the education front. In West Virginia, the soft bigotry of lowered expectations takes root. School officials in Marshall County may stop requiring students to complete their homework:
Bonnie Ritz, director of curriculum and instruction, said administrators have discussed a policy that would not penalize students for failing to do their homework. The idea is that students who do their homework would improve their grades, but students not doing the work would not see grades suffer as a result. She said the concept grew out of concerns that some students in the county don't have sufficient help or resources at home.
And in New York City, Mayor Bloomberg wants President Obama to know he's on board with the call to service. A new plan will, among other things, require schools to provide the city's 1.1. million school children with community service "opportunities."
Unlike the state of Maryland or the cities of Chicago and Los Angeles, the mayor's plans will not make community service a graduation requirement.
Well, it might as well. No student will be able to get out of school without "volunteering" anyway. The invividual has value only as part of the group. Let's just keep pounding that in until they get it. And, if they should find themselves alone occasionally, stuck in a room with homework, well, not to worry. It's OK. You don't have anything to prove, kid.
