We received\u00a0\u00a0a comment from a citizen about PC CAPS. She said, “My son is a ‘square peg in a round hole’ when it comes to school. All of his teachers lament how incredibly bright he is, yet the standard classes with busy work bore him senseless and he struggles with grades. PC CAPS doesn\u2019t have a GPA requirement, so it is open to ALL students, which is great for those who are struggling and might want to explore the professional world to see if somewhere that they could flourish…I think we need more programs like CAPS for students who don\u2019t learn by sitting in a classroom.”<\/p>\n
I have heard similar comments from many parents about their kids in Park City. \u00a0What I think this commenter is saying is that school is broken for her child. This somewhat ties into what another citizen said when she recommended watching Sir Ken Robinson’s video<\/a> on why our entire educational system is broken. Our commenter\u00a0seems to be looking at PC CAPS as THE\u00a0alternative, because it is\u00a0one of the only alternatives to traditional school in our school system.<\/p>\n What I have\u00a0wondered for a while, though, is whether our schools our taking the wrong approach\u00a0when looking at standardized tests and that focus impacts the very students they are trying to help. For instance, the SAGE standardized test results came out and\u00a0Park City’s results were bad (as were most schools). Our High School math results hovered at somewhere between abysmal (39% proficient in secondary math II) to failing (50% proficient in Secondary Math III). Out of this came a decision by our school system to double down, and come hell or high water, improve the scores. I get it. When you want\u00a0to not only be the best school district in\u00a0the state, but the best school district in the country you want metrics to prove it. Yet that strategy seems to be failing a number of kids.<\/p>\n We already know that we have one of the better\u00a0school districts in the state. Our teachers (on average) are the highest paid in the state. It stands to reason that we therefore get the best\u00a0and brightest educators available. Do\u00a0I, as a parent, want\u00a0them to teach to some standardized test? No, I want teachers to use their creativity to engage students. When I took calculus I learned to calculate the area underneath a curve. When I complained, “when will I ever use this?” the answer was always, “probably never” but it\u00a0will teach you to think. And it did teach me to think — and no I haven’t used it.<\/p>\n In the case of Park City schools, instead of trying to get our standardized test scores up, should we say “who cares”? Should we focus on creatively educating our students? Should we not depend on an hour of PC CAPS twice a week for the last few years of school as the alternative for kids who need a different experience?<\/p>\n I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have a PHD in education. I don’t teach in schools and am not an educator. So, am I even qualified to ask these questions? I’m sure However, I am the guy who wants to hire your kid as a software engineer when they graduate, or get their GRE, or they decide to be the next\u00a0Sean Parker<\/a>\u00a0when they are 16. So, I\u00a0have a huge\u00a0vested interest in your kid’s\u00a0outcome but\u00a0perhaps a less vested interest in how they get there. What I hate to see is wasted talent or worse yet talent that has been squelched. It sounds like, in some\u00a0cases,\u00a0the latter is happening.<\/p>\n Would a start be offering a different kind\u00a0of Dual Immersion? Today’s Dual Immersion is based around becoming fluent in a foreign language during your child’s formative years. I think I heard that at the end of the dual immersion program at Park City schools, kids would\u00a0only be 30 hours away from a college minor in their language. Uhhh…really is that a benefit? Again, I think the point of the program is likely to make our kids think and expand their brains. If that’s the case, why not offer a different type of dual immersion? One that’s focused on learning and creativity. One that provides the experience necessary to succeed in the real world and not just compete\u00a0on Jeopardy.<\/p>\n Park City has always been known as a leader in education in Utah. Perhaps it should use a little of that influence to provide alternatives to some of our brightest, but most bored, students.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nsome<\/del>\u00a0many\u00a0would say no.<\/p>\n