Dear Highly Ranked High School,

Well, it sure has been a bang-up year in the math department. We started with an arrest of a teacher because he was a sexual predator. Everyone rallied around him because he was "so popular" among the students. Yes, hmm. Sexual predators do have a way of ingratiating themselves with their prey.

Moving right along, we have the teacher who videotapes lectures in the morning so that the afternoon class can benefit from his wisdom without his actual presence. Great!

Then a math teacher suffered a nasty repetitive strain injury and was out for six weeks, starting in early January. During this time, the subs focused on such tasks as their smartphones and their knitting, but no one actually, you know, taught anything. The knitting sub told the kids that "honors students can teach themselves." There was not a single official communication from the school about any of this, and emails were ignored.

Finally, in early March, the kids were handed an online system. They were expected to complete the whole course in the last three months of school, including the stuff they'd covered before Christmas. Never mind that they spent six weeks watching a sub knit, either. You have three months. Do it all. Go.

In April, it became clear that the real teacher wouldn't be back in even a semi-meaningful way, given that even minor use of a computer causes severe pain.

And, naturally, this person will be teaching computer science next year. She announced this fact herself on one of her rare days in class.

Well, there you are.

Signed,

Someone who wonders, if this is a highly ranked high school, what do the bad ones look like?

(If anyone can top bottom this one, I'll cry with you.)

Last edited by Val; 05/29/14 10:33 AM.