I agree that whether the teacher is competent in his math skills is the most important issue. I do not, however, think that that should be the only valid issue. In my mind, for an educator, regardless of subject taught, to send home a note abusing the language arts as badly as that note does sends a message that English simply doesn't matter anymore. "Dumbing down" is completely acceptable and even encouraged. (I'd better stop there - I just went into a rant that belongs on TOF - not here.) I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it yet, but I agree strongly with Suzy that doing nothing is giving silent approval. I'm very bad at confrontations (which is why #2 DS [the one Jan referred to] is now living with his father), but I might be able to manage Meldy's "draft" line. I really appreciate the input, keep it coming! Thanks! BTW - on the topic of "dumbing down," does any one else go nuts every time someone says "bird flu" instead of "avian flu?"

Eandhl, that sounds a little bit like a christmas ornament? Am I visualizing it correctly? Bumblebeeze, Deee, Yes, if you don't have kids youve probably never heard of it but duct tape is big! Thanks for the link. Deee -- all the traditional stuff I can think of, I don't think they will find too exciting. ANd without language skills to give in context, not sure ... Bumblebeez --- beads, great idea!!m ooh and glitter! Maire -- yes, i thought I should do that too. Patty -- I see your point, but perhaps they already do enough of that. ANd frankly it takes more skill to pull that off! At this point, I am thinking I will give my school contact a choice of four from: Origami (my son is really good at this so I think we will def do this) Duct tape pencil flowers (my one daughter has done these and they are cute and functional) Beading Marbleized paper, maybe for bookmarks Snowflakes with glitter Baseball hat painting Thumbprint painting Thanks all!

So I went and read the article... then I read the comments that the editor had received both against and in favor of the no 0 policy. The people who commented in favor of the policy had a good reason, up to a point. Basically, they said that giving the 0 says ok, you got a 0 so you don't have to do the work. They said that instead of giving a 0 the student should be required to complete the work. I'm not a teacher, but I do know that the authority of teachers any more is way to limited and much of the time they do not receive the support they need from the school or from the parents. Here's my question. How in the world is the teacher to 'require' the student complete the work? Apparently they can't use loss of grades (getting the 0) as incentive. They certainly can't physically force the student (potential child abuse issue - and I do agree that teachers shouldn't use physical force on students). Many of the parents aren't going to back them up. How is the school going to back them up? I'm seriously interested in some thoughts on this. Can they make the students stay in the school enough extra hours that the student does the work just to get out of the building? Can they refuse diplomas (might work on Seniors, but I doubt underclassmen are thinking far enough ahead to consider this a real thread)? What are the options to require the students to do the work?

Slight tangent: she has tried for *three* *years* to get a HS history teaching job??!! Oh dear, this has me very worried. My own daughter graduated in May with a history major and secondary teaching certification and her dream is to teach exactly that. She has been shocked and dismayed that although she has been diligently applying all over, even hand carrying personalized application packets directly to schools and has at least had several interviews, she hasn't gotten a job. School starts here a week from Monday and she is feeling devastated...I'm puzzled that the field seems so incredibly difficulty to enter. I didn't dream she wouldn't be hired somewhere by this point. She says once school starts, and she doesn't get a permanent position (which seems likely), she will try to substitute but at this point we're worried nobody will even deign to give her that chance. And she graduated cum laude from a well regarded university! Is it really that tough to get hired as a teacher? Seems all one hears is that the pay is bad, teachers are overworked, disrespected etc, leaving the profession in droves....so why is it impossible to get a job? Semi-facetious, but only semi. Any experience or thoughts welcome. Ann