No Surprise Here

Since school districts all around the country, and especially Title I schools, provide little instruction beyond reading and math in order to conform to the ridiculous requirements of NCLB and RTTT, it is no wonder science is being relegated to the fringe of student learning.

Never mind science can be so beneficial in the early years and kids ENJOY it.

I won't even mention social studies, handwriting, art, P.E., and all of the rest that have been junked.

It's all deliberate, of course, in order to create a permanent underclass to serve their "betters."

After doing a long Google search, I found the press release and the full report, which the paper didn't link:

Lawrence Hall of Science


Snip:

Intense pressure to meet accountability goals in mathematics and English is limiting time for science, and teachers and schools do not have the infrastructure support needed to consistently provide students with quality science learning opportunities. Forty percent of elementary teachers say they spend just 60 minutes or less teaching science each week. Just one-third of elementary teachers say they feel prepared to teach science, but 85 percent of teachers say they have not received any professional development in science during the last three years. And while nine in ten principals say science education is very important and should start early, less than half of principals (44%) believe it is likely that a student would receive high-quality science instruction in his or her school.

“Children in California’s elementary schools rarely have the opportunity to engage in high-quality science learning because the conditions that would support such opportunities are rarely in place,” says Dr. Rena Dorph, a researcher at the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley. “Analysis of our elementary teacher survey data suggests that high quality science learning opportunities are only available in about 10% of California elementary school classrooms on a regular basis.

Teachers have to pay for supplies themselves. It's bad for public ed teachers, but try private school. It is even worse. I had to CREATE a second-grade curriculum because the school's books were hopelessly outdated. Thank God I had a great mentor in a fellow second grade teacher who taught for over 30 years and knew exactly what the kids needed to learn.