Phonics is for the little kids. In the middle and high schools, the emphasis is on "differentiation". Administrators don't seem to care whether or not kids are learning, but only that teachers can show that the lessons target specific subgroups of children and that teachers used data to plan their instruction. Unfortunately, no one seems quite sure what this means and the results can vary greatly. It's a huge source of stress and frustration for most teachers.

Aside from differentiation, the other major changes in the high schools has been the relentless pressure on teacher to pass a higher percentage of their students.

Differentiation and grade inflation and the fear that your school will be closed if you don't play the numbers-fixing game. That has what Klein has meant to high school teachers.

No one seems to write about these issues.

Was it necessary for Gen. Grove to understand Special & General Relativity?

More of the same nonsense from the same people who are responsible for the deterioration of public education.I attended public schools in Philadelphia for 12 years,graduated from Overbrook HighSchool,graduated University of Pennsylvania,and then went on to graduate schoolin Medicine!High school was black,Italian,jewish,Irish,Polish---all getting along without problems!College,no problems,medical school no problems!!!!Penn was 1000.00 per year,Medical school 750.00 per year! Now,college 57,000.00 per year,Medical school,250,000.00 over 4 yrs.What the hell has happened to the country?Today the Supreme Court of California decided that it was appropriate for ILLEGAL aliens in the state to attend state colleges for the same fees as in-state students--as long as they attended three years of high school in California!!!!PLEASE explain this irrationality to me!!!!!!!!