You might want to take a gander at the Independent Curriculum Group
(www.independentcurriculum.org), which is largely comprised of schools
that have eschewed or are thinking about jettisoning Advanced Placement
programs. The group is shifting its focus away from being "anti-AP" to
being more about providing a forum and a gathering place for educators and
schools interested in good curriculum design and thoughtful, intentional
teaching.
Lest those who are preparing to pounce here do so, let me say that some AP
teachers and AP courses are models of independent, thoughtful,
provocative, and innovative excellence, inspiring students and doing
everything that great curriculum and great pedagogy should do.
Anyhow, check out the ICG if you're interested. The organization is new
and just beginning to gather momentum around a more affirmative purpose,
so there isn't a whole lot "going on" at the moment. Next fall the ICG
hopes to sponsor a series of forums (or fora, I guess, but it looks funny
even to this old Latin teacher) around the country. There is also a rather
quiet Ning at http://independentcurriculum.ning.com/
And I am TOTALLY and wholeheartedly with Ross as to the outrageous amount
of free labor the CB (and the ACT, to be fair) extracts from teachers and
schools (many of whom can ill afford it in this economy) to serve and
service its testing machinery. What does it cost the average large public
school to keep the building open, pay utilities and security, and manage
various office functions around a single test Saturday? I know that
proctors and supervisors receive a stipend, but I don't imagine the CB or
ACT are paying the police and the buildings & grounds folks or the
electric bill or the IT folks who are de-functionalizing the computers for
the accommodated kids. (Do the tax-exempt CB and ACT write thank-you notes
to the taxpayers in our communities?)
Well, then...
Cheers--Peter Gow
Peter Gow
Director of College Counseling and Special Programs
Beaver Country Day School
791 Hammond Street
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467
www.bcdschool.org
617-738-2755 (O)
617-738-2747 (F)
petergow3 (Skype)
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