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Post by whimdriven on Oct 31, 2007 8:24:10 GMT -5
Whim, so in your humble opinion. You would let it go unchecked and if it happened to be a fire then you would pull the fire alarm on the late side of things. Like I said, all they are doing is teaching to the tests and yes this test is a stupid one since they are giving it to everyone in the school. PSAT should be a voluntary test since not every one is meant for college and it should only be given to seniors if they want to take it. Yes, the principal was stupid in not pulling the fire alarm and it is a stupid test if you are going to risk human life over it. Yeah, but it DIDN'T GO UNCHECKED. It was checked and an opinion was made to handle the situation in a fashion that didn't please the fire marshal. I am positive that the principal weighed all factors before making a final decision and never intended to put anyone in harm's way. Here's a way for the PSAT (which is given to JUNIORS, by the way) to be voluntary: don't send your kid to school that day. Voila! Solved that problem ...
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Post by wildman67 on Oct 31, 2007 8:36:17 GMT -5
In my day at Hixson, we didn't have any PSAT testing done at all.
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Post by whimdriven on Oct 31, 2007 8:41:40 GMT -5
And I think we're all the better "these days" for putting some impetus on learning good test taking skills ...
Life is a test ... Deemphasizing scores is paramount to educational failure.
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Post by CoffeeShooter on Oct 31, 2007 8:42:32 GMT -5
Based on the 911 calls played on the radio there is no case. The school did everything according to protocol.
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Post by kordax on Oct 31, 2007 9:31:10 GMT -5
Easy Kordax ... I might whip out that old stereotype that no smart kids come out of Red Bank because the school supports athletics over academics.
And you wouldn't hurt my feeling one single whit. I met with McCullough (great guy -- great educator) in his offices for a couple of hours before deciding which public skool was going to have a crack at "ruining & wrecking" my kids (based on where we live, Hixson was the "zoned skool" the boys should have attended). I picked Red Bank for one reason: they offered Latin & Hixson didn't -- open enrollment was still available back then as well.
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Post by whimdriven on Oct 31, 2007 9:45:19 GMT -5
Bummer. We had Latin at Hixson High when I was there ... Middle school you mean?
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Post by wildman67 on Oct 31, 2007 10:00:54 GMT -5
McCullough was a joke and he screwed up the class of 85's class song to "we are the world" instead of "Let the Good times Roll" which was voted on my the seniors. He knocked out a Hixson Basketball player in the middle of the game. I know this for a fact because I was one of the guys who set up the equipment for that game and had a buddy of mine do the videotaping of it. I even saw him Deck a 84 member in the cafeteria by the name of David Maynard for doing a prank. While McCollough was at Chatt. State, I reminded him of those incidents. The video tape of that basketball game disappeared shortly afterwards.
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Post by kordax on Oct 31, 2007 10:02:37 GMT -5
If you had Latin when you were there (same time frame as the boys), then my issue was probably with the limited offerings -- I know Latin at Hixson v Latin at Red Bank was my deciding issue. Correct me, but did Hixson offer one or two years of Latin? That might have been my quibble -- Red Bank offered Latin III & IV & my youngest was able to take Latin V with some fancy footwork & a great, go-to-bat-for-the-kid teacher....
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Post by whimdriven on Oct 31, 2007 10:10:41 GMT -5
I believe, same as Spanish III/IV, French III/IV, German III/IV, the Latin III/IV sequence was offered on an "independent study" basis, although there were typically people enrolled for credit for each sequence each semester. But yeah, no enrollment of 25 or more in those classes ...
I took up through Spanish III. I believe one of your sons is just a year older than me ...
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Post by CoffeeShooter on Oct 31, 2007 10:13:03 GMT -5
testing in itself serves a purpose. checks and balances are needed in any institution. however, right now, the focus on testing at all grade levels has become a funding issue as much as a learning issue.
AND, Latin taught at RB but not Hixson?
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Post by kordax on Oct 31, 2007 10:19:35 GMT -5
this educator was hired to think and run the school.
Then the question becomes one of skool system protocol: does the skool system have a formal policy where each principal individually decides whether to evacuate his or her school when a fire is reported or is there a central policy dictating procedure regardless of each principal's predisposition toward safety?
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Post by kordax on Oct 31, 2007 10:22:26 GMT -5
I believe one of your sons is just a year older than me ...
That one (the Latin V guy) is featured in the current CityScope Mag -- he lives in DC & they did a feature on former Chattanoogans who live & work in the political nerve center of the nation ....
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Post by whimdriven on Oct 31, 2007 10:31:10 GMT -5
Accessible online? Link?
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Post by CoffeeShooter on Oct 31, 2007 10:33:04 GMT -5
the charges are dropped !! there was a brief report in today's paper that there was another false alarm at the school and they did evacuate the building. (someone smelled smoke.)
anyone know how old that building is? it has been there as long as i can remember.
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Post by whimdriven on Oct 31, 2007 10:36:36 GMT -5
I think most of the original structure was finished in 1968ish(?) ... The "freshman" wing was added in the 90s. The band wing was finished in the 70s sometime.
I think all these times are right. I'd have to ask my mom ...
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Post by wildman67 on Oct 31, 2007 10:58:07 GMT -5
I believe it was in 1967 when Hixson High opened up. Both domes were built at the same time one for the gym and surrounding classrooms and the other is the classroom dome. You are right about the freshman section Whim, it was built back in the mid 90's. There was talk about the new addition being built back in 85.
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Post by CoffeeShooter on Oct 31, 2007 13:48:38 GMT -5
what about the original school? or was there one? surely there was one. the original central high is where mccallie school is now. seems like riverside aka CSAS was central once?
see guys, my issue with all of this is that with smaller, neighborhood schools so much more could be accomplished. the schools are just so big now that an administrator is required etc etc etc .. have you ever seen Ridgeland in North GA? it is insane how big that campus is. the first call I ever had to go to that school (for a private mental health team) was in 1998 & it was a zoo .. a great big zoo!!
the smaller, private schools get much better results because of parental involvement & classroom size, not because of more money.
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Post by whimdriven on Oct 31, 2007 13:59:57 GMT -5
The "original" Hixson High looked like a church/shanty thing.
The first graduating class of Hixson High School was the Class of 1909. Most people think of the "original" Hixson High as the "middle school/jr high" building on School Drive ... It is being replaced by a facility right off the present campus.
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Post by 502blue on Oct 31, 2007 14:21:29 GMT -5
My problem with the situation is............the school is too big, for a person with no fire training, to make the call on whether is should be evacuated. There is no choice. You evacuate. PSAT are not a major test, there are no penalties. Also, according to the full 911 tape that I heard, when they asked the asst. principal if there was a fire, she said she believed there may be an electrical one in the walls. When asked if the school had been evacuated, she stated they were waiting on 'what the fire dept wanted to do" WAIT.........she just said they thought they had a fire in the walls. Get out! gessh. There is no second chance on second guessing. You get out, period.
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Post by 502blue on Oct 31, 2007 14:22:19 GMT -5
I do want to add, I believe the punishment was appropriate.
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Post by wildman67 on Oct 31, 2007 14:24:00 GMT -5
The original school was where the girls gym now sets. The front section of the jr high was the original building. They built the Cafeteria in 81. Trust me, lunch before then was just a sandwich and some milk in the girl's gym.
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Post by whimdriven on Oct 31, 2007 14:24:21 GMT -5
The PSAT/NMSQT IS a major test for those who are looking to earn a National Merit Scholarship ... Please stop saying it's "not a major test."
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Post by CoffeeShooter on Oct 31, 2007 14:24:54 GMT -5
My problem with the situation is............the school is too big, for a person with no fire training, to make the call on whether is should be evacuated. There is no choice. You evacuate. PSAT are not a major test, there are no penalties. Also, according to the full 911 tape that I heard, when they asked the asst. principal if there was a fire, she said she believed there may be an electrical one in the walls. When asked if the school had been evacuated, she stated they were waiting on 'what the fire dept wanted to do" WAIT.........she just said they thought they had a fire in the walls. Get out! gessh. There is no second chance on second guessing. You get out, period. you are right .. (dammit) .. but what punishment? i've been busy and not able to fully keep up with this.
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Post by Fredo on Oct 31, 2007 14:28:44 GMT -5
The PSAT/NMSQT IS a major test for those who are looking to earn a National Merit Scholarship ... Please stop saying it's "not a major test." Isn't the PSAT just a pretest for the SAT? It's been a few years, but that's my recollection.
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Post by whimdriven on Oct 31, 2007 14:31:43 GMT -5
It is the Pre-SAT and National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Or "Num-Squat" as my circle called it ...
The most important part is the usage as the NMS qualifier. It is the only way into NMS consideration.
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