The Vanishing Middle

A Latin teacher shares his recent experience:

As a semi-retired business writer who taught in Detroit 35 years ago, I returned to the classroom because a local high school was unable to replace a Latin teacher who had resigned. I hold an advanced degree in medieval studies and renewed my certification to teach Latin, history, and social studies. Once in class, I witnessed firsthand the politicized atmosphere of today’s factory-style government-monopoly schools.

The following is not shocking:

There were some excellent students, but test scores were not distributed in a bell-shaped curve. It was an “inverted” bell, or bimodal distribution – with scores clumped at the two extremes.

Yup. With a bell curve distribution, teachers would instruct the "middle" of the class where the very smart students got bored and the weak ones would sleep. So, roughly 70% of the students would listen. Now, more than half the class has no clue what's going on. At best, the school is a glorified daycare center; at worst, it's a zoo.