Wednesday, December 13th, 2006

Coldwater teacher: state curriculum too difficult

By William Kincaid
COLDWATER - Sixth-grade students at Coldwater schools are not ready for the subject matter in the state's social studies curriculum, according to middle school teacher Dan Pohlman.
During a presentation for school board members Tuesday night, Pohlman and other social studies teachers said many of the sixth-graders have never heard of the concepts being taught, let alone how to pronounce them.
Pohlman, who is the social studies department chair, said fellow teacher Aaron Weigel is responsible for covering pre-history, ancient cultures, cultural practices, basic economic ideas, reasons for creating government, interaction between countries and citizen rights and participation.
"It's too much for kids," Pohlman said.
He said middle school language arts teacher Judy Bruns addressed the concern at the Dec. 2 Ohio Education Association Representative Legislative Committee Hearing.
"When she brought this up at the hearing, there was unanimous support, and she was assured by an Ohio Education Standards Board member that because of testing standards, the necessity for this change has already been addressed and that he expects the change to evolve over the next couple of years," Pohlman said.
Superintendent Rich Seas said he understands that some students have difficulty with the subjects, as trying to grasp such ancient and unknown cultures is challenging.
Pohlman did not ask board members to make any changes, but was just letting them know the teachers' concerns. Pohlman's presentation was part of an overall discussion on curriculum in the district.
In other news, high school Spanish teacher Tom Giesige said the varsity scholastic bowl team won the MAC tournament on Monday and ended up in second place for the season behind Versailles.
Giesige said the scholastic bowl team's success is a major statement about the education at Coldwater. He also said he has noticed that those who perform the best in scholastic bowl typically love to read and are somehow involved with music.
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It's a perfect way to end a college football career.
Wilmington senior safety Chad Otte finished his college career as a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, signifying the top player in Division III football. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
Celina native Emily Stewart has been appointed city auditor, replacing Pat Smith who retired last month.
Stewart, 32, was chosen by Democratic Party members from among 11 applicants to fill the remaining 13 months of the unexpired four-year term. Stewart has agreed to run for the office next year.
MENDON - The town's zoning board is involved in a dispute over subdivision regulations, even though that group has no jurisdiction over such issues.
The state's smoking ban was discussed at Tuesday night's Parkway school board meeting with members deciding to continue the district's current smoking policy with the exception of athletic events.
MENDON - Village council members handled a number of routine items at Tuesday's regular monthly meeting, but will need more members present to proceed with bigger issues.
NEW BREMEN - The cost of salt for two different purposes topped the council's meeting agenda Tuesday night.
Council happily accepted a bid of $53.75 per ton for road salt from North American Salt Co. The price is within 2 cents of the previous price.
WAPAKONETA - County board of election officials are in line for salary increases following Tuesday's board of governors' meeting.
Effective Jan. 1,
Open house for the public will be Dec. 23 at the new business
NEW BREMEN - Rindler Automotive, a locally-owned dealership specializing in quality used cars, pickup trucks and motorcycles, has opened for business.
Co-owners Jerry and Pat Rindler and Randy and Stacy Rindler, all of New Bremen, have 61 years of combined experience in the automotive business.