For the goof suing, I don't know. He seems driven enough (or at least motivated by the need for continuing education) that it really shouldn't be a problem. For Random Kid whose parents don't push him at home to do well, I could see how it would alienate him from the entire school experience. (Isn't this the basic definition of harassment?) If you're always in an atmosphere where you're wrong (even if you're doing the same as others) then why go to the effort to be right? And this will translate into a pitiful work effort later on in life, which really breaks a society. So I think it needs fixing... and not only because following rules and sitting still is inadequate training (IMO) for the real world.
And as for a specific teacher - it's hard to deal with them like that. Tenure is annoying for one (there's a certain kindergarten teacher I know of who Ought To Go and yet hasn't...) and back in high school I think it took the combined efforts of the parents in my class to get our "touchy-feely" guy off the teaching roster.
As for lowering academic standards - well, I'm not the guy in question and I'm hardly arguing that he's right in everything. Yes, the atmosphere needs to be improved for the greater good. But no - pass/fail seems extreme and community service needs to stay. But if you're getting credit for putting on a school play (outside a class) then I accept the argument that participating in school sports (outside of P.E.) should also count.
Oh, and below you asked for specific things that have changed: if I recall the Newsweek article correctly, a teacher admitted that perhaps they needed to expand their assigned reading. According to her, boys just didn't seem to like "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "The Secret Lives of Bees." And I don't blame them - I, who had no trouble reading multiple works of Dostoyevsky, could barely hack those specific books when my book club choose them.
Re: (remcat pointed me - and others - this way :)
And as for a specific teacher - it's hard to deal with them like that. Tenure is annoying for one (there's a certain kindergarten teacher I know of who Ought To Go and yet hasn't...) and back in high school I think it took the combined efforts of the parents in my class to get our "touchy-feely" guy off the teaching roster.
As for lowering academic standards - well, I'm not the guy in question and I'm hardly arguing that he's right in everything. Yes, the atmosphere needs to be improved for the greater good. But no - pass/fail seems extreme and community service needs to stay. But if you're getting credit for putting on a school play (outside a class) then I accept the argument that participating in school sports (outside of P.E.) should also count.
Oh, and below you asked for specific things that have changed: if I recall the Newsweek article correctly, a teacher admitted that perhaps they needed to expand their assigned reading. According to her, boys just didn't seem to like "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "The Secret Lives of Bees." And I don't blame them - I, who had no trouble reading multiple works of Dostoyevsky, could barely hack those specific books when my book club choose them.