Math and Science Standards

I feel that many teachers do not understand that standards are not just an outline of content that they need to teach. Standards should be used as a measurment of what students are learning. Parents need to be envolved in knowing what their students are learning and at what level the are at. Are the children mastering each concept or are they only getting parts. Administrators need to understand that by grading and teaching in a standards based environment teaching styles are going to vary from ones they are use to. In math and science I think hands on learning is a must. There is no better way to judge if someone has mastered a concept then to watch them practice and apply it to a real problem. I think that we are coming around to a second wave of interest in math and science. Just like it was in the past with the race for the moon, science and math are now a leading part of our everyday life.