More Curriculum Questions

Since the state of Michigan has decided to increase "college prep" requirements in the curriculum, what were the expected benefits? I am hearing of schools trying to get math credit for drafting work done in autoshop class. Hmmm. That might be a better idea for those students who are not planning to go to college, so why is the state involved at this level? Is it just a good political sound byte gone bad when implemented?

Another curriculum question: How does a teacher decide how much material to cover in a given course? For a science class, the whole list of state subject learning objectives is clearly out of reach for a two-semester class, but how much is right? I have noticed a couple of large segments of students. One segment is bored because the pace is too slow and another segment seems to be struggling just to keep a positive interest in learning. So far I have not found the ideal middle students. I will look closer for this middle group that is learning and engaged and for whom the pace seems just about right.