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I expect this kind of nonsense from you. Apparently left handers have no problem with teachers who can't speak english teaching their children. Go figure. All that multiculturalism they are told to follow of course they can't raise a wimper.
One of the reasons kids can't read is due to the fact that phonics is no longer taught in the early grades like it use to be so kids aren't taught the tools they need to be able to sound out words. It makes reading a lot tougher when you encounter a new word and can't even figure out how to sound it out.
Years ago I was helping a child that was having problems reading, when he got to a word didn't know he had no idea how to "sound it out", this made reading much harder.
Remember the hit reading help program "Hooked on phonics" ? That programs material is exactly how us older folks learned to read, it was nothing new or revolutionary.
Once a person becomes reasonably fluent with reading he or she can read things that have really bad grammar and/or spelling.
As an education major she may not have taken Bio major biology and chemistry. She could have taken the one semester/one quarter college chem and college bio which is very different from general chemistry and general biology (full year sequences, same topics, just MORE in depth for a bio/chem major). I advised Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology/Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology for over 8 years.
I know that's true at my college as well unless you go for your high school cert. People are surprised when I start listing classes I had to take. Cell Biology, Genetics, Physiology, Applied Microbiology, and a few others. I failed a math class back in high school and am now certified to teach it along with Biology and Chemistry. I tend to think we (folks who had trouble back in school) bring something different to the table. We have been there, we know from experience what causes a student to fall behind or fail, and we know better ways to approach such situations other than how a book might describe.
I know that's true at my college as well unless you go for your high school cert. People are surprised when I start listing classes I had to take. Cell Biology, Genetics, Physiology, Applied Microbiology, and a few others. I failed a math class back in high school and am now certified to teach it along with Biology and Chemistry. I tend to think we (folks who had trouble back in school) bring something different to the table. We have been there, we know from experience what causes a student to fall behind or fail, and we know better ways to approach such situations other than how a book might describe.
I worked in the Math dept before Bio and the vice chair of the dept told me a story about when he was in high school. He stunk at math and got pretty poor grades UNTIL he went to college. He then discovered he was good at calculus (and subsequent courses) and enjoyed it. He went on to earn a PhD in Mathematics and ended up being the vice chair and then chair.
I expect this kind of nonsense from you. Apparently left-handers have no problem with teachers who can't speak English teaching their children. Go figure. All that multiculturalism they are told to follow of course they can't raise a whimper.
It would depend on what the subject matter was, if it wasn't a language based class why would it matter if the person has an accent as long as they could be understood, there are English speaking people from Ireland that the average person not from there would have trouble understanding.
In HS, my World History teacher was from Sierra Leone so he had an accent, after about the first week of class the accent was gone as far as my hearing was concerned.
I am not sure what your point is but, I failed Algebra in HS but in College I got As through Calculus.
I taught a student who was a mediocre student in my math class (at best) and got an 810 on his SATs (back in 1986). He went to community college and became a nurse - much to my surprise. When I saw him at his 10 year reunion, he was in medical school and now, 26 years after high school, he is a prominent pediatrician.
Some students know exactly where they are going in life and are on course from an early age; others take a while. High school grades are often not an accurate indicator of future success.
Do you listen to the radio and books on tape as well? There are also some wonderful lectures on-line on YouTube you can listen to.
I have never listened to a book on tape, but I've thought about it. I've listened to various lectures and educational shows on CSpan and other places on TV.
Being a poor reader makes it difficult to move into higher education, although perhaps it is easier these days. And that's if you have the grades to get in. In my case I pondered my life's course as a person who had to chose from a rather small list of blue colllar jobs. I asked myself, How can I best enjoy my life given that my vocation will likely not provide me with overwhelming self-satisfaction. First just asking one's self such a question, followed by deciding openmindedly on the answer, and then actually following that decision, can be the difference between a life of bitterness or a life of contentment.
Oy, to the OP - I can't tell you how many elementary school teachers I have known who speak grammatically incorrectly.
One woman had an MA in Education and was in an ESL class with me, and she persisted in saying "would have" when the past perfect "had" was necessary. For example, "If only I would have done my homework," instead of the proper "If only I had done my homework." Worse, she spelled it "would of," revealing that she didn't even understand the contraction of "would have" is spelled "would've." I tear my hair out over these kinds of things.
Listen to some of the younger news anchors and journalists and you will see the same embarrassing nonsense. I've taken to writing news channels and calling it to the manager's attention. It is simply unacceptable.
My other pet peeve is the use of "awesome" and "cool" by anyone over the age of sixteen. I just watched a local news anchor do a story in which she repeatedly referred to the incident as "cool." UGH!
This is why my children will be homeschooled and taught by private tutors in those subjects I cannot teach.
I don't know about reading but I have noticed that kids in stores have less then second grade arithmetic skills. If I add some change and a large bill (or next up dollar) to avoid a pocket full of change, they get entirely perplexed, have no idea what's going on. Example: Rung up a total of $4.46 cents. I gave the kid a 10 dollar bill and a penny (to get rid of pennies, get it? ). He gave me 5 dollars and 54 cents back (including the penny I gave him). Been seeing this a lot lately. These (high school) kids have absolutely no sense of numbers. This stuff should be second nature. Was to me when I was their age and working at a gas station (almost all cash transactions in those days).
No computers or calculators should be allowed in classrooms til 7th grade.
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