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Tree hugger much - this is not Shangri-la or Walden's pond. This destruction shows the lack of concern and respect of other's hard work and a loss to the community at large which I guess you don't care about. You want everyone to look through your rose colored glasses.
"Tree hugger." Brilliant. The destruction of the land shows a profound lack of concern and respect for this country. And what "hard work"? The "hard work" of destroying the land? And what "community at large"? The community of people who sold off their land to the company for a quick buck? How about the community of native peoples who've had it with rich white thieves taking and poisoning their land? This has been going on for hundreds of years--just how much of this are they expected to endure? You want everyone to look through your green (as in $$$) colored glasses. Some of us actually love this country and want to protect it from utter destruction and poisoning.
Here's another "tree hugger" for you:
"We have become great because of the lavish use of our resources. But the time has come to inquire seriously what will happen when our forests are gone, when the coal, the iron, the oil, and the gas are exhausted, when the soils have still further impoverished and washed into the streams, polluting the rivers, denuding the fields and obstructing navigation."
"I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us."
"Of all the questions which can come before this nation, short of the actual preservation of its existence in a great war, there is none which compares in importance with the great central task of leaving this land even a better land for our descendants than it is for us."
No, I wanted to know because I wanted to understand the context of what your response would be to what I posted earlier in another thread:
I think much of this is true. Over more than 20 years of teaching, I have seen a significant drop in quality of work/ability in students performing in the top quartile--shockingly so, actually. And I would agree, in particular, with the commentary re the institution of values which regard high standards as being "elitist." I think, however, that the advent of social media has played a significant role, as well (for a variety of reasons). It does not go over well when I state, at the beginning of my classes, that I do not conduct a "politically correct" classroom environment; that the pursuit of learning requires precisely the lack of a "safe space"; that all thoughtful points of view are welcome (as long as mutual respect is maintained among class members); that they are expected to do the work (and do it at a high level); that I do not "give" grades, but that grades are earned, and I have no problem failing a piece of garbage that was clearly thrown together the night before; that if there are more than 4 grammatical errors in an essay assignment, the assignment fails (given their access to Spell-check and the fact that MSWord automatically underlines grammatically problematic sentences, I think this is fair). Needless to say, among the spoiled and lazy, I have the reputation as being a b-word, while among the intellectually curious and devoted students (which includes those who may have inferior skills, nonetheless), I am quite popular (I've even received a letter of thanks from a parent, who was thrilled that his child was challenged). I must also say that many of my colleagues think I am "too hard" on my students. They are wrong.
I think much of this is true. Over more than 20 years of teaching, I have seen a significant drop in quality of work/ability in students performing in the top quartile--shockingly so, actually. And I would agree, in particular, with the commentary re the institution of values which regard high standards as being "elitist." I think, however, that the advent of social media has played a significant role, as well (for a variety of reasons).
Well, the span of the precipitous decline is over a time frame of 50 years. And I'm guessing you didn't notice that article and its analysis was written in 1991. No social media back then. However, there have still been massive declines since then. So much so that an ETS analysis of the latest PIAAC (the OECD's international test of adult's thinking ability, tech problem-solving, math, and literacy skills) finds that American millennials' scores are even lower than American adults' scores were 10 years ago, and are now below average, internationally.
Quote:
"This exam [PIAAC], given in 23 countries, assessed the thinking abilities and workplace skills of adults. It focused on literacy, math and technological problem-solving. The goal was to figure out how prepared people are to work in a complex, modern society.And U.S. millennials performed horribly...
But surely America’s brightest were on top?
Nope. U.S. millennials with master’s degrees and doctorates did better than their peers in only three countries, Ireland, Poland and Spain...The ETS study noted that a decade ago the skill level of American adults was judged mediocre. “Now it is below even that.” So Millennials are falling even further behind."
It does not go over well when I state, at the beginning of my classes, that I do not conduct a "politically correct" classroom environment; that the pursuit of learning requires precisely the lack of a "safe space"; that all thoughtful points of view are welcome (as long as mutual respect is maintained among class members); that they are expected to do the work (and do it at a high level); that I do not "give" grades, but that grades are earned, and I have no problem failing a piece of garbage that was clearly thrown together the night before; that if there are more than 4 grammatical errors in an essay assignment, the assignment fails (given their access to Spell-check and the fact that MSWord automatically underlines grammatically problematic sentences, I think this is fair). Needless to say, among the spoiled and lazy, I have the reputation as being a b-word, while among the intellectually curious and devoted students (which includes those who may have inferior skills, nonetheless), I am quite popular (I've even received a letter of thanks from a parent, who was thrilled that his child was challenged). I must also say that many of my colleagues think I am "too hard" on my students. They are wrong.
Do your classes consist of mixed-ability students? Or are they grouped by skill/ability level?
I think much of this is true. Over more than 20 years of teaching, I have seen a significant drop in quality of work/ability in students performing in the top quartile--shockingly so, actually. And I would agree, in particular, with the commentary re the institution of values which regard high standards as being "elitist." I think, however, that the advent of social media has played a significant role, as well (for a variety of reasons). It does not go over well when I state, at the beginning of my classes, that I do not conduct a "politically correct" classroom environment; that the pursuit of learning requires precisely the lack of a "safe space"; that all thoughtful points of view are welcome (as long as mutual respect is maintained among class members); that they are expected to do the work (and do it at a high level); that I do not "give" grades, but that grades are earned, and I have no problem failing a piece of garbage that was clearly thrown together the night before; that if there are more than 4 grammatical errors in an essay assignment, the assignment fails (given their access to Spell-check and the fact that MSWord automatically underlines grammatically problematic sentences, I think this is fair). Needless to say, among the spoiled and lazy, I have the reputation as being a b-word, while among the intellectually curious and devoted students (which includes those who may have inferior skills, nonetheless), I am quite popular (I've even received a letter of thanks from a parent, who was thrilled that his child was challenged). I must also say that many of my colleagues think I am "too hard" on my students. They are wrong.
Good for you.
Our kids were held to high standards by some of their teachers and ten years later they still admire and appreciate these teachers.
Thank you. Interesting article. My millennial son has his doctorate and we were talking about something similar the other evening. I'm going to pass this along. I'm interested in your take on WHY our scores are so low. (He and his wife are starting to think schools for my granddaughter.)
Thank you. Interesting article. My millennial son has his doctorate and we were talking about something similar the other evening. I'm going to pass this along. I'm interested in your take on WHY our scores are so low. (He and his wife are starting to think schools for my granddaughter.)
I'll refer you back to this post. It explains a lot of what has gone very wrong in our country's public school system, and why:
Keep in mind that Atlantic article was written in 1991, and now we have much more current evidence of the ongoing massive decline in what I posted about how severe millennials' thinking ability and academic skill have declined on the PIAAC in just 10 years.
Also from that WaPo article on millennials' abysmal competency:
Quote:
"Top-scoring US millennials – the 90th percentile on the PIAAC test – were at the bottom internationally, ranking higher only than their peers in Spain. The bottom percentile (10th percentile) also lagged behind their peers."
We're sinking at both ends of the spectrum. Mixed-ability classes and a one-size-fits-all curriculum and pace in our country's public school system, which SJWs insist on in the pursuit of "fairness" and "equality," are actually detrimental to ALL students.
Like I said in my other post, it's the quintessential and most epic failure of the SJW ideology, and it has done irreparable harm to our country.
They typically have tracking and/or selective enrollment public schools. Instruction is much more targeted to meet students' educational needs that way, and everyone ends up learning more.
Home schooled children come from wealthier families then the general population, more 2 parent households, much smaller class sizes, and overall better situations...
It's a night and day difference not even worth comparing between public schooled children and home schooled children.
Quote:
It's also a lot of supplementing outside of school. For example, ever hear of Kumon or Singapore Math?
I have. Then offer those programs for after school in public schools if they work so well since we've cut after school programs across the board over several decades. Bring back those after school programs that we've cut, especially since both/single parents are working more.
My issue with public school is the bloated administrative costs that have ballooned due to so many new school districts.
You deflected, what are other countries doing where they are outperforming us?
Honestly, if red states want to create their own home schools or whatever, that would be fine by me. If they can attract employment based on the education they provide, great. I just ask that I don't have to support them. If they cannot get a job based on whatever education their red state gives them, don't tax me or my blue state for it. It's not our problem what they do to their schools. And no giving them disability because they couldn't find a job, those are our tax dollars too.
You deflected, what are other countries doing where they are outperforming us?
What I posted WAS in response to the question of what other countries are doing differently.
Read:
Quote:
Originally Posted by InformedConsent
Quote:
Originally Posted by okcthunder1945
So do these better performing countries have "School choice" or do they do public education....
They typically have tracking and/or selective enrollment public schools. Instruction is much more targeted to meet students' educational needs that way, and everyone ends up learning more.
I can only say that I am heartened at the possibility of giving families a choice of what school their children go to.
I am, too.
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