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On the bold - children are naturally interested in learning. They may not want to learn the "boring" stuff that gets taught in school, but a great teacher can use the interest of the children and make most boring subjects a little less boring.
FWIW even though my mom is an educator today, this is actually her 3rd career. She was a teen mom on welfare when I was born. She drank a lot and worked a lot when she was in her 20s. She never came to parent teacher conferences, never checked up on my homework, nothing really. She nor my dad (who was very present in my life even though my parents were not married) did much of anything to make me "interested in learning."
I just was a child who loved to learn and especially who loved to read. We often had our utilities off in our home when I was a child and in the summers especially, I remember walking or riding our bikes to the library (which was about 3/4 of a mile from our house) and getting there when they opened and staying there until they closed. We did this everyday because the library had lights and air conditioning. I also participated in the reading challenges they had every summer. I used to read 8 and sometimes 20 books in one day because I'd read a lot of short books. I normally won the summer reading challenge nearly every year due to this. My mom never took me to the library. I wanted to go and I made my brother go with me.
I got all As in school. No one really made me interested in getting As. I just liked to be the best I could be. No one taught me this. My older brother was similar and we often competed with each other about all sorts of things including foot races and how fast we could read how fast we could recite math facts, etc. Most kids, if you sit and observe them, love learning and they will constantly find a way to learn what they are interested in and they will be competitive about things that are important to them.
If so, there’s no problem. We don’t even need teachers, books are free in the library and kids can read on their own.
Why is it odd? Other factors weigh in. How long have your friends been teachers, for example? How many of the higher paid teachers have advanced degrees? In addition, teachers who double as coaches can make $120K in the high school my kids attended. This will raise the average.
Average salary is just that. You'll always find people at both ends of the spectrum.
I said it was odd because a previous poster (in response to me saying my friends as NYC teachers do not make high salaries) sent a link from NYC public schools saying that teachers with masters START at 81,000. I checked both my friends salaries online (its public) and both of them with MASTERS make 60,000 and 64,000. So nowhere near what NYC claims as the starting salary for teachers with Masters. They have been working in the same schools for 8 years and 10 years, respectively.
Nobody hurt me. I was resentful at the time but I am happy that my parents helped me to focus on useful things and not waste my time with extra curricular activities. I was able to graduate from high school, college and then graduate school.
I don’t want anybody to suffer. I believe everyone should choose their own path in life as long as they are willing to suffer the consequences and they don’t force others to pay for their choices.
Why would you think extra curricular activities are a waste?
I have a teenager today. He was getting some crappy grades last year because he just didn't want to do work (he thinks since he's smart, he shouldn't have to do work to prove how smart he is lol) but when he was told that if his GPA wasn't higher this year he wouldn't be able to participate in the sports he likes, he actually started getting average to good grades.
Sometimes the extra-curriculars is what is keeping kids at school.
Also, some kids like I was when I was in jr. high and high school especially, they have some tough situations at home and having those extra curriculars at school gave them a safe place to be when they didn't want to go home due to tough or abusive situations occurring at home. I often felt more safe at school than at home and in high school, I usually didn't get out of school until 7pm or 8pm due to the activities I was involved in.
You seem to really have a narrow view about the lives and experiences of other people and what motivates them. Everyone is not like you or like me and different things you may see as useless or a waste are what is keeping kids on a positive path in life.
If so, there’s no problem. We don’t even need teachers, books are free in the library and kids can reach on their own.
Yep. Abraham Lincoln was an autodidact. Virtually everyone in my family is an autodidact, as well, even though we did still go through the mandatory steps required to acquire college degrees. Even Hollywood got on board with the concept in Good Will Hunting.
Why would you think extra curricular activities are a waste?
I have a teenager today. He was getting some crappy grades last year because he just didn't want to do work (he thinks since he's smart, he shouldn't have to do work to prove how smart he is lol) but when he was told that if his GPA wasn't higher this year he wouldn't be able to participate in the sports he likes, he actually started getting average to good grades.
Sometimes the extra-curriculars is what is keeping kids at school.
Also, some kids like I was when I was in jr. high and high school especially, they have some tough situations at home and having those extra curriculars at school gave them a safe place to be when they didn't want to go home due to tough or abusive situations occurring at home. I often felt more safe at school than at home and in high school, I usually didn't get out of school until 7pm or 8pm due to the activities I was involved in.
You seem to really have a narrow view about the lives and experiences of other people and what motivates them. Everyone is not like you or like me and different things you may see as useless or a waste are what is keeping kids on a positive path in life.
Because extra curricular activities aren’t part of my graduation exams.
If so, there’s no problem. We don’t even need teachers, books are free in the library and kids can reach on their own.
Not all kids are interested in reading.....
Please see comment above. Everyone is not like me or like you.
My own kid doesn't like to read much. He is interested in various sorts of technology and art and he has been making movies since he was 8 years old.
I have a nephew who is autistic, he hates reading but is into mechanics - all sorts of mechanical things. His dad has taught him a lot about fixing cars and he can work better on vehicles than a lot of mechanics and he's only 12. His teachers at school use his fascination with cars and planes and tanks and mechanical things to incorporate those into his education. He is more likely to read something about cars than about dogs for instance.
But honestly, I think you just want everyone to do everything to you want them to do. and think like you think. The world would be boring and cruel if that were the case.
And not all kids end up playing basketball as well as LeBron. That's how a meritocracy works. What we should have in public education is a meritocracy, NOT a let's dumb the smart kids down so the low-achievers aren't at so much of a disadvantage pedagogy/educational philosophy.
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