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I’d probably be labeled a “liberal” by most. But I don’t think dumbing down the school system is beneficial for anyone. That’s just stupid. The students will be the victims of this. They will be stuck in minimum wage jobs for life.
These aren't "liberals"-the are leftist-progressives or communists of you prefer.
Or bored. I was bored, a lot. Standing in front of me and droning on for a half an hour does not spark even a little interest in me, especially when I have already fully grasped the subject.
What schools continue to fail to understand is:
People learn in different ways.
People learn at their own pace. Some learn things far faster than their peers. If the course doesn't challenge them, they stop paying attention.
The more creative the teacher/instructor, the more the students will learn. If you make it interesting, they will be interested.
Until they figure that out, nothing will change.
I excelled in English classes because my own mother made me love reading when I was 4-5 years old.
I'm the kid who enjoyed 1984 (got some of it, but not all of it, was only 10 years old.)
I loved 'Lord of the Flies'. Wasn't too long for me. 'Anna Karenina' was fantastic...well, till the end, but you know what I mean.
Catch-22, Catcher in the Rye, The Grapes of Wrath, Animal Farm, Atlas Shrugged...I could go on for a very long time. I loved them all. I had to read some again as an adult because the child version of me didn't grasp every concept, but because of my mom making me love reading, I've read a ridiculous amount of books in my lifetime - which ultimately helps one ace their English classes with little to no effort.
Science I did really well because it was hands on. That's where I thrive.
Math....I sucked at advanced math. Reason? The instructors sucked. Then, I met someone in college who was sitting on a couch across from me in the lounge. She heard me talking to an acquaintance, asked me what I needed help with, and explained the math to me in 5 minutes - and it clicked. It was how she said it. I needed to know the 'why' of it, and no one ever bothered to tell me 'why'. She did. And then we became best friends, and we went to Denny's all the time to do math. She loved numbers already, I was thrilled that I finally understood it, and could not get enough of doing the problems.
History - boooooooooooring. Until I became an adult and started reading books and watching videos. All of a sudden, it was incredibly interesting.
'One size fits all' doesn't work, yet decade after decade, we continue using the same failed formula.
How could you love Catcher in the Rye? Most trivial, boring, mind-numbing book I've ever read. I understand it's a common read among some notorious murderers and serial killers. I understand why-made ME want to kill someone-preferably the author.
I agree with everything you have posted. We need to push back at the school board, state and Federal levels. While I don't believe in heartless government, we need a bit more of a meritocracy.
The article should say, a small minority of school districts are ditching grades. The media loves to dramatize things and make them sounds like more than what they are.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrPibbs
I think there's more to this story. Alhambra is full of Chinese immigrants who can't speak English. If they get D's and F's they can't get into college.
Maybe. The school is 51% Hispanic/Latino, 43% Asian, 2% White, 1% African American and 2% Two or more races.
Overall, the district might need a better ESOL program. Sounds like many of children are getting to high school without strong English skills.
I’d probably be labeled a “liberal” by most. But I don’t think dumbing down the school system is beneficial for anyone. That’s just stupid. The students will be the victims of this. They will be stuck in minimum wage jobs for life.
Liberals have constantly dumbed down the education system.
Some blue areas have dumbed down teacher certification tests in the name of social justice and diversity.
Having less academically qualified teachers is a step on the road to idiocracy.
Liberals have constantly dumbed down the education system.
Some blue areas have dumbed down teacher certification tests in the name of social justice and diversity.
Having less academically qualified teachers is a step on the road to idiocracy.
When I look at the nonsense coming out of Harvard, the home of the most qualified academics, I wonder if there is an answer at all.
The problem with most teachers is that they are taught by other life-long teachers, most of whom have no experience doing anything but teaching. It's almost incestuous.
Liberals have constantly dumbed down the education system.
Some blue areas have dumbed down teacher certification tests in the name of social justice and diversity.
Having less academically qualified teachers is a step on the road to idiocracy.
Nonsense. Having incompetent teachers is a step on the road to idiocracy.
We need to do away with teacher certification and make it easier to fire teachers who can't or don't do their jobs properly. And make it easier for parents to pick which teacher they want teaching their child.
Teacher certification and tenure just make teaching an insular and incestuous profession.
When our school district adopted some of these policies, I wasn't sure about it.
And now, in retrospect, I see the value.
The goal of the education system is to educate. Not grade. So, when a kid did terribly on a major test they could retake the test for a possible grade of 70. The end result of this second chance was, the kids were actually learning the stuff and not giving up once they got a 45. They weren't making A's, but they were passing, and learning the content.
Redoing work for a better grade is learning.
Back when I was in a classroom, this is how I conducted my classes, for the exact reasons you stated.
1. Tests could be retaken once for full credit. Student would be allowed to choose which test to count (in case the second test was actually worse than the first, which happened on occasion.. lol).
2. I only accepted 100% homework. So if i scored your paper and you got less than 100%, i handed it back to you so that you could correct the wrong answers and turn it back in. The assignment did mot get entered un the grade book until it was at 100%.
3. I only marked CORRECT answers, instead of incorrect ones. And I only used green ink, instead of red. The thought behind this is that students will see all the answers they got correct FIRST, instead of all their mistakes. They STILL had to face their incorrect answers because of #2 above.
4. Whenever a whole class got a D or F on a test, I saw that as MY failure, not theirs. I started enacting short, daily quizzes that were pass/fail, graded immediately as a group, and were on the previous day’s material. It was my way to see if the students were learning the material like I planned. If the majority got certain answers wrong, we quickly re-covered that material to start class, then moved on to new material.
5. The students actually created all the questions for each test… or at least that’s what they thought. One of the study activities we did was to have students come up with 10 test questions and answers on the material for the next test, and I would choose the best ones and credit them on the test. Truthfully, I already knew what was going to be on the test anyway, and just chose the student’s entries that were already asking my preselected questions. More importantly, it showed me what the students thought was the important material to know for each section. If they all seemed to focus their questions on trivial stuff, it alerted me that I was focusing too much attention on that stuff, and needed to reteach the material before giving out the test. Lastly, kids really enjoyed seeing their names by the test questions, which only encouraged them to research more possible test questions.
6. I ALWAYS accepted late work, up until the day I had to turn in grades. My job is to teach, not just keep records. Failing a student because they turned their work in late does nothing to help me or the student.
I have been out of the classroom for at least 15 years now, but if I were ever to return, I would conduct my classes in the same manner.
Let the dumb kids be segregated with their own kind and smart kids with their own kind. Why hold back the smart kids?
Stop worrying about people's feelings.
How is this holding back the smart kids? Lol
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