The world is flat
01-11-2010 | 07:08 PM
#11
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Mar 2006
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From: KCCO
Me too.
School has become too much of what you're supposed to do, right up through college. Sometimes it seems most people go because everybody else says we're supposed to. Not always, plenty of students want to be there, myself included but probably not as many as one might think. College today is not what it used to be, and nowhere close to worth the money students pay. I had good and bad teachers and the biggest difference was the good ones tried to make it relevant to me. Most just go through the material because they have to and assign some work for you to do. Rinse and repeat for most classes.
A lot of material in school to me just seemed like a bunch of hoops to get through. I will never, ever, in my life need to find the derivative of a function or its asymptotes but for some reason I still had to learn the hows and whys of each mind numbing subject. My girlfriend wants to be a vet, yet has to take a class on beef production - as in how to cut different cuts of meat and take them to market. I felt that probably 85% of what was covered was irrelevant and impractical to everyday life. I know that I will never need much of it in my day to day life.
A lot of it is the students. I hate to say it but we are the "me" generation. I even made a reference to that idea earlier in this post. What is in it for us? Why do I have to learn this? When will I ever use it?
I wish we could go through and change it, but alas, we cannot.
01-11-2010 | 11:20 PM
#14
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How do you think you are going to captivate students attention when they're too busy thinking of Jersey Shore on MTV?
Just saying, you have powerful advertising/media companies vying for students attention versus you talking about the sciences. This country I think is far behind in terms of science and I think the amount of H1B's in the US is example of it. Why are we having to go out of this country to get talent? Because too many folks are content in the US with working in sales or non technical roles.
Just saying, you have powerful advertising/media companies vying for students attention versus you talking about the sciences. This country I think is far behind in terms of science and I think the amount of H1B's in the US is example of it. Why are we having to go out of this country to get talent? Because too many folks are content in the US with working in sales or non technical roles.
01-12-2010 | 02:15 AM
#15
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There is no time allotted in the school for wonder, exploration, and awe. The lesson plan that meets the state standards and approved by the principal is bland and uninspiring.
The classroom requirements are devised by legislators on the state and national level. The same lot that gave us the TSA, burdensome regulations, and other government mandates.
The teachers that grew up in this atmosphere attempt to offer a little more in their daily teachings. The majority of the teachers I work with would be overjoyed at the prospect of actually teaching material that would be interesting to the students. The students sometimes find it difficult to respond because it is different from the daily grind.
The classroom requirements are devised by legislators on the state and national level. The same lot that gave us the TSA, burdensome regulations, and other government mandates.
The teachers that grew up in this atmosphere attempt to offer a little more in their daily teachings. The majority of the teachers I work with would be overjoyed at the prospect of actually teaching material that would be interesting to the students. The students sometimes find it difficult to respond because it is different from the daily grind.
01-12-2010 | 04:22 AM
#17
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Joined: Mar 2006
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From: KCCO
Sounds like a large part of the problem. In my mind, wonder, exploration and awe are all part of how the mind learns. School should be a place that encourages all 3 on a daily basis, with teachers like Rebuilt who try and do so.
01-12-2010 | 06:01 AM
#18
Libertarian Resistance
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,057
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From: 757 FO
This is just a vent about the lamentable downward spiral of the educational process in the country today.
I taught 8th grade science class and had approximately 100 students through the day. They had been studying motion and acceleration for the past week.
To make the lesson interesting, I showed each class the video of Apollo 15 astronaut Dave Scott dropping a hammer and feather simultaneously that both landed on the surface at the same time. It was a demonstration of forces, gravity, acceleration, and mass.
I also discussed the gravitational forces on the earth, moon, asteroids, and the Space Shuttle. Escape velocities for each of these was talked about and how on the smaller objects a student could easily launch themselves into space.
Forces required cause an airplane to takeoff and reach high altitudes and great speeds along with requirements of rockets to leave earth were talked about and shown with pictures and models.
I might as well have been talking to the fire extinguisher on the wall. No response, feedback, questions, or signs of interest on their faces. Their only interest was completing the assignment because that is what they are suppose to do in school. What in the heck is the teacher talking about? Being excited or intrigued about a subject is not in the curriculum.
Given the interest I see causes me to wonder that if this same group were around along time ago, we would still be living in caves hitting each other over the head with clubs to take what we want, or we would still believe the earth is flat.
I taught 8th grade science class and had approximately 100 students through the day. They had been studying motion and acceleration for the past week.
To make the lesson interesting, I showed each class the video of Apollo 15 astronaut Dave Scott dropping a hammer and feather simultaneously that both landed on the surface at the same time. It was a demonstration of forces, gravity, acceleration, and mass.
I also discussed the gravitational forces on the earth, moon, asteroids, and the Space Shuttle. Escape velocities for each of these was talked about and how on the smaller objects a student could easily launch themselves into space.
Forces required cause an airplane to takeoff and reach high altitudes and great speeds along with requirements of rockets to leave earth were talked about and shown with pictures and models.
I might as well have been talking to the fire extinguisher on the wall. No response, feedback, questions, or signs of interest on their faces. Their only interest was completing the assignment because that is what they are suppose to do in school. What in the heck is the teacher talking about? Being excited or intrigued about a subject is not in the curriculum.
Given the interest I see causes me to wonder that if this same group were around along time ago, we would still be living in caves hitting each other over the head with clubs to take what we want, or we would still believe the earth is flat.
Public school or Private school?
WW
01-12-2010 | 06:09 AM
#19
Flying Farmer
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,160
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From: Turbo-props' and John Deere's
I got a message from our high-school intern that looked worse than this one. I do allow him to contact me through facebook, which I probably shouldn't, but it is an easy way for us to let him know what to do. Anyways, I kindly let him know that regardless of the media he uses to communicate with, he needs to use proper spelling and not text-type.
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