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.

 

lmao! get real u dinasor! i just watched a speical on you ww2 geezers n history class and all i can say is i'm glad i m livin in 2days time. puleeze!

 

I had you in class last week. Didn't I give you detention?

 

Rebuilt -

This country is totally screwed.

 

hmm as far as that detention im thinkin u r confuzin me with sombosy else as i am a model sutudent. but if it wuz me im wanting u 2 kno i lernt my lesson. so no more detention necessary. lol. plus i came off kinda harsh on geezers erlier so my bad. sorry.
i apologize 4 bad spelling and puntuation as i am' typing this on my i-phone and driven right now.
laterz.

 

Weren't you being a little hard on the Beaver?

 

Rebuilt- keep up the effort. Last time we spoke about this topic I think that most of our readers concluded that We're doomed if this represents the future of education in America... myself among them.

 

Most school children these days are not being taught this type of subject matter in our classrooms. Those topics that you listed that you talked about are prerequistes to classes such as calculus, physics (quantum), trig, math analysis and the like. We are not at the top of heap when it comes to academic achievement. I'm not saying that we don't have students that reach this level; it's just that we don't have as many as we'd like to believe.



atp

 

If it makes you feel any better, I'd have been interested.

 

I still can't get over the fact that I've been lied to by those dang teachers who kept insisting that the world is round. All these years I've been carrying this strange notion with me and never knew I would not fall off the edge of the earth. I mean, I was really afeared of disappearing over the horizon and that's why I never walked too far.