tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post113880776604330270..comments2024-03-26T16:03:42.608-06:00Comments on Flares into Darkness: SOTU - Science and Educationambisinistralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03836786826294202405noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1138841924682558792006-02-01T17:58:00.000-07:002006-02-01T17:58:00.000-07:00remember during the campaign all those pics of him...remember during the campaign all those pics of him <A HREF="http://home.earthlink.net/~junk0mai1/Kerry-Bike.jpg" REL="nofollow">riding a bike</A>?buddy larsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17760847873026506988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1138841642634722952006-02-01T17:54:00.000-07:002006-02-01T17:54:00.000-07:00Har! Don't we wish that was 'parody'? (*sob*)Har! Don't we wish that was 'parody'? (*sob*)buddy larsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17760847873026506988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1138838358871366252006-02-01T16:59:00.000-07:002006-02-01T16:59:00.000-07:00'forgivable'. The grounds of dullardness are vasty...'forgivable'. The grounds of dullardness are vasty.buddy larsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17760847873026506988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1138838169053295802006-02-01T16:56:00.000-07:002006-02-01T16:56:00.000-07:00That guy is a piece of work, idn't he. His behavio...That guy is a piece of work, idn't he. His behavior is almost forgivible on grounds of dullardness.buddy larsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17760847873026506988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1138836090173078742006-02-01T16:21:00.000-07:002006-02-01T16:21:00.000-07:00A couple of years ago someone sent me an 8th grade...<I>A couple of years ago someone sent me an 8th grade test from about 1900. I was shocked. It was hard.</I><BR/><BR/>Old textbooks aren't bad, either. We could do worse than throwing out the current batch and using the old ones. In some subjects it would be no loss at all -- arithmetic, reading, and chemistry come to mind. On the other hand, history and geography would need an update.<BR/><BR/><I>To this day I fell like I am going to break out in hives when I have to do long division.</I><BR/><BR/>I knew a fellow from Afghanistan who said his dad would threaten to kill him for low grades -- and that it was a credible threat. He could hardly study for nerves until he got to the US. There is discipline and then there is abject terror.chuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15164145672293455823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1138832137413431902006-02-01T15:15:00.000-07:002006-02-01T15:15:00.000-07:00Google News has this Forbes article pointed out--g...Google News has this <A HREF="http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome.shtml" REL="nofollow">Forbes article</A> pointed out--good details on the SOTU outline:<BR/><BR/>(Malcolm Forbes: <I>"If you don't know what you want to do, you can't do it."</I>buddy larsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17760847873026506988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1138831396015941842006-02-01T15:03:00.000-07:002006-02-01T15:03:00.000-07:00Knuck - S'OK - Lots of tims I don rit two gud so I...Knuck - S'OK - Lots of tims I don rit two gud so I nevir tak a fence wen sum1 doesn't cathc whatever I thought my point was supposed to be.<BR/><BR/>Terrye,<BR/><BR/>The Christian pre-school that I'm involved with interviews parents prior to allowing a child to enroll. If the <I>parent</I> doesn't 'measure up' the kid never darkens the door - something unthinkable in public schools. Qualification for scholarships (to pre-school) is also determined by parent's attitude as well as need. 'Course they're not told that.<BR/><BR/>We have had applications on file from licensed public school teachers wanting to leave the public school system since the expansion project was first mentioned two years ago. In fact, we have at least eight apps for four slots plus an app from a public school principal who desperately wants out. We will offer about 80% of the public school salary and no benefits (our hires are all from dual income families with coverage provided by the spouse).<BR/><BR/>Think that one through for a bit to get a full understanding of what a totally screwed up system the educrats ( and doofus parents) have created.<BR/><BR/>I have sympathy with you on the math bit - I managed to arrive in the 7th grade with good fundamentals but in the year that pre-algebra was first taught using "New Math" techniques. The teacher stumbled and I fell and didn't regain my feet until my junior year in college. I'm still pissed about that because I really <I>like</I> math and statistics.Rick Ballardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11082425215912372067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1138828804508230042006-02-01T14:20:00.000-07:002006-02-01T14:20:00.000-07:00Sometimes I wonder if schools were consolidated to...Sometimes I wonder if schools were consolidated to improve education or get better basketball teams...whatever the reason it is near impossible to put thousands of teenagers in a building and hope to maintain discipline. Especially when the parents refuse to allow anyone to give little Johnny a bad time.<BR/><BR/>I have friends who sent their kids to a Christian school. I thought it was a mistake. I thought the teachers were not well educated enough, the curriculum was not broad enough...and I was wrong. Those kids did not only keep up, they are ahead.<BR/><BR/>A couple of years ago someone sent me an 8th grade test from about 1900. I was shocked. It was hard. Really... the math was tough and the student was also tested on English grammar and geography. If I can find that I will post it.<BR/><BR/>But after seeing that I realized that those teachers might not have been PhD's and the resources were limited, but the students were really challenged.<BR/><BR/>I am not good at math. I blame it on my poor father who is not here to defend himself.<BR/><BR/>He used to lean over my shoulder when I was doing my homework and yell at me. I loved him dearly, but he was a math tyrant. To this day I fell like I am going to break out in hives when I have to do long division.terryehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16609746018265953069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1138820568665031622006-02-01T12:02:00.000-07:002006-02-01T12:02:00.000-07:00I don't know where to begin on this topic.Teacher ...I don't know where to begin on this topic.<BR/>Teacher education--there should be no bachelor's degrees in education.Teachers whould have degrees in real subjects and then learn teaching skills,<BR/><BR/>Accreditation is a ed school bonanza--everywhere stupid requirements which only can be met by taking mind boggling courses at local colleges sharply reduces the already small pool of capable teachers. In D.C. you cannot teach calculus withoug having passed a local course in remedial reading.<BR/><BR/>Textbooks, years ago Ms Tuchman had a series in the New Yorker about the appalling way history textbooks (and other soc studies books were written). They are intended to satisfy a braod swath of school systems and therefore have become idiotic, unconnected trips.<BR/><BR/>Ditto with science books--where hundreds of glaring errors escape attention because the committees which pass on them never even read them.<BR/><BR/>Getting more math and science teachers--Years ago when we were trying to figure out what to do with all those suddenly unemployed Soviet scientists, I proposed they be brought here on special visas to prepare teachers for teaching math and science--they do it well as do the Israelis and Chinese.<BR/>When my son was in private school, he went to one which used texts fromm around the world. I want you to know that the early math books from Barcelona and Buenos Aires, teach algebraic and geometry concepts with elementary math at the earliest ages without the kids even realizing it. And every concept is taught by several different methods (visual/word/ etc) so that no matter how a child learns he can get the concept.<BR/><BR/>Next time you're abroad--or if you have friends abroad--try to get your hands on some of those books to see what I mean.Maybe there's money in getting permission to reprint and translating them.cfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06415260679597997353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1138820315201648452006-02-01T11:58:00.000-07:002006-02-01T11:58:00.000-07:00"That's all well and good and we shouldn't remove ...<I>"That's all well and good and we shouldn't remove this from our society but we are pushing far too many kids into needing the second chance because we don't do much to encourage them to make a whole lot of the first one."</I><BR/><BR/>Lots of them <I>can't</I> make much of the first one because they don't have base skills on "good choice" vs "bad choice" inculcated at home prior to entry. I have a good deal of sympathy with the educrats on this one. If little Festus arrives in kindergarten with his mind full of encouraging mush that's based upon his parents having "reasoned" with him to "enable him to make rational decisions on his own" - at the age of 5 - then his teachers face a Sisyphean task that is further complicated by the fact that the same parents without parenting skills who "reason" with 5 year olds would have a heart attack if little Festus took a rap on the knuckles in 2nd grade to get his mind back on the subject.<BR/><BR/>So lil Festus gets a second chance (good) and a third chance (less good) and a fourth chance (bad) and becomes a ball that his classmates have to drag around on a chain for 12 years. And when lil Festus emerges from the sanitarium with his certificate of completion in his hand he finds that the market doesn't value the certificate as it once did - because too many duds like Festus are clutching them in undisciplined hands. And when Festus does get hired he finds that bosses might give second chances but they don't give third chances. Perhaps he notices - or perhaps, at that point, his time is spent "reasoning" with a 5 year old of his own while he takes another cash advance on the credit card that he hopes will carry him through to another job.<BR/><BR/>Clarice,<BR/><BR/>I haven't examined curricula to an extent that makes criticism a worthwhile endeavor but what I've seen is not at all impressive.<BR/><BR/>Of course, I still shudder thinking about the fifth grade "If a train leaves LA at 10AM going 50 miles an hour and another leaves NY traveling at the same speed, what time is it in El Paso?" didn't really help me much in getting excited about math.<BR/><BR/>You're absolutely correct about the educracy - the "Math is hard" slogan was developed with them in mind.Rick Ballardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11082425215912372067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1138818887615779492006-02-01T11:34:00.000-07:002006-02-01T11:34:00.000-07:00cf,How to fix math education? That's a topic near ...cf,<BR/><BR/>How to fix math education? That's a topic near and dear to my heart. I've won teaching awards at colleges across the country. But the sad fact is that ultimately you really need to teach yourself. If you don't have the oomph to study, you won't really learn. Learning math is to a great extent like learning to play the piano: you have to sit down and do it to learn it. Playing a video game about playing the piano isn't the same as playing the piano.<BR/><BR/>So it comes down to motivation, which means it's a sales job. Why would someone "buy into" doing their math homework? They have to have an incentive. A big part of the problem we have is that there is no incentive for our high school students. They can goof off endlessly, never open a math book (I never did) and there are no consequences.<BR/><BR/>While a good teacher can't help a bad student, a bad teacher can ruin a good student. My son is presently in high school physics in Salt Lake. He has a bad teacher (who can't solve the problems himself) and a bad textbook. That's a really bad combination. He is interested in physics, likes the concepts, and is willing to work and do his homework, but he's rapidly losing interest because when he gets stuck he can't get any help and the book is unreadable.<BR/><BR/>Unreadable books which don't teach is a huge part of the problem. If you read KTM you discover that there's a huge movement afoot to get rid of math within the math curriculum and replace it with English. I guess this is because so many students who were good at English have been made to feel bad in math. Instead of doing math, they now have the students come in and write about "their favorite number". When I see this, I realize this country is going down the tubes.<BR/><BR/>How's your Mandarin?MeaninglessHotAirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11767916621253839341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1138818259929834822006-02-01T11:24:00.000-07:002006-02-01T11:24:00.000-07:00Rick, How can we up the math abilities of the kids...Rick, How can we up the math abilities of the kids with ed school grads? I don't see it. They can't even manage budgets.<BR/><BR/>Now, a diabolical evil capitalist would some up with Math for Shoppers and Math War game videos and sell them for big bucks.<BR/><BR/>You know, you have X bucks to buy your wardrobe for the next school year and to have a homecoming party..etc<BR/><BR/>And the marauders of Planet Zongo are approaching. Your computer screen is down. To kill them and go to the next level---<BR/><BR/>Just a thought. Have your girl call my girl.cfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06415260679597997353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1138815345316839542006-02-01T10:35:00.000-07:002006-02-01T10:35:00.000-07:00David,One aspect of humanity I have noticed is tha...David,<BR/><BR/>One aspect of humanity I have noticed is that, while people generally have no problem admitting that someone else can run faster or jump higher than they can, they will resist mightily the idea that someone else is smarter than they are. This is so deeply embedded and so ubiquitous that I believe it must be a survival characteristic. That makes it very hard to give out math and science awards, etc. That might make the other kids feel bad.<BR/><BR/>In any case, I would hate for our country to become like Europe, with intelligence tests at age 12 to determine your future from then on out. I very much like the fact that our country is the Land of Second Chances, and that people can always succeed given enough motivation, no matter where they started in the talent pool.MeaninglessHotAirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11767916621253839341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1138813386745408912006-02-01T10:03:00.000-07:002006-02-01T10:03:00.000-07:00Knuck,Sorry for the lack of clarity wrt the class ...Knuck,<BR/><BR/>Sorry for the lack of clarity wrt the class of '01. My point was that they <I>entered</I> the educracy as kindergartners in '87-'88 - when the transition from a disciplined classroom to what we have today that began in the mid-late '60s was actually complete. The class of '01 is actually 'first fruit' of the maturing system. Rather adequate proof of the true value of "theoretical" educational and (societal) theory concerning the potential damage to children caused by 'traumatic' disciplinary methods.<BR/><BR/>I agree with you on school team sports as long as the PE program is retained. PE - especially early morning PE that resembles PT in nature is an excellent way to burn off little Festus and Festucina's natural excess physical energy and let them settle down to study and hopefully learn.Rick Ballardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11082425215912372067noreply@blogger.com