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Harryk

wrote:
On Sat, 19 Mar 2011 13:01:42 -0400,
wrote:

wrote:
On Fri, 18 Mar 2011 13:18:38 -0700, wrote:

On Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:35:46 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 18 Mar 2011 12:06:53 -0400,
wrote:

I saw that show and it is significant that these were "at risk" kids.
I believe it will take time to turn them around.

I do believe that teachers should be paid by their performance and not
just time in grade, particularly since you can't really get rid of a
bad teacher.

One problem is that "performance" is too closely linked to the results
of "standardized testing," and all those tests really test is whether
the kids memorized those parts of their lessons that appear on the
tests. The test results do not tell you if the kids are learning
anything significant or, just as important, how to think.
You better get used to standardized tests. That is the way the world
judges people. You can do much of anything these days without passing
a test.

If the test is well written, "memorizing the answer" is actually
learning the material since no 2 kids will get exactly the same test.
We are moving to computer generated testing where there is a huge pool
of questions and they randomize the tests.
Learning how to think critically is the most important type of
education. If that can be demonstrated in a standardized test, then
I'm all for it. I don't think it can very easily.

Of course, you understand that critical thinking requires a broad
liberal arts education...

Most K-12 is still learning basic concepts and memorizing things. You
don't "think" about why 6x12=72, or what the formula for the area of a
circle is, you just remember it.
Maybe in your school system it was that way. It sure as hell was not
that way when I was in K-12. Sure, we learned the basics and there was
memorization, but there was a lot more in terms of teaching us how to
think.

I don't know why, but my favorite math course in high school was the
year of geometry, followed by calculus. I didn't like the two years of
algebra all that much, though I did OK in it.

I still remember some of every class in high school:

Four years of English
Four years of math: algebra, geometry, algebra II and calculus
Four years of science: biology, chemistry, physics and physics II
Four years of foreign languages: four years of Latin
Four years of history: ancient, medieval, european and U.S.

And for my electives: two years of music/chorus and two years of Russian.

I remember many of my teachers, too. Most of them were absolutely
first-rate, and three of them had doctorates. My third year history
teacher had a doctorate, and he later became principal teacher. The
teacher I best remember, though, taught English. She not only pushed me
into writing, she sneaked some of her students into a local jazz club
several times a year where her really famous musician husband performed.

We read some of the great works of literature... poetry, and heard
stories from teachers about the war they'd been in. There was some
memorization, but the things that left the greatest impression were in
the "soft" areas of literature, music, and the arts.

Likewise.