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Forums - General - The US Presidential Inauguration thread

Words Of Wisdom on 22 January 2009
mrstickball said:
Specalization is fine, but that doesn't mean you need it in high school. Wouldn't be bad if there were an elective classes to further one's education in an area they want to specialize in, but outside of that...It's not great for highschoolers.

Right now some universities are wasting time/money with remedial courses because students are coming in without proper English and science skills as it is.  I've heard the statistic was as high as 50% in some states.

Also, you misspelled the word "specialization" in the quoted block above. 



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mrstickball on 22 January 2009

Sorry. I am usually doing 2-3 things at once and don't always spell check every single post I make :-p



Back from the dead, I'm afraid.

Final-Fan on 22 January 2009

Well, obviously it's good to have broad areas of competence, but it's also true that specialization lets a person go really deep into their field of choice. I'm not disputing the point as far as high school goes, obviously.

Although I would point out to Words of Wisdom that I seriously doubt that people going to college needing remedial English is due to overspecialization in math, or vice versa.



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Words Of Wisdom on 22 January 2009
Final-Fan said:

Although I would point out to Words of Wisdom that I seriously doubt that people going to college needing remedial English is due to overspecialization in math, or vice versa.

I'm glad you pointed that out but... that wasn't really my point.  My point was that we need to start doing a better job of teaching what we already are before we start cutting things.



Final-Fan on 22 January 2009

Fair enough.



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bardicverse on 22 January 2009
Words Of Wisdom said:
Final-Fan said:

Although I would point out to Words of Wisdom that I seriously doubt that people going to college needing remedial English is due to overspecialization in math, or vice versa.

I'm glad you pointed that out but... that wasn't really my point. My point was that we need to start doing a better job of teaching what we already are before we start cutting things.

True, agreed. Even literature and basic writing and reading skills take a back seat to the gov't plan of science and math down everyone's throats. I don't want my kids being raised to be math/science sheep. If its what they enjoy, cool, but they need to be well rounded in the world so they can better choose their path in life.

 



Words Of Wisdom on 22 January 2009
bardicverse said:
Words Of Wisdom said:
Final-Fan said:

Although I would point out to Words of Wisdom that I seriously doubt that people going to college needing remedial English is due to overspecialization in math, or vice versa.

I'm glad you pointed that out but... that wasn't really my point. My point was that we need to start doing a better job of teaching what we already are before we start cutting things.

True, agreed. Even literature and basic writing and reading skills take a back seat to the gov't plan of science and math down everyone's throats. I don't want my kids being raised to be math/science sheep. If its what they enjoy, cool, but they need to be well rounded in the world so they can better choose their path in life.

I don't really understand what you're getting at.

What do you think schools are currently doing that is a problem?



bardicverse on 22 January 2009
Words Of Wisdom said:
bardicverse said:
Words Of Wisdom said:
Final-Fan said:

Although I would point out to Words of Wisdom that I seriously doubt that people going to college needing remedial English is due to overspecialization in math, or vice versa.

I'm glad you pointed that out but... that wasn't really my point. My point was that we need to start doing a better job of teaching what we already are before we start cutting things.

True, agreed. Even literature and basic writing and reading skills take a back seat to the gov't plan of science and math down everyone's throats. I don't want my kids being raised to be math/science sheep. If its what they enjoy, cool, but they need to be well rounded in the world so they can better choose their path in life.

I don't really understand what you're getting at.

What do you think schools are currently doing that is a problem?

As a former teacher, I can go into a long list. I'll spare you that tedious reading.

Basically teachers now spend the majority of their time preparing kids for state tests. they get state tests out the arse and then after the tests pass, they shut down for the rest of the school year. So basically, the kids are getting educated only on state testing, not learning for the sake of knowledge. Its sort of like a burnt steak - there's no flavor, taste or enjoyment left in it.

What I am getting at is that programs are being cut are affecting the overall education experience for the good of standardized testing. Sure, that kid can pass the state science exam, but can he locate Canada on a map? Kids are being forced to take math, then a math enrichment, and a science and science enrichment - 2 periods that used to be music, art or something that isnt state tested.

 

 



Final-Fan on 22 January 2009

Never mind - he articulated his own position.



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My advice to fanboys: Brag about stuff that's true, not about stuff that's false. Predict stuff that's likely, not stuff that's unlikely. You will be happier, and we will be happier.

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." - Sen. Pat Moynihan
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The old smileys: ; - ) : - ) : - ( : - P : - D : - # ( c ) ( k ) ( y ) If anyone knows the shortcut for , let me know!
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Words Of Wisdom on 22 January 2009
bardicverse said:

Basically teachers now spend the majority of their time preparing kids for state tests. they get state tests out the arse and then after the tests pass, they shut down for the rest of the school year. So basically, the kids are getting educated only on state testing, not learning for the sake of knowledge. Its sort of like a burnt steak - there's no flavor, taste or enjoyment left in it.

What I am getting at is that programs are being cut are affecting the overall education experience for the good of standardized testing. Sure, that kid can pass the state science exam, but can he locate Canada on a map? Kids are being forced to take math, then a math enrichment, and a science and science enrichment - 2 periods that used to be music, art or something that isnt state tested.

Weird.  My highschool wasn't really like that at all.  Of course, my highschool also tended to get among the highest marks in the state for tests anyway IIRC.

My highschool also forced everyone to take classes in art, history, composition, speech, foreign language and a lot of other things.  By the time you got graduated, you knew a lot about many different things.

I guess I've always assumed all highschools were like mine.  Weird.