Public Education
POSTED BY: TheHappyTrader
UPDATED: Tuesday, December 10, 2024 23:18
VIEWED: 7483
PAGE 5 of 7
Quote:
Originally posted by canttakesky:
Here in Peru, all state-run universities (not a lot of them though) are free. Just free. As a result, they get the "smartest" (measured by exam results) people in the country, no matter how poor or how rich. Those who are plenty smart, but don't score high enough on the entrance exam go to private universities, where they pay a reasonable tuition.
I just LOVE the idea that smart, hard working youngsters can hope to get a free college education. I know there is a scholarship system in the States, but it doesn't feel quite as equitable.
Of course, the idea I love doesn't mesh well with my other ideologies, so...I don't know what to make of it.
Do you live in Peru? Me too, on the above.
Quote:
I am happy though that Australia has a free tertiary education system.
Not any more, sadly.
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Well, other than mentioning the work of John Taylor Gatto, who I do not agree with completely on some things - there's not much I can say to it that I haven't said before...
But I will say this, you know that documentary I mention here and there ?
http://www.thewaronkids.com/
Well, let's just say that's Part ONE: wait till you see what's coming up behind it - I warned Cevin he's prolly gonna get lynched, cause the second starts a foray into what one might call my "turf", philosophically.
-F
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Shiny, lots of interesting takes on the subject. I'll try to address some of them from my perspective to the best of my ability, but I'm half drunk and just got back from salsa dancing. I believe teachers deserve a good drink more than most folks, but we gotta be smart enough to have it in a county where we're not workin' 
Concerning the two hour thing, In my experience that cannot be farther from the truth. If you are lucky you can get 45 minutes out of a child before the are hopelessly unfocused and easily distracted. However, if you mean 2 hours out of the whole school day (with breaks every now and then) will stick, that's certainly possible. The last class of the day has always been by far the worst for me, whether it was general music, band or reading (though this was in a middle school). Classes near lunch time generally did well.
I think the best educations of any kind are well rounded. I've known teachers with Bachelor's and teachers with master's, and the master's degree teachers were more often worse than better. I wonder if the more specialized focus of a master's or Doctorate make's them less flexible and worse teachers as a result. I have no grad school aspirations myself, seems like more work, more debt (though possible more pay if hired) and I want to be a good teacher. Most master's or higher teachers I've met suck!
Also, few college professors (education wise least-a-ways) seem to have any idea what the real world is like outside of the University.
I also like the comment about learning to learn, or teaching oneself. That's something I try to develop in all my students. I'll have some of the students play/sing/whatever something and then I'll ask the rest of the class to tell me what they did well, what they could do better, and how to make it better (I avoid negative statements like "what was wrong?"). It's not as easy as it sounds, and tends to take a while, but hopefully I'm planting some kind of seed that will help them figure out things for themselves in the future. In my opinion, the best thing a teacher can do is make themselves obsolete. That's the true measure of good teaching.
I'm wary of any computerized based instruction for multiple reasons. The first of which is how will the student ask questions? Have you ever tried to use the help button? Useless, confusing, makes you want to throw the ruttin' machine out the gorram window! I also think children would relate better to other children and adults than to machines. I've got nothing more than a hunch on this angle, but I suspect subtle psychological... pheromoneal... instinctual... grammatical... cues make it easier to learn from a person than a machine (not to mention the whole bit about being able to ask questions).
Also, the student might think they've got it right but a good teacher can tell what's wrong, why it's wrong, and how to make it right. I'm not entire sure a computer can reliably cover the first one, let alone all three.
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Happy
Lots of opinions, interesting lack of fans of the education system 
First 2 hours of the school day. My mom agrees with you on last class of the day. She said it's a disaster.
There's two things that define a teacher: 1) How much they know, and 2) How well they communicate. If they're lacking in knowledge, they have to learn to communicate that lack of knowledge and how to get it than to communicate misinformation
Your question about computers answers itself: Computer system students would ask questions just like you asked that one, on a forum full of peers.
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Quote:Yes. I am an American currently living in Peru.
Originally posted by dreamtrove:
Peru?
--Can't Take (my gorram) Sky
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Quote:I don't think computer-based instruction is meant to be used alone, at least, not at first.
Originally posted by TheHappyTrader:
I'm wary of any computerized based instruction for multiple reasons.
As a homeschooler living abroad, I rely almost exclusively on computer-based instruction via the internet, ebooks, CD roms, and DVDs. Real books are heavy and difficult to transport. But my kids don't use them on their own. I am there to answer questions, pose questions, oversee their learning experience. That's my job.
As they get older, they become more independent with their computer-based instruction. My daughter googled "cursive" the other day on her own, and started practicing cursive writing from the internet. She's been spending hours of her "free time" googling pictures of rocks and gems because she likes geology. That is good. It is part of slowly working myself out of a job.
--Can't Take (my gorram) Sky
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Quote:
Originally posted by canttakesky:Quote:Yes. I am an American currently living in Peru.
Originally posted by dreamtrove:
Peru?
--Can't Take (my gorram) Sky
Do you believe in ancient aliens?
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Quote:Very cool. Let us know when part 2 comes out, will ya?
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
But I will say this, you know that documentary I mention here and there ?
http://www.thewaronkids.com/
--Can't Take (my gorram) Sky
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Quote:I don't have enough data to defend a position either for or against aliens, ancient or otherwise.
Originally posted by kaneman:
Do you believe in ancient aliens?
In other words, I don't know.
--Can't Take (my gorram) Sky
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Quote:
Originally posted by dreamtrove:
After fifth grade...the only part I regretted was not seeing Regina.
Gorramnit ! Me too ! I still wonder what happened to her...
What a babe...
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