Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Commentary: Veteran Teacher Explains What’s Wrong with Traditional Schooling
For 19 years, I was a master of time. Down to the minute, I controlled time for others and used it to meet my and others’ ends, irrespective of the desires of those in front of me. In short, I was a public-school teacher, and controlling time was my talent. Although I and other adults often talked about helping students reach their potential and grow as learners, what we really did each day was control their time and force upon them ideas and subjects in which most of them had little to no interest.
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I think home schooling our kids was the best thing we did for them. Not only did they "learn" things like history, but more importantly, they learned to think for themselves. Now that they are adults, they excel in the business world.
ReplyDeleteVeteran Teacher who worked for his retirement only now claims he has students best interest at heart. Gives 3 examples of places where he could have pointed to a different method but didn't because it might have affected his bottom line.
ReplyDeleteGovernment cheese, government transportation, government schooling. Fuck all 3.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know, I ate a lot of government cheese as a kid and I always thought it made the best grilled cheese sandwiches.
DeleteIf the government didn't like what is coming out of the schools, they would change it. They destroyed the system in the sixties. After they made Changes and the next series of tests showed lower performance, they insisted that more changes were needed. And No, they did Not undo any of those changes that caused the scores to drop. When I saw that I knew it was intentional. And yes, that had a negative impact on my interest in being there.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with essentially all your points, I take issue with your dating. The government did the damage via Jimmy Carter and his creation of the Department of Education in the late 70s. Prior to that, states controlled education and we actually were taught stuff. I know; I was there. Ever since the Dept of Ed was created, our metrics have fallen precipitously (see? that's a word I learned) to the point where half the world educates their children to higher standards.
DeleteI have a small collection of 1870-1905-era schoolbooks. Lessons were different then; I suspect most college students today couldn't pass an 8th grade test from that era.
ReplyDeleteI have seen some of the turn-of-the-last-century Gr 8 tests, and I think I was exposed to most of it, but not by the end of Gr 8. Holy crap. No wonder we went to the Moon.
DeleteNot any more.
1973 HS Grad. I went to college, not for school, but I played D1 Football in a major conference. I had many teammates that were maybe half way to graduation when their 4 year eligibility was up. For me? I did not care for college, but got my degree in "Social Science". Easy out. Oh, wait, I returned 8 years later to get my Master's. I knew the system and exploited it to my advantage. Yes I got my Masters, worthless as it was, I had that credential going for me. Oh, and I worked (still do) in Higher Education (Lower Thinking). Its all full of people I look at everyday and say, "How can I become so incompetent that I can get that job?" Hey, they pay me! Thats the upside...
ReplyDeleteyep it usually takes about 2-3 or so generations to really see impacts idiotic policies ( suggestions - if you want to get legal )
ReplyDeleteUs genX were the last ones the get the final remnants of the old methods - W