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VERY disheartened
Ok, correct my spelling if I mispelled disheartened.
Anyway, last night, Bryan brought home a stack of tests that needed to be graded. He's student teaching in a 7th grade geography class. The students had to label a map of the world. Some of the things were slightly hard. Here's the list. Forgive me if I spell anything wrong Greenland Los Angeles New York North America Mexico City South America Boinos Aries United Kingdom London Europe Africa Mogadishu Madagascar Nile River Caspian Sea Mediteranian Sea Bay of Bengal India Saudia Arabia Asia Indian Ocean Japan Phillipeans Austrailia Ok. Anyway, 7th graders were putting NEW YORK CITY as an island in the atlantic ocean. Los Angeles as cities in Russia, North America in Europe, the Indian Ocean in the Pacific, the Nile river in Russia, the UK in Holland, the Mediteranian in the Artic Ocean. . . Is this what our future is going to look like? |
If I have any say in it, no one will pass my class if they don't know when to use apostrophes, or other basic grammar rules. But that's sad....7th grade!!!
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When I took World Geography in high school, there were some sophomores in my class. One of them said "You need a passport to go to Texas, right?" Another girl couldn't find Arkansas (we're in Louisiana - those states TOUCH OURS!) and she said "oh so THAT'S where Arkansas is!" when I pointed it out to her.
Another guy couldn't find the equator. Although, I don't think he could read or write either... |
That is disheartening to see them miss those geographical locations. It could be that some of those kids are challenged. I dont think I ever missed those kinds of questions though. However, I was learning disabled through most of junior high and high school. It didnt stop me from writing great term papers though, or completing college. I guess everyone has their own learning style. I was never a test person, so I guess those kids just need to work extra hard if they want to make it.
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Goodness, it is sad!
In high schools, it is very sad! The students are graduating and cannot WRITE! They cannot write a sentence correctly, not to mention a paragraph. I'm not going to mention a TERM PAPER. I was like dayum! These are REGULAR ED students. I teach Special Ed and I'm like, those regular ed students need to be taught like special ed students with all the MODIFICATIONS AND ACCOMMODATIONS. Yet, once ALL these kids get out into the working world, all the MODS AND ACCOMMs will be OUT THE WINDOW! These are the kids who are supposed to take care of us?!!?!!? HELP US ALL! |
mgdzkm433,
sorry,but you asked for corrections :-) it is Buenos Aires Mediterranian Sea Philippines Other than that, I feel strongly with you. Those results are horrid! Best, matthewg |
Thanks Matt, my weekness through school was spelling--as you can see.
The sad thing about what I had to say, this wasn't a handful of students. Out of 6 periods--all 7th grade geography--the least missed on the map was 3. Which is ok. BUT--most students missed between 10-14. Only a HANDFUL out of 6 classes did ok. Nobody made an A on the test. Bryan was pretty upset. He had 6 weeks teaching a 10th grade honors ancient history class, then he went to 7th grade geography for 6 weeks, his six weeks will be up on the 29th. He has been working with these kids on labeling maps since he got there--almost 6 weeks ago, and now on the test, they can't even tell where New York City is!! I think it's not only sad, but scary!! I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't the greatest student--not by any means, but I have NEVER thought New York City was an Island in the Atlantic Ocean! I would understand if it were a few students, and they sort of slipped through the system, but this is a whole CLASS of students. I admit, West Virginia's school systems aren't great, but darn it, we aren't THIS bad!!! Ok, open for discussion--what things do you think should be done to prevent things like this? Should parents be held responsible? Teachers? The Students? Should we be proposing new programs in schools? Should we cut classroom sizes? Should there be more discipline? What do YOU think? |
MediterranEan Sea
(Sorry, but YOU went there! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/tongue.gif ) Quote:
------------------ mccoyred Dynamic Salient Temperate Real Women Dream of Wearing Crimson and Creme |
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------------------ Steve Corbin Lambda Chi Alpha Theta Kappa Chapter Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech. |
Technically speaking Corbin, NYC is on a peninsula, it IS called the Island of Manhattan, but if you look at a map it is not an island. Of course, Statan and Long Islands are islands, but technically, NYC isn't on an island.
[This message has been edited by mgdzkm433 (edited November 20, 2000).] |
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------------------ Steve Corbin Lambda Chi Alpha Theta Kappa Chapter Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech. |
Where I live, parents can sign a waiver so that their failing children can pass to the next grade in elementary school. It is a very embarrasing practice. But that would explain why some of our children don't know basic information.
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Manhattan is an ISLAND NOT a peninsula.
The island of Manhattan is only reachable by bridges, tunnels and ferries. NYC, however, is NOT an island. Basically because NYC encompasses Manhattan, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens. Queens and Brooklyn are connected to Long Island, but are NOT considered a part of it. Bronx is north of the rest of NYC, connected basically to upstate NY. So, NYC is not an island in the Atlantic but Manhattan sure it. And since most people mistakenly only refer to Manhattan when talking about NYC, the student is not technically correct but is to some degree. |
[QUOTE]Originally posted by mccoyred:
[B]MediterranEan Sea (Sorry, but YOU went there! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/tongue.gif ) Oups - you are so right, I am very sorry! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif |
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I've noticed, in GA at least, that there's been a shift from teaching the basics: Math, English grammar and composition, geography, spelling, civics & government, etc. to teaching the material that is on these "end all, be all" standardized tests. I remember taking standardized tests when I was in public school in NJ. We were told not to study for them, that we were going to run into things we hadn't been taught but DON"T WORRY ABOUT IT. Now it's all about teaching the test which is most likely comprised of things these kids will literally never see again, not even in an applied sense. It's times like these that I'm glad I grew up in the 80's, but at the same time I'm afraid of what the "educational" system available for my children will be like. No wonder parents choose to home-school their kids. |
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------------------ Steve Corbin Lambda Chi Alpha Theta Kappa Chapter Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech. |
LOL, this is kinda funny. I've never been to NY, so heck if I know.
Ok, NYC is NOT an island, but Manhattan IS, Right? I was looking at Mapquest, which I think is the worst map in the world, and when I entered manhattan, it gave me a park, so I couldn't look it up. ANYWAY, it doesn't matter because NYC is NOT an island close to AFRICA--which is where the student put it. So even if NYC was an Island, the student was still wrong. The point was, he didn't even put it in the right hemesphere. Kinda sad when you are relitivly close to NY. |
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------------------ Steve Corbin Lambda Chi Alpha Theta Kappa Chapter Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech. |
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Can we say L-A-W-S-U-I-T? Can we say, we'll see him on the Channel 8 news leaving his campus in handcuffs? LOL I still believe the parents play a role in their child's education. AS WE SAY IN SPECIAL ED...THE PARENTS HAVE THE POWER! Parents should be advocating for their child's education. Intead, you only see them when they are ready to come to the school to GET THAT XYZ TEACHER TOLD OFF, OR TO KICK SOME TEACHER'S A##! It's a sad state of affairs. |
I agree, I think kids need to be getting more attention at home, parents should be more concerned with HELPING educate their children, rather than leave it 100% up to the teacher. It takes some effort on both ends.
What do you all think of homeschooling. I'm torn. I personally feel that if there is a qualified parent in the home teaching, the education value might be better, but the social aspect might not. Bryan really wants to homeschool our children if we have them, which means I would stay home and raise the children and homeschool them, while he is away working--which is fine by me--I'd love that! However, I'm afraid that our children would be socially lacking. Kids need other kids and it would be hard for children to meet other children if they didn't go to school. What's more important--functioning in society with a lack of education, or having a great education and being socially deprived? |
Who decides if homeschooling provides the BEST in determining the quality of education?
I am torn on the issue as well. Both of my parents were educators, my mom a teacher, my father a principal. THEY BOTH ensured that my sister and I received the BEST from EACH teacher. Also, they BOTH exposed us to extras as well. NOW, I do realize that that was more than 20 years ago, and times have really changed. There are environmental factors which hinder alot of our students from excelling. Yet, there are some who do overcome their environment. There are parents who have 2 or more jobs who CANNOT homeschool or be there to expose or reinforce what was learned at school. SO WHAT DO WE DO FOR THOSE KIDS? There are some parents who would LOVE to be able to be with the child and keep up with what is going on, BUT THERE ARE SOME WHO JUST DON'T GIVE A DAMN! AGAIN, IT'S A SAD SITUATION ALL AROUND! |
I have mixed emotions about home schooling as well. Let's face it, several years after graduation, most adults don't remember algebra, trigonometry, statistics, biology, chemistry, physics, or even English. A lot of parents don't even speak English correctly. How can they effectively home school their children? The answer is, they can't. But what they can do is support those that are qualified to do so. By working WITH their child's teachers instead of AGAINST them. I have several educators in my family and I have heard all kinds of horror stories about how some of the parents behave when they go to the schools to discuss their children's progress or behavior problems. I work with parents who complain about receiving phone calls at home about their kids. They have some of the most ridiculous complaints, like "She always calls during dinner" or "I used to talk a lot in class when I was a kid, so I guess my kid gets that from me". Hello! Since when have teachers been blessed with psychic abilities to know when families are having dinner? Since when is it okay for children to be disruptive in class simply because the parent was also disruptive in class?
Quite frankly, I think teachers are given a very bad rap. If the parents don't care about their kids education, the teachers can't make the students care. It has to start at home. I was blessed to have 2 parents that made education a priority. Any grade below a "B" was an unacceptable grade in their eyes and would be strictly punished. My mother's line of thinking was that her above average child should only make above average grades. Today I am so grateful that my parents were hard on me where education is concerned. My friends that had those lenient, push-over parents are all statistics now. [This message has been edited by MIDWESTDIVA (edited November 21, 2000).] |
YEP, cause they (student's parent) had "strict" parents when they were young and they (the parents) vowed that they were not going to be MEAN to their children. These are the same folks who want to be FRIENDS with their child.
Bump that! You can listen to your child and probably have a better rapport with your child, BUT 100% FRIENDS...oh no! They will have to ALWAYS remember who is the PARENT and who IS IN CHARGE! HELLO! |
Absolutely right!
I have a friend who is on this "Let's Be Friends" kick with her 10 year old daughter. She says it's because she doesn't want to be strict like her own mother. Hello!!! Since when do 26 year old women have 10 year old friends? These parents don't realize that they're doing their children a great disservice! I say, be parents now, and train your child the way he should go. When your kids become adults and are supporting themselves, then you can have a pseudo friendship. ------------------ "Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching." (Satchel Paige) |
I do believe that it does start in the home. Really everyone should work together instead of pointing fingers at each other. I guess that doesnt happen in reality. I agree that parents shouldnt treat their kids as "friends" but I dont necessarily believe that a parent should be "strict". I think balance is the most important thing and being supportive. Plus boundaries are crucial. I think extremes sometimes have a way of backfiring though. Maybe I was one of those kids that had pushover parents but I think they did a great job and it didnt stop me from going on to college and finishing. It taught my h.s. counselor who told me that I would probably never have the option of going on as far as I did.
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I had fairly strict parents. Definatly not the type that went throught 'be my friend' stage, however, one of my friends had parents who let them do so much more. However, they weren't pushovers, they just treated their children like adults when they got to the age. High school for them wasn't a bunch of too early curfews and unreasonable rules, nor was it the 'do what you want' years either. Their parents layed down the rules, like 'call us if you're going to be late, it's ok.' or 'if you feel you need to drink (high school obviously), we will let you drink here, as long as you don't go out and drink then drive.' They were trying to teach their children responsibility. It totally worked. My friend is in Medical school now, STILL has never made below a 4.0 in her life, isn't a study-holic--she's totally cool and loves to go out just like everyone else, she just learned responsibility early--and she has tons of common sense because of it. I think this is what Corbin meant by Balance. You can't be overly protective, or your children will no know what hit them when they get to the real world, but if your underprotective, then they might end up learning the hard stuff a lot earlier than they should.
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