there is actually a few schools who don't use "fail" or "failure" because its to negative. they replaced those words with "deferred success"Originally Posted by RobinHood3000
there is actually a few schools who don't use "fail" or "failure" because its to negative. they replaced those words with "deferred success"
Holy Carp. I went to catholic school and I could just imagine trying to get those nuns to say "Deferred Success". it's anathema to their very being. At least lo those many years ago.
Do, or do not. There is no try. - Yoda
Yes. If you want to research this subject more, see Jonathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities and The Shame of the Nation. Also, John Taylor Gatto is a good read.
Some reasons why I think the American education system is failing:
Teachers who do not know how to teach well
Grades (what do they really mean?)
Standardized Tests (does this really reflect learning, or how well one can take a fill in the bubble test?)
Standards (who makes these up, anyway?)
Lack of teacher-parent communication
Lack of parental involvement
Same age classrooms
Assuming all kids learn at the same pace
Teaching dumb, boring stuff that has no real world application
...just a few...
"I have so often dreamed of you that you become unreal." ~ Robert Desnos
what?????
i had never heard of this one! to me the colour of correction is and will be red! if i do language exercise and have it corrected, i want it in red, if im correcting (in class or with solutions) i do it in red myself, to highlight the corrections...i learn so much better from mistakes....
dead on the inside, i've got nothing to prove
keep me alive and give me something to lose
I agree with Koa. That kind of stuff that Night describes sounds like the kind of junk that's ruining American schools. It's useless psychobabble.what?????
i had never heard of this one! to me the colour of correction is and will be red! if i do language exercise and have it corrected, i want it in red, if im correcting (in class or with solutions) i do it in red myself, to highlight the corrections...i learn so much better from mistakes....
LET THERE BE LIGHT
"Love follows knowledge." – St. Catherine of Siena
My literature blog: http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/
Not really Virg, I know personally there it is awful to get back work where every ebntace there is read in and then scrawled all over it is NOT good enough do it again...its still awful when its in green but it tends to be slightly less harmful because the people sitting on the opposite side of the room cant see the marks quite as clearly...
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yep, I don't think using green ink is to blame for the decline of the American or whatever other school system...
having your mistakes marked is not a problem for A students but you have no idea what it does to kids who have dyslexia or who are slow learners for some reason. rather than encouraging them to try harder it convinces them that they are failures.
I'm not saying mistakes shouldn't be marked, but it has to be clear to the pupils that they are not idiots. you have to explain to them why what they wrote is wrong and help them get it right next time.
Ok, I cant answer specifically for the US system having no experience of it. However.....
1) I have no time for multiple choice tests, a lot of the time they are poorly created and test more recognition than the ability to apply knowledge to a given situation
2) I believe in a nationally set curriculum, together with national exams ~ this is the only way to enure all students are being taught to the same knowlegde base. As an example I did my high school in Scotland & my college in Canada, something I noticed is that students from different high schools did have a similar knowledge base and therefore people had to sit through some classes while explanations were given that some previously knew.
3) I believe parents attempt to be too involved in the school, the pace at which the class moves is what is best for the majority ~ if it is either too slow or too fast for little Johnny, then look for private tutoring as an addition to what is being taught.
There once was a scotsman named Drew
Who put too much wine in his stew
He felt a bit drunk
And fell off his bunk
And landed smack into his shoe ~(C) Ms Niamh Anne King
I think the pen colour debate, although not responsible for American educational mediocrity, shows where people's minds are regarding what's important. People are frightened to death that their children aren't destined for godlike success, and seek to blame it on the most inane things rather than any problem staring them dead in the face.
Por una cabeza
Si ella me olvida
Qué importa perderme
Mil veces la vida
Para qué vivir
Oh, Night I wasn't thinking about dyslexic students. But I don't quite see what difference it would make if it were green or red. I assume a teacher is aware that a particular student has an extra burden and must try to teach and administer with that student's needs in mind. I was talking for the typical student.
And yes I do know what it's like to get back a paper full of red ink. It was in my freshman college year and I thought I was a hot shot student based on my highschool achievements and I submitted my first paper in English class. The teacher returned it every sentence marked in red. The paper glowed with red ink.
LET THERE BE LIGHT
"Love follows knowledge." – St. Catherine of Siena
My literature blog: http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/
When my children were in the school system--last one out was 2004 my concerns with the scholl system was the increasing dimimished attention between teacher/student. My two boys were definitely trouble-makers and it seemed that suspension was THE answer rather then a concerted united attempt at rehabilitation of behavor. I guarantee the message given to the munchkins was that school just wasn't that important if they were going to just boot you out every little and not so little thing. A far cry from the 60s where a teacher/principla made it their personal crusade to get you at a passing level. Now it just seems to be processing them thru. Taking (limited) corporal punishment out didn't help either. Students have no fear of retribution/accountablity for their actions.
Just saying.
After the boys got out--by way of GEDs hitches in the Army were a greta wake up call and my second son Daniel is well on his way to a degree now. Jim is maturing as well.
Last edited by mtpspur; 04-21-2007 at 02:35 AM. Reason: added postscript
I noticed a few people here attributing the problems with American schools to teacher's unions, and while there may be some problems with unions, I'd like to suggest that the core of the problem is just the reverse of blaming teachers. I think one big problem is that teachers are simply underpaid as compared with comparably educated professionals. There are many good dedicated teachers out there despite the low pay, but I think there would be many more similarly dedicated people attracted to the profession and those already teaching might become more motivated if they thought they would be paid an appropriate professional salary. If you want the best and the brightest professionals going into teaching, then, bottom line, you have to treat them with the respect due educated professionals, beginning with the salary. If a company underpaid its engineers it wouldn't have to go around wondering why its products weren't as good as the competition. Why should the teaching profession be any different?
"In rime sparse il suono/ di quei sospiri ond' io nudriva 'l core/ in sul mio primo giovenile errore"~ Francesco Petrarca
"Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can."~ Jane Austen
Well dyslexia is always noticed /diagnosed ...take me I started school at the age of 3 ( 2 if you include nursery) and I wasnt diagnosed till I was a few months short of 16. I suppose at this time its beacue green has less negitive connotations in time it will get them and theyll move onto a new colour one assumes
My mission in life is to make YOU smile
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The time has come," the Walrus said,"To talk of many things:
Forum Rules- You know you want to read 'em
|Litnet Challange status = 5/260
|currently reading
That was me, and I guess I'm in the midst of another controversy.
Ok, if you want to get paid what other professionals make, then let's stop the crap of not being able to fire tenured teachers, or getting a year's sabbatical, or working eight or nine months out of the year. In fact, no other profession is unionized. And what is the retirement age for most teachers? Is it comparable to other professionals? I don't think so. When you factor all that in, I don't think teachers make less. They have traded salary for these benefits, and yes that's because of their union.
LET THERE BE LIGHT
"Love follows knowledge." – St. Catherine of Siena
My literature blog: http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/
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