Today I hate my job

[Dogmama]

Sometimes I am so amazed by how lame they are. They had to divide 72 by 2. That kind of a problem is a third grade math standard. These are 4th graders - and I got answers of 2, 4, 8, 9 and 20. Yes, really. I think they weren't actually listening or reading the problem on their paper, just randomly guessing to give an answer. But still...

Veronica

"Like - wow Dude - math is hard! I need that Stephen Hawkings guy!"

I talked to a junior college teacher who said many of their incoming students are illiterate. So, they take remedial courses to get them up to speed so that they can take the credit courses. BUT, here's the problem: Most are on students loans, some are even on (gasp) credit cards! So, they're taking these classes that in the end, don't give them ANY college credit. And, the majority drop out because they just are not college material. But, they still have the debt.

Don't know if your students are sophisticated enough to understand that - but it's something to consider.

[azfiddle]

How is the cooperative learning working?

[Veronica]

All last week was good. The students have really enjoyed the team building activities we've done and I'm seeing more effort and active participation in academic areas. Today was a staff development day and one of the teachers at my site went to a week long Kagan seminar last summer. Her presentation today was really good and gave me some new ideas. We've got a long way to go, but I'm hopeful.

Veronica

[smilingcat]

I'm not a teacher by any stretch of imagination. Reading this thread makes me cringe to think of the consequences of the kids growing up without basic skill. Some way, I think kids need to be allowed to fail instead of being doted over to make sure they pass so that their self esteem is not damaged. I would say the following statement is more important: child need to feel like they have accomplished or succeeded in a task to develop their self esteem. Have the fruit hanging on a higher branch and not at the lowest branch.

Hog wash with all this doting! Allow the child to fail!

Then again what do I know. call me cranky old ***** and know nothing about child development psychology. My parents did all right. I came out okay for the most part.

[Geonz]

So glad things ironed out a little!

Allowing the child to fail works for some -- specifically, for the student who responds to that by not being satisfied with it. However, if you're accustomed to failing because you honestly don't really think you can do this, then you'll learn some amazing social skills that get you through the day... passed to the next grade... and then you end up in my "underprepared student" lab at the community college because you *need* postsecondary education to get a job at the car wash, just about... and you didn't learn anything in grade school, not because you couldn't, but because you didn't think you could.

I was definitely one of those kids you needed to hang that fruit up high for, else I was a permanent brat However, I can **promise** you that a lot of adults without basic skills (especially in math) learned to behave ... and get passed along... and believe whatever is sold to them with the right smiling and positive reinforcement. Politicians *love* to pull their strings...

[Melalvai]

I just read an article about how doctors are making ADHD diagnoses that aren't valid so that kids can get the meds so they'll succeed in school. They said it helps with grades but I suspect grades especially at the younger ages have more to do with behavior than academic performance. They said they have to use meds because the schools & families don't have the resources for other non-medical interventions that have been shown to work.

The article just made me sick.

[Veronica]

I have a boy this year who has gone off his meds a few times. His behavior is drastically different from when he's on them. I don't know what the answer is. I have read so much about how smaller families contribute to socialization problems. If there are only 1 or 2 kids, cooperation isn't so important. Kids don't share rooms anymore... tv and video games of course have their share of the blame. Parents and really communities that don't pay attention and hold kids accountable to a certain standard of behavior. There is so much movement, we don't get to know our neighbors.

Behavior does play such a huge part in what students learn at the lower grades. Some kids spend so little time actually in class because of their behavior. When you have 25+ kids in a room, you can't have off the wall behavior. And really I am talking about things that most people would say don't belong in a classroom. And you don't always notice the "quiet" ones, who aren't misbehaving, but aren't attending to instruction either.

Veronica

[Owlie]

I just read an article about how doctors are making ADHD diagnoses that aren't valid so that kids can get the meds so they'll succeed in school. They said it helps with grades but I suspect grades especially at the younger ages have more to do with behavior than academic performance. They said they have to use meds because the schools & families don't have the resources for other non-medical interventions that have been shown to work.

The article just made me sick.

The other thing that happens a lot with these sort of diagnoses is that there are definitely behavioral issues, but not of a specific nature, and the school system needs a diagnosis for the kid to be eligible for anything.