Even back in the early sixties, the goombahs in charge of the public school systems were attempting to “modernize” education in an effort to justify their existence. Hence we got things like “New Math” which attempted to teach us how to add and subtract without learning how. I.E., if you want to add two sevens together, you figure out how to add two tens together because tens are easier than sevens. That gives you two threes left over as a remainder, so if you subtract the two threes from the two tens you get 14 which is the correct answer! Simple, eh? Of course, for those of us who already had several years of math class, actually learning our addition, subtraction and multiplication – this “new” method led to utter confusion. And it’s only gotten worse in the decade since, as new “ideas” thought up by geniuses who couldn’t spell “cat” it you spotted them three letters, crop up in our school ciriculums.
I got curious enough about this BS that I took a job subbing for a couple of years…maybe I’ll write a book…one thing’s for sure: there’s NOTHING wrong with the kids, except putting an older dummy(yes! I cansay that) back means that he will ‘take over ’ the class and effectively keep the kids around him from learning what he can’t…They were calling this ‘mainstreaming’ and basically it meant that nobody AROUND the dumb one…there are such…giggled a lot, played grab-bass with him, and offended a lot of their fellow students. Saw this in three separate cases…so I don’t support THAT.
And there’s NOTHING wrong with the teachers, USUALLY, either. The buildings were good, too. Might have made a difference if they had BOOKS to take home and study…maybe if parents had a ‘study nook’ for the kids, and kept them off tv and other BS electronics.
I remember just missing “New Math” and thinking how ridiculous it was even at that age..Addictive non-educational games are destructive to learning, but well written educational programs can help especially in an competitive environment. I learned the state shapes, locations, capitals, trees, and state birds playing a computer game. It was timed and could be played against others..As to the present young generation, I have heard of some starting corporations, and some [normal] kids made me wonder if they could tie their shoes. In either case we need to be better because we are losing this nation to others.
We home schooled when the local public school (Meridian, MS) allowed the 6th grade kids to hang with the high school kids during lunch, and the 2nd grade teacher divided her class into 3 groups; she worked with one, her aide worked with one, and she wanted our son (yes, a 2nd grader) to work with the other.If you choose to home school make sure there is a good organization of other parents. Our association had many field trips, and other socialization experiences. Also, home schooled kids tend to do 10 to 20 percentile points better on grade-level testing, as well as scoring better on SAT, ACT, and similar testing.Just like public schools, home schools can have great variability in value. If one chooses to home school it is incumbent they invest in the process to ensure their children succeed. To blindly condemn home schooling is no different than those who condemn all public schools.
I hope Allison wasn’t making some generality about home schooling. In particular, that home schooled kids are more insulated from the real world. That’s certainly not true with the families I’ve know. There’s so many social outlets available for kids today that aren’t dependent on a school setting.
Dampwaffle almost 13 years ago
Even back in the early sixties, the goombahs in charge of the public school systems were attempting to “modernize” education in an effort to justify their existence. Hence we got things like “New Math” which attempted to teach us how to add and subtract without learning how. I.E., if you want to add two sevens together, you figure out how to add two tens together because tens are easier than sevens. That gives you two threes left over as a remainder, so if you subtract the two threes from the two tens you get 14 which is the correct answer! Simple, eh? Of course, for those of us who already had several years of math class, actually learning our addition, subtraction and multiplication – this “new” method led to utter confusion. And it’s only gotten worse in the decade since, as new “ideas” thought up by geniuses who couldn’t spell “cat” it you spotted them three letters, crop up in our school ciriculums.
tigre1 almost 13 years ago
I got curious enough about this BS that I took a job subbing for a couple of years…maybe I’ll write a book…one thing’s for sure: there’s NOTHING wrong with the kids, except putting an older dummy(yes! I cansay that) back means that he will ‘take over ’ the class and effectively keep the kids around him from learning what he can’t…They were calling this ‘mainstreaming’ and basically it meant that nobody AROUND the dumb one…there are such…giggled a lot, played grab-bass with him, and offended a lot of their fellow students. Saw this in three separate cases…so I don’t support THAT.
And there’s NOTHING wrong with the teachers, USUALLY, either. The buildings were good, too. Might have made a difference if they had BOOKS to take home and study…maybe if parents had a ‘study nook’ for the kids, and kept them off tv and other BS electronics.
walruscarver2000 almost 13 years ago
No, just allowed to get away with more by doting parents and cowardly schoolboards.
The Life I Draw Upon almost 13 years ago
I remember just missing “New Math” and thinking how ridiculous it was even at that age..Addictive non-educational games are destructive to learning, but well written educational programs can help especially in an competitive environment. I learned the state shapes, locations, capitals, trees, and state birds playing a computer game. It was timed and could be played against others..As to the present young generation, I have heard of some starting corporations, and some [normal] kids made me wonder if they could tie their shoes. In either case we need to be better because we are losing this nation to others.
pocoskip almost 13 years ago
We home schooled when the local public school (Meridian, MS) allowed the 6th grade kids to hang with the high school kids during lunch, and the 2nd grade teacher divided her class into 3 groups; she worked with one, her aide worked with one, and she wanted our son (yes, a 2nd grader) to work with the other.If you choose to home school make sure there is a good organization of other parents. Our association had many field trips, and other socialization experiences. Also, home schooled kids tend to do 10 to 20 percentile points better on grade-level testing, as well as scoring better on SAT, ACT, and similar testing.Just like public schools, home schools can have great variability in value. If one chooses to home school it is incumbent they invest in the process to ensure their children succeed. To blindly condemn home schooling is no different than those who condemn all public schools.
Bogy Premium Member almost 13 years ago
Most of you really don’t get the point of this strip do you? You are right there with the twins.
username_1 almost 13 years ago
Odd, I wondered if her parents were liberal? Neither side has a monopoly on snobbish, elitist, racist, ideas.
username_1 almost 13 years ago
I hope Allison wasn’t making some generality about home schooling. In particular, that home schooled kids are more insulated from the real world. That’s certainly not true with the families I’ve know. There’s so many social outlets available for kids today that aren’t dependent on a school setting.