New grading scale for some schools in California means 50% is now a C

[Lancaster]

Now most of those kids can meet the requirement for Springfield University....

[stawns]

You really going to defend public education? Its daycare. I spend half my time at school in pointless class's such as gym computer class. CAP. cooking, art. Being forced to take these bull$&!# class's to get "credits" to get your "grade 12". We dont learn anything about current events, We dont learn anything about the difference's of political parties.. I passed because it moves at a snails pace and it designed for dumb people. Our school system and our education is a &^@#ing joke compared to other places in the world. Passing school and getting your grade 12 just means you're not a retard.

I'm sure others in your class are learning those things.  You get out of it what you put in.

[etsen3]

You never know. As unlikely as it is, he/she could just be one of those people who can teach themselves and don't need to put in much (or really any) effort at all to do well. 

Honestly I was one of those kids, and I understand what he is saying.  I was a kid that did a lot of reading when I was little and I ended up learning way more through my own research outside of class than I did in class, even foundational skills like spelling and multiplication.  I found that schools placed too much of an emphasis on rote learning and memorized knowledge as opposed to truly understanding the concepts being presented or developing critical thinking skills.  I did have some very good, highly intelligent teachers that did explore bigger issues, but that involved going outside a curriculum that was often too narrow and merely paid a cursory lip service to things such critical thinking skills and advanced concepts.

A good example was the subject of nutrition. Year after year it was "here's the Canada food guide, memorize it".  Nothing about different nutrients, or caloric intake, or designing meal plans, or body composition, or genetics, or how your nutritional needs differ from person to person.  Nothing about how to lose weight or put on muscle or protect your joints.  Just " eat your vegetables".  Not to mention that the Canada Food guide is a deeply flawed piece of information, and so is the Body Mass Index (another thing they made us calculate without telling us how the information was derived or what to do with it).

Some people might say this stuff is too advanced for kids, but if you push the pace, inspire confidence and get them to take an interest in more advanced concepts (which is easy, because who likes sitting around and memorizing numbers?) I think you would be surprised at how smart most kids are. Honestly I find that younger teachers tended to be better at this than older teachers who too often were content to stand at the front and spout off the same bits of information they've been regurgitating for the last 40 years.  (Obviously there were plenty of exceptions on both sides).

 

Anyway though, I can definitely say I've learned much more from my own research, my own life experience, and from my university courses than I have from the primary education system.

[thejazz97]

Honestly I was one of those kids, and I understand what he is saying.  I was a kid that did a lot of reading when I was little and I ended up learning way more through my own research outside of class than I did in class, even foundational skills like spelling and multiplication.  I found that schools placed too much of an emphasis on rote learning and memorized knowledge as opposed to truly understanding the concepts being presented or developing critical thinking skills.  I did have some very good, highly intelligent teachers that did explore bigger issues, but that involved going outside a curriculum that was often too narrow and merely paid a cursory lip service to things such critical thinking skills and advanced concepts.

I was the same way. Taught myself to read. According to my mom, my Grade 1 teacher discouraged me from learning and so I slowed down a great deal from then on.

But I totally get what you're saying. Now that I've been in college, high school and elementary school just seem... dumb.

[RUPERTKBD]

You got a frowning walrus in actual intelligence, that's a fail Justin, let's make that Walrus smile!

+1 for the John Oliver reference....

...and the fact that you used it in a complete sentence....

[ManUtd]

Honestly I was one of those kids, and I understand what he is saying.  I was a kid that did a lot of reading when I was little and I ended up learning way more through my own research outside of class than I did in class, even foundational skills like spelling and multiplication.  I found that schools placed too much of an emphasis on rote learning and memorized knowledge as opposed to truly understanding the concepts being presented or developing critical thinking skills.  I did have some very good, highly intelligent teachers that did explore bigger issues, but that involved going outside a curriculum that was often too narrow and merely paid a cursory lip service to things such critical thinking skills and advanced concepts.

A good example was the subject of nutrition. Year after year it was "here's the Canada food guide, memorize it".  Nothing about different nutrients, or caloric intake, or designing meal plans, or body composition, or genetics, or how your nutritional needs differ from person to person.  Nothing about how to lose weight or put on muscle or protect your joints.  Just " eat your vegetables".  Not to mention that the Canada Food guide is a deeply flawed piece of information, and so is the Body Mass Index (another thing they made us calculate without telling us how the information was derived or what to do with it).

Some people might say this stuff is too advanced for kids, but if you push the pace, inspire confidence and get them to take an interest in more advanced concepts (which is easy, because who likes sitting around and memorizing numbers?) I think you would be surprised at how smart most kids are. Honestly I find that younger teachers tended to be better at this than older teachers who too often were content to stand at the front and spout off the same bits of information they've been regurgitating for the last 40 years.  (Obviously there were plenty of exceptions on both sides).

 

Anyway though, I can definitely say I've learned much more from my own research, my own life experience, and from my university courses than I have from the primary education system.

Yea. I practically never went to class in university. Would teach myself whole courses in about 24-48 hours in the lead up to exams. I ended up getting a B+ average in 3rd and 4th year (was too depressed to care or even put in that level of effort in 1st and 2nd year). Then my last class ever was a summer one for 2 weeks where attendance was mandatory. Killed me a little bit that it was pretty close to my best class ever considering I didn't even study for the final. I finally realized what I could have accomplished if I had been well enough to take it seriously the whole time. 

[stawns]

I was the same way. Taught myself to read. According to my mom, my Grade 1 teacher discouraged me from learning and so I slowed down a great deal from then on.

But I totally get what you're saying. Now that I've been in college, high school and elementary school just seem... dumb.

haha, I'm sure you did.

[JoeyJoeJoeJr. Shabadoo]

It is in my opinion and experience that most kids will live up to their expectations. Very few have the personal motivation to exceed them. If you lower the expectations they are bound to meet those too.

[logic]

As a student in highschool my opinion is that the grading system is completely stupid. Instead of focusing on learning things, and pushing yourself, and mind, you are more worried about memorizing things to score higher on a test

 

[Ghostsof1915]

The reality is teachers aren't encouraged to improve themselves or their training and get better. I get reviews in my job Monthly/Quarterly/and Yearly. My manager and supervisor try to help me improve and fix any mistakes. 

That's what teachers need. How about 2 weekly sessions in the summertime where they can go to University and take courses to help teach subjects better. For example compared to my high school math courses, I learned more in 1 semester in college than I did in my entire schooling. And it wasn't hard. The textbooks gave lots of real world applications, to see it was useful. My instructor even pointed out where my mistakes came from and how to correct them. 

It's not the subjects being taught, it's how it's being taught. Engaging the kids to learn is key. Best phrase I heard "The mind is not a vessel to be filled. It's a fire to be ignited."

[stawns]

The reality is teachers aren't encouraged to improve themselves or their training and get better. I get reviews in my job Monthly/Quarterly/and Yearly. My manager and supervisor try to help me improve and fix any mistakes. 

That's what teachers need. How about 2 weekly sessions in the summertime where they can go to University and take courses to help teach subjects better. For example compared to my high school math courses, I learned more in 1 semester in college than I did in my entire schooling. And it wasn't hard. The textbooks gave lots of real world applications, to see it was useful. My instructor even pointed out where my mistakes came from and how to correct them. 

It's not the subjects being taught, it's how it's being taught. Engaging the kids to learn is key. Best phrase I heard "The mind is not a vessel to be filled. It's a fire to be ignited."

you are very clearly uninformed, or ignorant about what you're talking about.