tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post370896662459080851..comments2024-03-21T05:30:03.220-04:00Comments on Science teacher: Mr. Spock, please call home....doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-833962144627330882009-02-01T00:13:00.000-05:002009-02-01T00:13:00.000-05:00Dear Barry,What happened indeed. I ask this questi...Dear Barry,<BR/><BR/>What happened indeed. I ask this question all the time.<BR/><BR/>Ironically the cloud (or whatever new word we're using this month) may not only reinvent public schools but also return them to their rightful function.<BR/><BR/>"Public" is not a four-letter word.doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-51072445453107842062009-01-29T13:09:00.000-05:002009-01-29T13:09:00.000-05:00Did you find it interesting that the committee cha...Did you find it interesting that the committee charged with "Redesigning our High Schools for the 21st Century" did not have represrntation from teachers or administrators? Instead the committee is comprised of university and business folks who see the purpose of school is to get students ready for work.<BR/><BR/>Hmmm...what happened to the Dewey approach where the purpose of school is to create productive citizens?Barry Bachenheimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17145587794589872889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-30487115387662310852009-01-29T06:14:00.000-05:002009-01-29T06:14:00.000-05:00Dear Paul,I'll take your thoughts point by point:"...Dear Paul,<BR/><BR/>I'll take your thoughts point by point:<BR/><BR/><I>"I don't think the only consideration should be whether a particular skill will likely be of use in a given individual's future occupation."</I><BR/><BR/>Of course not--we agree here. A course in logic could help a student in life in general. <BR/><BR/><I>"For one thing, even if we grant that other states' standards are excessive in requiring a given course, it doesn't follow that your state shouldn't follow suit. If your state's students will be judged in comparison to students from those states, then it might very well be in their best interest to require them to take the courses.</I><BR/><BR/>If you believe a requirement is "excessive" (and by excessive I mean more than a handful of kids across a normal range of intelligence will not be able to pass it), then following another state's lead because you fear they'll be viewed as less qualified results in an escalation of credentialing craziness.<BR/><BR/>The public high school diploma tells the world you have met the the minimum standards your region has set. If you want to check credentials, look at the transcript. Forcing kids to attain higher levels of math will result in fewer kids getting diplomas, kids that would have been fully qualified for a 1980 diploma.<BR/><BR/><I>"shutting doors on students early on effectively shuts doors in their future.</I><BR/><BR/>Excessive standards effectively shut down doors--some kids will not be able to grasp some mathematical concepts, no matter how you teach them. I was never going to break a 7.6 second 50 yard dash no matter how much coach yelled (though I still managed to be captain of a couple of soccer teams, slow as I am).<BR/><BR/>And finally, a well taught math class indeed requires practicing specific forms of logic. It will not, however, serve well as a way to broadly expose logic in its varied forms. You could make a case, though, that every beginning computer course start with a crash course in Booolean logic.doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-66682504307528923332009-01-29T00:43:00.000-05:002009-01-29T00:43:00.000-05:00As a philosophy major myself, I'd be thrilled to t...As a philosophy major myself, I'd be thrilled to teach a high school logic course, but I don't think the only consideration should be whether a particular skill will likely be of use in a given individual's future occupation. <BR/><BR/>For one thing, even if we grant that other states' standards are excessive in requiring a given course, it doesn't follow that your state shouldn't follow suit. If your state's students will be judged in comparison to students from those states, then it might very well be in their best interest to require them to take the courses. Much education is really aimed at acquiring credentials and, like it or not, graduates are often judged on what courses they've taken rather than on what they've learned.<BR/><BR/>Additionally, as I've argued before, shutting doors on students early on effectively shuts doors in their future. Catching up is just way too hard. <BR/><BR/>And finally, a well-taught math class really should teach kids logic anyway.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-89519612030580705212009-01-28T17:55:00.000-05:002009-01-28T17:55:00.000-05:00Dear Tracy,Thanks for the words.I got a bit steame...Dear Tracy,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the words.I got a bit steamed when I saw the quotes, and the words just flew.<BR/><BR/>If the state is going to require something beyond biology, at least Newtonian physics has some practical use--teaching chemistry, which relies heavily on mythology (in the classic sense of the word) is too much for many of my kids.<BR/><BR/>I hope the Commissioner sees your reply.doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956989639073843954.post-92062256647418109392009-01-28T17:21:00.000-05:002009-01-28T17:21:00.000-05:00Oh, you were in fine form when you penned, ok, typ...Oh, you were in fine form when you penned, ok, typed, this one.<BR/><BR/>Chemistry? <BR/><BR/>Does that mean that I would not be considered a competent graduate in your fine state? <BR/><BR/>I never took chemistry. But somehow I have managed to land a job, one that I love and am successful at, and have even managed to wrangle myself a spot in a PhD program. <BR/><BR/>Imagine. Must've been a fluke.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com