We are focusing on the AIMS testing here in Middle School world. In changing careers last year, I have discovered so many new things and my eyes have been opened WIDE to so many things. One of the many wonderful truths I have RE-discovered is that "you can't fix stupid".
How true is this? We bloggers ask each other almost daily, "why did that happen?"or "what possibly posessed him to say/do that?" I find myself shouting at the "retard" in front of me who REFUSES to use the "blinker" to indicate simply, Right or Left. I stand in line at a local coffee shop, while the person in front of me STRUGGLES to understand the cost of a drink and then have to listen to them AGUE that 2+2=4 plus state taxes @ 8.1%..... ~shakes head~ I mean what makes a 12 year old kid stand up in a class full of students and myself and SPIT on a chair? RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME?!?!?!? WHAT on earth is possibly going on in that brain?!?!?! ANYONE???? BULER???? ANYONE???
So you can't fix stupid. You either have the basic ability to understand or you don't. NOW, her is my question. Should we teacher (over worked, underpaid, social workers, mothers, aunts, etc) teach kids to use CRITICAL THINKING, would the kids of today be in this "stupid" mode? I have been advised to start teaching to a AIMS test! WHAT?!?!?! I am supposed to "spoon feed" them the information and then beat it like a dead horse.
*sigh*
What happened to children who could use reason and logic to "make the best choice"? More importantly, that our choices have CONSEQUENCES! *GASP* NOT accountability?!?!?! WHAT?!?!?! What is wrong with our kids that they are not learning and RETAINING the Critical Thinking skills needed to be successful adults?
What systems could we as educators employee to help this "rotting" of the future minds?!?!?! I after all am wondering what other parts of the county's educational minds think on this. Now that I am "apart" of the SYSTEM...I want to be sure that I stay true to WHO I am and passing on these wonderful "skills" to future generations.
Thoughts? Ideas? Other teachers?
7 Left me pearls of wisdom:
Shit. I don't know where it all went wrong - is it a generational thing, a problem with the family structure, a problem with the educational systems? I tend to think all of the above. When did we stop holding children to standards? I don't know, but it's b-a-d.
As for another teaching perspective, I can tell you that after 30+ years, my father has given up and has written them off as a lost cause.
I can also tell you that when I was teaching grown adults with careers, if I didn't spoonfeed, I got in a shitload of trouble because they branded me as bitchy and gave me shitty evaluations. Did I care? No. And I made the ones willing to do the work better for it. The others ones flunked and I didn't give a shit. But when my admins told me I needed higher passing rates, I caved b/c I needed the moola and benefits.
And yo - he spit in front of you?
Damn, in Catholic school, someone's ass would have gotten kicked up and down the hallway and THEN the parents would have kicked that same raw ass again.
Sigh. The good ol' days ...
People need to be encouraged that they can think for themselves, that they can question everything and that they'll still be okay. They just go along with what they're told - a sheep mentality.
Amen to what you're saying - deductive reasoning seems to be long gone...
The worst thing you can do to a kid is spoon feed them the information. The system is basically telling these kids "you're too stupid to think it through on your own, so just memorize the answers and ace the test."
Never mind using a thought process to calculate the answer or understand the why behind the answer. That's not important. All that's important is the bottom line AIMS scores.
It's no wonder today's highschool graduates could find their ass with both hands. They've been sittin' on them so long they've gone dumb, er numb I mean.
Makes ya wanna home school your kids doesn't it?
IAI: I can't give up. I just can't.
Dirty: OH get this. 30% of the test is writing in the 6 traits...and spelling isn't as importants as IDEAS/Topic and "flow" Gawd I hate that word...So basically you can write like a 1st grader and still be a top student~rolls eyes~ I am FLABBER GAUSTED!!!
Kevin: GAWD forbid they think on thier own! HOWWWWLLLLLYYYY cow that would mean *gasp* they might learn INITATIVE!!!!
DB: OH yeah, IF I EVER have kids and "settle" down...I am so homeschooling them. SO making sure they are educated. not socialized!
It's all genitics. Were going to dumb ourselves down so far that drooling will soon be considered "hot". There is so much spoonfeeding (like IAI said) going on that the wrld has become coddeled. and dicipline? NEVER! not in this age. People are more apt to sue for something like that!
Everyone wants everything like they see it in their head, and if they don't get it that way, they lose it. and thats sad.
Flash: OMG It's like the world has A.D.D.
~shakes head~
What were we talking about again?!?!?!?!
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