Dwight Stewart wrote:
"Phil Kane" wrote:


A bloody shame both ways - the Feds play
their games, the locals play theirs, and
the kids - including my kids in their
time - lose out. Private schools were no
better......they just had different
funding ills.



I noticed you mentioned teachers in another message. If you get a chance,
take a trip to your local school sometime. I recently visited several high
schools and was impressed with the effort those teachers were putting into
their jobs. What was surprising was the behavior of the kids in some classes
(not all, some). In some classes, very few were paying attention to anything
the teacher said. Instead, they were talking, playing radios, dancing,
threatening each other, sleeping, making out (kissing and necking), and so
on. They would have never even noticed anything the teacher did to help them
learn. I don't see how anyone could possibly learn anything in such an
environment.

I talked to several teachers afterwards. According to them, the difference
between classes is due to attempts to separate kids that are making an
effort from those who are not. In the classes with the better behaved
students, the classroom instruction advances at a much quicker rate. In the
classes with the kids who are not trying, class size is reduced and the
teachers just try to get the kids to absorb anything they're supposed to be
learning. Most of those teachers admitted it was nearly a hopeless cause -
how do you get kids to learn if they're not at all interested in doing so.

I left with a simply question on my mind - what is causing those kids not
to be interested in learning and how can that be changed. If we can answer
that, I think 80 to 90 percent of the problem could be solved. And, as
mentioned in another message, I suspect the answer lies outside the school
system.

My take is that the child has to be raised with an expectation that he
or she will indeed do well in school. Many are not raised this way.
Appreciation for the sciences, appreciation for learning and hard work,
all that good stuff.

Diminishing emphasis on "self-esteem" would be a great idea.
Self-esteem should be something earned. One of the strangest things I
have seen lately is the bizzare students who have a great sense of
self-esteem with absolutely no reason for it. No accomplishments, no
education, nothing but feeling really, really good about themselves.

We also have to remember that Students are individuals and mature at
different rates. I know many students who seemd to undergo a miraculous
change at some point in high school, going from slacker to achiever
almost overnight. My own kid underwent such a change right after he got
a steady girlfriend, his grades improved, and his whole H.S. experience
changed right around, because he started to get a future looking
perspective.

Oh, yeah. Get the kids thinking about something other than what's
happening 5 minutes from now.

- Mike KB3EIA -