Interesting conversation with my son this weekend. This is the same kid who came up with the Canal Project. Big thinker. I admit, Monday afternoon and I’m still ruminating on what he said.
Here’s his premise:
If 90%+ of the world’s info is available from a smart-phone, college and various curriculums need to be rethought and updated. Our children (because he’s now the adult and thinking of future generations – which was a shock to me – cuz I still think of him as the kid) live in a world with information at their fingertips…. and they need to be taught how to use this information more effectively. His use of the word, “effectively”, snagged me, and implied he knew something I did not. I settled in to listen to him expound on his idea.
“This NEED should bring about a revolution in education because the current model does not account for the SPEED at which we can learn with new technology.”, he said. Okay, I can remember being bored in school at times…. and lost at other times.
He elaborated, “….Think about how people binge-watch Netflix….., why should a 6th grader who is interested in physical sciences STOP, or only learn one chapter a week? Why can’t they take tests on-line in the form of units? He noted when he was in 3rd grade (back in the stone age, I guess) they were already taking tests on-line. Why can’t unit tests be strapped into a local school server?
He had my attention…
… but continued.
“Same thing with foreign language. There are a half-dozen software programs available which are far more effective than a teacher in school, learning by semester….. and we have to RE-LEARN for a month when we return in the fall.” He was now standing, pacing, being expressive, and he was convincing.
Then, he dropped a bomb.
“The classroom is outdated. Teachers are outdated. The model was great, for thousands of years, but the model has not adapted to the new tech available and how much easier it is to learn, now.” To back up his claim, he gave the example of Khan Academy for mathematics, where a student can view a clip, look at different examples, back it up and listen again for clarity. Can’t do that with a teacher in class. He gave another example of the kid who daydreams and misses 80% of what a teacher says on a particular day. With the new tech, even the daydreamer could go back and review. We could substantially increase passing rates for all kids in all grades!”
Playing the role of Devil’s advocate, I questioned him about the socialization aspects of “school”. He quickly shot back, “Oh yeah, mom, let’s save the bullies?”, which was an ineffective argument when weighed against the overall benefits of socialization, the ability to read people, working within a team, etc. Yet, then, he had me, “More importantly, how much of bullying or individual bad conduct is caused because students are bored in class?” Gee whiz, wonder who taught my son to make a persuasive argument?
He was flushing the idea outloud and plugged in the Special Ed component. “We all knew the kids who went to special classes and it was embarrassing for them. Okay, let’s say, they take a unit test and get a 60%% grade, thus failing the test. Before they would be allowed to move on, they have to go through another review, and another test, to master material. Their failure is private, thus no embarrassment in class — but a teacher would know immediately. THEN, that kid would no longer be lost in class, AND the kid who understood the material quickly would not be bored and causing trouble.”
Then, he dropped another bomb.
He said, “Let’s look at it from a cost perspective and a wealthy versus poor school district perspective.” My eyebrow was curling, he was talking about taxpayer dollars. “If there are, let’s say, 25K elementary schools in America (he did not know the exact number), then why do we need 25K 3rd grade science teachers? AND, some of these teachers are wonderful and some stink. Why don’t we take the best ones, for lectures, ensuring ALL 3rd graders get the BEST lectures…. across all zip codes…. and the same great teacher in poor or rich communities?” I asked about the experiments and labs. He said, “Well, then we could have one teacher, 1-5th grade, spend a month with each grade, per semester, doing nothing but experiments and blowing things up. You know, mom, The LAB teacher.”
I said, “Well, to listen to lectures, test in units, students wouldn’t necessarily need to be in school.” He gave me the big eyes, “Yeah, they could be sitting in a treehouse, they could learn it in July instead of waiting until October.” Then, he gave the idea a big boost, “Let’s say a 3rd grader is interested in American Presidents, or astronomy, or bugs. Well, there’s no limit to the content available. Why can’t we have assigned reading on a Kindle or books on audio? Why can’t we design other units for those kids who are interested in ANY subject….. and maybe give them extra credit for other ‘electives’….. cuz you know, mom, not every 3rd grader is interested in the same thing…” Ahhh, the wisdom from a 21yr old…. But then, he gave me the example of 3-500 level classes he is taking in materials engineering. He said his professors are not teaching him anything, because they are electives and the professors are “phoning it in”. So, he signed up for the same class, on line, from MIT, to supplement his learning in the same class….. so he can, at least, understand it. Bizarre, eh? He said, “The MIT professor explains thing easily, as opposed to my professor” at the college he is attending….. the one we are paying for.
He was on a roll, “What we SHOULD be focused on is how to teach children how to THINK critically and recognize bias/propaganda within the information.”, he said, now looking for possible hazards or negatives for which we would have to plan for in “New School”. “New School”……., I thought, gheez, he’s already branded the idea. He continued, “Take any issue, The Civil War, Martin Luther King, Jr., The Environment, and students can source docs to represent both sides of any issue. How is it possible to discern what really happened and make a definitive statement about “who was/is right”? Then, he went into a long diatribe about how science is being corrupted for social ideology, minimizing the value of “pure” scientific method, and the hypothesis/result process.
He sighed, “Only mathematics remains uncorrupted by politics, but within a classroom, students are evaluated and graded based on the bias of a teacher.” He digressed with an example of an honors biology class he took which was taught by a cheerleading coach, when the parents of the boys in the class had to go to school and complain about her bias. He said, “Grading online, would eliminate that problem for multiple choice and true/false tests.” For grading of essays, in advanced grades, he suggested student be forced to write TWO persuasive essays on both sides of any issue and consistently, from 1st grade onward, be forced to identify facts versus opinions.
“New School”…… hmmmm, what are YOUR thoughts on the subject? My son went back to college on Sunday night, but I admit, he still had me thinking about it today.
End
Day: April 22, 2019
Dear MAGA: 20190422 Open Topic
This Easter Monday Open Thread is VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA world.
Wait…’Easter Monday’?
Yes, Easter Monday. It’s a thing. It is referred to as “Easter Monday” on the White House site that gives us a history of the annual Easter Egg Roll:
The White House Easter Egg Roll officially dates back to 1878 and the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes, but first-hand accounts suggest that informal festivities began with egg-rolling parties under President Abraham Lincoln. Starting in the 1870s, Easter Monday celebrations on the U.S. Capitol’s west grounds grew so popular that President Ulysses S. Grant signed a bill that banned the rolling of eggs on Capitol grounds, citing landscape concerns. [emphasis mine]
In 1878, a group of bold children walked up to the White House gate, hoping to be allowed to play egg-rolling games there. President Hayes told his guards to let the children enter, and soon Easter Monday on the White House grounds became an annual tradition. President Benjamin Harrison added music to the festivities in 1889 with the United States Marine Band.
These are the traditional wooden Easter Eggs that will be given out this year:
Today, the 141st White House Easter Egg Roll will be hosted by First Lady Melania Trump and President Donald J. Trump.
Free Speech is practiced here at the Q Tree. In fact, our host Wolfmoon encourages us to use it…and Enjoy it. “Use it or lose it”, he tells us.
But please keep it civil. Discussion of Q is not only allowed but encouraged. Imagine that! We can talk about Q here and not get banned.
Please also consider the Important Guidelines, outlined here in the January 1st open thread. Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven that Wolf has created for us.
Remember – your greatest gift to President Trump is FIVE WORDS:
I AM PRAYING FOR YOU.
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Yes, it’s Monday:
Have a cup of Quality Covfefe and you’ll feel better:
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For your listening enjoyment, I offer this composition Mix from the artist known as Fearless Motivation, titled “Resilience”:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NJuin5S1Ic&w=640&h=360]
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Visual Descriptions for our dear Zoe, and for anyone else who may find them helpful:
Top Image: Is President Trump, at last year’s Easter Egg Roll, seated at a table and surrounded by children. He has a fatherly look on his face, is holding a pen and saying something to one of the children. It was chilly for last year’s event, so he is wearing a dark top coat and the children are wearing jackets.
Second Image: Is a black and white photo of the White House grounds, during the Easter Egg Roll in 1923. There is a large crowd of children and adults in period clothing. It is a sunny day but must have been chilly, since they are all wearing sweaters and coats.
Third Image: Is a picture of five brightly painted wooden Easter Eggs, made to commemorate this year’s Easter Egg Roll. The solid colored green, pink, gold, red and blue eggs have a glossy finish. The gold one bears the Presidential Seal and the others have a picture of the White House, each identified with the year and name of the event.
Fourth Image: Is a view of the White House during last year’s event. It is shot through the flowering cherry trees and tulip trees and shows the crowd that has gathered on the grounds. It was overcast that day.
Fifth Image: President Trump is walking away from Marine One helicopter on the White House lawn. He is wearing a long topcoat and looks deep in thought. There is a Marine standing at attention beside the steps of the chopper. Beyond Marine One is a fountain in full spray and in the distance is the Lincoln Memorial.
Sixth Image: Is a moving gif showing a Polar Bear who is so exhausted that his head and shoulders are down on the ice…but his hind end is in the air and he is pushing himself along with his back legs. This appears underneath “Yes, it’s Monday.”
Bottom Image: Is a picture of a tan bag with a clear plastic window showing the delicious-looking coffee beans inside. Beside it is a navy blue coffee mug filled with coffee, with a large ‘Q’ on it. The coffee bag has the word “Quality” above the clear window, with a large smoky ‘Q’ in a different font than the other letters. Below the window is the word “Covfefe”.