Schools in D.C.

[Anmar]

I can't believe that I'm siding with Billy on something.

[momof 2boys]

Reading levels are being addressed at the upper levels, teachers look at the testing results and use those indicators to determine which areas are weak and address them.  As far as mathematics,  I don't know if you have ever seen in the paper how many of West Elk students are on the math relay teams and that West Elk students ALWAYS end up on top at these contests!  With regards to states and capitals, I learned them in fourth and fifth grades and I know that they are still being taught at those levels.  That information will proabably benefit me the next time I'm playing trivia or on Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader.  The spelling issue is so funny, because I was just talking to my mother the other night about how great of a speller I was when I was in school.  I was runner up for Elk County and got to travel to Topeka to watch the State spelling bee.  Nowadays, I struggle with my spelling, because I rely too much on spell check.  It has become a crutch for our whole techno-friendly society.

[sixdogsmom]

People and students both rely on crutches way too much. The advancement in technology used in the schools would have been great if the time and effort saved had been used on some other teaching. We had a conversation at bible study the other night about how a highschool graduate in 1900 was closer to a PHD than a highschool graduate now is to the 1900 graduate on a highschool level. I really think that our youngsters are not challenged enough, so underchallened in fact that when faced with a real challenge in the real world, they tend to crumple. And OMG, Billy, I must say that I too agree with you. 

[Varmit]

Gina, let me help those at the upper levels and the teachers who are trying so desperately to solve the reading problem...GIVE THE CHILDREN A FREAKIN BOOK...then have them read said book out loud and then see how...many...of ...th..them...re..re..read...like...this.  I have seen some of the books that my children bring home and are to read 20  minutes every night.  It is no wonder that kids can't read worth a crap.  Some of the drivel that is being passed off as being "on their level" an embryo would get bored with.  As I said, lowered standards.

As for the states and capitals, if we follow the logic of "eliminate what they aren't going to use" we could eliminate biology, I mean after all how many people actually need to know the make up of a plant cell?  Geography..I can't remember the last time I actually needed to know the make up of the earth or where on it Asia is.  

Kudos to the West Elk students on the math rely teams.  Why aren't the rest of the students able to perform at that level??...Don't get mad, that was hypothetical.  But I think you can understand the point I am trying to make.

[momof 2boys]

I, as a teacher, find each child's reading level and let them know what their levels are so that they check out books that correspond with their reading level.   And yes I hand them books withing their reading levels and say read it to me.    I listen to children read daily.  But there is only so much I can do.  I can't go home with them to make sure they do their homework or their nightly reading. 

I know as a teacher, I challenge my students daily.  I hear a lot of "That's too hard", "I can't do that".  And my response to them is one of encouragement.  Failure is not an option!  But once again, a lot of students may hear this at school and not at home.

I would never "eliminate" any curricular material.  I was simply trying my stab at humor with my comment regarding states and capitals.  Reminder to self:  next time insert smiley face or lol!  I teach states and capital; continents and oceans; and yes plant and animal cells.  As a matter of fact my students just recently drew and labeled parts of both plant and animal cells.     They were also quizzed over all continents and oceans.

Like I said in my orginal post, Varmit, I agree with the majority of your original post with exception to the quality of Elk county schools.  I am very proud to have graduated from West Elk, I am very proud to teach at West Elk, and I can't think of anywhere else that I would want my children to go!   

No worries Varmit, no anger here.  But in response to your hypothetical question, "Why aren't the rest of the students able to perform at that level?" with regards to the Math relays.  The Math relays are mainly made up of students that are working beyond grade level and are a challenging activity for them.    Not all students are able to work at that level in Math, just like I am unable to play basketball to the level of Michael Jordan. LOL!    We each have our own talents.

[Anmar]

Look at it this way.  In the USA when i was in school, advanced kids are taking Algebra in the 8th grade.  California is now pushing to have 80% of it's students in Algebra by the 8th grade by next year.  They probably won't achieve it.  We can sit here and argue which state is better at what subject but does it really matter when kids in singapore are learning algebra in the fifth grade?

[Varmit]

  Not all students are able to work at that level in Math, just like I am unable to play basketball to the level of Michael Jordan. LOL!    We each have our own talents.

I agree, personally, when it comes to math, anything beyond simple algebra and I'm lost.  History, Lit., Government, were more my favorites.  Science, math, chemistry, I hated expotenially.  
I was trying to make the point that children are not challenged or pushed enough.  As for the "reading level" bit, my take on it is that if a child is reading at his grade level, that is fine, in the 1st and 2nd grade.  If a 3rd grader is reading at his level with little difficulty then he should be given 4th grade material.


Anmar, I have heard that agrument before.  That our schools suck and japans (or wherever) are the best.  I disagree, based on the  condition of their country.  By that I mean if their schools were so much better than ours, why is our country in better condition?

[Anmar]

  Not all students are able to work at that level in Math, just like I am unable to play basketball to the level of Michael Jordan. LOL!    We each have our own talents.

I agree, personally, when it comes to math, anything beyond simple algebra and I'm lost.  History, Lit., Government, were more my favorites.  Science, math, chemistry, I hated expotenially.  
I was trying to make the point that children are not challenged or pushed enough.  As for the "reading level" bit, my take on it is that if a child is reading at his grade level, that is fine, in the 1st and 2nd grade.  If a 3rd grader is reading at his level with little difficulty then he should be given 4th grade material.


Anmar, I have heard that agrument before.  That our schools suck and japans (or wherever) are the best.  I disagree, based on the  condition of their country.  By that I mean if their schools were so much better than ours, why is our country in better condition?

define condition,  How do you measure a countries condition?  GDP? happiness?  some people even use average height.  I'm not sure that our coutnry is in better condition, but i can't prove it to you until you tell me the manner in which you measure condition.

[Diane Amberg]

  Varmit, it sounds like some some teacher challenged you in math and chemistry and you didn't like the challenge because it wasn't "easy" for you." Did you rise to the occasion and meet the challenge? Or did you just call the teacher "bad." Did your parents ask for help, ask for extra work, have you tutored? "Hating" subjects is no excuse. (poke, poke...welcome to a teacher's world.) As far as elementary reading goes, here the reading programs slide, so once kids are comfortable they can and do move to more advanced reading levels.
     Big cities often have hard core areas with ''generational ignorance'' problems.The parents don't help their kids with school work because they weren't helped when they were kids and neither was the generation before that and so on. Break throughs are happening, but it's in very small steps. It tends to be the grandparents who step up to try to make a difference.

[Warph]

Man.... this is utterly amazing.  A recent survey of Oklahoma public high school students found that the overwhelming majority can't answer even simple questions about U.S. government and history.  I would say In defense of the Oklahomans, a ten question test was administered by telephone to one thousand high school students.  That has to be an unfamiliar format for the students, and probably not all of them gave it their best shot.  Still.... ummmmmmph....this is pretty grim.

http://www.news9.com/global/story.asp?s=11141949

77% Percent of Oklahoma High School Students Can't Name the First President of the U.S.


OKLAHOMA CITY -- Only one in four Oklahoma public high school students can name the first President of the United States, according to a survey released today.

The survey was commissioned by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs in observance of Constitution Day on Thursday.

Brandon Dutcher is with the conservative think tank and said the group wanted to find out how much civic knowledge Oklahoma high school students know.

The Oklahoma City-based think tank enlisted national research firm, Strategic Vision, to access students' basic civic knowledge.

"They're questions taken from the actual exam that you have to take to become a U.S. citizen," Dutcher said.

A thousand students were given 10 questions drawn from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services item bank. Candidates for U.S. citizenship must answer six questions correctly in order to become citizens.

About 92 percent of the people who take the citizenship test pass on their first try, according to immigration service data. However, Oklahoma students did not fare as well. Only about 3 percent of the students surveyed would have passed the citizenship test.

Dutcher said this is not just a problem in Oklahoma. He said Arizona had similar results, which left him concerned for the entire country.

"Jefferson later said that a nation can't expect to be ignorant and free," Dutcher said. "It points to a real serious problem. We're not going to remain ignorant and free."

Question % of Students Who Answered Correctly
What is the supreme law of the land? 28
What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution? 26
What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress? 27
How many justices are there on the Supreme Court? 10
Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? 14
What ocean is on the east coast of the United States? 61
What are the two major political parities in the United States? 43
We elect a U.S. senator for how many years? 11
Who was the first President of the United States? 23
Who is in charge of the executive branch? 29

Full report at: http://www.ocpathink.org/publications/perspective-archives/september-2009-volume-16-number-9/?module=perspective&id=2321