Oh Crap! DUMB EM DOWN!

[Annie]

I knew I'd heard these rules, they are great:

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/liferule.htm

This list is the work of Charles J. Sykes, author of the book Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves But Can't Read, Write, Or Add. (The list has appeared in newspapers, although not necessarily in this book.) Many versions omit the last three rules:

Rule No. 12: Smoking does not make you look cool. It makes you look moronic. Next time you're out cruising, watch an 11-year-old with a butt in his mouth. That's what you look like to anyone over 20. Ditto for "expressing yourself" with purple hair and/or pierced body parts.

Rule No. 13: You are not immortal. (See Rule No. 12.) If you are under the impression that living fast, dying young and leaving a beautiful corpse is romantic, you obviously haven't seen one of your peers at room temperature lately.

Rule No. 14: Enjoy this while you can. Sure parents are a pain, school's a bother, and life is depressing. But someday you'll realize how wonderful it was to be a kid. Maybe you should start now. You're welcome.

Advice columnist Ann Landers has printed the first ten items (uncredited) several times, and the list has been used by radio commentator Paul Harvey. The prize for misattribution, however, has to go to The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, which printed the list twice in three weeks in mid-2000, the first time crediting it to "Duluth state Rep. Brooks Coleman of Duluth," and the second time to Bill Gates.

 

[Emmett]

is to acheive A's and B's. 1 A and some B's meets that standard. An A only honor roll is a higher standard. Don't confuse the two.

A true A student will makes A's regardless of the standards set forth by an inadequate system.

The world is not a perfect place. Not everything has to geared around how much money a kid will make out of college. There are other things that are important also.

Personally I don't think schools are the biggest problem, parents are. Video games are creating fat, lazy and stupid kids. They serve as wonderful baby sitters for all the single parents who care not to marry properly in our act now think later society, however we have discovered that there may now be a downside, hmmmm!!!!

Government governs. Why should we be sooooo suprised that a certain standard has been set at every level for our children that is less than many of us would desire. They are selling us short because as a society we have sold ourselves short.

We as a society elected the government that now completes this socially destuctive task.

 

[pegwinn]

is to acheive A's and B's. 1 A and some B's meets that standard. An A only honor roll is a higher standard. Don't confuse the two.

A true A student will makes A's regardless of the standards set forth by an inadequate system.

The world is not a perfect place. Not everything has to geared around how much money a kid will make out of college. There are other things that are important also.

Personally I don't think schools are the biggest problem, parents are. Exactamundo.

Video games are creating fat, lazy and stupid kids. They serve as wonderful baby sitters for all the single parents who care not to marry properly in our act now think later society, however we have discovered that there may now be a downside, hmmmm!!!! They said the same thing about television.

Government governs. Why should we be sooooo suprised that a certain standard has been set at every level for our children that is less than many of us would desire. They are selling us short because as a society we have sold ourselves short. A standard should be achievable with a bit of honest effort but not so tough that only the best need bother attempting. That exact premise is why boot camp or basic training isn't the toughest training available. It only seems that way at the time. And, there is nothing saying that parents cannot raise the bar.

We as a society elected the government that now completes this socially destuctive task.

If we eliminate the current curriculum and create a realistic, standards based curriculum we would be better off.

 

[Annie]

If we eliminate the current curriculum and create a realistic, standards based curriculum we would be better off.

I agree to a point. I was having a conversation with someone awhile ago. I was saying how much I do enjoy teaching in a private school, except for the salary.

I think the reason I do enjoy it so much, we are required to align our curriculum to the standards, after that; we decide how far to go. I get to write my own curriculum, which of course isn't a problem, as every student in the junior high is stuck with me for social studies.

Because of that, I'm teaching at basically a 8-10th grade level, standards wise for my students. I teach ancient history in 6th grade and also religion. Between the two subject areas, they are exposed to 12 major religions. From Christianity to Jainism. Obviously we spend the most time on Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

8th grade I teach reading and social studies. No if's about it, the novels open up interest and reinforce what I'm teaching in social studies.

As Pegwinn said, AP courses in HS are done in the same manner, much more quickly of course. But nearly all kids are capable of high levels. Most public middle and high schools, (in regular track), are stuck with teachers in the subject areas that are not qualified to go beyond the text. On top of that, the teachers that are, are not allowed to; otherwise it would be an unfair advantage for their students in the years that follow.

Last Friday a public school honors teacher called to ask what I'm doing. It seems he has 2 of my 8th graders from last year and they know the material he was planning on covering. Not only that, he was inspired by their notebooks, which were nearly identical. He spoke to them about it, they told him I made them do it 'that way.'

He asked if I could make some suggestions on what he could do to challenge them. I said what I could think of. They were not exceptional kids in my class, quite the contrary. It's all about expectations and enthusiasm.

 

[pegwinn]

It's all about expectations and enthusiasm.

Hail Yeah.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Kathianne again.

People have a habit of living up or down to the expectations posted. IF you demonstrate that you not only expect them to live up to your standards and that you know they can...... You will rule the world.

 

[Annie]

Hail Yeah.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Kathianne again.

People have a habit of living up or down to the expectations posted. IF you demonstrate that you not only expect them to live up to your standards and that you know they can...... You will rule the world.

Thank you! Right now I'm trying to summon some enthusiasm for The Red Badge of Courage.

 

[Mr. P]

Thank you! Right now I'm trying to summon some enthusiasm for The Red Badge of Courage.

Good luck with that! I just didn't have any enthusiasm for The Red Badge of Courage in the eight grade, but I'm glad I made it through half the book anyway.

 

[Annie]

Good luck with that! I just didn't have any enthusiasm for The Red Badge of Courage in the eight grade, but I'm glad I made it through half the book anyway.

Funny thing, may be the most onerous to teach, then the kids come back and say they liked it. Go figure.

One of the first truly anti-war books, harbinger for Hemingway. Yet, it captures nearly all of the nuances of Civil War, which is saying alot considering it was less than 30 years after the guns fell silent.

 

[Mr.Conley]

To Gem and Kathianne,
I've always wondered this. In your opinion, how do AP courses stack up in comparison to non-AP high school courses, high school classes of say 20 years ago, and the actual college class? My experience was that most of them were pretty good, if a bit too broad and not of enough depth.

 

[CSM]

Thank you! Right now I'm trying to summon some enthusiasm for The Red Badge of Courage.

Awesome! It was required reading when I was in HS and it truly did make me think...

 

[Mr. P]

Awesome! It was required reading when I was in HS and it truly did make me think...

I liked Walter Mitty, a fictional character in James Thurber's short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, published in 1941. Mitty is a meek, mild man with a vivid fantasy life: in a few dozen paragraphs he imagines himself a wartime pilot, an emergency-room surgeon, and a devil-may-care killer. Reminds me of Psychobabbles! Orwells 1984, really made me think..