This is not the same school I went to, but the name is the same.

[Robert W]

I spent 4 years at Hayward High school and graduated in 1956.

The school was torn down to make room for a Hayward city building. That is also not used by the City now.

When I graduated, guess how many blacks attended the school? I ran into one black on the JV football team.

Frankly if one lived in Russell City, then in Hayward, one had a chance to meet Blacks. An enclave of blacks that lived on upper D St. were blacks. Those kids were not problem kids. I never got to know any of them.

Since I took College prep courses, no blacks were in any of them.
When I graduated I believe I was one of about 650 students to graduate. Frankly I do not recall any of them being blacks.

Today the school is much smaller. Here are it's numbers.

 

[toobfreak]

Today the school is much smaller. Here are it's numbers.
View attachment 1071880

I'm always taken back by the poor mathematical proficiency of Americans compared to some other countries. It takes me back because there is a high correlation between math skills and reasoning, in fact, Boolean Algebra is logic. I always wonder if it is the people, the environment or just our teachers. Sadly, math is just a language to express ideas in symbolic form, especially where letters are used for unknown quantities and symbols used to represent operations. As such then, math becomes just the expression of an idea where you can plug different values in to see how the idea works in various ways. It often makes me wonder why it is no surprise our country is run so poorly. I estimate that our country only utilizes about 15% of its true potential.

 

[ReinyDays]

We saw almost all the parents at the PTA meetings across the Bay in Daly City ... today the organization is all but moribund in most communities ... and we had maybe 20% Blacks in the late 60's ... and more than a handful of Asians

The problems with Public Schools start with the Public part ...

 

[Robert W]

I'm always taken back by the poor mathematical proficiency of Americans compared to some other countries. It takes me back because there is a high correlation between math skills and reasoning, in fact, Boolean Algebra is logic. I always wonder if it is the people, the environment or just our teachers. Sadly, math is just a language to express ideas in symbolic form, especially where letters are used for unknown quantities and symbols used to represent operations. As such then, math becomes just the expression of an idea where you can plug different values in to see how the idea works in various ways. It often makes me wonder why it is no surprise our country is run so poorly. I estimate that our country only utilizes about 15% of its true potential.

It might be boiled down to American Democrats. Here on the forum, I just do not know who is mathematically proficient other than how you explain things. I have taken and got good grades in advanced math. Calculus is my top class. But we also had to use it all the time in physics. Based on this forum, you seem to have a great grasp. To those who are excellent in math, I do not mean you are not good. But much of the posts here are angry out of control posters.

 

[Robert W]

We saw almost all the parents at the PTA meetings across the Bay in Daly City ... today the organization is all but moribund in most communities ... and we had maybe 20% Blacks in the late 60's ... and more than a handful of Japs ...

The problems with Public Schools start with the Public part ...

WOW, I did a bit of appraising at Daly City. I recall our Japanese students at the time at my high school over the bay from Daly City but can't name any blacks at all.

 

[toobfreak]

It might be boiled down to American Democrats. Here on the forum, I just do not know who is mathematically proficient other than how you explain things. I have taken and got good grades in advanced math. Calculus is my top class. But we also had to use it all the time in physics.

It really helps to have a good teacher.

Based on this forum, you seem to have a great grasp. To those who are excellent in math, I do not mean you are not good. But much of the posts here are angry out of control posters.

I do OK. I used to do as much extra work in math class as available and volunteer to work problems at the board to make sure I understood it. Then in engineering, I used to tutor others including math figuring that if I could explain how to work a problem to others, it would help me too. Fear of math comes from not understanding what it says, but once you understand, it becomes easy.

Several years ago, the neighbors across the street and I were friendly and they told me their older daughter was pretty smart, so one day I gave her my first, smaller slide rule (a Sterling) to introduce her to the concepts and relationships of numbers, but to my surprise, she could not understand how a number scale of 1...2...3 could also equal 10...20...30, or 100...200...300, or .001... .002... .003, and I just didn't know what to say! She still did not get it even after I explained it to her then replied "Thank god for calculators!"

When I was in school, there either were no calculators yet or had been caught using one, you would have been failed the test or class. Wow.

 

[Robert W]

It really helps to have a good teacher.


I do OK. I used to do as much extra work in math class as available and volunteer to work problems at the board to make sure I understood it. Then in engineering, I used to tutor others including math figuring that if I could explain how to work a problem to others, it would help me too. Fear of math comes from not understanding what it says, but once you understand, it becomes easy.

Several years ago, the neighbors across the street and I were friendly and they told me their older daughter was pretty smart, so one day I gave her my first, smaller slide rule (a Sterling) to introduce her to the concepts and relationships of numbers, but to my surprise, she could not understand how a number scale of 1...2...3 could also equal 10...20...30, or 100...200...300, or .001... .002... .003, and I just didn't know what to say! She still did not get it even after I explained it to her then replied "Thank god for calculators!"

When I was in school, there either were no calculators yet or had been caught using one, you would have been failed the test or class. Wow.

I got my first slide rule when I was in high school. My first calculator was around 1968.
You remind me of my college Chemistry teacher trying to explain atoms to a girl in the class. He started with ping pong balls up to Basket balls but she simply did not understand it at all. My aim as a senior in high school was to be an electronics engineer. So I am still versed in electronics.

 

[DGS49]

I graduated from a parochial HS in 1967. Class size was around 400. One Black kid. Statistically, it was the top academic school in the City of Pittsburgh, with more 800 SAT's National Merit Scholarship finalists, and so on.

In recent days, the student body is much more "diverse," with recruited Black athletes comprising about 15% of the student body. I don't know whether they are Catholics or not, or whether they are paying the tuition, which is more than $10k/yr. Academically, the school is still near the top.

Ironically, a lot of us did poorly in college. Our teachers were so good that we didn't have to study much in order to learn the material, and we never learned how to study. I didn't know how to study until I got into law school.

I think most Americans know what is wrong with American public schools and it has nothing to do with American public schools; it is broken families. If the parentS are supportive of a child's education, s/he will do fine. Go into the 'burbs where 90% of the students come from intact families with both parents in the home, academic outcomes are fine.

 

[Robert W]

I graduated from a parochial HS in 1967. Class size was around 400. One Black kid. Statistically, it was the top academic school in the City of Pittsburgh, with more 800 SAT's National Merit Scholarship finalists, and so on.

In recent days, the student body is much more "diverse," with recruited Black athletes comprising about 15% of the student body. I don't know whether they are Catholics or not, or whether they are paying the tuition, which is more than $10k/yr. Academically, the school is still near the top.

Ironically, a lot of us did poorly in college. Our teachers were so good that we didn't have to study much in order to learn the material, and we never learned how to study. I didn't know how to study until I got into law school.

I think most Americans know what is wrong with American public schools and it has nothing to do with American public schools; it is broken families. If the parentS are supportive of a child's education, s/he will do fine. Go into the 'burbs where 90% of the students come from intact families with both parents in the home, academic outcomes are fine.

I enjoyed my time in Pennsylvania. One time on a passenger jet we landed at Pittsburgh. So all I saw was on the landing and takeoff. I do not recall our class scores. I know I wanted to go to UCCal and they said nope. I started at the College of San Mateo. We were told their standards equaled Cal UC Berkeley. Back in those days of 1956-57, not much was talked about broken families. And the blacks in the town seemed to be in good families.

 

[Robert W]

I'm always taken back by the poor mathematical proficiency of Americans compared to some other countries. It takes me back because there is a high correlation between math skills and reasoning, in fact, Boolean Algebra is logic. I always wonder if it is the people, the environment or just our teachers. Sadly, math is just a language to express ideas in symbolic form, especially where letters are used for unknown quantities and symbols used to represent operations. As such then, math becomes just the expression of an idea where you can plug different values in to see how the idea works in various ways. It often makes me wonder why it is no surprise our country is run so poorly. I estimate that our country only utilizes about 15% of its true potential.

In my acquaintances and my family, I have one grandson who is very impressive. I never talked to him about math but surely when he was hired by Facebook as a computer program engineer they talked to him a lot about math. And as young as he is to be making $400,000 per year, it is a good signal he is excellent at math. As he was all through high school and college. His younger brother is not as proficient according to my daughter.

 

[Robert W]

We saw almost all the parents at the PTA meetings across the Bay in Daly City ... today the organization is all but moribund in most communities ... and we had maybe 20% Blacks in the late 60's ... and more than a handful of Asians

The problems with Public Schools start with the Public part ...

We need to imagine ourselves as the teachers. What would we do to improve things. Well kids who are not interested in school are a huge problem. Why are they not interested. They love to be children I suppose.

 

[ReinyDays]

We need to imagine ourselves as the teachers. What would we do to improve things. Well kids who are not interested in school are a huge problem. Why are they not interested. They love to be children I suppose.

Why should everyone be academically orientated? ... folks are graduating high school with just an 8th grade education anyway ... they don't learn anything, just wasting tax-payer money ... most parents treat their public schools as daycare anyway ... why hire people with college degrees who just babysit? ... and I'm focused here on the 14- to 18-year-olds ... able-bodied workers can go to vocational school instead ... learn a trade .. be useful to society ... us elitists need peons to pee on ...

I kinda like the Mathematischnaturwissenschaftlichesgymnasium system they use in Germany ... just need a shorter name is all ...

 

[Robert W]

Why should everyone be academically orientated? ... folks are graduating high school with just an 8th grade education anyway ... they don't learn anything, just wasting tax-payer money ... most parents treat their public schools as daycare anyway ... why hire people with college degrees who just babysit? ... and I'm focused here on the 14- to 18-year-olds ... able-bodied workers can go to vocational school instead ... learn a trade .. be useful to society ... us elitists need peons to pee on ...

I kinda like the Mathematischnaturwissenschaftlichesgymnasium system they use in Germany ... just need a shorter name is all ...

It was many years back when I lived in Germany and got to know them. The reputation of their schools has long been believed them to be excellent.

 

[ReinyDays]

It was many years back when I lived in Germany and got to know them. The reputation of their schools has long been believed them to be excellent.

Only 25% of children are allowed to attend "high school" as we know it here in ... although my understanding is this has changed to allow more children into the highest level of secondary education ... the rest of the children either go to vocational schools or sent straight out into an apprenticeship ...

If we present the educational materials the children want, they will work harder to learn and get into less trouble ... ask any teacher who they'd rather teach ... the Eager or the Bored ... I finished learning everything I wanted to in high school before my 16th birthday ... so I dropped out ... why should I wait making mischief? ... I learned fist-fighting and working 345 triangles ... a Middle School Graduate should be able to nail 2x4's to X's and how to use a shovel ... what more does a man need to know ... engineering is for girls ...

 

[hondo 50]

I'm just glad the McKinley name was restored.