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Posted by amethyst on 19-02-2012 at 01:24:

It must be a global trend then.

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Perspective Alters Reality

Posted by ElectricWhite on 19-02-2012 at 01:34:

quote:

Originally posted by Daniella T
What's the NCLB? Question

One of the effects of No Child Left Behind is that all the public schools now have to take standardized assessment tests, and they have to show a certain amount of improvement every year. Which might be okay if kids just had CPU's for brains and had nothing of a human existence (family problems, poverty, illness, etc.) Also, this set-up puts pressure on the schools to pass the tests to get the funds instead of actually teaching anything useful. (There's actually one teacher's resource company that sells instructional packages that focus on teaching kids how to pass standardized tests without ever learning the anything the tests are supposed tocover!)

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Posted by amethyst on 19-02-2012 at 01:50:

It's more important to be able to guess correctly the bubble tests then to actually retain real knowledge.

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Perspective Alters Reality

Posted by ElectricWhite on 19-02-2012 at 02:00:

quote:

Originally posted by amethyst
It's more important to be able to guess correctly the bubble tests then to actually retain real knowledge.

And then they all wonder why nobody knows nuthin' about nuthin'! Doh

__________________
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury

Posted by amethyst on 19-02-2012 at 02:07:

quote:

Originally posted by ElectricWhite

quote:

Originally posted by amethyst
It's more important to be able to guess correctly the bubble tests then to actually retain real knowledge.

And then they all wonder why nobody knows nuthin' about nuthin'! Doh

Yup! Same thing happens with coping skills because bullying is so aggressively handled, kids don't learn how to deal when others are less than friendly.

I'm not a proponent of bullying, it can be severally devastating, but a small of amount of teasing can be beneficial and provide lessons in coping. Children need to learn to stand up for themselves and cope with situations using words, not to run to the teacher because someone made fun of them. What happens when there are no teachers around?

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Perspective Alters Reality

Posted by ElectricWhite on 19-02-2012 at 02:15:

quote:

Originally posted by amethyst

quote:

Originally posted by ElectricWhite

quote:

Originally posted by amethyst
It's more important to be able to guess correctly the bubble tests then to actually retain real knowledge.

And then they all wonder why nobody knows nuthin' about nuthin'! Doh

Two words: Mommy, Daddy

__________________
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury

Posted by Transmute Jun on 19-02-2012 at 17:00:

Well it seems like I missed a big discussion yesterday. Wow!

FWIW, as a teacher, I see no problem with standardized tests or 'teaching to the test'. The key is that the material on the test has to be relevant and useful. So if I have a test that covers necessary math skills, I don't see that as a problem. If the test covers some weid thing that no one will ever need again, that's another story.

In my field, I deal with both, as I have to prepare students for a professional exam that has 75% useful material and 25% 'stuff you'll never need again'.

Anyhow, as a break, let's check out out 'pied piper'...

Becky, you're so smart to have figured it out!!!!! Bowdown

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Posted by KT1972 on 19-02-2012 at 17:39:

Talk about lazy, couldn't they be bothered to colour in the teams civvies?
Good to see Keyop can pilot and navigate the Phoenix solo, he'll be making Tiny redundant if he keeps it up!!

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Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope. - HELEN KELLER

Posted by Becky Rock on 19-02-2012 at 18:26:

quote:

Originally posted by ElectricWhite

quote:

Originally posted by Becky Rock
Ame, posting from a post did the same thing to me about eating what I typed in, so here it is.

In my son's high school, some of the teachers have decided not to use text books. They use handouts instead. My son hates that - he wants to have a book to read and refer to, on his own time.

I can appreciate where he's coming from; I tend to be the same way. Would he consider putting the handouts in a binder to create his own textbook?

I don't blame the teachers one bit. Anymore, being factual and accurate doesn't seem to be a requirement for school texts.

He does, but he said it's still not the same. He wants to read what's being said on the subject.

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Posted by Becky Rock on 19-02-2012 at 18:31:

quote:

Originally posted by amethyst

quote:

Originally posted by Daniella T
What's the NCLB? Question

It's the offspring of a Bush and Kennedy pairing. Basically, what you get when you breed George W Bush with Teddy Kennedy: really bad educational reform.

No Child Left Behind.

So all get left behind, unless they afford private schools (which is what the tea-publicans want anyway).

Oops sorry, my politics are getting in the way.

For those who don't know, I am a recovering republican.

Uh-oh, Ame. I'm a Reagan Republican.

We can agree to disagree. Huggles

One of my best friends is a die-hard Democrate. We love to get into it about our beliefs and shake hands afterwards.

But I do believe the last place for politics is in the classroom.

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I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...

Posted by Becky Rock on 19-02-2012 at 18:48:

quote:

Originally posted by ElectricWhite

quote:

Originally posted by Daniella T
What's the NCLB? Question

Also, this set-up puts pressure on the schools to pass the tests to get the funds instead of actually teaching anything useful. (There's actually one teacher's resource company that sells instructional packages that focus on teaching kids how to pass standardized tests without ever learning the anything the tests are supposed tocover!)

That's how our school system works and the result has been Honors classes are now for everyone and there are no regular classes anymore, so the 'Honor' aspect has been thrown out the window. AP classes have taken the place of Honors classes.

I just had a knock-down with my son's counselor about it last week.

Kids learn in different ways. Some kids excel with little help, others need some help. Some kids need a textbook, others do just fine with hand-outs.

My son is a bottom-line kid. Give him the material, let him soak it in and then test him. He sees homework as a waste of his time, as he already knows the material and proves it by getting A's on his tests.

Our school system now grades all homework. My son decided to be pasive agressive by blowing off all the homework and aceing all the tests. The end result was F's in homework and A's on tests, with a C overall. The homework has just as much weight as the tests (which absolutely freaked me out and that's what drove me to have a chat with the counselor).

So far, he has scored 100% on the Standards of Learning Tests and scored into the 87 percentile of college bound Juniors on the PSAT (he took the test one month into his Freshman year), so he knows the material. As far as he and we are concerned, he's proved it again and again.

The counselor said they have to grade the homework and give more weight to ensure the kids who don't test as well as our son a chance to get good grades.

So he's bored to death in his Honors' classes and his grades are suffereing because he hates homework.

We've had to force him to do the homework tyo keep his overall grade up.

That showed me they're more worried about their numbers than they are about teaching the kids properly. They have kids in Honors classes that can't keep up and because they have lowered the class, they have bored true Honors students.

I will admit I have no experience with a child who has difficulty in school, so I hope my rant hasn't offended anyone.

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I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...

Posted by Becky Rock on 19-02-2012 at 18:50:

That would be funny to watch Mark, Jason and Princess dance and not be able to stop.

Looks like this is going to be another 'Keyop being an andriod helps save the day' episodes.

__________________
I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...

Posted by amethyst on 19-02-2012 at 19:20:

[quote]Originally posted by Becky Rock
Uh-oh, Ame. I'm a Reagan Republican.

We can agree to disagree. Huggles

One of my best friends is a die-hard Democrate. We love to get into it about our beliefs and shake hands afterwards./[quote]

No worries, Becky. My DH is, too; and his family are all rednecks.

One of my best friends is a Green Party Liberal, and even though I always considered myself a moderate, she called me her conservative friend.

It's the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, and Sarah Palin that have pushed me away from the GoP. My beliefs are more inline with Lincoln and Roosevelt, except on women's reproductive rights where I hold more liberal views.

Maybe when common sense returns to the party, I may rejoin. Until then I remain unaffiliated with any party.

Although, if you have any views on Romney, I'd love to hear them in PM or email. I like what he did in Massachusetts, but I don't like the way he's been courting the more extreme branches and flip-flopping through the primary.

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Perspective Alters Reality

Posted by amethyst on 19-02-2012 at 19:27:

quote:

Originally posted by Becky Rock
Kids learn in different ways. Some kids excel with little help, others need some help. Some kids need a textbook, others do just fine with hand-outs.

Becky, that is exactly why NCLB will fail. In California, many schools had three "tracts" Honors/AP, College Prep, General. The system was abused and many districts dropped General and funneled the students into Prep. Guess what, class averages dropped.

NCLB expects everyone to be able to perform the same and improve, even when there is no more room to improve. It takes great tools (TJ's point on standardized tests) and makes them the end all for school funding. IMHO, it's just another form of abuse and doesn't recognize that people are different and that not all students are the same. This is more true for adolescent learners than adult learners, but that is not to say that adult learners will not have problems.

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Perspective Alters Reality

Posted by amethyst on 19-02-2012 at 19:28:

quote:

Originally posted by Becky Rock
That would be funny to watch Mark, Jason and Princess dance and not be able to stop.

It'd be even better if we knew who was Mark and who was Jason.

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Perspective Alters Reality

Posted by Becky Rock on 19-02-2012 at 19:53:

quote:

Originally posted by amethyst

quote:

Originally posted by Becky Rock
That would be funny to watch Mark, Jason and Princess dance and not be able to stop.

It'd be even better if we knew who was Mark and who was Jason.

The artists didn't want us to be fighting over them, so they made them twins.

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I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...

Posted by Daniella T on 19-02-2012 at 20:47:

Did you guys notice that Keyop is still complaining about his speedo? Really, they have to do something about this kid's underwear...

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They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally, they became heroes -- Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan.

Posted by Transmute Jun on 19-02-2012 at 21:09:

I just realized... Zark has no blinky mouth lights! No wonder his face looks so blank!

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Posted by KT1972 on 19-02-2012 at 22:28:

I thought the blank look suited him! Just a pity it doesn't stop him takling

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Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope. - HELEN KELLER

Posted by lborgia88 on 19-02-2012 at 22:45:

quote:

Originally posted by Becky Rock
That would be funny to watch Mark, Jason and Princess dance and not be able to stop.

Looks like this is going to be another 'Keyop being an andriod helps save the day' episodes.

That's my thinking too.

Pan-flute music isn't exactly a genre I'd expect to be popular at "Pop Festival" of the future. Makes me wonder if one of this comic's writers was a Zamfir fan. My mother was, back then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wv3Ya9nskA