Can we talk about school.....particularly quizzes, test, mid-terms, and finals?

[afoaf]

I'm really failing on the phone front...I need to install some software to limit screen time

it is fkn insidious

they don't watch anything useful, either....they'll ask me a question and I now often remind them that they whole the entirety of human knowledge in their hand this very instant and that they should learn how to find their answers

 

[Chocki]

Kick it!

You wake up late for school, man you don't want to go
You ask you mom, please? but she still says, no
You missed two classes, and no homework
But your teacher preaches class like you're some kind of jerk

You gotta fight for your right to party

 

[grapedrink]

In the age of YouTube videos maybe vocational school isn't that necessary. One can learn how to do almost any trade by watching a video and following along. The only thing you don't get is "certification."

I wouldn't go that far. Sure, I've used youtube to do low-to-moderately complicated DIY plumbing and other fixes, but no way am I paying some youtube learnin kid mess around with with complicated plumbing, electrical, etc type stuff. You gotta get your hands dirty.

 

[Autoprax]

I give a super manageable homework load.

I break everyone down into digestible chunks.

Those add up.

When students don't do it, I say "I gave you this little tiny tiny bit of homework and you couldn't do it."

Then I let everyone leave early and I say, "Oh, just do the work you didn't do now. And then you can leave."

That usually does the trick.

It's all a con job.

In class essay writing with a mask on is really hard.

 

[StuAzole]

Yes, yes, we were far better off when nobody could read. Afghani women totes agree with you on this.

 

[StuAzole]

I have zero to argue with on either Hal or hammies' point on this thread

Now, can we talk about homework? If i take work home, i'm getting paid for it.

I've never had such a job.

 

[Random Guy]

Without homework, would kids never do anything on their own to reinforce what they learned in school?
or would theydo that in school, while parents screech about teachers not teaching the entire day?
specifically for math, repetition and doing work on your own is the fastest way to learning and figuring out what you don’t know

i know that around here even kindergartners get a little homework
maybe I’m old school, but a reasonable manageable amount of homework or some independent work is important in the learning process

 

[StuAzole]

Without homework, would kids never do anything on their own to reinforce what they learned in school?
or would theydo that in school, while parents screech about teachers not teaching the entire day?
specifically for math, repetition and doing work on your own is the fastest way to learning and figuring out what you don’t know

i know that around here even kindergartners get a little homework
maybe I’m old school, but a reasonable manageable amount of homework or some independent work is important in the learning process

I think the issue is in the word "some" and defining how much is too much. One of my kids can handle HW without issue. Another is so bad at it that we'll be lucky to attend a HS graduation.

 

[Ifallalot]

I've never had such a job.

Sucks for you

 

[StuAzole]

Sucks for you

Not really, because all of my jobs let me work when and where I choose. If I can do on Sunday afternoon what I'd rather not do on Tuesday, that's all good.

 

[Sharkbiscuit]

Colleges, especially public ones, are to blame because they are mandated to let more and more kids in, so they remove as many barriers to entry as they can.

Disagree with this one, at least in Florida. I don't know a single public school that's less selective now than it used to be. 20 years ago any idiot could get in - even Marco Rubio.

UF's Presidents decided to keep undergrad enrollment where it was and let the quality of student rise. UCF and some of the other schools are larger, but it's still harder to get in now than it was back then.

Maybe a state with declining population and state-gov't-mandated expansion of the public university undergrad size this isn't the case? But adjusting for weighted GPA and change in SAT/ACT scores, it's harder now in Florida and it's not getting easier.

 

[Autoprax]

One of the virtues in college is to smoke the kids with the work load.

I think this is okay when the kids have developed some robustness but starting out you need to manage the workload with precision.

Once the kids realize you aren't going to smoke em with the workload and the work is meaningful, most will do it.

 

[Sharkbiscuit]

Autoprax you've mixed up work load and bong load. Get it together.

 

[afoaf]

bongloads are meaningful

 

[Kento]

Let who has not rolled joints with syllabus pages cast the first stone.

 

[hal9000]

Striking the right balance of homework and physical activity is the key here, IMO. Kids need both. Both are important.

Homework not only builds knowledge of the subject at hand, if completed by the student, it also helps them become self-sufficient in their gaining knowledge, and, helps them live with boredom. This last point, I think, is not taken seriously enough. In my experience, kids don't know how to be bored. This absolutely is a necessary life skill.

Or maybe it isn't anymore with screens 24/7. Maybe I'm just old. Sometimes I think I"m nostalgic for the days of "Kill Your Television."

TV was weed. The internet tethered to a screen is methamphetamine.

I love the word "tethered."



Agree with all of that.

In the age of YouTube videos maybe vocational school isn't that necessary. One can learn how to do almost any trade by watching a video and following along. The only thing you don't get is "certification."

There is a good argument to be made for reinforcement.

If you take drum lessons for 30min a week you're not going to get better unless you practice for an hour a day on your own.

If yo play sports you don't get better unless you invest your own time.

Learning is really no different and we shouldn't have to put a price on EVERYTHING in life.

 

[hammies]

In the age of YouTube videos maybe vocational school isn't that necessary. One can learn how to do almost any trade by watching a video and following along. The only thing you don't get is "certification."

YouTube trade school teaches you how to fix things when they break. A good trade school (or good apprenticeship) will teach you the underlying concepts behind how things work, how to keep things working well, how to take your knowledge of how they work to improve things, and how to fix things when they break.

 

[hammies]

helps them live with boredom. This last point, I think, is not taken seriously enough. In my experience, kids don't know how to be bored. This absolutely is a necessary life skill.

When I was a teacher I used to tell my students that even the most exciting, creative professions always consist of a lot of boring bureaucratic work. Film directors spend hours staring at spreadsheets. Game developers stare at screens full of broken code until their eyes bleed. Fighter pilots spend most of their time not flying but doing highly repetitive training as well as being the supply officer for their squadron or something like that. Actors spend hours standing around on the set doing nothing, or hours at night memorizing sh!t they will only have to regurgitate once, like studying for a test.

It kind of deflated their fantasies but they universally liked me for keeping it real.

 

[Duffy LaCoronilla]

Looks like tons of schools are canceling mid-term exams this year due to "learning gaps", covid cases, tests stress students out.

What does everyone think about this?

I think it does students a disservice since these are things they'll have to deal with in college.

Maybe I'm thinking about this all wrong and none of the sh!t you do in high school really matters and most kids figure stuff out when they leave high school and get to college or their new job or vocation.

The tests will show just how badly the unnecessary school closures fuckked our kids.

Can’t have that exposed.

 

[Duffy LaCoronilla]

In the age of YouTube videos maybe vocational school isn't that necessary. One can learn how to do almost any trade by watching a video and following along. The only thing you don't get is "certification."

In some cases this can be true. In other situations it is vital to have some experienced in person supervision and guidance.

Youtube videos are good for specific tasks like installing a water pump on your 1972 toyota landcruiser but if you want to be an electrician or plumber you need to work under someone experienced and be exposed to a wide variety of situations and setups to be able to confidently go out on your own and do what needs to be done.

In my business there are so many different builds, retrofits, requirements based on year of install, etc. that it typically takes a year of hands on work to be competent enough to go out on your own.