No prizes for guessing my vote on this one:
Lessons are tightly scripted to the clock to squeeze in as much learning as possible. Teachers, rather than students, move through the shiny, clean hallways from classroom to classroom during the day because it takes less time and creates less commotion. Kids change rooms for classes like physical education.
Culture-building begins immediately at the start of each year. In the first three days of school, called “culture camp,” students learn the rules of behavior, such as keeping their eyes on the teacher and a pencil at the ready, and why those rules are key to meeting the high academic standards. Then they practice these skills, like how to show respect to teachers and peers, before they open a textbook.
Of course, the Left (i.e. the Education Establishment) are going to indulge in a frenzy of pearl-clutching and fiery hair at this kind of approach, but it’s clear that their little (?) experiment on turning public schools into a Lord Of The Flies environment has failed utterly.
And of course, the very idea of returning to basic principles is contrary to “progressive” dogma, so “Doubleplusungoodness!” will be the response.
Yeah, well fuck you. You tried, it failed (like so much of Socialism), and kids deserve better, much better than the drivel you’ve been pushing on them.
The alternative is homeschooling — a total withdrawal from the public education system.
Once again, having homeschooled all three of my own kids into respectable and responsible adulthood, there will be no prizes for guessing my preference.
Across the pond, the Head mistress of Michaela school in blighty has vitriol spewed at her for the same reason. (Especially since she banned Muslims from having a prayer room at the school). She went back to the basics (what used to be common sense) and has exceptional results.
“OUR TEACHING IS OUTSTANDING. WHY?
Because our teachers lead the learning. Our desks are in rows and the teacher stands at the front of the class and leads the children to new and exciting destinations. This requires sharp explanations, checking for understanding, and a belief that the teacher is the authority in the classroom.
We do not have grouped desks where children are facing each other, or where children are leading the learning while the teacher is more a facilitator of learning.
This means that learning time is not wasted at Michaela. The learning is driven by the teacher and the pupils are able to access difficult concepts with ease.”
https://michaela.education/home/secondary-school-wembley/what-makes-michaela-different-wembley/
No Excuses is heartbreakingly reminiscent of third grade at St. Helena School, back under the Westchester Avenue El.
There may yet be some basis for hope.
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“In the first three days of school, called “culture camp,” students learn the rules of behavior, such as keeping their eyes on the teacher and a pencil at the ready, and why those rules are key to meeting the high academic standards. Then they practice these skills, like how to show respect to teachers and peers, before they open a textbook.”
That 3 days are needed to impress that on the pupils (NOT students) is beyond me.
It should be second nature to them, the norm for their behaviour from the moment they enter kindergarten.
That it’s not is a major failure in parenting all around.
Share that with the teacher’s unions. We just had a budget vote and both the town and school budgets passed on their first try. Each budget also had a question with it if the budget was too high and both budgets were judged too high. I don’t understand the idiots in this town
You should look up Katharine Birbalsingh in the UK. It’s much the same ethos, with – whodathunkit – excellent results.
This is fine, but it is not the only approach. My kids went to traditional Lutheran schools and that worked well.
The HS I went to on the other hand used a completely different method: 30 minute long classes, only four classes at a time – English, Math, a foreignlanguage and alternate between history and sciencefor the 4th class (only academic classes, music, PE, art, etc was all extra time stuff) and about 1.5- 2 hours of homework per class. So about 6-8 hours of homework per day, but you had time because you only spent 2 hours in the classroom.
Also had to do reading/writing every day (outside reading) as an exra program in addition to regular homework. The standard on that was 25-35 word summary of whatever pages we were required to read for the day, and it had to be perfect (no spelling, grammar, punctuation or factual mistakes at all). If it was not you redid it until it was perfect. This was also due for summer break and vacations too.
Lots of reading, everyone is expected to take Calculus by the time they graduate.
It is not a program for everyone, but you are fracking prepared for college when you graduate. The best part was it absolutely taught how to work independently.
A thread in this is that there are only two real requirements for kids to get an education:
1. The kids have to work their butts off to master difficult topics, and
2. Discipline is required.
Haven’t we known this to be true forever?the
I have a different take on the whole education deal, namely that the internet will destroy 90%++ of “scholastic” education.
Only the hands on stuff will remain to be taught, and not much of that, as YouTube “How To” videos are already a massive resource heavily used by the tradesmen who work for me. Some of those videos are from suppliers but the best ones are from a Joe Blow from nowhereville who happens to be a genius at some minor but intense technical thing.
So the whole god damned socialist mess will die.