tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093499986237480423.post1324372212877656152..comments2023-03-26T15:27:37.450+08:00Comments on begin again...: the kid is smart. why is it failing?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09816650270802955615noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093499986237480423.post-5761737960946255922010-11-23T09:30:34.716+08:002010-11-23T09:30:34.716+08:00"When a kid faces twelve years locked up in a..."When a kid faces twelve years locked up in an institution they sometimes have a very bleak view of life and of adults."<br /><br /><i>Certainement</i>! I would probably argue that it happens sooner, at the beginning of the 12 years. Whether it is common, or worst-case scenario, I'll leave up to you and your imagination and reason.<br /><br />There is a really good example of this, which shows the importance of the Zone of Proximal Development (which most educators might know about, and most good educators know how to use to their advantage and the student's advantage).<br /><br />On pages 62-63 of the 1984 edition of <i>Annie's Coming Out</i> (the joint biography of a young woman who was locked up in an institution for some fifteen years):<br /><br />"I learnt something that day, and that there are at least 2 reasons why students don't co-operate, apart from sheer bloody-mindedness. The first and most obvious reason is that we are going too fast and the student can't keep up. The second reason is that we are going too slowly and the student is bored".<br /><br />(You can replace "fast" and "slowly" with "easy" and "hard", and, yes, the time element is important. The late Anne McDonald said: "Being physically handicapped [or having a chronic/life-limiting condition] alters your expectations of time").<br /><br />The English language has borrowed a great variety of descriptive words for boredom. Three I like to use are: ennui, torpor and tedium. The physics concept is probably inertia: the state of not moving while in space.<br /><br />How does it feel to fail a spelling test?<br /><br />Well, I would feel something like, "I failed. Why am I smart?" In that sense, intellect can be something of a burden, and it probably wouldn't particularly matter that I am smart in other things.<br /><br />And many good teachers that I know seemed to know about differentiation of work. That is, work in depth or in breadth. That was a better use of time than the straight repetition might have been.<br /><br />One of my new favourite books talked about a Thomas from the Renaissance who felt just this way - that he should be out there conquering the world, and doing things that people today might not do until their 20s and 30s.<br /><br />You make the point about the most academic relying on <i>education</i> to have "quality of life", rather than <i>schooling</i> (or in addition to schooling).<br /><br />The maths and science will probably be there if and when I am receptive to it. And then I could live out my dream with a good conscience and consciousness.<br /><br />"Half a life wasted on maths sums" does seem like a doomful and baleful prospect!<br /><br />And at home, it's just the reverse. One of my favourite scenes in <i>Claudia and the Sad Goodbye</i> was when Mimi said, "Why not do the bad work [and that was maths and science] and then English?" That was a gentle incentive to do the hard and challenging work first, for whatever reason, if only because of the sense of accomplishment. Then your mind rests.<br /><br />And aren't many states doing the "leave school later to increase student participation" schtick? (especially for those who are at risk of disengagement).Adelaide Duponthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01490123934889071074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093499986237480423.post-26852757798507726022010-11-20T23:26:55.022+08:002010-11-20T23:26:55.022+08:00I resent this.
Most of my relatives are teachers,...I resent this.<br /><br />Most of my relatives are teachers, I assure you they have social lives. Also, lol englishMermaidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10773221656704339128noreply@blogger.com