Los Angeles makes homework less important to a child's grade.

[Raxe]

That's what I was getting at, the entire educational system needs to be revamped in order to appeal to today's generation. It's a fast paced world and these kids are used to instant information and instant gratification. The archaic style of filling a room with kids and old books does not appeal to today's youth, nor does it a reflect on the real world outside. It's time to embrace the future and stop fighting it.

A committee needs to get together and sit down to rethink the whole way classrooms work. Marketers are constantly finding ways to appeal to teenagers and grab their interest, perhaps they should have a say in how educational information is delivered and who knows, maybe in the future you won't have to beat your kids to get them to go to school? It's not going to be easy or happen overnight, but simply forcing kids to do stuff they don't want to do just because you did it will never work.

[mrsleeve]

, but simply forcing kids to do stuff they don't want to do just because you did it will never work.

Ummm its not our job as parents and teachers to be the child's FRIEND, its our job to prepare them for their future place in life as a productive member of society.

Forcing them to do shit they dont want to do, BUILDS CHARTER, and is a fundamental part of life. You have to do lots of shit you dont want to do in life.

[e30e]

I take it you were in a program that taught trade skills or the like?

The curriculum is so far behind, though. I was in a class where, out of 5 ~15 student classes, there were ~20 students with >40 days missed on the year. Not to mention the other students that had less days absent. The parents do nothing to send their kids to school, and the principal literally told the teacher that if they wanted the kids to come they 'should be more entertaining.' How can a teacher compete with weed and video games? The lack of self-motivation is a concern, despite the teacher. I had some pretty bad teachers in my day but was able to persevere because I had a goal and the motivation to reach it. It's when that goal isn't there, and when neither the school or parents hold the kids to any sort of standard, that it becomes a problem.

You can't do much when the students don't have a fundamental interest in what their learning. What you're talking about ineffective teachers teaching what students should be fundamentally interested in. If there is no desire to learn at all (or attendance for that matter), all the hands-on teaching in the world won't help.

I taught Agriculture Biology I, II, Agriculture Economics, Agriculture Mechanics I, and II. All of my curriculum was update to today's economy and standards what is being done. I very rarely had homework, I would send them home to finish or brainstorm projects but nothing of grading material. I had lesson's on short selling futures in stock and commodity trading, I lessons on automotive Tig welding, my biology classes were subbed for honor biology courses, I worked my ass off to deal with teacher and parent drama to make 30k a year. I went to the top college in the state in education and top 10 program in the country in my degree; the things you dealt with I was being trained to deal with my sophomore and junior year.

Now I work with adults who as kids were the one's math teachers and history teachers hated because they couldn't sit still; there now making 75k a year as skilled union workers. People view them as academic failures because they never went to college, but they make more than most people do. Ask them what homework did for them.

[ck_taft325is]

Bad Parents.


That is all.

[mrsleeve]

Now I work with adults who as kids were the one's math teachers and history teachers hated because they couldn't sit still; there now making 75k a year as skilled union workers. People view them as academic failures because they never went to college, but they make more than most people do. Ask them what homework did for them.

This is me nearly to a T other than I liked history and was very good at math/science's

In many ways I wish I had more of an opportunity to do my home work (my last 3 years of HS has some serious shit going on during it and I had to work full time + and go to school). As I make a great living now as highly skilled tradesman but there are some trade offs to do it. And if I had gotten to go for my chosen degree I would be making as much if not a little bit more with out as much of the huge sacrifices.

Out of all my relation I am the only one that did not go to college, and while you are right in the eyes of my relation I am failure for this reason alone, but I will have the last laugh when I am 100% debt free including my home, and semi retired by 37.

Home work was something I did not value due to my situation, I had other priorities at the time. I will be ok in the long run, but in many ways the wisdom of age and the benefit of hind sight is showing me, I could be in a very very different situation if I had put more value on it those years ago. A situation for the better or even the worse, I guess what I am saying here is .................

I wish I had done my home work, I see now it really was only for my own good even though I didnt need it to learn the material.

[chadthestampede]

I taught Agriculture Biology I, II, Agriculture Economics, Agriculture Mechanics I, and II. All of my curriculum was update to today's economy and standards what is being done. I very rarely had homework, I would send them home to finish or brainstorm projects but nothing of grading material. I had lesson's on short selling futures in stock and commodity trading, I lessons on automotive Tig welding, my biology classes were subbed for honor biology courses, I worked my ass off to deal with teacher and parent drama to make 30k a year. I went to the top college in the state in education and top 10 program in the country in my degree; the things you dealt with I was being trained to deal with my sophomore and junior year.

Now I work with adults who as kids were the one's math teachers and history teachers hated because they couldn't sit still; there now making 75k a year as skilled union workers. People view them as academic failures because they never went to college, but they make more than most people do. Ask them what homework did for them.

So despite the implied-better-than-mine education you had that you aren't a teacher anymore. You have to admit there is something wrong with the system if someone as undoubtedly prestigious as yourself doesn't want to be a part of the educational system.

Anyway, joking aside, the point I was trying to make when I asked you what you taught is that it's a lot different teaching things like TIG welding and core classes like English and History. I'm not saying it's better or worse, so don't get all defensive on me, but it's different. The fact remains that teaching that classes that you were teaching is a different (better) structure that is modeled more after college. The students are oftentimes in classes that pertain to their interests and the job they want to obtain. They are put on a path to learn skills they want to learn.

What I was talking about is more what Raxe is saying. The core curriculum of many places (I can't speak for AZ, but NY is this way) is not only archaic, but is created by people who have no connection to the schools, and generally only have a political agenda. Thus, you end up with the students spending all morning at the school I have to teach, where they couldn't care less about what they are learning, however you present it, and then going in the afternoon to do their culinary, auto tech, cosmetology, or whatever classes where they actually want to learn. You see the difference here.

Finally, I'm not talking down about skilled workers who never went to college; my Dad didn't go to college and ended up spending 30+ years at General Motors making more than I'll ever probably make as a skilled union worker. College is not for everyone, that is a fact. However, we have a certain amount of progressive schools that embrace that, but a large amount of schools that are sticking to an ancient curriculum. There has to be a middle ground.

That being said, whether or not you go to college I think there should be some basic education you should receive. This is my own opinion, but the standard needs to be higher on teaching students things like how to spell and speak correctly, basic US and world history and geography, and the basic sciences and math. It's truly unbelievable how many people cannot communicate coherently, can't point out places like Iraq on a map or know about Pearl Harbor, and can't do basic math.