Comments on: Bordering on a Boycott http://conversationed.com/2014/06/10/bordering-a-boycott/ Fri, 02 Oct 2015 01:51:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.5 By: John Harkness http://conversationed.com/2014/06/10/bordering-a-boycott/#comment-399 Wed, 11 Jun 2014 05:45:47 +0000 http://conversationed.com/?p=3256#comment-399 Once again, does it bother anyone that those who are pushing all of these changes and promoting Common Core were brought up in the system that featured – dare I say it – TEACHERS who actually TAUGHT subject matter, not methods, and had high expectations like students reading the assignments, studying on their own, and preparing for exams on their own? How did any of us survive? And, how did these principals and other administrators get to these positions if they came through a system that did not work? If the system did not work, then we are being lead by people who are in a class that is 17th in the world. I am glad I retired two years ago because I would have been criticized harshly for teaching history and government as subject matter and not merely as a course title.

]]> By: Jim Oase http://conversationed.com/2014/06/10/bordering-a-boycott/#comment-396 Wed, 11 Jun 2014 02:58:37 +0000 http://conversationed.com/?p=3256#comment-396 What is the test of education?

In 1917 the last state, Mississippi, made elementary and secondary education compulsory. The state took the responsibility of the parents to prepare the next generation to be parents from the parents. The next generation in every community are unique individuals who as they prosper continue the growth of the community.

What standard test will insure the prosperity of individuals in a your urban community, such as Detroit, Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Nome and mine, Milbank, Ely, Lillian, Effie, Wilmar?

Got to any checkout register in any store, after the cost has been presented and you have handed the cashier a larger bill and after the casher has entered the larger bill hand the cashier the correct change to get even dollars or a quarter and dollars. 99% of the cashiers will go into a panic because they can’t do simple math in their head.

Ask a teach United States history questions like when did black Americans get suffrage?

Ask students or teachers questions about ethics, morality or integrity and why their answer is correct.

What standard test do you recommend that solves these community needs? We must know our history to know what we stand for and where we are heading. We must teach our next generation to be self sufficient where they live or they must leave where they live to find a place to live. Detroit was 1.8 million in 1965 and its 900,000 today. 900,000 people didn’t learn how to live in Detroit after 12 years of compulsory education.

We can do better than that.

Jim

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