Education Thread
 

Since school is starting tomorrow, I thought a thread on education would be beneficial to all the young parents we seem to have on RS.

Having had three of my own children go through the public education system and having been involved heavily in PAC's (Parent Advisory Council), at both the district and provincial levels, I can answer a question or two on the subject.

I am not well versed in the private sector, but I'm sure there are lots of people who have children in private schools who can chime in with their thoughts and experiences.

I also got into home schooling for a while. Now there's an interesting topic, for sure.

I would like to have people share their thoughts on the new curriculum, which focuses on things like Aboriginal content and focussing more on process rather than subject content.

Pedagogy, French Immersion, etc. are always good topics of discussion.

Ministry of Education and trends in education.

Oh, and if you're a teacher, hell, that would be awesome!

Nothing like first hand info, yes?

https://www.youtube.com/user/armandohasudungan

He has some of the best educational videos out there with regards to anatomy and physiology of the human body. Even if you don't have kids that might need something like this, it's cool to sit back and just watch.

My child isn't in the school system, but I do have some thoughts about where the curriculum is going.

I understand the need for change in the curriculum because our economy is no longer focused on producing widgets. However process only gets you so far. There's still structure in society - whether it's in the domestic world or in the business world. The old education system taught and reinforced structure. Today, kids are incredibly bright and resourceful, but there's a lack of structure and discipline in their approach to learning and life.

Despite what we like to think, the world is still a mean and nasty place. I feel like the education system is trying to prepare our children for an environment that doesn't yet exist and may never come to fruition. Not everyone can be a winner. The purpose of education should be to equip our children with the tools and perspective to find their place in society.

Khan Academy is the only reason I was able to pass OChem and is also a large reason why a lot of my other friends passed their first year science/math courses.

I'm a recent graduate of highschool, and looking back on it now it is a joke compared to post secondary life. It doesn't really prepare you for anything. Grades K-3, realistically teaches children how to work together and make friends. 4-7, get you the same thing. High school teaches you enough to get through your first lecture in post secondary. Growing up in a pretty big east side highschool, I was quite absorbent of the personalities and ethics of other students around me. I've met students that were either home schooled, or went to montessories, and they tended to be the odd ones out. Not coming into high school with any friends, and completely being sheltered. I'm not trying to bash these education styles, but it was a trend.

Now to talk about the curriculum. History / Social Studies, has always been the same. They teach us the history, so we don't fuck up again. First Nation studies do slip in here and there, but the thing I always found funny was that First Nations were put all into a "Native Study" class. I understand where the First Nations would love their decedents to learn their history and culture, but at the same time it alienates them from the rest of the population of the school. Turning them into little cliques and don't venture out. I personally felt that they should be assimilated into high school like any other regular kid. This is my two cents on the History / Social side of education.

To summarize all the other courses and materials they teach in high school, its a means to spark hobbies, or to spark a passion for something in youth. In highschool, I loved to cook in HomeEc and in the Cafeteria program, it made me pursue cooking out of highschool. I have a friend who loves the french language, and went to learn french in post secondary to be a teacher for it one day (hes asian).

I would recommend anyone to find out what your child loves to do, and help spark a passion for them, don't send them to post secondary right away when the time comes. They waste money for one and time for two. I had many friends who went to post secondary just because "everyone else is doing it", and they waste years on finding out what they want to do. I was out of highschool for a few years before taking on cooking, I worked during that time off, paid off school and now I found something I enjoy to do.

But again this is my two cents, take it with a grain of salt if you want to.

The issue is that those kids who are yet to find their passion don't have any clues what to do other than taking the typical route of going into post secondary after highschool.

This is where middle schools might make a difference. The idea of a middle school is to get kids interested in various fields of interest early on. When they are at the age where they are discovering themselves and going through emotional and physical changes.

Some researchers believe humans have two major growth spurts, for lack of a better word. One happens early on before they enter elementary school and one between the ages of 9 and 12.

The only issue is, most middle schools, due to lack of funding and direction, do a piss poor job of it.

Some highlights of a middle school:

Dedicated support staff (certified counsellors, youth care workers,etc.)
Advisory (time put aside on a daily basis for promoting connections between groups - collaboration)
Exploratory (special courses put in place to expose students to various non-academic subjects - hands on stuff)
Flexible scheduling

In a nutshell, middle schools are supposed to guide students through what is their most critical time of their development. A wonderful, yet difficult time of their lives. A time where; their bodies are changing, they are wanting to find themselves, they are wanting to become more independent, they are becoming defiant, they are going through emotional trauma, etc.

Another pitfall of middle schools, besides lack of funding, is creating middle schools for the wrong reasons, and lack of trained professionals.


Having said all that, when a middle school is structured correctly and everyone involved is on board, middle schools really are great.

This.

We are isolating this next generation almost entirely from reality. We are creating a steady stream of weak and feeble-minded individuals who lack the skills necessary to negotiate, battle, dig & grind, etc. It's no wonder China and other countries are so quickly catching up to us. We as western civilization are losing our edge. We used to be cut throat, now we are just getting our throats cut.

We need a course in school called: life101. Where someone just comes in and berates and belittles those children, until they fucking learn to not be little pussies.

Kids spend approx. 20% of their available time in school vs 80% with parents/friends/neighbors etc. Surround kids with role models to learn from during this 80%.

cancel school buses and gluing macaroni to cardboard

-provide each student with an unassembled bicycle in a box, they must assemble it and ride to school
-fines for littering on school grounds, rewards for picking up shell casings on logging roads
-cooking for obese and elderly to learn about calories in vs out
-learn that rrsp is not an item, overtime will not cause you to earn less
-first-aid training from an early age

I definitely agree with teaching first aid from an early age. It really made a difference for my kids!

True, very true.

.........except for a lot of kids, nowadays, the 80% is the worst time of their day.

It's sad when school is the only stable thing in some kids' lives.


Not all kids have parents who care. Even well off parents do a piss poor job of raising their offspring. Too many parents are into themselves and get their "alone" time by signing their kids up for every freaking club/sports/crafts under the sun. As for tucking them in and making their lunches, someone else does that for them, too. "Quality" time is not in a lot of parents' vocabulary.

Wonder why so many suicide attempts and kids getting into so much trouble?


Parenting is not easy, but you better be prepared to put in some time with your kids. After all, you're the ones who decided to bring them into this world.

Parents are the first and foremost educators............ people tend to forget that. Don't pass the buck - you do the teaching and coaching. And when you send them to school to be babysat, you better be involved in that part, too.

Schools are only as good as the community they serve.