Let Little Boys Be Little Boys

I was chatting with a cute little guy and his mom yesterday. The little guy was on the tall side, so I guessed that he was in first grade. His mom said no, he was only four and in pre-kindergarten. I asked him if it was fun and if he got to play. His mom told me that his school was very structured and although they did get some play time, most of the time was spent learning how to write and to read. She told me he needed the structure. He spent too much time playing and fooling around.

I felt sad for this little boy when I left them. A four year old is supposed to play. While it is nice to learn to read and write, play time is important too. There is time enough for formal learning. My daughter knew all her letters and numbers before she could walk. When she was a year-old she knew that when the clock said 7 0 0 we got up. I used to change the time to get to sleep later. I was glad my son knew his numbers by the time he was 16 (only kidding, but he was much older than a year) and he did not start reading until third grade. Both of my kids are successful in their careers. My illiterate little boy is a successful computer engineer. His late start did nothing to impede his development.

This little guy was just being a little guy. I know his mom really loves him and wants the best for him. I just hope she learns to let him relax and enjoy life now. I wish society would let him relax and enjoy being a little kid. He has time enough for stress when he gets older.

This Guy Should Not Be Teaching

Gina is every teacher's nightmare. She is either the sweetest, brightest, hardest working student around or she is Rosemary's baby. There is very little in between behavior and there is no way of knowing which Gina is around at any time.

Lately, the Rosemary's offspring has shown up in class. I had a major incident with her last week and had to call a dean to have her removed from class. Since then, she has been sitting in the back, reading a book, but leaving me and the rest of the class alone. I know I am accountable for her learning but I don't care. I'm glad she is quiet and I am not going to deal with her. Hopefully her other self will return soon and we can get back to education.

This morning I ran into one of Gina's other teachers and what he said, shocked me:

Gina is definitely bipolar. When she graduates from here, she is going to have a major breakdown and destruct. I'll be glad when it happens. I don't like that girl at all.

I tried to reason with the teacher. I tried telling him that she was a child, a sick child and that kind of thing should not be wished on anyone. He said he didn't care and he would be glad to be done with her in a few weeks.


I just stood there with my mouth open when he walked away.

There are Lies, Damn Lies and then there are Statistics

All first year students at a certain college take three courses in the Core Studies Program. The first two course are taught in large lectures, with all 100 students in a single class. The third course is taught in ten classes of 10 students each.

The students claim that classes are too large. The mean (100+100+10)/3 = 70 students per class.

The administration claims the total enrollment/number of classes is 300/12 = 25 students per class. The mean class size is perfect.

Which average would Bloomberg/Klein be spouting?

Problem form Using and Understanding Mathematics--Jeffrey Bennet an William Briggs

Mr. Ding and Willie

Willie was a mediocre student. School was just somewhere he went to kill time during the day. Willie's teachers were nice people, but little more than than. They never taught him multiplication tables and never pushed any kind of phonics. Willie didn't care. He was getting by and that was all that mattered.

When Willie was a little boy, classes were homogeneous. The smartest kids ended up in the 6 - 1 class and the slowest in the 6 -6 class. Little mediocre Willie ended up in the 6 -3 class, which was fine with him. As luck would have it, Mr. Ding was teaching the 6 - 3 class that year and Willie was exposed to his first male teacher. Mr. Ding didn't believe in mediocrity and he pushed the kids to their limits. Every day he drilled multiplication tables. Every day, he pushed reading. In spite of this, Mr. Ding believed school should be fun. In good weather, he brought his class outside every day at 2:00 to play. They swung bats and chased baseballs and laughed at the 6 -1 kids still inside with their books.

Willie is an adult now. He went to Stuyvesant High School and received his undergraduate and graduate degrees (in math) from Queens College. He credits Mr. Ding with turning his education around. Willie recently retired after a long, successful career as a high school teacher. He took the lessons he learned from Mr. Ding and applied them to his daily teaching. I am betting that Willie has influenced and helped students in the same way that Mr. Ding helped him.

Why?

I know I have asked this question at least 100 times before, but I can't stop myself from asking it again:

"WHY ARE WE FORCING EDUCATION ON STUDENTS THAT HAVE NO INTEREST IN LEARNING THE TOPICS WE ARE TEACHING? WHY ARE WE TAKING KIDS WITH FIFTH AND SIXTH GRADE READING AND MATH LEVELS (IF THEY ARE THAT HIGH) AND FORCING THEM TO LEARN BIOLOGY, TAKE ALGEBRA, ETC, ETC, ETC?"

We can assume that all children can learn and, if taught properly will learn. Although, I do remember, from high school, that when you ASSUME you are making an ASS out of U and Me. Anyways, assuming everyone can learn, how can we expect any high school teacher, with a class of 34 students, many with learning disabilities, to be able to correct 10 years of educational neglect? How can we assume that the education courses the teacher has taken have prepared her to overcome these difficulties and succeed where others have failed?

The truth is that not all kids are academically inclined. That does not mean that they are not intelligent or gifted in many ways. Yet, society only seems to value book learning. I'm looking forward to the day when vocational skills are valued over academics.