Scattelogical ramblings and desultory humor - Daffy Time

True words, Gloria.

Amen Gloria. I was an ajunct faculty teacher at a Community College here in the Finger Lakes and you alway saw a kid find their nieche and really take off.
My grand daughter was a freshman in graphic arts last year and now wants to be a veternarian, something tells me she will switch again when she has to disect a cat that looks her pet Hairy.

i got a 73. Maybe i shoulda stayed in school.

Pam, what do you teach? I think you mentioned it but i forgot. What about DH and sis? Nice story Gloria. Sure, there will always be nice success stories like that but there is no denying HS and college graduates are getting worse, not better.

amethystsm: 73 is an excellent score. As I said that was the score of the history professional who sent me the test originally.

to bad we have to compare ourselves to Dave47, and Victor. They are clearly persons of outstanding intellect.


(aaahem!!!) Either that or they watch the news all the time.

Just heard on the radio that some school district in the NY area is paying students $100 if they pass the AP test!

Ha ha. Actually I rarely watch the news. Get info from the web. And I haven't seen any stories on the Puritans lately! Still - not sure about that outstanding intellect stuff - especially in Dave's case!^_^

Some kids in our high school class got money if they got an A.

At my place, my folks said This is what you will get if you don't get an A.

(like a kick in the butt).

It's nice in general to reward good grades in some way, but I'm not for that kind of quid pro quo. The reward for passing the AP test is not having to take it in college!! For me, not having to take English, with all its heavy reading, was a godsend for freshman engineering. The AP class is actually better anyway since you have more hours. My teacher was top-notch and we are very good friends now. He is a rare book dealer as well.

What would be interesting, on that test, would be a proportional weight also - like, for some questions i knew what it was about, which limited it to 2 of answers, as opposed to people (some of my former classmates who swore there were 52 states?) who probably had no idea.

The real reward for 'Ace-ing a test' is that you know the material and are ready to learn more. I don't get taking national tests, and teaching classes to pass those tests. You haven't been in the class with a teacher/professor who is telling you the significance of all those facts and what you can do with them.

Thats the school I remember.

Instead of cheating with a cell phone or comp. What about writing the answers on the palm of your hand.

Thats the school I remember LOL

I agree with you Gloria. Some schools are not accepting AP's anymore. DD started an IB track in 9th grade and graduated with an IB and 8AP's. The IB actually involved more courses and a higher degree of difficulty. Smith gave her a year (32 credits) for the IB and nothing for the AP's. She was able to double major in Latin American and American studies and graduate fifteen credits over. That was a hefty tuition savings for us and a rich education for her. Her high school pushed the IB students to sit AP's so that they could receive more funding. The state universities in Georgia give up to two years of credit for AP's.

Now back to the garden.

Victor--I teach biology in many of its various shapes and forms (zoology, ecology, majors biology, human biology) as does DH (majors biology, genetics, cell bio, molecular biology, anatomy & physiology). DS is finishing her Phud in American History/Material Culture and teaches American History. None of us were smart enough to figure out that we were supposed to get OUT of school at some point, so here we are. :)

In almost 20 years of teaching I've seen a big increase in the amount of entitlement that kids have--of the "I deserve an A for just coming to class" variety. Maybe that works in some high school classes (especially because with No Child Left Behind, teachers are practically forced to teach to the test) but not in college. Sure, there are plenty of good, hardworking kids and success stories--that's why we teach, it ain't for the money :) --but the overall quality has gone down. And I'm pretty sure it's not ALL due to Increasing Crochetiness on my part. (Is that a word???)

That being said, I wouldn't trade my job for any other. :)

pam

i got an A+ in Zooology 2 summers ago - when i was silly enough to think i'd get my degree. (College is SO not for everybody.) But, BIO was a requirement, so i took it 3.5 hours/day, 5 days/wk, for 3 weeks. Two exams. Printed and studied the Power Points like crazy.
He definitely graded on a curve.
i am not sure what i remember from that class, except he certainly must have graded on quite a curve.

Summer classes are INSANE, I'm not convinced students can actually learn that much in such a short amount of time. (Memorize, yes; remember, I'm not sure.) I certainly wouldn't want to teach it in 3 weeks, never mind take it!

pam

Do the ever have open book tests anymore? Bring all the notes you want?

I remember a time when grades were based on gender. Any male automatically had a C or higher, because otherwise he would lose deferment and be eligible for the draft. And that meant Viet Nam.

Females had to earn their grades. I remember a group who thought they deserved A's. They got F's and the Dean backed me up on the grade.

Laurel, what is IB? I took an engineering class with a prof whom no one wanted to take. He was known to even fail seniors. I was 'stuck' with him because I was returning from being out of school for two years in the middle of Junior year so I had no choice in the classes. It was electromagnetic fields. There were 11 of us in the class. 9 failed! Upshot is - he was the best engineering prof I had. Took him again the following semester.

Most of California where I went to school is (was) on the quarter system.
Taking courses on the semester system was just way too long after that.

Victor, she has an International Baccalaureate Diploma from an American school. She had to track for a thirteenth year, starting in the ninth grade, giving her the equivalent of a 13th European prep school year. She came from a school with a multiple language advantage, so the program was perfect for her. She did not have the option of cheer leading and screwing around in high school and gave up being captain of the swim team even though she had been a state ranked swimmer since she was five. Middle child syndrome? Did I mention that she's really pretty too?

Her school work was evaluated and adjudicated by the International Baccalaureate Committee (it's Google-able, but I'm low tech). She sat exams and orals in the European tradition. The system works on higher levels (like a major) and standard levels (like a minor). An example would be her Spanish higher level, where she had to pull a topic out of a fish bowl, walk in to a classroom with a tape recorder, give her name, IB number and then procede to discuss the topic in Spanish. History was the same with a history question and English was the same with a question about literature. She did the equivalent of a double major. Her other major, called a "higher level" was in three-D studio art. She throws (on a kick wheel) and sculpts/builds incredible dolls. I can post if you're interested. Her work sells like crazy, but she's "into" grad school. For her IB...well she had to create a gallery exhibition, including her own props and lighting, and have the judging committee come and evaluate her work. The judges are certified by the International Baccalaureate Commission. It is very stringent. She also had to be present to be interviewed by the committee. She hated AP classes and called them "a bogus waste". Sorry, those are her words as there was no AP in my day. I can not imagine doing what she did at fourteen until seventeen. This was just an opportunity that happened and we said, "we're there for you but...why do you want to do this?". She said, " Carpe diem!" She's scary!! When I remember myself at that age, why I think they must have switched babies at birth.

My two boys, 33 and 21 are awesome too but like some, maybe many, boys they come with baggage. I love them no less.

Very impressive. What is she doing now? I think girls have more baggage than boys, but are much more serious about school during the teen years.

Our oldest boy let school at fifteen because he didn't understand the system. Really, probably our Hippy upbringing fault, but he just didn't fit...I decided to buck the odds and it was right . We (I) home schooled him and he took a GED.

Who posted here that college is not for everyone? He went to college at fifteen for a few semesters, was on Dean's List, and then dropped out, hiked the Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain to Mt. Katahdin. He has primative hiked all over the world and is a first class expert on survival skills. No, school is not for everyone, and he is probably the most gifted of the three. He is now married, has a three year old son, a career, friends, etc. Each child is so special and a reward in their own way.

Great - a fellow hiker! What's his job?

Laurel, I'm interested in your daughter's sculptures. Please post!!

Harper

Victor, Adam works for Crawford Communications here in Atlanta. They buy and sell satellite programming here and abroad. He's Spanish fluent and directs their South American programming. He has hiked the Picos de Europa as well as the Appalachians (seven months out there) and is a primitive skills freak. Not the Eric Rudolph type, but likes to go out and eat ground nuts, hunt with a sling shot, make snares. brew bark teas and shave trees for fishing line. OK, it fits with our philosophy. Mostly he just likes to walk and walk and walk. He will loose tremendous amounts of weight because he forgets to eat.

Harper, come on down darlin' we are turning this place into casual "cottage stay" weekends (read that as cheap vacation) and the response has been great. Lookin' forward.

L

Wow - impressive, though according to many women, most men are primitive skilled freaks.

skilled?

'primitive skilled'!

Hey, "most women", you do not even know "most women", Victor. And I don't know any men that have "primitive skills". In the woods if someone needs to start a fire, it would be me.

The words from Victor say "many women", not "most women", Gloria.

Right, Many women, Most men.

Thank you, Pirl.

Ok Ladies, here ya go....The Wife's Bill of Rights
http://men.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=6750191>1=32001

I am no longer married but that's a treat. Wish I had read it before the"I-Do's"

i think perhaps "primitively skilled" as opposed to "primitive skilled".

i'm the one college is not for. i went back (at age 34), made it to about junior standing (3.94 GPA), and quit.

Best decision i've made recently, in spite of the fact that pretty much everyone i know - and a few strangers - told me how much i'd regret it.

ha.
Not even a little.

No - 'primitive-skilled'. But not in the outdoor, survival context. Rather - caveman desires, mentality, etc.

I think a college education today is like what a high school education was during my paretns' day (1950s)--"everybody gets one." (Or sometimes, "everybody deserves one". eeeeeee.) I suspect people are discriminated against or looked down upon if they don't go to college--but--IMHO--not everyone should. And it's NOT a matter of native intelligence...certain skill sets and interests work best in college, and certain skill sets and interests work best elsewhere. And what is wrong with that????

What we as a country (world?) seem to lack is people who can THINK...and that has NOTHING to do with how much formal education you have.

OK off my soapbox now. :)

pam

I believe there should be more Trade Schools for kids who don't want to be scolars.
This would certainly elevate the skill level for all the service people who have worked for me. What a mire that is. Contractors who don't show up, plumbers who don't know what they are doing etc.
Don't get me tarted.

Victor!