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While I can’t vouch for the authenticity or anything else other than it was submitted to a website that publishes humorous, but generally real stuff, and given some of the education related stories we’ve carried over the years, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is real.
And people wonder why our public education systems has become second-rate (at least) compared to so many others around the world.
For Kindle and with free ePub version. Only $9.49 Great reading.
Here is what Gary Shapiro CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) said: Dvorak's writing sings with insight and clarity. Whether or not you agree with John's views, he will get you thinking and is never boring. These essays are worth the read!
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28. Thats a good story. Reminds me of an 8th grade teacher who told the class “the sun is a ball of far” which means “fire” in some parts of Virginia.
#28, Hey! We got a celebrity! Case closed.
Much to the detriment of my children, I strive to teach them to think for themselves. There are lots of times when you should follow the herd, but you should be aware of why you are doing it. My kids get in trouble at school a lot.
Some say that great societies die from within. Our cancer is our education system. This is a great example of form without substance. Sad. This teacher should be instead asking, “do you want fries with that order?” Instead of forming the critical thought pattern our our nation’s youth.
This is what happens when you certify teach for their expertise to “teach” and not their mastery of the subject matter.
Colleges/Universities have it right, you first have to have advanced mastery of subject matter and recognizable expertise among your peers in the same field, and the hell with teaching ability.
This is why the transition for many students fresh out of high school to college is rough at first. You can’t just get socially promoted through class, you have to really know and demonstrate your depth of knowledge in the subject matter.
I guess that’s too much to ask for in public education.
THIS HAPPENED TO ME!!!
im not sure if i have the letter but last year in 8th grade my science teacher insisted that centripital forcew was the outward force and centrifugal was inward and so i rejected that statement verbally in front of the class and recieved a letter of the simmilar phrasing which my father promptly broke out laughing at.
i can totally believe something like this could happen, for it happened to me.
in 3rd grade, my teacher was doing a lesson on decimals, when some kid asks if .3 (three tenths) or .03 (three hundredths) is bigger.
another student yells out three hundredths, because a hundred is more than ten. i say that .3 is bigger, because i wasn’t stupid (top of my class).
the teacher settles this dispute by saying that they are equal, and gives a graphical demonstration similar to this:
█ █░░░░░░░░░
█ █░░░░░░░░░
█ █░░░░░░░░░
░ ░░░░░░░░░░
░ ░░░░░░░░░░
░ = ░░░░░░░░░░
░ ░░░░░░░░░░
░ ░░░░░░░░░░
░ ░░░░░░░░░░
░ ░░░░░░░░░░
which i dispute after which she sends me to the principal’s office.
note: she was currently getting her associate of arts in teaching. math and science were not her strong points
Cripes!
A similar thing happened to my 8 year old son recently. He politely raised his hand (or so he told me) and stated that he believed the teacher to be incorrect. The teacher asked him if he was being cheeky. My son replied that he was not. The teacher then said “you are aren’t you?”…..”no”………….”you are aren’t you?”……….”no”……………….etc. etc. until my tearful child is forced to say “yes”. I have no way of knowing whether this letter is real or whether the incident happened as stated. What I would say is that I have little respect for teachers based on my own experience.
And anyway – how on earth does a child PROVE that a kilometre is less than a mile?
On the other hand – I once had the experience at a similar age at school when I questioned my teacher’s use of the “centigrade” temperature scale, telling her that I believed it was more correctly called the “celsius” scale. She said that she was unsure but that she would check later that evening and report back to the class the next day. True to her word, she came in the next day and told that class that she had been wrong and that I was right – unfortunately I passed this on to my kids and it only gets them into trouble LOL.
Jack.
41,
Here’s a good link why you are right, Jack:
http://www.sizes.com/units/temperature_centigrade.htm
#41, Yup, put me in the same questioning category.
My argument was in gr. 3 or 4 when I disputed that Columbus was the first European to visit America. I claimed that the Vikings and many Scottish and Portuguese fishermen had been fishing off of North America for years. It took the Principal to settle the dispute by agreeing with me and correcting the teacher in front of me.
Damn I relish that memory.