tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36650952.post7273909028040746546..comments2024-03-27T10:29:06.518-04:00Comments on A Natural Scientist: Memories of EducationJenny F. Scientisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07072624674603337551noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36650952.post-32172730772819700822015-02-14T09:56:26.319-05:002015-02-14T09:56:26.319-05:00I was forced to tutor, both at my poor, public pri...I was forced to tutor, both at my poor, public primary school, and at my horribly expensive private high school. I hated it because it was social suicide.Katiehttps://www.flickr.com/photos/katiehumphry/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36650952.post-79822602010092761952012-04-16T15:24:04.980-04:002012-04-16T15:24:04.980-04:00Ooof. I'm not even sure how to think about thi...Ooof. I'm not even sure how to think about this issue, let alone what to do in the case of educating my many babies. My very poor New Mexican elementary had a gifted program. They took us to visit...the local jail. Awesome field trip.bunnyhttp://glumbunny.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36650952.post-26258817677731764582012-04-16T08:00:28.769-04:002012-04-16T08:00:28.769-04:00I know. I have a 8-year-old who's intellectual...I know. I have a 8-year-old who's intellectually about two years ahead of his peers, but socially he's almost younger than them. So no point of skipping grades.<br /><br />His teacher is trying, but my son's not getting what he need to live up to his potential. At all. I feel kind of powerless. Of course we do lots of stuff at home, but you should just see him when he's gotten to do something challenging in school, he comes home full of joy and can start solving interesting math problems in his free time, just because he wants to. <br /><br />I live in Sweden and there is very little here for the kids who are ahead of their peers. My son also loathes working toghether with other kids in projects, he feels he gets stuck with all the work.Pharma Microbiologistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36650952.post-40153812263381874782012-04-14T11:07:43.032-04:002012-04-14T11:07:43.032-04:00I remember being put into groups as a kid, and the...I remember being put into groups as a kid, and the teacher expecting me to "help" everyone else. I usually ended up doing all the work because I wasn't about to let my grade suffer because other people didn't know what they were doing. That bit.<br /><br />With the "tutoring" - that happened too, especially in math classes. I always felt like I was waiting for everyone else to catch up, until I started a special school for nerds, and was suddenly the person trying to catch up. Then though, the teachers actually held office hours/study hours (it was a free residential high school, back when spending money on education was considered something good in state budgets).<br /><br />When I was teaching though, it was HARD to keep up with all the different abilities within one class, and heck, that class was supposed to be the "advanced" students. I could suddenly see exactly why my teachers were using students as tutors back then.<br /><br />My older son's class has occasional PE sessions with the "regular" classes - to help improve peer interactions and so the "regular" classes act as a model for the autistic class in terms of peer-to-peer play. I'm absolutely for that, but I don't know how the parents of the neurotypical kids feel about it. I wonder if it bothers them.Mary_Flashlighthttp://www.bothhandsandaflashlight.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36650952.post-32732240725255120962012-04-13T09:33:48.616-04:002012-04-13T09:33:48.616-04:00Education is really difficult. There are so many ...Education is really difficult. There are so many different kinds of learners in one classroom, and quite a lot of ground to cover every year. I remember being bored in class sometimes, waiting for the slower kids to catch up. It's not fun being one of the slow kids either, wanting to ask questions but feeling like you're wasting people's time. I'm lucky my older son got into a charter school that has more individual learning, maybe he won't go through that.<br />I'm reading a book right now, "Nutureshock" that discusses some of these issues. Apparently one problem with gifted programs is they test kids at kindergarten, and testable IQ really isn't stable until 3rd grade or beyond. Then "normal" kids are struggling in advanced programs and bright kids are stuck in normal schools. I have to wonder about labeling some kids as "gifted" too. It creates a fear of failure, and fear of trying things you might not be good at. I remember feeling so threatened that the new girl in school would be smarter than me, and I'd lose my "smart" label. It shouldn't have mattered.<br />I'm surprised they had you tutoring at ten years old. I tutored first graders when I was in high school, and then some chemistry in college. I really found it useful in college, it helped cement concepts for me to explain them to others.<br />I think ideally schools would exist to get kids to reach their intellectual potential, but too often teachers are just trying to get by, with too many kids and too few resources. Not to mention various behavior problems!<br />I guess there's always homeschooling... if you have the luxury of sacrificing an income for that many years.Nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03276995787173932700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36650952.post-20885673365439838192012-04-13T09:16:27.901-04:002012-04-13T09:16:27.901-04:00hoo, boy! When Mr. Jenny takes the kids to his pa...hoo, boy! When Mr. Jenny takes the kids to his parents and you come here to drink whiskey and chew the fat, you just get Sugar STARTED on this topic. Short version: she agrees with you. In colorful language. <br /><br />I mostly went to schools where I did not have to do that kind of thing, and what do you know? It turns out that I learned more about being a good teacher by BEING TAUGHT than by forced-march tutoring. (I did do some tutoring, too, but by choice. It was fun, because it was BY CHOICE.)Bionic Baby Mamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14308646591208692676noreply@blogger.com