Controversial Opinions: School & Education edition

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:My hot take: The long-term returns to taking above grade-level math (eventually going beyond calculus BC while in high school) are minimal relative to simply being good at math and taking whatever grade-level class the smart kids usually take. There simply aren't many college majors or career paths where it makes a difference. It's almost entirely a college application padding contest.

Agreed. I went to summer school during H.S. to get ahead in math and take AP calc. to look good on college apps. I have never once used calculus since.

I used to think this, but then realized it teaches complex problem solving.

DP. It does, but only for the kids who have done the complex problem solving along the way. Strong math teaching that helps kids understand math and numbers and critical thinking is much better than racing through a text book to be able to do well on a standardized test.

The problem though is that there are no metrics for really showing that this is being taught in other classrooms. I can barely get out of my child what they are doing in class much less whether my child is picking up on every lesson taught. Nothing comes home. No more homework, workbooks, or textbooks. Classes are entirely teacher dependent. So I support AP classes because I know they are challenging and at least require to some degree that a teacher make sure students are at least exposed to advanced topics. I also know the final goal of the class and can see if my child achieved the goals. Many of these other classes my child has taken have lofty goals but don't work in practice because of bad implementation, lack of materials, varied abilities from children, or lazy teaching.

Starting in 3rd grade, all schools have periodic testing to make sure kids are learning the curriculum, you might not see the scores, but administration does and it puts a lot of pressure on teachers. Trust me, classes are not entirely teacher dependent. They have to teach a certain curriculum (that you can see online) and if there students don't test well, they hear it from administration. And no, I'm not talking about the highly publicized tests like the SOLs, but end of unit tests that are computerized and make it possible for principals to easily compare each teacher's scores against anothers.

You act as thought all principals care. If their higher ups and the parents aren't complaining, most principals do not have the time to review individual test results in that much detail.

The print out gives results of how students did on each strand of testing. It doesn't take more than a few minutes to compare results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The new Gilded Age (Education version) is going to remain in place for the foreseeable future. North Arlington and McLean will continue to prosper while S. Arl, Sleepy Hollow and Herndon will continue to decline on the VDOE school report cards and GreatSchools.

What's new about this? Wealthy people have always continued to prosper. When was there ever a time that this wasn't true?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My hot take: The long-term returns to taking above grade-level math (eventually going beyond calculus BC while in high school) are minimal relative to simply being good at math and taking whatever grade-level class the smart kids usually take. There simply aren't many college majors or career paths where it makes a difference. It's almost entirely a college application padding contest.

Agreed. I went to summer school during H.S. to get ahead in math and take AP calc. to look good on college apps. I have never once used calculus since.

I used to think this, but then realized it teaches complex problem solving.

DP. It does, but only for the kids who have done the complex problem solving along the way. Strong math teaching that helps kids understand math and numbers and critical thinking is much better than racing through a text book to be able to do well on a standardized test.

The problem though is that there are no metrics for really showing that this is being taught in other classrooms. I can barely get out of my child what they are doing in class much less whether my child is picking up on every lesson taught. Nothing comes home. No more homework, workbooks, or textbooks. Classes are entirely teacher dependent. So I support AP classes because I know they are challenging and at least require to some degree that a teacher make sure students are at least exposed to advanced topics. I also know the final goal of the class and can see if my child achieved the goals. Many of these other classes my child has taken have lofty goals but don't work in practice because of bad implementation, lack of materials, varied abilities from children, or lazy teaching.

Starting in 3rd grade, all schools have periodic testing to make sure kids are learning the curriculum, you might not see the scores, but administration does and it puts a lot of pressure on teachers. Trust me, classes are not entirely teacher dependent. They have to teach a certain curriculum (that you can see online) and if there students don't test well, they hear it from administration. And no, I'm not talking about the highly publicized tests like the SOLs, but end of unit tests that are computerized and make it possible for principals to easily compare each teacher's scores against anothers.

You act as thought all principals care. If their higher ups and the parents aren't complaining, most principals do not have the time to review individual test results in that much detail.

The print out gives results of how students did on each strand of testing. It doesn't take more than a few minutes to compare results.

Which school district are you in? What periodic testing are they taking that is being compared? I’m in Fairfax (elementary) and I’ve never experienced anything like what you mention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My hot take: The long-term returns to taking above grade-level math (eventually going beyond calculus BC while in high school) are minimal relative to simply being good at math and taking whatever grade-level class the smart kids usually take. There simply aren't many college majors or career paths where it makes a difference. It's almost entirely a college application padding contest.

Agreed. I went to summer school during H.S. to get ahead in math and take AP calc. to look good on college apps. I have never once used calculus since.

I used to think this, but then realized it teaches complex problem solving.

DP. It does, but only for the kids who have done the complex problem solving along the way. Strong math teaching that helps kids understand math and numbers and critical thinking is much better than racing through a text book to be able to do well on a standardized test.

The problem though is that there are no metrics for really showing that this is being taught in other classrooms. I can barely get out of my child what they are doing in class much less whether my child is picking up on every lesson taught. Nothing comes home. No more homework, workbooks, or textbooks. Classes are entirely teacher dependent. So I support AP classes because I know they are challenging and at least require to some degree that a teacher make sure students are at least exposed to advanced topics. I also know the final goal of the class and can see if my child achieved the goals. Many of these other classes my child has taken have lofty goals but don't work in practice because of bad implementation, lack of materials, varied abilities from children, or lazy teaching.

Starting in 3rd grade, all schools have periodic testing to make sure kids are learning the curriculum, you might not see the scores, but administration does and it puts a lot of pressure on teachers. Trust me, classes are not entirely teacher dependent. They have to teach a certain curriculum (that you can see online) and if there students don't test well, they hear it from administration. And no, I'm not talking about the highly publicized tests like the SOLs, but end of unit tests that are computerized and make it possible for principals to easily compare each teacher's scores against anothers.

You act as thought all principals care. If their higher ups and the parents aren't complaining, most principals do not have the time to review individual test results in that much detail.

The print out gives results of how students did on each strand of testing. It doesn't take more than a few minutes to compare results.

Which school district are you in? What periodic testing are they taking that is being compared? I’m in Fairfax (elementary) and I’ve never experienced anything like what you mention.

You don't have computerized unit tests? At our school (elementary) teachers give the same end of unit tests. At our grade level meeting with the principal he will show us the scores of how we all did, and encourage the teachers who students scored better to share their techniques with the teachers whose students didn't do so well. I'm really surprised that nothing like this occurs at the school you teach at.

[Anonymous]

My experience, parents income does not relate to child's IQ
IQ can change with age, iq tests on 6 year olds is irrelevant, yet private schools insist on these
Bilingual people are smarter
Immersion in a school classroom is not a way to learn a language
Teachers do not really care about bullying, some do not even like children
Parents always believe their kid is exceptional, kids are ordinary.
Out of a mullion kids, only a handful are truly exceptional
Let kids be kids

A lot of teachers go into the profession with ideals, after a few years do not care

[Anonymous]

Our education system isn’t taking into account that automation and AI will change the landscape of our society.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My hot take: The long-term returns to taking above grade-level math (eventually going beyond calculus BC while in high school) are minimal relative to simply being good at math and taking whatever grade-level class the smart kids usually take. There simply aren't many college majors or career paths where it makes a difference. It's almost entirely a college application padding contest.

Agreed. I went to summer school during H.S. to get ahead in math and take AP calc. to look good on college apps. I have never once used calculus since.

I used to think this, but then realized it teaches complex problem solving.

DP. It does, but only for the kids who have done the complex problem solving along the way. Strong math teaching that helps kids understand math and numbers and critical thinking is much better than racing through a text book to be able to do well on a standardized test.

The problem though is that there are no metrics for really showing that this is being taught in other classrooms. I can barely get out of my child what they are doing in class much less whether my child is picking up on every lesson taught. Nothing comes home. No more homework, workbooks, or textbooks. Classes are entirely teacher dependent. So I support AP classes because I know they are challenging and at least require to some degree that a teacher make sure students are at least exposed to advanced topics. I also know the final goal of the class and can see if my child achieved the goals. Many of these other classes my child has taken have lofty goals but don't work in practice because of bad implementation, lack of materials, varied abilities from children, or lazy teaching.

Starting in 3rd grade, all schools have periodic testing to make sure kids are learning the curriculum, you might not see the scores, but administration does and it puts a lot of pressure on teachers. Trust me, classes are not entirely teacher dependent. They have to teach a certain curriculum (that you can see online) and if there students don't test well, they hear it from administration. And no, I'm not talking about the highly publicized tests like the SOLs, but end of unit tests that are computerized and make it possible for principals to easily compare each teacher's scores against anothers.

You act as thought all principals care. If their higher ups and the parents aren't complaining, most principals do not have the time to review individual test results in that much detail.

The print out gives results of how students did on each strand of testing. It doesn't take more than a few minutes to compare results.

Which school district are you in? What periodic testing are they taking that is being compared? I’m in Fairfax (elementary) and I’ve never experienced anything like what you mention.

You don't have computerized unit tests? At our school (elementary) teachers give the same end of unit tests. At our grade level meeting with the principal he will show us the scores of how we all did, and encourage the teachers who students scored better to share their techniques with the teachers whose students didn't do so well. I'm really surprised that nothing like this occurs at the school you teach at.

We coulduse Horizon assessments. We do give common assessments but not necessarily computerized or for an entire unit and they aren’t always in the form of tests. Classes are not compared and administration is rarely involved with grade level meetings. We are a two teacher household and it’s the similar at both schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My hot take: The long-term returns to taking above grade-level math (eventually going beyond calculus BC while in high school) are minimal relative to simply being good at math and taking whatever grade-level class the smart kids usually take. There simply aren't many college majors or career paths where it makes a difference. It's almost entirely a college application padding contest.

Agreed. I went to summer school during H.S. to get ahead in math and take AP calc. to look good on college apps. I have never once used calculus since.

I used to think this, but then realized it teaches complex problem solving.

DP. It does, but only for the kids who have done the complex problem solving along the way. Strong math teaching that helps kids understand math and numbers and critical thinking is much better than racing through a text book to be able to do well on a standardized test.

The problem though is that there are no metrics for really showing that this is being taught in other classrooms. I can barely get out of my child what they are doing in class much less whether my child is picking up on every lesson taught. Nothing comes home. No more homework, workbooks, or textbooks. Classes are entirely teacher dependent. So I support AP classes because I know they are challenging and at least require to some degree that a teacher make sure students are at least exposed to advanced topics. I also know the final goal of the class and can see if my child achieved the goals. Many of these other classes my child has taken have lofty goals but don't work in practice because of bad implementation, lack of materials, varied abilities from children, or lazy teaching.

Starting in 3rd grade, all schools have periodic testing to make sure kids are learning the curriculum, you might not see the scores, but administration does and it puts a lot of pressure on teachers. Trust me, classes are not entirely teacher dependent. They have to teach a certain curriculum (that you can see online) and if there students don't test well, they hear it from administration. And no, I'm not talking about the highly publicized tests like the SOLs, but end of unit tests that are computerized and make it possible for principals to easily compare each teacher's scores against anothers.

You act as thought all principals care. If their higher ups and the parents aren't complaining, most principals do not have the time to review individual test results in that much detail.

The print out gives results of how students did on each strand of testing. It doesn't take more than a few minutes to compare results.

Which school district are you in? What periodic testing are they taking that is being compared? I’m in Fairfax (elementary) and I’ve never experienced anything like what you mention.

You don't have computerized unit tests? At our school (elementary) teachers give the same end of unit tests. At our grade level meeting with the principal he will show us the scores of how we all did, and encourage the teachers who students scored better to share their techniques with the teachers whose students didn't do so well. I'm really surprised that nothing like this occurs at the school you teach at.

We coulduse Horizon assessments. We do give common assessments but not necessarily computerized or for an entire unit and they aren’t always in the form of tests. Classes are not compared and administration is rarely involved with grade level meetings. We are a two teacher household and it’s the similar at both schools.

You don't have those stupid PLC meetings?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My hot take: The long-term returns to taking above grade-level math (eventually going beyond calculus BC while in high school) are minimal relative to simply being good at math and taking whatever grade-level class the smart kids usually take. There simply aren't many college majors or career paths where it makes a difference. It's almost entirely a college application padding contest.

Agreed. I went to summer school during H.S. to get ahead in math and take AP calc. to look good on college apps. I have never once used calculus since.

I used to think this, but then realized it teaches complex problem solving.

DP. It does, but only for the kids who have done the complex problem solving along the way. Strong math teaching that helps kids understand math and numbers and critical thinking is much better than racing through a text book to be able to do well on a standardized test.

The problem though is that there are no metrics for really showing that this is being taught in other classrooms. I can barely get out of my child what they are doing in class much less whether my child is picking up on every lesson taught. Nothing comes home. No more homework, workbooks, or textbooks. Classes are entirely teacher dependent. So I support AP classes because I know they are challenging and at least require to some degree that a teacher make sure students are at least exposed to advanced topics. I also know the final goal of the class and can see if my child achieved the goals. Many of these other classes my child has taken have lofty goals but don't work in practice because of bad implementation, lack of materials, varied abilities from children, or lazy teaching.

Starting in 3rd grade, all schools have periodic testing to make sure kids are learning the curriculum, you might not see the scores, but administration does and it puts a lot of pressure on teachers. Trust me, classes are not entirely teacher dependent. They have to teach a certain curriculum (that you can see online) and if there students don't test well, they hear it from administration. And no, I'm not talking about the highly publicized tests like the SOLs, but end of unit tests that are computerized and make it possible for principals to easily compare each teacher's scores against anothers.

You act as thought all principals care. If their higher ups and the parents aren't complaining, most principals do not have the time to review individual test results in that much detail.

The print out gives results of how students did on each strand of testing. It doesn't take more than a few minutes to compare results.

Which school district are you in? What periodic testing are they taking that is being compared? I’m in Fairfax (elementary) and I’ve never experienced anything like what you mention.

You don't have computerized unit tests? At our school (elementary) teachers give the same end of unit tests. At our grade level meeting with the principal he will show us the scores of how we all did, and encourage the teachers who students scored better to share their techniques with the teachers whose students didn't do so well. I'm really surprised that nothing like this occurs at the school you teach at.

We coulduse Horizon assessments. We do give common assessments but not necessarily computerized or for an entire unit and they aren’t always in the form of tests. Classes are not compared and administration is rarely involved with grade level meetings. We are a two teacher household and it’s the similar at both schools.

You don't have those stupid PLC meetings?

Yes, we have them. We refer to them as CT (collaborative team) meetings. They have nothing to do with being compared to one another by admin. I think it’s a shame that’s what yours are used for.

[Anonymous]

Don’t want boys using my dd’s bathroom, locker room or her spot on the team she’s worked so hard for

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don’t want boys using my dd’s bathroom, locker room or her spot on the team she’s worked so hard for

Has that happened to your dd?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t want boys using my dd’s bathroom, locker room or her spot on the team she’s worked so hard for

Has that happened to your dd?

It's allowed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t want boys using my dd’s bathroom, locker room or her spot on the team she’s worked so hard for

Has that happened to your dd?

It's allowed.

So it hasn't happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t want boys using my dd’s bathroom, locker room or her spot on the team she’s worked so hard for

Has that happened to your dd?

It's allowed.

So it hasn't happened.

Apparently not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The majority of kids diagnosed with ADHD don't have ADHD. Their true issue is that they just aren't very bright.

Also, future generations will look back at the ADHD and other stimulant meds given so freely to out children, and they will be amazed that we did not realize how tremendously harmful these drugs are. Sort of the way we look back at Victorians who used to dose up on laudanum, unaware of the terrible consequences to their health.

Yes