Underachieving kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To 18:56 - Sigh. Do you have any recent college grads working for you? Because they've been taught in schools where everything is a group effort, they are great at collaborating (yay?), but their critical thinking is limited to: how can I get someone to help me with this? Why do you want me to do this? The kids of today aren't smarter than we were at that age (even the ones from the top tier schools).

I'm 18:56, and I'm agreeing with you. HS kids and recent grads were taught under pre Common Core, which did not emphasize critical thinking skills. I'm not saying no one in that generation has any critical thinking skills. I'm just saying that the curriculum they were taught under didn't emphasize this enough.

[Anonymous]

And I'm telling you that there is a big difference between kids educated the old fashioned way in private schools vs public schools (which ditched desks arranged in rows for tables for group work two decades ago).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And I'm telling you that there is a big difference between kids educated the old fashioned way in private schools vs public schools (which ditched desks arranged in rows for tables for group work two decades ago).

Knowing how to work in a group IS important, but so is critical thinking skills. Most work now a days involves working in a team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many of you have observed your kids class? I have. Everything is spoonfed to them. Drafting reports in class, eh? Sure...and the teacher reviews the draft, coaches them through it, etc. Most kids cannot sit down and research and write a report on their own. And that, my friends, is the problem.

This sounds GREAT to me! The teacher is coaching her students through it. What could possibly be wrong with that? Should a child magically know how to do the process on his/her own?

[Anonymous]

I observed the reading block, and the teacher raced through the four groups, dictating what they should write on their graphic organizer...zero thought or discussion involved...spoonfed the answers. These were fifth graders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want my kid to be challenged so they learn how to be a good student and are prepared for MS, HS, college and beyond. I don't want my kid to aspire to mediocrity...and that is precisely what 2.0 does: sets the bar low so everyone can get a P and mcps can "close" the achievement gap (by dragging all the above average and average kids down).

Funny. But my kid did not get all Ps...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And I'm telling you that there is a big difference between kids educated the old fashioned way in private schools vs public schools (which ditched desks arranged in rows for tables for group work two decades ago).

Knowing how to work in a group IS important, but so is critical thinking skills. Most work now a days involves working in a team.

Hahaha. Group work dynamic at an office is far, far from group work dynamics in ES,MS, HS, college and bschool. Freeloaders can float around k-12 and unit just fine, and some employers (but not most employers).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And I'm telling you that there is a big difference between kids educated the old fashioned way in private schools vs public schools (which ditched desks arranged in rows for tables for group work two decades ago).

Knowing how to work in a group IS important, but so is critical thinking skills. Most work now a days involves working in a team.

Hahaha. Group work dynamic at an office is far, far from group work dynamics in ES,MS, HS, college and bschool. Freeloaders can float around k-12 and unit just fine, and some employers (but not most employers).

Yes, it's different, but school is a good place to start to learn that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many of you have observed your kids class? I have. Everything is spoonfed to them. Drafting reports in class, eh? Sure...and the teacher reviews the draft, coaches them through it, etc. Most kids cannot sit down and research and write a report on their own. And that, my friends, is the problem.

This sounds GREAT to me! The teacher is coaching her students through it. What could possibly be wrong with that? Should a child magically know how to do the process on his/her own?

I thought it sounded pretty good too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To MS poster: your kid wasn't really impacted by 2.0 the way current fifth graders are.

My sixth-grader wasn't. But my third-grader is. Based on their experiences, I think that 2.0 is a better curriculum than the previous curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many of you have observed your kids class? I have. Everything is spoonfed to them. DraftingOt reports in class, eh? Sure...and the teacher reviews the draft, coaches them through it, etc. Most kids cannot sit down and research and write a report on their own. And that, my friends, is the problem.

I have also seen this also. My fith grader did not know the capital of Cuba but she knows what a business proposal is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many of you have observed your kids class? I have. Everything is spoonfed to them. DraftingOt reports in class, eh? Sure...and the teacher reviews the draft, coaches them through it, etc. Most kids cannot sit down and research and write a report on their own. And that, my friends, is the problem.

I have also seen this also. My fith grader did not know the capital of Cuba but she knows what a business proposal is.

*IF* I had to choose between those two, I would pick the business proposal as more valuable than knowing the capital of Cuba, unless the kid is going into something to do with foreign policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many of you have observed your kids class? I have. Everything is spoonfed to them. DraftingOt reports in class, eh? Sure...and the teacher reviews the draft, coaches them through it, etc. Most kids cannot sit down and research and write a report on their own. And that, my friends, is the problem.

I have also seen this also. My fith grader did not know the capital of Cuba but she knows what a business proposal is.

*IF* I had to choose between those two, I would pick the business proposal as more valuable than knowing the capital of Cuba, unless the kid is going into something to do with foreign policy.

I was thinking the same thing. It's easy to look up the capital of Cuba. And if the PP thinks that the PP's fifth-grader should know the capital cities of the world, that's a much easier thing to teach at home than how to write a business proposal.

[Anonymous]

People who think a business proposal is important are missing some key points, for one, they don't go into detail about the expenses of running a business or cover even rudimentary math.

It's all about whether you are going to sell puppies, sports equipment or cupcakes. The kids make up categories (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry), and a price, but there is no research or even a basic understanding of business. They really learn nothing, but the word "business proposal" is bandied about to impress the parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People who think a business proposal is important are missing some key points, for one, they don't go into detail about the expenses of running a business or cover even rudimentary math.

It's all about whether you are going to sell puppies, sports equipment or cupcakes. The kids make up categories (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry), and a price, but there is no research or even a basic understanding of business. They really learn nothing, but the word "business proposal" is bandied about to impress the parents.

Agreed.