tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736448434152217111.post3960082613445256922..comments2023-10-19T11:27:25.565-04:00Comments on Nutwood Junction: Duty now for the futureBethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05149068921334726430noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736448434152217111.post-295583135789183662012-11-25T02:13:41.734-05:002012-11-25T02:13:41.734-05:00I am concerned about the sad state of today's ...I am concerned about the sad state of today's education. Our leaders have gutted the field, hamstrung it, chastised the teachers. Punished them and have made moves to destroy the teachers unions... and have made moves to dumb it down although they'd insist they are making it better. <br /><br />I sure don't know the answers to get things back on track but all I can say is I was terribly depressed when I was a teacher. Loved the kids, though they wore me out and left me exhausted by the end of the school year. Every teacher-friend of mine wants out, have warned me about ever returning to it... <br /><br />One thing is certain, if we are going to make school relevant in today's world, we must find ways to improve science and math performances (note I did NOT say scores). As far as I am concerned, grades are not--and should not--be the means in which we predict a child's success in the future. I know some believe schools should become more slanted toward vocational training, and others say it should be aimed towards academics... all I know is, this country's future depends on our schools.<br /><br />I miss it and yet I do not. <br /><br />dmappinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17020497724406404667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736448434152217111.post-73342012402615406152012-11-20T09:25:30.202-05:002012-11-20T09:25:30.202-05:00I think a long as we give people a broad education...I think a long as we give people a broad educational foundation to draw from, when they are younger, we can start to hyper focus on job skills for many people once we get them to high school. Tech use and online learning will become the norm for everyone in school; you can see that very clearly from visiting schools now and reading ed tech plans. Curiosity, exploration, empathy, and critical thinking are areas I think we will need to focus on to remain competitive in the global workforce. They all prepare you for thinking and solving problems and that's what the future will really need.Kyle Leachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13369076904327452139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736448434152217111.post-48998685159051631632012-11-18T20:15:48.816-05:002012-11-18T20:15:48.816-05:00It was an amazing article and I hope we can integr...It was an amazing article and I hope we can integrate online learning more to keep students from accumulating so much debt.Ken Richeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09425810816600512504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736448434152217111.post-82082464277477869462012-11-18T17:53:32.419-05:002012-11-18T17:53:32.419-05:00Nice post! Very thought-provoking. I've signed...Nice post! Very thought-provoking. I've signed up for a couple of the Coursera courses myself, thanks to your bringing them to my attention a few weeks ago.Lorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08506026496063245730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736448434152217111.post-57023325859255354292012-11-16T23:22:50.290-05:002012-11-16T23:22:50.290-05:00I think that it will take a bigger social change a...I think that it will take a bigger social change and more conviction to improving our public schools for the necessary implementation of the tools you have mentioned in educating people in this country. We need a bottom-up approach, but the funding for anything in the public sector is sketchy.<br /><br />The " 'Merica F*ck Yeah!" attitude has given us a false sense of entitlement. Being American no longer translates into having the best of things... and without those at the top of the economic tree being willing to pay their share when it comes to taxes, it is unlikely to ever improve.<br /><br />Interesting about the online course... cool, actually. I will do like Alaina and check it out myself!!Big Mark 243https://www.blogger.com/profile/10974573439218884164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-736448434152217111.post-37074989885220021392012-11-16T19:19:58.933-05:002012-11-16T19:19:58.933-05:00v and the need for current technology in the class...v and the need for current technology in the classroom is HUGE where i am at. currently, we just got i-pads but only enough for two classes (out of the whole school) to use at the same time. we have a laptop cart of older laptops where about half the units work. the kids get mad when they have to share when we are looking at virtual labs to follow up my kitchen chemistry science experiments. it's frustrating. with the technology we also have to focus on being effective in both written and oral communication. some things still need to be practiced like writing, but we are trying to use the computers to help with the mechanics of writing. <br /><br />i think some of the changes with the race to the top and the adoption of common core standards will help since we are no longer teaching a litle about a thousand different topics in math each year- i get almost ten weeks to work with just ratios, and another ten weeks to work with fraction operations instead of the standard ten days for each chapter as planned in our old curriculum. kids need time to explore these concepts if they are going to be proficient at higher level mathematics.<br /><br />so cool about your course- i need to check that link out!<br /><br />xxalainaxxmrs.missalaineushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08542984504965262088noreply@blogger.com