The Education Thread

[Forecaster Colby]

Simply answer the following questions (include questions in post PLEASE):

Code: Select all

1) What grade was your last (Freshman college=13th and so on)?

2) What did you major in (if applicable)?

3) What did you minor in (if applicable)?

4) What is the highest math class you've taken?

5) What is the highest english class you've taken?

6) How many languages do you speak (enough to be understood)?

7) How many languages do you speak fluently?

8) Describe your favorite teacher, and relate a story which demostrates their character.

9) Describe your favorite class, and why it was your favorite.

10) What are your impressions regarding education (from personal experience)?

For me:

1) Currently in 10th

2/3) N/A

4) Currently in Pre-Calculus, know some Calculus

5) In English II

6) 1.5 (English of course, and enough French to make clear what I'm talking about)

7) 1 (English)

8) My favorite teacher is my current French I teacher. There really aren't any stories in particular, but she is in general very casual and pleasant, which is rare in teachers.

9) A single visit to a 3-year Engineering class at a significant college. I went expecting to be going WTF the whole time, and actually understood most of it.

10) Public schools SUCK. Middle school SUCKS. College will rule.

[wxmann_91]

You're in High School, Colby? Well, so am I!

1) What grade was your last (Freshman college=13th and so on)?

2) What did you major in (if applicable)?

3) What did you minor in (if applicable)?

4) What is the highest math class you've taken?

5) What is the highest english class you've taken?

6) How many languages do you speak (enough to be understood)?

7) How many languages do you speak fluently?

8) Describe your favorite teacher, and relate a story which demostrates their character.

9) Describe your favorite class, and why it was your favorite.

10) What are your impressions regarding education (from personal experience)?

1) Currently in 9th

2/3) N/A

4) Currently in Algebra 3-4

5) Honors English 1-2 next term

6) English, Chinese, Spanish (I only know how to say hello and Why? in French)

7) 1 (English)

8) My 8th grade homeroom teacher, hands down. She actually made Homeroom, Social Studies, and Language Arts FUN. She was SO funny, and she actually loved every one of us, enough to cry on the last day of school and actually saying that she loved us. She taught a very important lesson about loving, caring for, and tolerating one another. Every day when everybody left she would say "Bye, Sweetpeas!" and smile at us.

9) Same class as above.

10) Well I think school is very important because all my history teachers have taught me how entire empires have fallen without it. LOL. Actually I think it is important cause, well, I'd be dumb without it. (I'm sorry, I really can't think of a good explanation for why, that's the best I could think of.)

[Forecaster Colby]

My personal feelings as to the importance of education run in an almost John-Connor-ish complex in myself. I feel every day that the world is about to go down in flames, and that I am someone who will pick up the pieces. I feel, therefore, that it is my duty to study every facet of human knowledge, every philosophy from Marx to Nader to Reagan. In that, I hope to prepare myself for when that time comes...and I have sworn to myself I will be ready.

[Forecaster Colby]

Bump...come on folks!

[streetsoldier]

My personal feelings as to the importance of education run in an almost John-Connor-ish complex in myself. I feel every day that the world is about to go down in flames, and that I am someone who will pick up the pieces. I feel, therefore, that it is my duty to study every facet of human knowledge, every philosophy from Marx to Nader to Reagan. In that, I hope to prepare myself for when that time comes...and I have sworn to myself I will be ready.

You might want to augment those "luminaries" with the likes of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Gaius Julius Caesar, Tertullian, Tacitus, Marcus Aurelius, Benedict of Nursia, Christine de Pisan, Dante Alighieri, Niccolo Machiavelli, Montesquieu, Locke, Rousseau, Alexis de Tocqueville, von Clausewitz and Adam Smith...to name but a few choices.

Restricting one's journey to only the most recent examples will offer nothing about where we came from, neither will it point the way to where we should be going.

Nothing is trivial.

[Forecaster Colby]

Oh beleive me, I have. I'm looking for Aristotle & Caesar's writings and I've studied a great deal on Genghis Khan and Cyrus the Great and many others. To quote Palpatine of Star Wars (though not exactly the best figurehead ), "To fully understand the great mystery, one must study all it's aspects". Though, of course, this is far more complex than the Force.

[JtSmarts]

1) Currently 2nd year in College
2) Mass Communications
3) None Yet
4) Calculus uhhh
5) Currently in CRTW (basically Eng/Writ 102)
6) English and Spanish

7) English
8) My favorite teacher was my 2nd grade teacher because we always used to have us pretend to be on talk shows and play games to help us learn.
9) My favorite class was my AP US History class in 11th grade because I had an excellent teacher who made history fun and exciting.
10) .Education is essential to becoming successful in my opinion.

[brunota2003]

Simply answer the following questions (include questions in post PLEASE):

Code: Select all

1) What grade was your last (Freshman college=13th and so on)?

2) What did you major in (if applicable)?

3) What did you minor in (if applicable)?

4) What is the highest math class you've taken?

5) What is the highest english class you've taken?

6) How many languages do you speak (enough to be understood)?

7) How many languages do you speak fluently?

8) Describe your favorite teacher, and relate a story which demostrates their character.

9) Describe your favorite class, and why it was your favorite.

10) What are your impressions regarding education (from personal experience)?

For me:

1) Currently in 10th in High School

2/3) N/A

4) Algebra I

5) College Prep Comp & Lit I

6) 1-English

7) 1 (English)

8) My favorite teacher was my Physical Science Honors teacher Mr. Cruz, he just made science fun, not to mention he is a former marine, and that he worked on the same ship that my dad did during Desert Shield...

9) Science last year, because of above...

10) I have none...

[Skywatch_NC]

1) What grade was your last (Freshman college=13th and so on)? 12th

2) What did you major in (if applicable)? N/A

3) What did you minor in (if applicable)? N/A

4) What is the highest math class you've taken? Business Math in H.S. (and hated it!)

5) What is the highest english class you've taken? H.S. English

6) How many languages do you speak (enough to be understood)? 1

7) How many languages do you speak fluently? Just English

8) Describe your favorite teacher, and relate a story which demonstrates their character. My 10th grade English teacher Miss Schambauch. I don't have any story which stands out though about her.

9) Describe your favorite class, and why it was your favorite. My 8th grade Homeroom and U.S. History teacher Mr. Gillens. Having gone to a Christian school the homeroom class sang a hymn each morning to start the day.

10) What are your impressions regarding education (from personal experience)? Corporal punishment NEEDS to be BROUGHT BACK...and... CONTROL GIVEN BACK to the TEACHERS!! I NEVER personally had any experience with the "woodshed" but my ears remember hearing the swat echoes resounding in the hallways!

[streetsoldier]

1) What grade was your last (Freshman college=13th and so on)? Master of Fine Arts (terminal degree).

2) What did you major in (if applicable)? Design

3) What did you minor in (if applicable)? Illustration

4) What is the highest math class you've taken? Algebra II (college); being in a Fine Arts curriculum, math-science was underemphasized in favor of studio classes (2/3 of my coursework was in the studio).

5) What is the highest English class you've taken? "Propositions in English Literature", senior year, college; the proposition was "power", its use and misuse (per professor's preference).

6) How many languages do you speak (enough to be understood)? English, Francais, Provencal, Deutsch, Espanol, lingua romana, Pocckye

7) How many languages do you speak fluently? See above

8) Describe your favorite teacher, and relate a story which demonstrates their character. Mr. George Murphy, 8th grade U.S. History; who told us to sign the book loan page, throw the book in the bottom of our locker, and taught us HIS way. He didn't mind being challenged, but insisted that the challenger "prove" his contention via a term paper. I learned more, better under his influence than any teacher before or since.

9) Describe your favorite class, and why it was your favorite. See above; I try to emulate Mr. Murphy's example at every turn.

10) What are your impressions regarding education (from personal experience)? Education, as I see it today, is too "sensitive", touchy-feely, politically correct, administrator-heavy, and an undue burden on teacher and student alike.

Teachers should be qualified to teach their subject, then given the freedom to TEACH it; devoid of outside influences. Achievement should be rewarded, failure acknowledged and dealt with. I am an advocate of academic freedom, NOT "dictums from on high" (as are all of my other fellow teachers).

And thugs should be treated AS thugs, no matter what age they are...no "sweeping under the rug" to make the stats look good, and keeping the flow of FedBucks coming in. Arrests should be made, rules should be short, clear and ENFORCED. Corporal punishment should NOT be an option for school personnel, but parents should assume that role (rightly so!), without fear of prosecution (save for extremes).

Using students as informants against peers and/or their parents should be absolutely abolished (violates Constitutional protection by negating "facing one's accuser")...no more "1-800-1-SNITCH" number availability.

And, speaking of FedBucks, I am in favor of school vouchers. Period.

[Dee Bee]

I'm an old broad and have been an educator for 37 years (middle school, high school, and currently college).

1) What grade was your last (Freshman college=13th and so on)?
Completed Master's degree; post-Masters courses

2) What did you major in (if applicable)?
BA degree: English + Education MA degree: Education

3) What did you minor in (if applicable)? BA: None MA: Counseling

4) What is the highest math class you've taken?
Amazingly enough, I didn't have to take any math for my bachelor's degree, so my highest math class was Algebra II/Trig in high school!

5) What is the highest English class you've taken?
Some (esoteric) literary criticism course

6) How many languages do you speak (enough to be understood)?
One -- English

7) How many languages do you speak fluently? Ditto above

8) Describe your favorite teacher, and relate a story which demonstrates their character.
Favorite teachers? Glen Ritmueller my high school honors English teacher freshman and senior year helped me realize I wanted to teach English; in college, I was privileged to have many helpful mentors: the Drs. Makkai (married couple), who accepted me into their grad level linguistics course as a lowly undergrad; my undergrad English curriculum instructor who had actually been in a classroom and could convey the connection between theory and practice; my chain-smoking, often seemingly semi-inebriated but brilliant raconteur of a American Lit professor; my second year Classics instructor, who wisely (for future financial reasons) steered me out of that field into English; and many others, all of whom call to mind far too many stories to relate here!

9) Describe your favorite class, and why it was your favorite.
Linguistics, for the astonishing combination of information, philosophy/critical thinking, and field research

10) What are your impressions regarding education (from personal experience)?
Humans have the capacity and capability to learn from the day they are born to the day they die. The key to any learning in any field is to continue to develop and refine critical thinking and writing skills throughout one's lifetime.
"Education" and "school" are not synonymous. Furthermore, education is not merely a regurgitation of facts or someone else's opinions.
Critical thinking is not innately fully developed! Reasoning and logic skills can and must be learned -- and regularly practiced!
Many people today expect an education rather than work hard at achieving one. Many school administrators/teachers lower expectations so students can receive diplomas rather than earn them.
I am dismayed at the general state of education in America (although I'm sure part of it can be traced that I've reached middle age and that kind of mindset occurs at that age! ). Do I have the solutions for improving our educational system? Well, I (and several of my other colleagues and educator friends) certainly have ideas which will necessitate radical changes. Do I think there's hope for a better American educational system? Yes, for I believe that if we give up hope, we give up the future.

You know, I'm sure this thread was aimed at younger S2K members, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to participate in any discussion regarding learning. I love learning -- and teaching, too. I learn so much from my students. My experiences with them help me sharpen my teaching skills, expand my knowledge of my subject areas, and most importantly understand more fully what life is and what it means to be a human being!

[beachbum_al]

1) What grade was your last (Freshman college=13th and so on)?
17th

2) What did you major in (if applicable)?
Early Childhood Education

3) What did you minor in (if applicable)?
psychology, history

4) What is the highest math class you've taken?
cal

5) What is the highest english class you've taken?
English Literature 300 level, 400 level literature class for children reading

6) How many languages do you speak (enough to be understood)?
1~Spanish

7) How many languages do you speak fluently?
0

8) Describe your favorite teacher, and relate a story which demostrates their character.
Mrs. Pamela Turner, 12th grade English Literature. She was hard and push us to the limit but she is my inspiration and my reason for going to college. Before having her my 12th grade year of school I was headed down a road of trouble. A road that no parent wants to see their children go down. I had low self esteem and no desire to learn.

Mrs. Turner was not going to give up on me like so many of my teachers had done. She pushed me and made me realize that I could do the work. I also realized that I was smarter than I thought I was.

It took me a couple of years to go to college but when I did I decided to choose an area that I knew that someday I might change another child's life like my teacher did. That is how I ended up in education and the teacher that made it all possible.

9) Describe your favorite class, and why it was your favorite.
Mrs. Turner's 12th Grade English Literature Class. Read above in Question #8 and you will understand why this was my favorite class and why!

10) What are your impressions regarding education (from personal experience)?
Since this is a field that I am in right now my goal is to treat all students the same and give them the support they needed. I hope that someday I will be able to return the gift that a teacher gave me years ago.[/b]

[streetsoldier]

It should also be noted that, although my degree work was in Fine Arts, my true passion is history (which is why I study and use languages; I don't want to read through some translator's bias when dealing with original texts). I'm also a devoted student of the Constitution, criminal jurisprudence, comparative theology, etc.; little escapes my notice.

In this wise, I have been used as a rara avis lecturer/instructor in many facets and disciplines, and never to the detriment of the students who come WANTING to learn what I bring to the table.

[Skywatch_NC]

Besides weather...I'm also an avid history enthusiast...particularly U.S. History.

Eric

[Forecaster Colby]

History is great.

[streetsoldier]

History is great.

Only as long as you don't view it from a 21st Century, "Monday morning armchair quarterback" standing. To truly understand history, one MUST be able to get into the minds and lives of those who lived it...no matter what country, timeframe or era.

This requires reading original texts, and divorcing oneself of anything PAST the people, place and time being studied...very difficult to do for most young people. Second-guessing motives, ideas, and/or happenings from a revisionist (read: interpreting historical events to fit current preconceived notions) viewpoint won't get you anywhere but exactly where you are in the first place.

And, that will never do.