77% of Oklahoma High School Students dont know who the 1st President was (1 Viewer)

[bclemms]

Kids today learn different than we did yesterday. They do not have to remember information and memorize, the information is at their finger tips using their cell phones. Being a teacher, 6th gd. I think my students if given their cell phones could have passed the test given to the students in OK with 100%


That is one of the comments after the article. I see why these kids don't know anything. That is what a teacher said. Dear Lord, its time to become an expat.

So looking something up on the internet to get an answer to a question is different from looking it up in a book? I didn't realize paper made people so much smarter than pixels.

 

[RazorOye]

My college roommate was an elementary education major and while i'd be busting my a** on 15-20 page research papers he'd come home every day with his big "projects" of the day.

Fingerpainting, drawing with crayons, drawing with colored pencils, was literally all he did in class.

He used to make fun of us all the time for all the actual school work we'd have to do.

this is all relative to teacher prepatory programs - which I think are suffering in many, if not most, areas of the US

For me to get my degree, I had to complete a 150-page thesis, complete 39 credit hours of graduate work, intern at 3 different schools teaching 1/2 of that time as the sole instructor

but it was a more rigorous program that produces, I think, better teachers

so it's not all education majors - not saying you were suggesting that. Rather, I'm just building on your point.

It's terribly relative and the lack of standards in some certification and accreditation fields is lacking and the result is bearing uneducated fruit.

 

[imaking]

this is all relative to teacher prepatory programs - which I think are suffering in many, if not most, areas of the US

For me to get my degree, I had to complete a 150-page thesis, complete 39 credit hours of graduate work, intern at 3 different schools teaching 1/2 of that time as the sole instructor

but it was a more rigorous program that produces, I think, better teachers

so it's not all education majors - not saying you were suggesting that. Rather, I'm just building on your point.

It's terribly relative and the lack of standards in some certification and accreditation fields is lacking and the result is bearing uneducated fruit.

I definately wouldnt question your qualifications. You seem overqualified, if anything.

My mother's a teacher, and she was telling me the other day about lots of new teachers who are now getting some kind of "alternative certification" where they dont even need education degrees.

 

[Boudro]

this is all relative to teacher prepatory programs - which I think are suffering in many, if not most, areas of the US

For me to get my degree, I had to complete a 150-page thesis, complete 39 credit hours of graduate work, intern at 3 different schools teaching 1/2 of that time as the sole instructor

but it was a more rigorous program that produces, I think, better teachers

so it's not all education majors - not saying you were suggesting that. Rather, I'm just building on your point.

It's terribly relative and the lack of standards in some certification and accreditation fields is lacking and the result is bearing uneducated fruit.

This was for your undergrad or master's? And BTW, what is your major?

 

[RazorOye]

My mother's a teacher, and she was telling me the other day about lots of new teachers who are now getting some kind of "alternative certification" where they dont even need education degrees.

alt cert teachers are definitely a hit-or-miss scenario where the misses are more frequent than traditional degree/certification programs. After a couple of years teaching, I was appointed Dept Chair for the English Department and we had about 30 teachers in the dept. Turnover was usually high so each year we were looking to fill a few positions.

And each year at the teacher fair and subsequent interviews, we saw alt cert teachers with different educational experiences and many times these teachers had never had a single day of teaching experience at all. Maybe some observation. And rarely any education courses on their university transcript.

While I understand the need for teachers can be pressing, answering that need with these programs is not often the best way.

This is not to say that alt cert teachers cannot be good - they certainly can. Just like there can be teachers certified from mainstream programs with student teaching under their belt who can be terrible.

So realize I'm speaking in generalities here.

This was for your undergrad or master's? And BTW, what is your major?

this was for both. I elected to participate in a 5-year program at LSU that resulted in a Bachelors in my teaching field (Literature in my case), my Masters in Education, and my teaching certification (the university component, that is).

And do you mean my major now? The PhD I am working toward now is in education.

 

[wpak]

in all fairness, 85% of Oklahomans are morans...

 

[Superfan]

Ben Franklin and Herby Hancock.

 

[Joe OKC]

Well, At least I can name the entire starting lineup for the game sunday vs. Philly.

Joe

 

[mikaloyd]

Now we can import unskilled undereducated illiterate workers who have to work cheap from Oklahoma instead of Mexico.

 

[mikaloyd]

Well, At least I can name the entire starting lineup for the game sunday vs. Philly.

Joe

How many fish can you name though?

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Ben Franklin

d**n you - that's the 2nd time you stole my joke

 

[Anteros77]

So the person's argument is that the kids don't need to have any basic knowledge because they can just look it up? Hasn't that ALWAYS been true? How is looking up the answer on a cell phone any different than just having your text-book or an encyclopedia in front of you? The answer is that it isn't.

The ability to cheat doesn't excuse a lack of learning, and I wholeheartedly agree that for a teacher to have made that comment is profoundly disturbing.

You really can't equate carrying an encyclopedia set around with a device smaller than the size of your palm, that you have with you anyway at all times.

For better or worse, the past is the past. Education is becoming more specialized and moving further and further away from general knowledge. Apparently you don't realize it...but I absolutely guarantee you that there are several things that you do not know that your grand-parents thought was vital information.

Besides, I bet that 99% of the people on this forum can't name the first actual president of this country without using a search engine. (Hint: It's not who you think it is.)

 

[Joe OKC]

How many fish can you name though?

I never meet a fish that I didn;t know or eat...

Joe

 

[from the plaines]

There are people all over the country who don't have a decent education. A full grown woman I worked with who had kids. Thought Wisconsin was south us us. The Illinois Wisconsin boarder is about 21 miles north of where I work. On a clear day I am sure you can see Wisconsin from the top of our building. How you could tell the difference between the two I am not sure. Do they have a comparison on how other states did?

 

[superlaser]

You really can't equate carrying an encyclopedia set around with a device smaller than the size of your palm, that you have with you anyway at all times.

For better or worse, the past is the past. Education is becoming more specialized and moving further and further away from general knowledge. Apparently you don't realize it...but I absolutely guarantee you that there are several things that you do not know that your grand-parents thought was vital information.

Besides, I bet that 99% of the people on this forum can't name the first actual president of this country without using a search engine. (Hint: It's not who you think it is.)

Variations in the valuation of what specific knowledge is valued from generation to generation isn't really the point here. Yes, there are things my grand-parents knew that I don't. There's also things I knew that they didn't, and I freely admit that there are things I should know that I don't. Changes in which specific information is important doesn't automatically invalidate the importance of specific knowledge.

Access to information is a wonderful thing, but there are differences in many occasions between looking up a fact and KNOWING that fact, being able to understand it in context, and apply it in life. In a country where every person, regardless of their level of education, knowledge, or intelligence has equal ability to influence the governance of the country, basic education in Civics is crucial when striving for the best outcome. People make better choices about how the government should be run when they understand how it is and was run. Learning these facts allows the person to be able to move on to tackling more complex concepts and form alid opinions. Just looking up the answers on your iPhone isn't the same thing.


The "first president" thing is less disturbing to me than sone of the questions about the Constitution or about basic geography, because those are the kinds of specific information I believe are necessities to forming coherent political opinions.