Today I learned not to have a meeting with an eleven year old boy in a cafeteria where half of it is filled with a meeting predominantly populated by about twenty girls. I was doing good just to get him to acknowledge that I was there. After a while, I would just stop talking and look at him; when he would finally look at me, I'd ask 'So what do you think?' -- and of course he had no idea what I'd been saying.
That was not fun. But I thought hey, soldier on, go talk to his teachers in the subjects where he's having problems. First up, go look at the web sites they have in the school system. Sure to be lots of useful information there. Right? Right?
I read, some years ago, of the experience that Richard Feynman had in participating in the selection of science books for the California school system. He said that much of the science in the books was bogus, or, at best, meant nothing. The books would use examples that didn't prove anything, didn't impart any information or any guidance. I thought of that when looking at the personal web sites of the teachers that this kid has, and, clicking through, at the web site operated by the people who sell one of the texts they use.
They're awful. They're not useful. They blather on in pedagogue-speak, they USE CAPITAL LETTERS A LOT and they end sentences with exclamation points! when a period would have done nicely. They're hard to follow, and they don't tell anything useful. There's no uniformity at all. And did I mention: they're awful. I get the impression the idea was 'get us on the web! get us on the web! Hey, get us, we're ON THE WEB!' -- and so they did. I guess I shouldn't be surprised -- this is from the same organization that thinks handing out an agenda book is the same as teaching how to schedule time.
Good god.
They're not bad people.... but (words fail me). I am not happy.
4 comments:
The things you learn -- and very funny about the boys in the cafeteria thing. I have an 11 year old -- not girl crazy yet, but his friends are starting to be.
I think he was more taken by the chaos in their area than their femininity. That comes in about two years, I suspect.
I think I would have thought it funny if I hadn't been trying to Make A Point with him, and barely getting his attention.
Don't get me started on the whole "handing out an agenda isn't the same as teaching time management" thing... Wow. And they wonder why kids don't get it.
Like you, I tutored a wonderful young man at the local elementary school for 3 years, several years back. I ran into some of the most ridiculous situations and people I've ever encountered during those years. We were given mats to sit on in a cleaning supplies closet (1st grade), chairs but no table outside the boy's bathroom (2nd grade), and a corner of the bandroom **while the 5th grade band practiced** (3rd grade). We also didn't receive any type of review or practice materials from his teachers about 70% of the time.
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