Speaking of PC and Teachers....

[truespode]

Kids who aren't pushed, don't excel.

I disagree. In high school if you tried to push me I would do less and less. I was very frustrating to deal with.

When I got older and wanted more out of life I figured it out and decided to push myself.

It is hard for teachers to deal with students like me and there are more out there like me than there are bad kids. The rules do not allow the teachers to find new ways to motivated or discipline and the parents usually don't care.

The difference with me was my parents, family and my friends. They supported me and helped me realize my potential... even when I frustrated the hell out of them.

Ivan

 

[Ryone]

I disagree. In high school if you tried to push me I would do less and less.

I'm not saying that they must be hollered at or prodded to excel. I'm just saying that, if parents and teachers are indifferent to what their kids do, they usually don't excel.

The difference with me was my parents, family and my friends. They supported me and helped me realize my potential... even when I frustrated the hell out of them.

That's what I mean. Support, incentive... whatever you want to call it. At least kids will respond to these instead of just floating through life with apathy.

Ryan

 

[truespode]

instead of just floating through life with apathy.

Ah, who cares anyway ;)

Ivan

 

[Detonator]

This is reminiscent of hockey game between Russia and the U.S. in the '70's. The American team won, but the Russian headlines in Pravda read:
"RUSSIA TAKES SECOND PLACE"

The main difference between Socialism (liberals/democrats) and Communism is the means by which the system comes into power. A Communist state is generally achieved by a control of the military, followed by a control of the people, and has an overtly violent context. Socialism is subtle, gradual, and very calculated. The goal of the Socialist state is to control; the goal of Communism is to own. Those of you familiar with the term "the frog is boiling" understand the difference. I like the phrase, "...if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." People are too suggestible to ideas that become popularized.

Self-esteem Grrr...my pet peeve topic. Self-Esteem is linked with emotional intelligence or quotient (EQ)...basically an acid test of this is how selfless and balanced a person is. IQ is highly overrated, and is a bad predictor of social and professional success, and isn't even a strong predictor of academic achievement...just potential. EQ is a strong predictor of success on personal and professional levels, and a much more relevant path from dependence to independence to interdependence (as Steven Covey would label it).

Self Esteem is overused, misunderstood, and the root of far too much misguided and dangerous "academic plans". For instance, typical self esteem programs lead to a sharp increase in the instances of bullying...ie. those children with a propensity to bully will experience a heightened desire to increase the frequency and intensity of bullying under the umbrella of Self-Esteem programs.

For those who care, EQ programs should address 5 categories:
1. Emotional Self-Awareness
2. Management of Emotions
3. Harnessing Emotions Productively
4. Empathy: Reading Emotions
5. Handling Relationships

Self Esteem is only one of the 8 subsets of the Management of Emotions category, no more or less important than the other skills. Isolated and out of context, it is downright dangerous.

Now, I must return to fixing my squeaky heim joint on the Orange bike.

 

[jmics19067]

what is failure? is it a lack of emthusiasm to complete a project ? blame the teacher for not making the class fun?blame the parents for not trying to get self discipline across to thier kids?
Or is it a lack of knowledge to finish a project correctly?blame the teachers for not teaching? blame the parents for not explaining what the teacher expects the student to know?
You could break everything down to specific questions and ponder what is the best recourse to prevent failure.

In my opinion failure is not a bad thing ,but more importantly is how do we determine why there is a failure and how we can teach/learn how to avoid it again.

Letting everyone "pass" to build "self esteem" is a cop out. That is the biggest failure. Trying to overcome what you don't know with what you do know can only help self esteem.

 

[DancesWithDirt]

Last year my second grader got sent to the Principles office for saying to another student, "I think my mom is sexy." The student ratted him off and was rewarded with a piece of candy by the teacher.

When school got out it took me 20 minutes to locate my son. Yep, he spent hours in the office. (At least everyone in the office speaks english.)

We still laugh about this. The teachers are just jealous. Their kids would never say anything like that about them as moms. :laugh: