Learning a foreign language teaches the participant a great deal about his/her own language. The great classical author Goethe pointed that out 3 centuries ago. I might also add that my Austrian wife (Met and married when I studied there in the 60s.) had to have 5 years of Latin to graduate from the "Mittelschule" that gave hare access to university study. As a foreign student without that, I spent considerable time in a night class learning Latin, which came in very handy in my further studies. Both versions of secondary school, one academic the other occupational required modern language studies to proficiency.
I just read a nice article where a 91 retired teacher is volunteering to teach cursive writing. I have wondered about the death of hand writing. https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_m...p9LPk3rmWdFVLI6igukCJt7SUwuc3KEkzLO2f4vuoTqw=
Oregon has topped the progressive list of how to make it easier to graduate from High School. A student no longer has to be able to read, write or do math to graduate. I do not understand why other states haven’t picked up such an innovative program. Why, imagine the new statistical data when Oregon tops the nation’s number of high school graduates list. https://www.thedenverchannel.com/ne...three years, the Washington Examiner reported.
Let me guess- is that an example of the modern approach: kids should not be taught 'facts,' they should be taught 'how to think.'
Kids should be taught facts and how to think....An example: On 1492 Columbus "discovered America" .....Could you say this is a fact? The Sioux, the Apaches, the Aztecs, the Incas, the Tobas, the Patagones.....and Leif Erickson could tell you that Columbus discovering America was not a fact.............but his landing on the Hispaniola gave way to one....Yes, the re-implantation of the Feudalism on the "New World".
No, this is not the right thread for my following post....but I will upload it anyway: Today I received the loveliest e/mail ever.....it was sent by a former student to let me know he and his cousin just graduated from medical school; they were my HS students almost eight years ago. I am proudddddd
I think I am repeating this but it is so right. My father would say why don't these teens go out and make a million dollars while they are smarter than the rest of us.
I know how you feel. Several of my students from the 70s have found me on Facebook. I occasionally run into former students from the last 15 years here in Gainesville. They always recognize me first. I still like to go to "RateMyProfessors.com https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ and read about myself. Perhaps my favorite one has the sentence: "He is a sweet old man, as long as you have correct grammar , punctuation, and don't overuse big fancy words in essays you'll be fine."
Memoriing never was good......only few thing since life changes 247. The point was and should be REASONING; what is analyzed and understood never goes away hence no need to check it in the net.
The excuse used to be "Nobody understand what you write". I have a "doctor handwriting" and most people can't read what I write...it doesn't mean I will chose print over cursive.
Saw a rather disconcerting Twilight episode (circa about 1968) other night on YouTube called, “The examination”. A young boy celebrating his 12th birthday is also getting ready to take his government examination. His parents got him a cake, he blew out the candles and made a wish that he would do well on the exam. The parents are visibly disturbed even as they gave the young man his gift of some kind of calling machine which, should he pass the test would be given the number by the government which would enable him to use the machine. Whilst the boy is getting ready to go the parents hug each other both voicing some concern as to whether their son would pass the test with the mother saying that the lad was “different” than the other children. Long story short, the dad takes their son to the testing center and everyone is super nice. The lad is taken to another room and given something to drink that would keep him from lying. Before the cutaway, the first question was a simple logic question found on any IQ test involving the sequencing of numbers. The parents are at home and standing close by the phone when they get the call. The automated voice at the other end said, You son did a good job on the test and is a very well mannered boy but unfortunately his scores were too far over the government parameters for intelligence. Where would you like the body sent? It’s a given that it’s only science fiction but Serling was very good at judging the public temperament of that day so I wonder if he wasn’t a bit prophetic of what this government is really trying to do with the educational system.