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Discussion » Questions » Education » Education has changed enormously in my life time. You've noticed it, too. What's your opinion?

Education has changed enormously in my life time. You've noticed it, too. What's your opinion?

Sir Humphrey Appleby said, "Our teens are socially aware, personally well-adjusted, but they can't read, write or do sums." Was he right? Which changes have been for the better, and which have taken us backward?

Posted - January 23, 2017

Responses


  • 3934
    Which teens? What neighborhood do they live in? What socioeconomic stratum do they come from?

    Are they too busy preparing videos and Powerpoint presentations for their college-level classes in Macroeconomics and Chinese Language and Culture to bother with McGuffey Readers, 3-paragraph essays, and memorizing the times table up through 25 x 25?

    Mr. Appleby left out, "Get off my lawn, whippersnapper" from his comment, but the sentiment was certainly implied.

      January 23, 2017 8:03 PM MST
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  • Sir Humphrey was unique, Old School. (He didn't react well to "Mr Appleby".) He was a fictional character in Yes Prime Minister.
      January 23, 2017 9:08 PM MST
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  • 5835
    The roots of public education go back 2500 years.
    The Underground History Of Public Education  http://archive.lewrockwell.com/gatto/gatto-uhae-1.html
      January 23, 2017 8:49 PM MST
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  • Ingeresting link, Jewels, with some throught provoking quotes. I didn't read a lot of it: it's quite lengthy. But thanks for posting. Would you care to post a synopsis?)
      January 23, 2017 9:12 PM MST
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  • 5835
    Did you ever wonder why a teacher is called a pedagogue? Pedagogue means "foot leader". It's because in ancient Greece classes were conducted while walking. Only slaves went to school, to learn a trade, and the slave who taught them was called the pedagogue. The slave school system was used in Rome, then it was adopted India to educate lower classes, while the Brahmin kids were taught at home by tutors. From there it went to Prussia to train soldiers. That is where the only change to the system happened: students were taught while sitting inside instead of walking outside. Eventually the system was adopted for American public schools, and then for English schools. 2500 years with only that one change. Here is an essay explaining what a traditional education used to be like: "The Lost Tools of Learning"  http://www.gbt.org/text/sayers.html
      January 27, 2017 3:04 AM MST
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  • That's interesting information, Jewels. Thanks. 
      January 27, 2017 3:29 AM MST
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  • 5835
    SOURCE: "The Underground History Of Public Education"  archive.lewrockwell.com/gatto/gatto-uhae-1.html
      January 29, 2017 4:27 AM MST
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  • I think I remember reading socratese making the same observation ... PS everything I needed to know about government I learnt from Sir Humphrey!
      January 23, 2017 9:07 PM MST
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  • An amazing character from two extraordinary script writers. I can only imagine what they'd make of the current situation in the US. It's so bizarre I'm not sure it could be treated convincingly as fiction. 
      January 23, 2017 9:13 PM MST
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  • I think just using the utterances of one trump would be sufficient...
      January 23, 2017 9:16 PM MST
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  • Well here they used to teach normal and straightforward mathematics.  Now they teach this common core mathematics crap.
    I helped my little cousins with their multiplication once and it was wrong because it was done the right and efficient way.
    Apparently the children are taught this is the wrong way to do it:

    Oh yeah,  I asked her to use her multiplication tables when trying to solve part the problems.  She looked at me blank.   So i started teaching them to her.  Then her mother informed me the school asked her not to do that.  Apparently knowing your multiplication tables is evil now and bad.   Some BS because it's wrote learning.   It's beyond retarded and needlessly complex for no reason.
      January 24, 2017 12:26 AM MST
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  • That's dreadful! Some of the changes have been necessary; not all have been good, though. 
    You might like this Tom Lehrer song about teaching new math. 

      January 24, 2017 1:51 AM MST
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  • 3191
    Common Core is a set of standards (using that term very loosely), the material sounds like Everyday Math, which is probably the most commonly used today.  I looked into this after running into the same problem trying to help my nephew. This post was edited by Bozette at January 24, 2017 5:52 AM MST
      January 24, 2017 5:50 AM MST
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  • Well the problem was she didn't know how to explain what she had to do.  Turns out she isn't allowed long form math.   They have to use box or lattice methods.  But they don't teach the kids the names of the different ways, so when I helped them I never knew.
    Why they can't use the best and most efficient method is mind boggling none the less. 
      January 24, 2017 8:11 AM MST
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  • 2500
    I thought the Pass/Fail system (as opposed to evaluating each student's actual progress in learning the subject material) was bad enough in grammar school. It now seems that it's spread all the way to the top of academia in the US. When the top medical schools like Harvard and Johns Hopkins go to that kind of system, for the sake attracting more students (who apparently don't want to be individually graded), it frightens me to think what one may face when needing medical services in another 10 to 15-years. So no, I don't much like what passes for education these days.
      January 24, 2017 12:47 AM MST
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  • To my mind, it devalues the whole system and has the effect (and probably the aim) of cutting the brighter kids down to the level of the mob. 
      January 24, 2017 2:29 PM MST
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