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educational fragility
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Wed 01/31/2007 9:15 PM
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The trend in elementary schools these days seems to be toward placing the education second to the child's apparently fragile feelings. We must avoid causing the child any disappointment or frustration at all costs, so we've stopped highlighting individuals for their achievements, and stopped making kids do anything they don't want to do.
Well, this is what it leads to. Mamacita is a former grade school middle and high school teacher who now teaches at a community college, and she's starting to see the first generation of students subjected to this touchy-feely philosophy in her classes. This is what some of them have to say about what it did for them.
"Why didn't she make me do the math sheets? I'm 32 years old and I don't even know my multiplication tables."
"I wish she'd shown me how to label and organize my stuff. I still can't do it. I got into bad habits in fourth grade and it was just too easy to let them get worse. Nobody made me do it. Nobody MADE ME. Now, I can't make myself do it."
"Miss ______ told Mom not to force me to read because it might make me hate it. Hell, if somebody had forced me to read, maybe I could read better than a little kid NOW."
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2 comments/trackbacks
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comment: from Mamacita
Hey, thank you so very much for the mention and the link! That was very kind of you.
Could I just say, though, that I was never an elementary level teacher? I taught grades 6-12, before I quit and became a college-level instructor.
I was whining (I do a lot of that) about elementary teachers and their self-esteem-obsession, although I realize that not all of them give out two-foot-high trophies for merely bringing a pencil two days in a row. Just some of them.
Sun 02/04/2007 1:56 AM
comment: from HelloKit
Oops, I apologize for the mistake! I just recently started reading your site (found you through MyBlogLog via Zero Boss) and could have sworn I read that you taught grade school. A lot on my mind lately - it's affecting my memory. 
Mon 02/05/2007 11:41 AM
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My name is Carly, aka HelloKit. I grew up in Oregon, and now live in Rhode Island. I'm queen of IT and administrative assistant for an electrical contractor, but blogging and web design are my true passions.
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