Category: Education

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He's Not Wrong

He's right. We didn't have Civics when I was in high school in the 70s. But we did have American Government, a requirement for graduation. I took it my junior year, and it was taught by one of the most amazing teachers in the school.

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The Kids Are Alright

A group of 13 year old boys were asked what they thought should be taught at school:

    • Cooking
    • Video Games
    • Sex Education
    • NFTs
    • Rap
    • Nutrition
    • Sewing
    • Fitness
    • Survival
    • Biking
    • Lego Anatomy
    • Swimming
    • Cryptocurrency
    • Economics/Business
    • Helping Ukraine
    • Karate
    • Pokemon
    • Mechanics
    • Style/Fashion
    • Programming

While some of them seem kind of silly, there are a lot of practical life skills in that list that should be taught.

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CONGRATULATIONS!

Last night Ben received his second Master's, this one in Educational Administration. I am so proud! As I told him, "You've done more in your 36 years than I've done in my 61!"

I never finished my Bachelor's. After 2 years slogging away at the University of Arizona School of Architecture, I decided college just wasn't for me (and frankly coming out in the late 70s was such a distraction that my grades suffered immensely). I never regretted it, and if my lack of a degree stood in the way of advancing my career I was never aware of it, but I'm entering that stage in life where I do have regrets, and not sticking with my university studies is one of them.

Of course, if I had done that, my life would've taken a completely different path than it's on today, and I'm not sure that's a good thing…at all.

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Truth

In high school they told us: There will be no grades in a class except the midterm and the final, so you have to study hard because failing one test means you fail the class.

Once I was in college a professor said: Hey, you guys are working really hard on your third paper, so I'm just going to cancel the final and give everyone a hundred on it.

In high school they told us: In college, class always begins exactly at the scheduled start time. If your class is at 9 AM and you get there at 9:01, the doors will be locked and you'll be out of luck, especially if it's the day of the midterm or final, because then you get a zero.

Once I was in college a professor said: Does anyone mind if I start class at 3:35 instead of 3:30? These elevators are really slow and I want to have time for a cigarette before I teach for 90 minutes.

In high school they told us: Every class you miss drops you a full letter grade in college courses.

Once I was in college almost every professor said: You can miss three classes without a penalty, and a few more if you have a Doctor's note. Sorry to be a hardass, but you automatically fail if you miss more than ten days of class.

In high school they told us: If you do have papers, your professors just lecture and put the assignments on the syllabus. You're completely responsible for remembering the deadlines, they won't remind you. All your professors will do is lecture and the rest is up to you.

Once I was in college a professor said: Okay, so your next paper is in two weeks! I'll keep reminding you in the interim, but I just want to make sure you have enough time to do it! Let's run through the structure I want to see real quick, and if you have any questions, feel free to email me or come to my office hours!

In high school they told us: You have to use MLA formatting and if you make any mistakes in your citations, it'll be considered plagiarism. You'll be expelled and probably sued.

Once I was in college almost every professor said: Please do not use MLA, it is awful, we use either APA or Chicago here because we are not 14 years old.

Source.