Well, when I teach kids, it is usually through the Unitarian Universalist church. Most often, I teach sex education, but last year I taught a coming of age class that included 3 camping trips and a week long tour of Boston. I also teach the high school classes from time to time, which focus mostly on social justice and activism.

Posted by MutantMandias Well, when I teach kids, it is usually through the Unitarian Universalist church. Most often, I teach sex education, but last year I taught a coming of age class that included 3 camping trips and a week long tour of Boston. I also teach the high school classes from time to time, which focus mostly on social justice and activism.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA of COURSE you do.

Posted by MutantMandias Well, when I teach kids, it is usually through the Unitarian Universalist church. Most often, I teach sex education, but last year I taught a coming of age class that included 3 camping trips and a week long tour of Boston. I also teach the high school classes from time to time, which focus mostly on social justice and activism.

Okay...sounds legit, but from what I read on these here internet boards sometimes, I don't know whether to take it seriously or not. Hmm...


I wish that my students cared about social justice more than just "yo...guy jacked my juice box!" Nothing really exists to them outside of their social circle. The purpose of the photojournalism unit that we are working on is to expose them to issues outside of people "jacking my shit". Like I mentioned before, it is going well for the most part...has been an ongoing project since September. They are beginning to realize that they are not the centre of the universe, and that there are indeed other people on the planet that may have something worthwhile to say and teach them.

Of course there are still some students that don't give a shit and the end of the world is upon us because their i-pod is fucked up.

Yeah, the kids I teach are good kids. I don't have to deal with shitwad chavs. I live a life of privilege and entitlement. I recommend it.

spirit, it must be difficult sometimes.

I know that there are reasons behind the grade system, including self esteem for the kids by not not giving them an F. Personally, I don't think it is particularly effective. Anybody on this board over 35 certainly had the opportunity to get an F, and probably the opportunity to be shamed by their failure. Somehow, we all survived and went on to be productive members of society. I don't begin to imagine that I have all the answers, but I don't think coddling their "fragile" psyche is the solution. Failure can be a great motivator.

Posted by QuePaso Somehow, we all survived and went on to be productive members of society. I don't begin to imagine that I have all the answers, but I don't think coddling their "fragile" psyche is the solution. Failure can be a great motivator.

I agree

The products of the current educational system here in Ontario are in for a rude "real life" awakening. They are not going to have people holding their hands through everything. In the schools we are told to assess them based on their potential, not what they are actually doing (which makes no fuckin sense to me. How can we mark what some students are capable of, when they DON'T DO A FUCKING THING??). At a job, they are not going to have a boss keep them on for some light at the end of the tunnel "potential". They are going to get their asses fired, and be like "WTF?? Prick fired me....why oh why....I didn't do nuthin'".

Failure needs to be experienced, and taken as a learning experience. Instead, we just keep spoon feeding and patting their heads, and yelling "NEXT!". But because we have no choice, our hands are tied. We do what we can, but ultimately the students will move on. No matter what.

It's funny. The parents of a lot of these students have unrealistic expectations of their children. Not every child is meant to go to university and become a doctor or lawyer. Parents need to rid themselves of the stigmas of trade schools and colleges, so that their children don't have self esteem issues go further into the shitter trying to meet expectations that they just can't. Sometimes it is hard for a parent to hear that their kids aren't A students, not every child is an A student, and that it is okay not to be an A student, as long as best effort is put forth. Denial is a powerful thing.

Sorry...rambling.

Posted by spirit730 I agree The products of the current educational system here in Ontario are in for a rude "real life" awakening. They are not going to have people holding their hands through everything. In the schools we are told to assess them based on their potential, not what they are actually doing (which makes no fuckin sense to me. How can we mark what some students are capable of, when they DON'T DO A FUCKING THING??).

Interestingly enough, I just got done learning about the same thing in developmental psych. Apparently, when told they are "smart", children internalize the label of being "smart" and have the tendency to dodge challenges, as retaining the label of being "smart" becomes more important than achievement during that age. Also, when labeled for their intelligence, children are more likely to believe that intelligence is something innate that cannot be changed. However, the majority of the modern psychology/scientific community believes that A) there are multiple forms of intelligence, not all of intelligence is genetic and C) intelligence can be malleable based on environmental factors (ie. growing up around lead paint can reduce IQ, there is a correlation between level of education parents have achieved and how well their children can acquire words and do on verbal assessments, rats reared in deprived environments do worse on mazes than rats raised in enriched environments).

Studies suggest that rewarding a student for their efforts (ie. "wow, you worked very hard and the final product looks nice") will make them more willing to take on challenges and take a deeper interest into academics. Additionally, they tend to do better on achievement tests than children that are rewarded by being told that they are smart.

For what it is worth, they are not feeding you a sack of bullshit to help you maintain your sanity and there is scientific validity behind how they want you to teach.

However, the scientific community worldwide certainly does not have all the answers, there are always exceptions to the rule (ie. BRILLIANT people raised by parents that are not necessarily educated are definitely out there) and the scientific community worldwide has yet to find an effective way to teach middle school students. The parts of the brain responsible for "higher" thought processes (selective attention, focusing, emotional regulation, planning, ect) are some of the last parts of the brain to develop and do not solidify (so most psychologist, to my knowledge, agree) until the age of 25ish.

Posted by jukebox fuckup Studies suggest that rewarding a student for their efforts (ie. "wow, you worked very hard and the final product looks nice") will make them more willing to take on challenges and take a deeper interest into academics. Additionally, they tend to do better on achievement tests than children that are rewarded by being told that they are smart. For what it is worth, they are not feeding you a sack of bullshit to help you maintain your sanity and there is scientific validity behind how they want you to teach.

Oh, I agree with with the fundamentals of that pedagogy. But the difficulty in rewarding students' efforts (with non-subjective value judgements *sigh*) when they don't put effort into anything, is where my frustrations lie. For elementary grades it is easier, students tend to have an inherent effort button. In middle school social lives become more important than anything else, including academic integrity for some of them. My teaching philosophy centres on effort and of course is not based on relative "smartness".

I agree with the whole labelled "smart kid" lack of motivation syndrome in some cases as well. They figure they are smart enough, and don't need to work at anything, "cuz, ya know...I am smart, people say so". Or they are bored.

I have also been an advocate in my school for the Multiple Intelligences approach (I think being involved in the arts made it easier to implement different learning styles) because it is still a relatively new concept for some teachers (which just blows my mind...that there are people out there that still believe that all people learn in the SAME way).

Posted by spirit730 I have also been an advocate in my school for the Multiple Intelligences approach (I think being involved in the arts made it easier to implement different learning styles) because it is still a relatively new concept for some teachers (which just blows my mind...that there are people out there that still believe that all people learn in the SAME way).

Word.

I way always under the impression that the US, unlike most countries, tends to put the heaviest weight on "intelligence" as defined on achievement tests (SATs, GREs) as a means to dictate somebody's future. I guess Canada is just as guilty?

Posted by jukebox fuckup Word. I way always under the impression that the US, unlike most countries, tends to put the heaviest weight on "intelligence" as defined on achievement tests (SATs, GREs) as a means to dictate somebody's future. I guess Canada is just as guilty?

Oh yes. We still do have our share of standardized testing, which is fine (not really)...for kids who do well with standardized tests. THAT fuckin' pisses me off all to hell as well. AND the fact that the arts in general are not officially acknowledged and therefore not validated by the province on any of these "tests".
Nevermind that the arts, taught properly, solidify concepts and open the mind to creative thinking in ALL areas of academia and life in general (THESE are the skills that are invaluable for the many standardized tests students will be taking throughout their school careers). People are starting to come around to this way of thinking as well though. Slowly but surely. That is a whole other pissed off thread.

Posted by spirit730 Oh yes. We still do have our share of standardized testing, which is fine (not really)...for kids who do well with standardized tests. THAT fuckin' pisses me off all to hell as well. AND the fact that the arts in general are not officially acknowledged and therefore not validated by the province on any of these "tests". Nevermind that the arts, taught properly, solidify concepts and open the mind to creative thinking in ALL areas of academia and life in general (THESE are the skills that are invaluable for the many standardized tests students will be taking throughout their school careers). People are starting to come around to this way of thinking as well though. Slowly but surely. That is a whole other pissed off thread.

Hahaha, word!

In the US, apparently standardized testing attempts to transform math and verbal into the only intelligence that matters.

Knowing my luck, Canada will come around... but US won't. US tends to blatantly ignore scientists and scientific evidence.

I hope I'm not being to personal but do you teach in Peel? I only ask as it says you are from Mississauga.

You can't do shit about it. I teach Freshman in the foundations program at Alfred University, and although this is a supposed career path they've chosen half of them just don't care. People choose their mediocrity, and sometimes that choice works, the world needs different job types.

Have you ever considered what it's like for the kids who do want to work hard and learn neat stuff? We're banging our heads against the wall just as hard as you are.

I'm in my senior year at highschool and it still feels like I'm trapped with juveniles.

Posted by Lexi Have you ever considered what it's like for the kids who do want to work hard and learn neat stuff? We're banging our heads against the wall just as hard as you are.

That is why I keep going back, and for the most part, enjoy my job.