Professor Flunks entire class.

[Aragarthiel]

The first part of elementary school, I can understand everyone being taught at the same level, because you're learning the basics. But once you hit about fourth grade, the difference from student to student is much more pronounced, and I can see dividing it up then. By that point, most students know simple math, noun/verb/adjective, and simple things like that. Before then, if a student is having enough trouble that he needs extra help, there's likely either something going on at home that's causing problems, or the kid has a learning disability.

I think the reason most students are taught at the same level all through elementary school is because they can get familiar with a single teacher, and it might be too much (especially for the younger kids) to have to deal with 4-7 teachers a day, especially at the beginning of the year when the kid doesn't know any of the teachers. But again, at about fourth grade, most kids can handle that.

Personally, I believe that educational funding should be dependent on each student's needs. For example, you'd invest more in a student who isn't doing well so that he has the resources to get better (an extra set of textbooks to take home, plus an "allowance" for things like pencils and paper, and his teachers get paid slightly more for staying after school to help him). But if a student is doing well, you give them what they need for the year. It would be a simple process, really. At the end of each year, the teacher writes up how much help each student needs in what areas (which determines how much is spent per student), then an amount is added to the student totals to cover day-to-day operations at the school, and that's sent off to determine how much money each school gets each year. But, alas, this shall never happen.

[TheHuckster]

Personally, I believe that educational funding should be dependent on each student's needs. For example, you'd invest more in a student who isn't doing well so that he has the resources to get better (an extra set of textbooks to take home, plus an "allowance" for things like pencils and paper, and his teachers get paid slightly more for staying after school to help him). But if a student is doing well, you give them what they need for the year. It would be a simple process, really. At the end of each year, the teacher writes up how much help each student needs in what areas (which determines how much is spent per student), then an amount is added to the student totals to cover day-to-day operations at the school, and that's sent off to determine how much money each school gets each year. But, alas, this shall never happen.

In a world where budgets are determined at least a year prior to the school year beginning (and such budgets being debated between the municipality and the school, and then again between the school departments) that indeed will never happen. It's a sound concept, though.

[Aragarthiel]

Yeah, it's something that would be excellent if the whole educational system was revamped to begin with. Teachers would be paid more, districts wouldn't be so complicated (I lived six miles from a school I couldn't go to and had to ride the bus for 45 minutes (I was the last to be picked up as well) to the next nearest school), PTOs would replace the overpaid school boards (even better was what my elementary school had, a PTSO, including the students for feedback), and more field trips.

Anyone wanna vote for me for president? XD

[HYHYBT]

Our local school system starts middle school at fifth grade.

I'm the opposite about making it harder to drop out. You can make people attend school, but you can't make them learn if they don't want to. Let people drop out after, say, 9th grade if they want to, but also make it easier to go back and finish later without penalty. Not with those who are still school age, though.

[Aragarthiel]

Our state won't let anyone under 16 drop out, and most students do so just because they can. Most of the time, parents don't even have to come to the school, and if a student is good enough at forging his parents' signatures, the parents never have to know at all. I only know of one student who dropped out for a good reason and that was because she had to work and take care of her four younger siblings. While I agree that students shouldn't be forced to go to school after a certain age, it definitely shouldn't be that easy to just stop going.

[AccountingDrone]

My grade-school music teacher was like that. We had his class one day a week, and to him, it was the most important thing ever. So important, that he'd keep us *late* every damn day. That might have not been important if we were in say, 1st or 2nd period...but closer to lunch or at the end of the day? You'd either get to lunch late you barely had time to eat, or you'd have to chase the bus as it pulled away.

Same guy would hold up band students, and try to prevent them from leaving his class. At the time, band had an odd schedule, which didn't correspond to other classes. Most teachers were understanding if we suddenly needed to leave. Not this guy. As some of us were leaving for band, he thought he'd block the door...only to be told to fuck off and get shoved out of the way. Oddly, we never got into trouble for that.

While I like classical music, I really didn't give a shit about it as much as he did. In fact, nobody really did, mostly because it was boring as hell. Reading about the same composer or piece for weeks on end simply sucked.
"

I had an art teacher in one of the years of public school I did. I do surrealism and 3d art [ceramic based] as my preferred styles or materials. He was seriously into the same style crap the art guy with the fro on TV did. If it wasn't 1890 French Academy of the Arts worthy, it got failed. In the year I was there, to get credit for the class you needed 5 projects with a passing grade. I didn't have 5 of his silly assed paintings. Each student was given what would normally be a standard customer service call center carrol of walls to hang their 5 projects on, and it had a placard with your final mark on it on the wall. I had 2 paintings in the boring bland 'realism' school. Then I had a fair version of the school campus [main building and car loop in front] done in VanGogh like this, an 'album cover' from an earlier project that was done in surrealism - not really Peter Max or Dali, a man falling into/out of a spiral that was for a Rush album concept, sort of like this. Then I had a buddha head the size of my fist as a paper weight, a hollow robe of the Reaper as an incense burner [the cone goes under the robe, and the smoke goes out the sleeves and hood] and a scene - sort of roman/greek ruins. A couple pillars making a corner of a peristyle with some broken off pillars and then a bunch of rubble made of miniature [about 1.5 inch if whole] amphora and other miniature pottery and ceramic fake rocks. I thought the faux marble effect was excellent, myself. Then all the parents were to come through. Only the 2 paintings in his chosen style had passing marks, everything else was failed, with his comment sheet attached. Since every other class I had at that school had A to A+ marks [3.8-4.0] I didn't give a rats ass about his marks, they would barely make a dent in my college plans - I was already working in a machine shop at more than fair wage and could afford to drop out without graduating if I had wanted. [I was sort of in purgatory, I was waiting for my emancipated minor ruling which I needed to access my money to pay for my own schooling, hence the asshole public high school. I promised to myself that if I ever had kids, I would kill them before I put them into public school. Sorry any teachers on this board. I unfortunately found more teachers in public school that were totally unsuited to teach tan were suited to teach.]

I will say, all the parent comment cards were wondering why almost all my projects were failed

[SongsOfDragons]

The fuck is it with chemistry teachers? One of mine from secondary school was like this too.

I remember outwardly defying him once, just once. I had a doctor's appointment straight after school - I may be remembering it wrong but I really do think it wasn't just a basic doctor's appointment, it was with the neurologist to get the results of my EEG and thus my diagnosis of epilepsy - and he was doing his old shit of dragging it on because of the actions of a few arses. I was packed up, coat on, cleared up, ready to go. I'd told him earlier that week, the beginning of the lesson, during the lesson, just before the bell rang, and he was fine with me leaving on time - but nope, it got to five-ten minutes after the end of school...

And I just left. I turned and headed for the door. He told me to get back to my place. I reminded him, again, that I was ALREADY LATE for my appointment.

I can't exactly remember how the argument went down. But I remember one thing: He threatened me with detentions and demanded I return. Quoth 14-year-old me? "Make me."



Petulant and anti-authority, never change ya silly girl :eyeroll: I didn't mean to be undermining, but I had an appointment, damnit. I heard that the rest of my classmates began leaving after I did. I heard nothing afterwards about it, and I think that may have been because I found my parents at reception trying to work out where I was and why I was late out. I think they put in a complaint and he couldn't retaliate. And didn't get taught by him again past the end of that year.

Collective punishment is a steaming pile of shit. My housemate's manager does this, yelling at least weekly at an office full of adults for something so slight as giggling too loudly. If that wench had been my manager I would have been fired long ago for telling her to shut the goddamned hell up and punish the guilty in fucking private.

[bex1218]

If I rode the bus, I would leave. Sorry, but I am not going to be stuck at school cause the teacher wants to play Sargent. Actually, one good thing about my dad is that he would not take that nonsense. He would call the school up and have a fun time reaming them.

[wolfie]

I had an art teacher in one of the years of public school I did. I do surrealism and 3d art [ceramic based] as my preferred styles or materials. He was seriously into the same style crap the art guy with the fro on TV did. If it wasn't 1890 French Academy of the Arts worthy, it got failed.

My understanding is that school-level art classes are basically "introduction to art". I can understand having some ground rules (i.e. a ceramic project getting a failing grade because the class was supposed to be doing watercolour painting), but requiring a particular STYLE is something that belongs in at least a 200-level University art course.

[TheHuckster]

I had an art teacher in one of the years of public school I did. I do surrealism and 3d art [ceramic based] as my preferred styles or materials. He was seriously into the same style crap the art guy with the fro on TV did. If it wasn't 1890 French Academy of the Arts worthy, it got failed.

I hate to Godwin the thread, but isn't that exactly the kind of crap that inspired Hitler to pursue a reign of incomparable terror? (Only the other way around; he produced uninspired Bob Ross-esque paintings when his teachers failed him for not doing something a little more creative)

[AccountingDrone]

I hate to Godwin the thread, but isn't that exactly the kind of crap that inspired Hitler to pursue a reign of incomparable terror? (Only the other way around; he produced uninspired Bob Ross-esque paintings when his teachers failed him for not doing something a little more creative)

That's the name of Fro Dude! I don't know, I think it was because Hitler couldn't get into the academy he wanted? I know he was seriously broke and scrounging for any work he could get, but in post ww1 Europe that was not uncommon. He was just born an asshole. [Though I understand his father was pretty violent towards Adolf and his mother. Childhood abuse can affect adult behavior.]

[TheHuckster]

Yeah, I think that's how it went. He was rejected into an art school, and whether or not this at least partly lead to his descent into madness, I'm sure he was destined for that art school or no art school. He definitely had a very poor outlook on any kind of abstract or modern art, though, given his treatment of Dadaism and Bauhaus.

[wolfie]

Can't recall where, but I saw a webcomic where someone tries to get Hitler "out of the picture", but doesn't want to kill him. Using a time machine, they arrange for him to get a scholarship at an Ohio art college, with an embarrassing consequence - he's now their uncle.

Of course, in an edited timeline where Hitler wound up as a "never heard of him" mid-grade commercial artist instead of a dictator responsible for millions of deaths, having him as an uncle wouldn't be embarrassing.

[s_stabeler]

he might be embarassing in a different way. ( specifically, he might have ended up as that relative who gets drunk, shoots off their mouth about their bigoted views, and makes you cringe.)

[SongsOfDragons]

I really liked some of Hitler's paintings. Anything that's not a building, yeah, looks kind of flat and lifeless and mundane, but I find his buildings are done with such precision and detail that they almost look more like architectural or archaeological impressions. As someone who works in technical drawing and studied it at school, and who isn't a great student of fine art at all...I like his buildings.

I wonder in another version of history he could have been an architect?