71 posts shown.
Kyle Rogers9 said:Condensed versions are used during class because there isn't enough time to finish an entire book in a 45-minute period, but for a teacher to actually claim they're reading abridged versions as their primary literature is just stupid.
Scott Miller4 said:I am honestly so frustrated with this book report assignment.
When she was little, I’d sit and read right along with her. But once she hit third grade, I started pushing her to tackle everything on her own—reading the books solo, answering questions by herself, and doing her own writing. I’d step in if she was getting completely off track, but even then, I wouldn't just tell her what to write. I’d just ask enough questions until she figured out the right answer herself.
She wasn't some star student back then; she mostly just pulled Bs. Honestly, the book reports those other moms were putting together for their kids were just way better executed.
And she hated it. She hated reading and she hated writing, and just mentioning a book report would make her totally shut down.
Now she’s in eighth grade, and she actually reads quite a bit. Since fifth grade, she’s been pulling As on these assignments. I won't let her get away with reading those abridged versions. She tried to argue that it isn't fair, pointing out how everyone else gets to read the shortened versions, and claiming it was unfair in earlier grades when I wouldn't write her reports for her, making her feel like she couldn't keep up with the other kids.
But I’m holding my ground. I won't let her take the easy way out. I want her to actually read. I truly believe reading is an asset; it builds vocabulary, teaches you something new from every story, and ultimately makes you a more well-rounded person.
The teacher actually gave them the abridged versions though...
redridge13 said:@frupy
I honestly can't say that any of my parents' generation actually breathed down our necks about getting into a specific high school.
Plus, they ended up scrapping those entrance exams just a few years later anyway.
@svasta nesto
Wait, are you seriously questioning whether our teachers and administrators actually have any professional integrity left? 🙂
urbantinker8 said:The teacher in question is just holding his ground...
...but I suppose he’ll only be able to hold it for so long before some aggressive parent decides to start putting on a whole theatrical performance, all because they've convinced themselves their kid, Marko, actually knows the material better than the instructor—even if his failing grade suggests otherwise.
Then comes the inevitable onslaught where they basically steamroll the teacher, the homeroom coach, and the principal, filing formal appeals against the grades, demanding special committee exams, insisting on testing sessions where the original teacher isn't allowed to participate, and eventually calling in the state inspectors and so on...
Anyway, it’s all pretty intense and interesting to watch unfold.🍿
rowdypanther12 said:I haven't read the book in question myself, so I'll take that with a grain of salt, but since I asked what grade level this is for, I still feel like a 17 or 18-year-old shouldn't be shielded from "normal" literature.
By the way, you can find A Song of Ice and Fire in the children's section at most public libraries, which means any ten-year-old could check it out and read it—and that's easily the most explicit book I've come across since reading Marquis de Sade when I was 15.😂
silentraven6 said:Did you actually finish the whole book? I don't see the issue with the descriptions; they serve as a solid starting point for talking to kids about boundaries—how to spot those kinds of intentions and how to fight back against them. I mean, the Iliad and the Odyssey are absolutely crawling with incest, assault, and murder. Even Judith slaying Holofernes involves her being sexually manipulated right before the act. What's the "lesson" in those classics then? That everything goes in war? These kids might actually get more out of Black Sea land in terms of maturing and learning to resist sexual abuse. It opens up a conversation that might touch on things many of them are personally dealing with. Maybe you'll even help one of them find the courage to report an abuser.
If someone had encouraged me to open up back then, my life might look a lot different today. If teachers understood how breaking a taboo can actually be healing—how they could use it to truly support their students—maybe my homeroom teacher would have actually responded to my essays once upon a time, instead of just fearfully noting that I had "too much imagination" or that she didn't understand what I was writing and that I should "tone down my expression."
We read The Glembays, The Registry, Crime and Punishment... they're all full of killers and twisted personalities and vivid, intense descriptions. We even have Louisa May Alcott in lower elementary grades... So what's the problem? Is it just facing the proximity of the taboo?
Nabokov?
Such a great work for comparative analysis and debate.
urbantinker8 said:Man, thank goodness, someone else who’s just as crazy as I am.😬
I suppose because there are some really good ones out there, though they seem incredibly rare.
Most of the time, you’re looking at former teachers who probably should have been sent to an oversight board first.😳
But even if there were a vision, there isn't any money.
There isn't money for basic supplies, so where on earth would you find funding for something like that?
I agree.
The only—and arguably most mindless—thing those inspectors do is comb through paperwork.
As far as they're concerned, if everything looks right on paper, then everything is fine. Period.🤦
I suppose I agree with you on certain points, though only in a limited capacity.
High school graduation exams are honestly such a massive pain.🙂
It seems like the questions are getting progressively easier year after year, and I guess the passing threshold keeps dropping right along with them, too.
I guess I’m just sitting here wondering why, really. It feels like one of those questions that doesn't have a straightforward answer, though maybe I'm overthinking things again. It's hard to say without knowing exactly what we're aiming at, but I suppose there's always a reason behind the chaos, even if it's buried under layers of sheer randomness.
I suppose, if we’re being honest, it all really comes down to making sure both the parents and the kids actually walk away feeling satisfied.🙄
I mean, those competitions can get pretty brutal sometimes, I guess, and that’s really where you see who actually knows their stuff versus who's just winging it.
I suppose there’s a bit of a distinction to be made here, though it's subtle; whereas something like a Mature certification is basically designed so that everyone can just breeze through it, actual competitions have this inherent, elimination-style nature to them, which I guess allows for a much more genuine way to evaluate and compare one person's work against another's.
urbantinker8: I was thinking about what was said earlier, and I guess if you look at it from a certain angle, maybe there's some truth to it, though I'm not entirely sure. It feels like one of those situations where everything seems straightforward until you actually sit down to parse through the details, which, as it turns out, are rarely as simple as they appear on the surface. I suppose I might be overthinking things, but I can't help but feel that we tend to overlook the smaller nuances that end up making all the difference in the long run. It’s funny how that works, really. Anyway, I just wanted to add that bit of perspective, even if it's a little bit rambly.
And now, all those professional development courses are just sitting in my browser cookies because, well—once again—there’s just no money in it.
It’s been happening more often lately, I suppose, that none of my specific courses have actually offered a seminar in a major city like Chicago for three or four years running. It’s a bit of a strange pattern, I guess, though maybe it isn't entirely unexpected given how much things have shifted recently.😲
So, it looks like we’re facing that same old situation again where seminars outside of the city are on the table, but there's just zero budget for it. I was talking to the director, and apparently, out of the five of us on the executive team, they're saying only one person can go—or maybe absolutely nobody at all, depending on how the math works out. It's a bit much, I guess.🙄
The ZSV situation is just a total disaster, honestly. I don't even bother counting them when I'm looking at how much progress is actually being made in this field.🙂
As for the whole debate over working versus just coasting through the day... I suppose every profession has its share of people who actually put in the effort and those who sort of just drift along, and I imagine education is no different in that regard.
It kind of gets under my skin, I guess, whenever people start whining about this supposed "lazy majority" that supposedly does absolutely nothing all day.
I mean, I guess those are just silly, unfounded prejudices, if you ask me.
It’s kind of in the same vein as those people who claim that most clerks at the DMV are perpetually rude, or that most judges are inherently corrupt, or that most cops are just plain dim, or even that most doctors have developed some sort of massive superiority complex. I guess it all falls under that same general category of cynical generalizations, maybe.🤷
urbantinker8 said:I honestly think it might be time for parents to stop acting like experts on everything and blaming the local school district for every little thing that goes sideways.🙂
At the end of the day, it’s really on them to raise their kids properly, I suppose—to actually spend quality time with them whenever possible, to have a decent grasp on what they’re actually doing during class or in their free time, and to maintain some kind of realistic expectations about what a kid can actually achieve.
It’s just a shame that so many people lose their way in certain areas or hit a wall at some point, and then they just start frantically pointing fingers at whoever happens to be on duty.
urbantinker8 said:I can't speak for everyone else, but I think I know exactly why I get so defensive whenever someone brings up the idea of "teacher performance reviews."🙄
First off, you always see parents pushing for these evaluations for all the wrong reasons—usually because they’re frustrated with mediocre grades, a lack of actual knowledge, or disappointing SAT scores... because, naturally, any failure their kid experiences gets dumped squarely on the shoulders of some supposedly incompetent teacher.🤦
Then there’s the issue of who would actually be doing the evaluating. Most of them would probably be school counselors, and let’s be honest, there are plenty of amateurs in that field. You have people who haven't stepped foot in a classroom in over twenty years; they've completely lost touch with how students learn today, what the curriculum looks like, or even how grading works, yet they're more than happy to play judge and jury.
Thirdly, nobody actually has a concrete plan for how this "assessment" would even work in practice. Just looking at standardized test scores doesn't prove anything. And trying to organize formal peer observations for every single teacher every few years? That's practically impossible because it would require an immense amount of money and time—resources our Department of Education certainly doesn't have to spare.
Personally, though, I don't really have an issue with it, and I'm certainly not worried about someone dropping in on my class or giving me some clever little suggestion, especially since my students consistently perform great on their exams and in competitions.🙂
What really gets under my skin is when people who know next to nothing about the education system, specific subjects, or even kids in general, try to insert themselves into conversations where they don't belong, loudly claiming that schools are failing, teachers aren't doing their jobs, and innocent children are just caught in the middle.
Olivia Gomez2 said:
We aren't going to go with those pillows, obviously—but it’s actually pretty cool 😍
