Posts by Austin Chavez5

Seriously guys, how long does it take for people at the USPS to process a simple claim? It’s been three weeks and I’m still seeing absolutely nothing 😠👎

Honestly, if we keep going down this rabbit hole, we’re gonna end up needing a freaking Philosophy degree just to make sense of it all

Hope, I’ve actually been putting in the work lately to dig through both your posts and what Tyler Reyes86 had to say. Honestly? My take on this isn't just black and white. I’ll leave the high-brow, sophisticated debate to you and your rival, but I gotta admit—I'm basically "taking notes" from both of you.

placidorca16 said:As far as I'm concerned, religious studies doesn't belong in the curriculum either, but that's beside the point. Regarding computer science, it's usually an elective—like religious studies—starting around 3rd or 4th grade in most American elementary schools, though plenty of kids skip it because they already know more than what's being taught, making it pretty boring. Whether it should be mandatory from 1st grade or just starting in 3rd is definitely up for debate.

I’m curious—are history and geography mandatory from 1st grade at that international school (which I assume is here in the States)?

just like hauling around backpacks full of books. It seems absolutely nothing has changed—thirty years ago, they promised us we'd finally get lockers and actually do our homework at school.😁😂🤣

In my kid's school, they bring their books on Monday and take them home on Friday. Most homework is done during school hours anyway. If someone doesn't want to lug a backpack home, they don't have to. We choose to bring it home—we want to stay in the loop with their progress and work.

schools practice selective streaming and I'm all for it.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streaming_(education)

To pull that off, schools would need way more funding than they currently get in America—and honestly, that method doesn't guarantee any better results than other teaching styles.

So this specific school decided to handle the heavy backpack issue on its own terms. But honestly? I feel like the massive elephant in the room with the whole American education system is that the roles have totally flipped. Teachers are stuck trying to play parent and discipline these incredibly disrespectful kids, but their hands are tied by bureaucracy. Meanwhile, parents are spending every spare second doing schoolwork for them—usually just taking the easy way out by copying from textbooks or hiring tutors to get it done fast. Life is moving at a million miles an hour, and parents just don't have the bandwidth left for actual parenting, playing, or just talking to their kids. So what do the kids do? They drown themselves in brain-rotting media junk. That’s where all this hysteria comes from. It’s a mess, and nobody wants to take the blame!

I swear, in Sweden, it seems like teachers aren't even allowed to give kids homework anymore. Like, everything just gets done right there in the classroom.

So, yeah, just doing my own little monologue here—shoutout to the OP, by the way, for actually helping me out, whether they realized it or not, by tackling some of my random dilemmas. Look, we’re living in the right freaking now, not some distant future. Who even knows what’s gonna be real one day and what’s just some pipe dream? Anyway, is a perfect score reserved strictly for the geniuses among us? I don't know, man. Honestly, I'm getting these messy, gray-area answers instead of a simple yes or no. But hey, maybe we should probably get our definitions straight first... you know, like what actually counts as "genius," "sharp," "gifted," or just plain "average"...

Look, I gotta admit, I’ve only skimmed through Protagoras myself. Like, yeah, you clearly put a ton of work into this, seriously, but I’m way more interested in the actual practice than all this theory stuff. Give me the real-world problems.

Alright, Onix, I hear you. I hope you get that my drawings were just meant to kickstart a conversation about an issue that hits way more than just me as a parent. Usually, I'm the type to handle my own business solo, but I like to hear what everyone else thinks first. My kids' genetics or whatever don't even matter here. 🙂

Nah, they aren't. It’s just that they’re cramming a whole two-year curriculum into three years. 🙂

David Palmer5 said:I can't say for certain since I don't work in the American school system, but my understanding is that vocational high schools mostly take students who finished middle school through an adapted curriculum.
These aren't "sick" kids, nor are they "severely cognitively impaired" (for those cases, there are specialized schools and institutions); rather, these are students whose abilities are borderline or slightly delayed. And yes, they can absolutely graduate from a three-year program, get jobs, and live independently.
You might find better info by checking with a local special education advocacy group or maybe an organization focused on inclusion.
On the flip side, there are also students who struggle academically for entirely different reasons, which means they don't pull enough credits or grades to qualify for a traditional four-year high school track.
Finally, there are students who specifically want to pursue a trade that is only offered through a vocational certificate program rather than a standard diploma path.

As for the rest of what you scribbled down, it has absolutely nothing to do with what I was saying, so it doesn't really deserve a response.

There are definitely those kinds of three-year schools too, but the level of training is different—it's like a Level II instead of Level III. In those cases, the job title usually includes "assistant," like an assistant locksmith.

Guys, seriously, stay on topic! 🙈

I’m totally on board with this 😁:

Tyler Reyes86 said:All this frantic hysteria surrounding grades is, fundamentally, incredibly detrimental to a child's psychological development and the formation of their character. Regrettably, the weight placed on academic grades begins as early as elementary school, and even teachers seem inclined to judge a student's entire personality based solely on a GPA. This is deeply flawed, particularly when those marks are driven by innate genetic aptitude—something a child has absolutely no control over. That is the primary failure, which is then compounded by parents and extended family through their own neuroticism, failing to realize the damage they are inflicting. If a parent insists their child is "perfect" simply because they earn straight As, the child inevitably wonders: what happens if my GPA drops for some reason? Will I cease to be perfect? Will my parents stop loving me? Teachers really ought to give parents some much-needed guidance on this, but how can they, when many have yet to master the basic principles themselves?

Three-year vocational programs are highly inappropriate and lack quality altogether. No student deserves to receive such an inferior education.

David Palmer5 said:I don't recall anyone saying three-year programs were "perfect"—but let's be real, there are plenty of kids who simply can't keep up with the pace of a standard four-year high school curriculum. At the end of the day, they have every right to get an education, earn a credential, and build a life for themselves.

I'm totally with you on this.

Look, Dobrica, I’m 31, and honestly, my opinion doesn't even matter here. I'm just a parent. And as for the editors? It’s not their job to go around fixing every little typo on some random internet forum. But man, those mistakes you're making are jumping right out at me—and trust me, there are plenty more where those came from. Especially since you went out of your way to say you're a teacher.

Tyler Reyes86 said:All this frantic hysteria surrounding grades is, fundamentally, incredibly detrimental to a child's psychological development and the formation of their character. Regrettably, the weight placed on academic grades begins as early as elementary school, and even teachers seem inclined to judge a student's entire personality based solely on a GPA. This is deeply flawed, particularly when those marks are driven by innate genetic aptitude—something a child has absolutely no control over. That is the primary failure, which is then compounded by parents and extended family through their own neuroticism, failing to realize the damage they are inflicting. If a parent insists their child is "perfect" simply because they earn straight As, the child inevitably wonders: what happens if my GPA drops for some reason? Will I cease to be perfect? Will my parents stop loving me? Teachers really ought to give parents some much-needed guidance on this, but how can they, when many have yet to master the basic principles themselves?

Three-year vocational programs are highly inappropriate and lack quality altogether. No student deserves to receive such an inferior education.

👍

I honestly cannot wrap my head around parents who sit there judging everyone else for wanting their kids to be straight-A students, while simultaneously bragging about how their own kids are geniuses. It’s such a hypocritical mess. And don't even get me started on those people claiming three-year vocational high schools are "perfect" because you can just "re-skill or go back to school later." Give me a break! They completely ignore the fact that the education in those programs is absolute garbage—you end up with kids who graduated from a bakery program somehow ending up as auto mechanics. It makes zero sense.

And I seriously hope, Oracle, that your TA doesn't give you an A in communications.

And look, what she’s saying isn't some pipe dream either. We've all seen it—professors out there who basically hand out A's to the kids who just grinded through the textbook and memorized every single word without actually getting it, while they totally screw over the brilliant slackers who actually understand the material.

northerncobra27, look, I am not exactly thrilled with my teenage daughter's grades right now, but let's get one thing straight: it’s pure laziness, not because I care what the neighbors think, but I'm gonna handle it. As for my first grader? It feels way too early to be forcing them into extreme studying sessions, so honestly, I'm fine with where those grades are at. Just don't you dare come at me with that "you need to force your kid to study and do homework" nonsense, because trust me, I already am! And no, I totally disagree with the idea that kids should just hate school. This isn't just about one kid; it's about the whole damn class, and then some.

Joseph Barrett10 said:Let’s talk about classroom reality. My son is starting first grade, and from what I can tell, his teacher is quite strict. I don't disagree with that approach, but I do have concerns regarding where she might draw the line. What happens if she takes things too far?
Furthermore, who actually monitors these educators to ensure they aren't just treating students however they please? I am asking this out of genuine curiosity.
And how exactly are teachers supposed to motivate average students to step up their game and actually put in the effort?

Look, I’ve got this neighbor who won't shut up about how his little girl is some kind of genius getting straight A's. But honestly, talking to the kid, you can tell she doesn't even know her multiplication tables—and she's in sixth grade! Her communication skills are just... ugh, terrible. I just sit there and stay quiet because I couldn't care less about his kid's grades. But him? He’s obsessed with my daughter's grades. And since she's lazy and doesn't study, she isn't pulling those A's anymore. Now, she actually knows her math and speaks clearly... they go to different schools anyway. Then there's this other neighbor who tries to play it off like her kid gets B's when she's actually barely passing with D's—her kid's classmate spilled the tea. Again, I just keep my mouth shut because I don't give a damn. But she’s constantly breathing down my neck about my kids' success. It's a never-ending loop.