Posts by Larry Walker24

Yeah, sure, because I totally have nothing better to do than sit around at 4 PM arguing about valence electrons with a bunch of teenagers. 🤦

rowdypanther12 said:I suppose once they actually finish building those 1,000 schools needed for the reform, maybe they'll finally get around to installing air conditioning.☕

God willing 👍

wanderingbadger77 said:Great. So who's actually on the hook for a kid's grades here?
Is it the teacher running the after-school tutoring sessions?
This is going to be a total mess. They’ll probably end up having to take those massive state exams, and honestly, they're probably screwed because the teachers are absolute garbage.
Luckily, my kid isn't affected by this whole shake-up.
Insane.

Before they even roll out full-day schooling, I doubt they'll even start grading things properly.

If you ask me, this year's 5th graders are definitely going to get hit with some kind of exit exam.

rowdypanther12 said:Instead of shortening summer breaks or reducing daily school hours for kids, they’re pushing this nonsense.

It sounds great on paper to have space at school for homework after classes, guaranteed tutoring, or room for recreation... those are all really solid ideas.
But having kids stuck at school until 4 PM just isn't right.
I'm honestly relieved my kids won't be part of this; I can't even imagine a schedule like that. When would they hang out unsupervised, hit up McDonald's or a local park, focus on studying, go to sports practice, or just spend time with family?

It feels like we're just institutionalizing our children.
The rest of the world seems to be moving toward shorter workdays and more freedom, yet here we are, trying to lock kids up in schools.

Yeah, because nothing beats heading into a classroom that hits 95 degrees when there isn't even any AC. Totally brilliant idea, let's just shorten summer break 👋 👋 👋

obviously being sarcastic here

Sweden is heading straight for a recession, and the housing market is a total disaster. On top of that, grocery prices are absolutely insane right now.

Just when everyone got slapped with a one-day ban, I finally knocked out all those chores I've been putting off...

Go check out the thread on PŽK, everything you need to know is already laid out there.

Guys, don't hold your breath for CNN. As soon as a new Secretary takes over, everything just resets to zero. Where are they even going to find the budget to fix up schools? They can't even get Congress to fix the damn building.

Michelle Nelson4 said:When it comes to math and high school graduation exams, honestly, it doesn't matter much who scored what on their final tests. If they don't actually grasp the material, they won't be able to pass a single college course anyway. That means the chances of us ending up with a "mathematician" who doesn't actually understand math are practically zero.

The real issue is that none of the economics programs here in the US require advanced calculus, nor do they set any real threshold for standard algebra. We should really be asking ourselves what kind of economists are graduating from these institutions instead... that's what costs our economy so much more than those few students who struggle with math (though, let’s be real, who would choose to major in math if they weren't naturally good at it? It's one of the least popular subjects and majors in the country, right up there with physics and stuff like 😁).

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mellowskipper said:I think I’ve already touched on this in another thread—if that makes sense. In my view, someone with those scores definitely isn't cut out for intense fields like pure mathematics, physics, or even engineering at a place like MIT. But—and this is just a thought—couldn't they potentially pursue something where the math load is mostly front-loaded in the first year, like pharmacy or veterinary medicine?
Though, obviously, you’d still need to hit the required advanced math standards for admission.
You'd probably exhaust yourself during the prep work, pass that meager 25%, and then you're stuck facing that one daunting math exam at university.

It’s honestly a joke because nothing you learn in those math classes actually helps you with any of your later exams.

Back when I first brought this up, everyone was like—"Oh, but you're an engineering major!" 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 🙄🙄🙄

Betty Wood54 said:I actually knew a colleague who decided to go for a teaching master's degree after finishing a non-teaching undergraduate program. It was quite a hurdle; he had to pass all the pedagogy, psychology, and didactics courses from the graduate level, plus some geometry credits we didn't cover in our standard track.

Back in the day, when programs were mostly four-year tracks, there were just a handful of deficiency exams to clear. But now that everything has shifted to this 3+2 model, the gap is much wider. I honestly don't think they'd just tell you to take a couple of extra classes; they'd probably tell you that you need to enroll in a full teaching credential program instead.

I think he’s talking about descriptive geometry, but I can't be 100% sure.

Fair enough, but look—the Dean actually announced they might bring back that 3+2 model specifically for teaching tracks. The idea is to boost enrollment numbers. They want people who finish in three years to be eligible to teach middle school, while the ones who grind through all five years get the option to teach both middle and high school.

But hey, that's just his pitch. Who knows if it'll actually ever happen or if it'll just stay an idea on paper.

Betty Wood54 said:I'm currently studying theoretical math—still have my senior thesis to wrap up—and you really do learn the absolute fundamentals, though it's all geared toward graduate-level work. If I were to walk into a middle school or a high school right now to teach, goodness, I think both the kids and I would be in for a very rough time.

From what I hear, the professors handling the pedagogy courses are supposedly excellent, but they tend to assign whoever is available to lead the lab sessions. So, it's entirely possible to end up with a teaching assistant who hasn't even taken a single methods class themselves—say, someone who focused strictly on pure theory. Then, suddenly, they're expected to show students how to structure a lesson plan on the chalkboard, when they probably don't even know how to do it themselves. 😵

I know this girl who graduated with a perfect 4.0 in theoretical math and she’s teaching at a local high school now; she’s bored out of her mind because the problems she has to give them are just "laughable and way too easy" for her.

And I’ve heard stories about how some professors in the math education department basically treat students like garbage, failing people left and right just because they feel like it. Honestly, the faculty in the professional training courses aren't any more chill or reasonable either.

Sarah Hall53 said:I totally get what you mean about theoretical math and what actually constitutes the field.
But honestly, I’m struggling to see why you're missing the point regarding the difference between a proper teaching methodology course at a university like Berkeley and some random certification program you take later on? There's a massive gap there—it's not just about knowing the math itself, but actually knowing how to break it down so it makes sense to a kid. It's one thing to master the equations, and a completely different thing to be able to explain them in a way that fits their age group.

Look, I get it, but honestly, no mathematician would ever sign up for an education degree at a school like UCLA when they could just take a qualifying exam through the math department instead. At least that used to be the deal.

Sarah Hall53 said:It really depends. Did he actually follow the proper methodology during his teaching certification, or did he just take one of those casual, part-time courses at a local community college? Because when it comes to math, that’s a massive dealbreaker for me.
He’s definitely got the technical expertise for math, but whether he’s actually qualified to teach it... well, that's a bit more debatable.

Like I mentioned before, it all hinges on whether his degree was strictly in mathematics or just something related. Given how the credit hour requirements work, he might be allowed to teach math if there isn't anyone else with a specialized degree available.

Theoretical math is handled over at a heavy-duty research university like Johns Hopkins, and once you survive that, everything else feels like a breeze compared to what he's dealing with.

Sarah Hall53 said:Just a little heads-up here—an engineer isn't technically a "real professor." I mean, depending on whether they're specializing in math or something similar, they’re more like... well, semi-qualified, if you want to be pedantic about it.

A guy with a Master's in theoretical math—literally the hardest track there is—is somehow "unqualified" to teach math?! Give me a break.

plus those days when you could just scrape by in Germany using nothing but Spanish or English are long gone. Either you pick up German or you can kiss it goodbye

There's a thread on this:

Susan James said:Where on earth did this leak from? 😕 😲

So, religious studies is still stuck at two hours a week, yet they think one hour of digital literacy is enough 🙏
and they obviously just scrapped that whole critical thinking nonsense

those teacher groups on Facebook

Nathan Garcia said:Washington, D.C.—I meant to write that earlier but totally blanked, my bad.

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