As a high school teacher I often reflect on what I learned in school. High
school for me boils down to just a few things I learned that I use regularly
in the course of my life:
1. How to type.
2. How to use a library and do research.
3. A semi-organized way to define and solve a problem.
4. A sense that if I stick with something long enough I will complete it. (I
graduated, didn't I?)
5. A knowledge that even if I see things differently than many people, I'm
not always wrong. (I beat up my drafting teacher regularly with paper models
of non-textbook solutions.)
I regularly share these with some of my students, telling them that what
really matters is finishing. Getting your ticket punched. In forty years,
who cares what you got in (History, English, Chemistry, etc.), what the
teacher said, or didn't say, what your friends or non-friends said, or
didn't say. Survival is what counts. Period!
In the Bakersfield area there are 19 different ways to graduate from high
school. The 15 full time regular high schools only count as one of the 19. I
hope we are doing today a better job of dealing with the not so minor
minority of students who do not fit the traditional mold.
But I wouldn't bet on it.
-- Jim Johnston Teacher Newton User> From: Ed Kummel <tech_ed_at_yahoo.com> > Reply-To: newtontalk_at_newtontalk.net > Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2002 13:02:44 -0700 (PDT) > To: newtontalk_at_newtontalk.net > Subject: Re: [NTLK] attention deficit > > the list) > and I hate everything that school stands for! I never > learned anything useful in all the many years I was > forced to attend!
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