OK, then, I'll start a new post with my very-real but not-on-OP's-topic issue...
(mods... this could have gone in at least 3 forums... feel free to move it if you feel it belongs somewhere else)
First - I'm not generally a teacher-basher. There have been very specific exceptions to that statement... and if I were to post details, I think even some of the teachers on this board would agree. But generally - I believe teachers have a very tough job, and its not made any easier by current cultural norms and expectations.
SO... perhaps it better to pose the question in terms of school "systems", rather than teachers.
Currently, at least around here, there's officially three kinds of kids...
1) the star kids... athletic plus academically strong, can run on 7-8 hours of sleep or less for weeks on end, have several extra-curricular activities plus a job or volunteer position... these are the ones that are "assumed" to be going to university.
2) the getting-by kids... the ones who struggle, or who just never really shine at the things that get recognized... might be really good in shop class or interior design, but can't handle univ-entrance-level classes... these are the ones that are "assumed" to be taking some form of trade, or going into retail, etc.
3) the highly-disabled kids... who will never meet the requirements for graduation, and for whom the system attempts to provide some level of training if they can.
And then... there's the conundrum kids. The ones that don't fit anywhere.
They aren't highly disabled.
They aren't a star at anything, really, and yet...
They aren't blue-collar/pink-collar material either.
They tend to be highly intellegent - or unevenly intellegent. Perhaps with physical limitations that make "practical careers" impossible - and would be bored out of their minds doing these. Have the mental capacity to be an engineer, or a teacher... but can't handle the "expected homework workload" of 30-45 minutes per night per academic subject.
Our difficult child is going to survive - somehow, barely. We've managed to smash enough heads around that he's got a bit of space to grow in. But what about the kids who NEVER get that critical diagnosis? or who have a long list of never-bad-enough-to-get-a-diagnosis problems? Is there really no option except to choose between "trades math" (which still has 30 min of homework per night), and "university math" (at closer to 45 min)?
How do you challenge each kid to the limits of their mental capacity, without overtaxing their physical limitations?
Maybe a philosophical question... but I'd sure love some ideas.
(mods... this could have gone in at least 3 forums... feel free to move it if you feel it belongs somewhere else)
First - I'm not generally a teacher-basher. There have been very specific exceptions to that statement... and if I were to post details, I think even some of the teachers on this board would agree. But generally - I believe teachers have a very tough job, and its not made any easier by current cultural norms and expectations.
SO... perhaps it better to pose the question in terms of school "systems", rather than teachers.
Currently, at least around here, there's officially three kinds of kids...
1) the star kids... athletic plus academically strong, can run on 7-8 hours of sleep or less for weeks on end, have several extra-curricular activities plus a job or volunteer position... these are the ones that are "assumed" to be going to university.
2) the getting-by kids... the ones who struggle, or who just never really shine at the things that get recognized... might be really good in shop class or interior design, but can't handle univ-entrance-level classes... these are the ones that are "assumed" to be taking some form of trade, or going into retail, etc.
3) the highly-disabled kids... who will never meet the requirements for graduation, and for whom the system attempts to provide some level of training if they can.
And then... there's the conundrum kids. The ones that don't fit anywhere.
They aren't highly disabled.
They aren't a star at anything, really, and yet...
They aren't blue-collar/pink-collar material either.
They tend to be highly intellegent - or unevenly intellegent. Perhaps with physical limitations that make "practical careers" impossible - and would be bored out of their minds doing these. Have the mental capacity to be an engineer, or a teacher... but can't handle the "expected homework workload" of 30-45 minutes per night per academic subject.
Our difficult child is going to survive - somehow, barely. We've managed to smash enough heads around that he's got a bit of space to grow in. But what about the kids who NEVER get that critical diagnosis? or who have a long list of never-bad-enough-to-get-a-diagnosis problems? Is there really no option except to choose between "trades math" (which still has 30 min of homework per night), and "university math" (at closer to 45 min)?
How do you challenge each kid to the limits of their mental capacity, without overtaxing their physical limitations?
Maybe a philosophical question... but I'd sure love some ideas.
