Homeschooling

[GostHacked]

If they can't sit still they need ritalin. Simple as that.

Ahh, so you are trolling. Do you know why kids can't sit still? It's because they are kids and have lots of energy. Unless you think drugging them up and sitting their fat diabetic ass on the couch to play video games while you feed them junk food is a good idea, then will you offer up your own children up for the cause?

We have right wing wingnuts in Ontario who fought against the new sex ed curriculum in ontario last year and the government caved into those pressures.

i know the government will still introduce this curriculum when the time is right. all kids need to be exposed to this stuff.it would have been a go but some ignorant parents objected. how can you object to sexual health being taught to all kids inclusively.

At what age is the cut off for sexual education? From kindergarten all the way up? How about letting kids be kids for a while? And how about letting parents be parents?

Hmm, keep it up and you might get into my top five fave trollers on MLW.

Edited August 2, 2012 by GostHacked

[wyly]

At what age is the cut off for sexual education? From kindergarten all the way up? How about letting kids be kids for a while?

kids starting asking sexual based questions at kindergarten and even younger, what's the problem answering those simple questions in an appropriate age specific manner...and it is introduced at that level elsewhere with no negative effects...the problem most opponents have is a lack of understanding of what is taught it's a knee jerk reaction to the word "sex"...the moment they hear the S word they go into panic mode which reflects their anxieties to sex not the kids... kids have no issues with it, it doesn't turn them into sexual active children, hormones do that at puberty...

And how about letting parents be parents?

oh ya parents, generally the worst the choice for sexual information...

[wyly]

We had a thread on that, and many posters defended the acts of that teacher. Like you said, you have to earn it. If the student got a 0, then they earned that 0.

it seems a simple matter but there's more to it than that...do you understand the reasoning behind it? or is just another knee jerk reaction?

teachers and the education system are much better than they were when you and I went to school...like everything else in our world advances are made in knowledge through research and methods of teaching have improved as well, there is a considerable amount of research that goes into "how" to teach not just what to teach...

zero means zero may have made sense in our day but that doesn't mean it was right...

[MiddleClassCentrist]

If my wife and I could afford it, we'd consider home schooling.

Public school can do a fine job but it's current state in Ontario is raising a generation of lazy dults who can't meet deadlines or have any structure.

Making matters worse, there is this strange idea that we need to put students with behavioural or mental disabilities into the classroom with regular children. These behavioural and mental disabilities in the regular classroom slow and disrupt the environment for everyone.

[GostHacked]

it seems a simple matter but there's more to it than that...do you understand the reasoning behind it? or is just another knee jerk reaction?

teachers and the education system are much better than they were when you and I went to school...like everything else in our world advances are made in knowledge through research and methods of teaching have improved as well, there is a considerable amount of research that goes into "how" to teach not just what to teach...

zero means zero may have made sense in our day but that doesn't mean it was right...

The OP also seems to advocate putting children into the government run schools at the age of 1, and based on his other post, put them on ritalin as well.

[wyly]

The OP also seems to advocate putting children into the government run schools at the age of 1, and based on his other post, put them on ritalin as well.

ritalin is a medical issue Mds make that call not teachers so it's a non issue...

we begin learning the day we are born, the daily intake of info is massive for infants...we shouldn't miss an opportunity to enrich per-schoolers learning environment when the opportunity is there, no one is suggesting putting one year old's behind desks... daycare operators should be given guidance for providing an enriched learning environment make something more of them than a babysitting service...

[socialist]

Here is another article that shows how out to lunch parents are. Parents think drilling times tables is education. How stupid can you be? Time ton be part of the 21st century. These kinds of parents piss me off. They have no clue. Research has shown memorizing times tables does not make for better math students. Rote is 1930s garbage.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2012/07/22/edmonton-schools-multiplication-drills.html

[Argus]

I am close to completing my education degree. I have spent many years volunteering in many classrooms. i talk regularly with educational experts and professors of education who tell me all the latest great things happening in education. im a staunch teachers union supporter and have been at many rallies with union members. if there is a strike in ontario this summer i will walk the picket line with my edu colleagues supporting teachers and the public education system the same way 99% of the public supports teachers. that's what i know and do. how bout you?

And yet, despite all the abuse heaped upon your poor grammar and numerous punctuation and spelling errors, you continue to make them. I'm not buying that you've even been to university, not unless you're deliberately dumbing things down as a mockery of the leftist cliche you are pretending to be.

[punked]

And yet, despite all the abuse heaped upon your poor grammar and numerous punctuation and spelling errors, you continue to make them. I'm not buying that you've even been to university, not unless you're deliberately dumbing things down as a mockery of the leftist cliche you are pretending to be.

I am glad everyone on the board agrees with me. There is no way this guys isn't pretending to be a fake. I have seen many of the opinions he posts as characters the right has of the left but I have never seen a progressive actually believe the things this person says.

[socialist]

I am glad everyone on the board agrees with me. There is no way this guys isn't pretending to be a fake. I have seen many of the opinions he posts as characters the right has of the left but I have never seen a progressive actually believe the things this person says.

like what? I really don't care what you guys believe or don't believe.

[punked]

like what? I really don't care what you guys believe or don't believe.

Like your crazy uninformed opinions that come out of what crazy right wing blogs say about progressives. You aren't a socialist you are a communist right out of the Stalin school of communism (which by the way is the worst school of communism there is) although with your school policy you do have a little of the Khmer Rouge in you to. Seriously nothing you say makes sense.

[socialist]

Like your crazy uninformed opinions that come out of what crazy right wing blogs say about progressives. You aren't a socialist you are a communist right out of the Stalin school of communism (which by the way is the worst school of communism there is) although with your school policy you do have a little of the Khmer Rouge in you to. Seriously nothing you say makes sense.

The funny thing is that I agree with almost everything you say, punked. I may have some marxist leanings, and I am proud of those, but you do too. Tell me what the best school of communism is? You and I are both on the far left. We are brothers.

[Spiderfish]

The only thing you add to this discussion on the great merits of public education is useless ignorance. Let us know when you formulate something intelligent to add to the discussion.

I had to laugh when I read this line from you. You are one very entertaining individual, if the whole education thing doesn't work out for you, you could always go into comedy.

[socialist]

I had to laugh when I read this line from you. You are one very entertaining individual, if the whole education thing doesn't work out for you, you could always go into comedy.

F you you ignorant neo-con. Without public education we don't have a healthy democracy. The whole education thing will and is working out for me. I will make a positive difference in the lives of kids. What do you do to help society?

[socialist]

it seems a simple matter but there's more to it than that...do you understand the reasoning behind it? or is just another knee jerk reaction?

teachers and the education system are much better than they were when you and I went to school...like everything else in our world advances are made in knowledge through research and methods of teaching have improved as well, there is a considerable amount of research that goes into "how" to teach not just what to teach...

zero means zero may have made sense in our day but that doesn't mean it was right...

That teacher in Alberta gives us teachers who care a bad rap. How can you give zeros when it could cause a kid to not graduate high school? That's heartless. If I give 20 assignments in a year and a kid only completes 10 I can only assess on the 10 he did and not penalize him for ones he didn't do. That is a policy that many school divisions across Canada thankfully adhere to. This isn't 1950, but most of you have no clue about 21st century public education or 21st century skills that we are teaching kids.

[AngusThermopyle]

That teacher in Alberta gives us teachers who care a bad rap. How can you give zeros when it could cause a kid to not graduate high school? That's heartless. If I give 20 assignments in a year and a kid only completes 10 I can only assess on the 10 he did and not penalize him for ones he didn't do. That is a policy that many school divisions across Canada thankfully adhere to. This isn't 1950, but most of you have no clue about 21st century public education or 21st century skills that we are teaching kids.

What I find interesting about your posts is the apparent disconect from reality that you appear to suffer from. You yourself have previously stated that you are a student, not a teacher. Yet you repeatedly refer to yourself as a teacher, very curious indeed. As such I can only take your views with a grain of salt as you do not seem to know the distinction between teacher and student, a very basic and fundamental distinction.

[Spiderfish]

F you you ignorant neo-con. Without public education we don't have a healthy democracy. The whole education thing will and is working out for me. I will make a positive difference in the lives of kids. What do you do to help society?

With a response like that, I wouldn't exactly call your contribution to society wholesome or healthy. The mere thought of you having an influence on children makes me cringe, and is a perfect argument for the merit of homeschooling. And judging by your previous posts, it appears a healthy democracy is the last thing you are trying to promote. Hypocrisy at its finest!

Edited August 3, 2012 by Spiderfish

[Guest Derek L]

If my wife and I could afford it, we'd consider home schooling.

Public school can do a fine job but it's current state in Ontario is raising a generation of lazy dults who can't meet deadlines or have any structure.

Making matters worse, there is this strange idea that we need to put students with behavioural or mental disabilities into the classroom with regular children. These behavioural and mental disabilities in the regular classroom slow and disrupt the environment for everyone.

I agree to an extent……..Both my sister and brother in-law are teachers out here in BC and do agree with in some respects that severely challenged children do gain (as do “normal children”) with the social interaction, but when it comes the more “challenging” academic subjects, a child with severe Downs Syndrome gains nothing well having the potential to be a distraction in the classroom….Perhaps a compromise where the special needs children join in for art, PE etc type lighter subjects and then removed for the more challenging ones….

As to behavioural cases, I agree, having them repeatedly sitting in front of the principles office after making a scene and/or causing classroom disruptions isn’t in the other children’s best interest nor theirs.

[socialist]

What I find interesting about your posts is the apparent disconect from reality that you appear to suffer from. You yourself have previously stated that you are a student, not a teacher. Yet you repeatedly refer to yourself as a teacher, very curious indeed. As such I can only take your views with a grain of salt as you do not seem to know the distinction between teacher and student, a very basic and fundamental distinction.

Let me simplify things for you then. I am a student for another half semester. Then I graduate and will be a fully licensed teacher. I already have 1.5 feet in the doorway. I will be teaching next year. That is fact whether you like it or not, and personally what you think means nothing to me. You don't know anything about public education.

[Signals.Cpl]

F you you ignorant neo-con. Without public education we don't have a healthy democracy. The whole education thing will and is working out for me. I will make a positive difference in the lives of kids. What do you do to help society?

You will make a positive difference in the lives of kids when you find a calling that would not involve ruining a whole generation of young children, the farther away you stay from kids, the more positive a change you make.

[socialist]

You will make a positive difference in the lives of kids when you find a calling that would not involve ruining a whole generation of young children, the farther away you stay from kids, the more positive a change you make.

How do you figure? My goodness, it seems every wingnut thinks they know something about public education.

Edited August 3, 2012 by socialist

[Signals.Cpl]

How do you figure? My goodness, it seems every wingnut thinks they know something about public education.

1)I highly doubt a new graduate will get a job right away.

2)I highly doubt that if you actually believe half of the BS you spew here you will survive more than a week as a teacher.

3)You do not know the first thing about education, you have made your persona on this forum so ignorant, and I hope its just an online persona rather than well reality because if it is, you will have a very hard time in the real world.

4)I can tell you, as someone who was born in a communist country and saw the consequences after the fall of communism, I can tell you its not all that its cracked out to be.

[wyly]

How do you figure? My goodness, it seems every wingnut thinks they know something about public education.

well it is a chat forum and everyone is allowed an opinion...I only wish people try listen to both sides of an issue before they have their knee jerk reactions...it's the grumpy old man syndrome "it's new, I don't like change, I don't understand it and don't want to understand it, so I hate it, damn leftie pinkos!"

[Spiderfish]

How do you figure? My goodness, it seems every wingnut thinks they know something about public education.

It doesn't take a teaching degree to understand that the way you react and the bizarre ideals you adhere to would serve only to damage our younger generation.

[MiddleClassCentrist]

I agree to an extent……..Both my sister and brother in-law are teachers out here in BC and do agree with in some respects that severely challenged children do gain (as do “normal children”) with the social interaction, but when it comes the more “challenging” academic subjects, a child with severe Downs Syndrome gains nothing well having the potential to be a distraction in the classroom….Perhaps a compromise where the special needs children join in for art, PE etc type lighter subjects and then removed for the more challenging ones….

As to behavioural cases, I agree, having them repeatedly sitting in front of the principles office after making a scene and/or causing classroom disruptions isn’t in the other children’s best interest nor theirs.

The science backs that these students are more successful with like peers, not integrated at the bottom of peers. Our education policy is based on feel-good emotions, not objective realities.

The teachers I know have a word for when too many special cases destroy an entire year of young minds... It's called a crop failure. When there are too many special needs for regular teachers to run a consistently strong program for the kids who need it. Every year, the children are stuck with the same high maintenance students who disrupt their learning. The accumulative effect is staggering.

The sad reality is that many of these "integrated" students are likely just going to end up on permanent government assistance. Meanwhile, we are sacrificing the education of young people who might have contributed to the economy.