OT: Racist Math questions for 3rd graders in Georgia

[Epic Voidfield]

I believe that using cross-curricular activities is a great way to teach children. It can promote discussion and allow students to understand concepts in more ways.

I don't disagree here, but lets explore this concept further as you suggest...

"If 4 men paint a house, how much of the house will each person paint?" to teach fractions?

Except that you'd need to state 4 men would equally paint the house to make the whole. 1/4 of the painting would be done by each man. What's the problem here? That in order to teach fractions, you'd need to sometimes visually see what is happening and have some kind of proper application to do so. That's why some teachers use the pie example because it is both easy to see and easy to teach and it works in the real world. However, how many damn houses have you seen where it can be cut in a cross-section equally in 4 parts? You'd have to probably suggest a house that is a box. Do people really live in houses like that? No, houses come in all shapes and sizes and disproportionate enough that you can't honestly divide it equally, let alone paint it equally. So, while you may have found some goofy way to teach fractions with people living in boxed houses, you didn't exactly teach a real world application of mathematical tools, which is what "cross-curricular" (giving the benefit of the doubt to these teachers that they had the right intentions) is intending to teach their students. So, to answer your question specifically if I would complain, the answer to that is yes. Your teaching is inaccurate and I would never want a kid to learn from your methods so that another teacher would have to correct their thinking down the road.

 

[imac_21]

And teachers aren't paid nearly as much as doctors.

I assumed by "at the same level" he meant in salary as well as quality.

It's difficult to convince the best and brightest to go into a field with so much stress for 40-60k per year.

 

[NinerSickness]

I am a strict supporter that teachers should be at the same level as doctors.

OH MY GOSH PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS ARE THE MOST OVERPAID PEOPLE ON TEH PLANET!!!!! HOW DO THEY STILL TRICK PEOPLE INTO THINKING THEY ARE UNDER-PAID???!!!

 

[SeeYouNT]

OH MY GOSH PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS ARE THE MOST OVERPAID PEOPLE ON TEH PLANET!!!!! HOW DO THEY STILL TRICK PEOPLE INTO THINKING THEY ARE UNDER-PAID???!!!

Having 3 months off in the summer is rough.

 

[NinerSickness]

Having 3 months off in the summer is rough.

Having guaranteed pensions that end up paying out what amounts to an extra $40K per year on the average lifespan (in California) is rough!

Working 160 days a year is rough!

Getting tenure after 2 years where they'll have a hard time firing you if you sell a child to sex traders is rough!

 

[imac_21]

Having 3 months off in the summer is rough.

*unpaid.

 

[SeeYouNT]

*unpaid.

With the salary they make for the 9 months they do work, they have nothing to complain about IMO.

 

[NinerSickness]

*unpaid.

That's funny.

 

[sayheykid1]

I hope you aren't planning on ever taking the LSAT, because you would completely bomb logical reasoning.

What is more likely: this is some racist lesson where they just happened to use the rare name "Frederick" or that they used Frederick because it was part of a lesson on noted abolitionist Frederick Douglass?

This should be a question that eight year olds should be able to answer, so I don't know why a grown person is struggling with it.

Frederick is a rare name? lol
You think lesson about a slave named Fred had some tie in to the story of the life Frederick Douglass.

 

[sayheykid1]

Who is pretending it wasn't?? The article clearly stated that it was.

Although, I am really enjoying your stance that YOUR assumptions have to be correct. Clearly it is about Frederick Douglass, and clearly the other lesson was about his positive achievements. Which is why the question was about how many times Frederick was beaten, instead of how many fellow freed slaves he taught how to read...

Clearly... the point of this test was to teach the positive things about slavery...

You must have completely bombed the logic part of that test, because yours is horrific...

What were the positive things about slavery were they trying to teach? How many oranges slaves can pick or how beatings help productivity?

 

[sayheykid1]

OH MY GOSH PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS ARE THE MOST OVERPAID PEOPLE ON TEH PLANET!!!!! HOW DO THEY STILL TRICK PEOPLE INTO THINKING THEY ARE UNDER-PAID???!!!

Really? They have graduate degrees and make $40-75k per year.

 

[sayheykid1]

Having 3 months off in the summer is rough.

School ends in June and starts in August here. I know MBAs in sales, marketing or banking that work less hours than most teachers.

 

[SeeYouNT]

School ends in June and starts in August here. I know MBAs in sales, marketing or banking that work less hours than most teachers.

Hey,no one forced them to go into teaching.

I guess the old adage is true...Those that can do, those that can't,teach.

 

[NinerSickness]

Really? They have graduate degrees and make $40-75k per year.

It's essentially a part time job with a lifetime pension (which should be illegal 'cause they're so irresponsible). They make more per hour than nurses. And EVERYONE wants to be a nurse.

 

[sayheykid1]

Hey,no one forced them to go into teaching.

I guess the old adage is true...Those that can do, those that can't,teach.

Most of the ones I know went into teaching because they are passionate about their profession.

Why hate on teachers?

 

[sayheykid1]

It's essentially a part time job with a lifetime pension (which should be illegal 'cause they're so irresponsible). They make more per hour than nurses. And EVERYONE wants to be a nurse.

How is it essentially a part time job? I know a lot of sales people and programmers that work from home and don't put in a lot of hours. I know people that worked the stock market that worked market hours.
Nurses might very well be poorly compensated.

 

[NinerSickness]

How is it essentially a part time job? I know a lot of sales people and programmers that work from home and don't put in a lot of hours. I know people that worked the stock market that worked market hours.

Ah yes the myseterious untraceable multitude of extra hours they put in. They're allotted time to grade papers & other back breaking things they do. They even get "teacher work days" where the kids don't go to school.

The get gold plated benefits and have a multitude of options to make extra income (coaching, summer school, tutoring, etc).

They work 160 days a year. That's a part time job. They benefit from the archaic structure of summers off for crop harvesting. Great idea for 2011.

Nurses might very well be poorly compensated.

Wow. Maybe on your planet; but here on earth it's the job everyone wants.

And it's funny that these two professions are ALWAYS the ones crying about their jobs. They make me sick.

By the way I'm going back to school to be a teacher. For the money. Just so y'know.

 

[NinerSickness]

Most of the ones I know went into teaching because they are passionate about their profession.

Why hate on teachers?

Because of the obscene amount of money they get for being glorified babysitters. Most public school teachers I've met in my life are some of the most useless, lazy complaining human beings I've ever met.

Public schools are obsolete. Most of the things one used to have to learn in a classroom or library can be learned on the internet. They should all be closed, and parents should be afforded a voucher for private or home schooling. In New Jersey that voucher would be $22K per student (the average amount spent per child because of the army of councelors, assistant principals & other burocrats (including landscapers & janitors they refuse to privatize). In California 50 cents of every tax dollar we pay goes to those institutions of waste. Imagine if they just gave $66K to a parent of 3 to home school 3 kids. 3 to 1 student to teacher ratio sounds pretty good to me.

Or they could take $22K & send 'em to a school that doesn't suck out loud like rich people get to do now (including the President of the United States). Maybe even split what's left over between the school & the parents so the school is motivated to be efficient and parents would hold 'em accountable. <------ Freeking brilliant idea!

Public school in 2011 is the dumbest idea since carpool lanes.

Oh and like 40% or so of high school kids drop out. If I had kids they'd be in junior college classes at age 13 because the material is so freeking easy.

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

Because of the obscene amount of money they get for being glorified babysitters. Most public school teachers I've met in my life are some of the most useless, lazy complaining human beings I've ever met.

Public schools are obsolete. Most of the things one used to have to learn in a classroom or library can be learned on the internet. They should all be closed, and parents should be afforded a voucher for private or home schooling. In New Jersey that voucher would be $22K per student (the average amount spent per child because of the army of councelors, assistant principals & other burocrats (including landscapers & janitors they refuse to privatize). In California 50 cents of every tax dollar we pay goes to those institutions of waste. Imagine if they just gave $66K to a parent of 3 to home school 3 kids. 3 to 1 student to teacher ratio sounds pretty good to me.

Or they could take $22K & send 'em to a school that doesn't suck out loud like rich people get to do now (including the President of the United States). Maybe even split what's left over between the school & the parents so the school is motivated to be efficient and parents would hold 'em accountable. <------ Freeking brilliant idea!

Public school in 2011 is the dumbest idea since carpool lanes.

Oh and like 40% or so of high school kids drop out. If I had kids they'd be in junior college classes at age 13 because the material is so freeking easy.

It is true that they don't have to teach anyone anything anymore. Everyone passes now because if they don't its because of the teacher can't reach them or the system is racist or some other bullshit. Its not the student's fault if he can't learn anymore. It's always someone else's fault.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Having guaranteed pensions that end up paying out what amounts to an extra $40K per year on the average lifespan (in California) is rough!

Working 160 days a year is rough!

Getting tenure after 2 years where they'll have a hard time firing you if you sell a child to sex traders is rough!

What sort of pension plans do doctors have?

Any teacher that doesn't work nights and weekends isn't a very good teacher. When I was teaching, I made at best about $12 an hour.

I absolutely agree that the unions provide too much protection for bad teachers. Though having taught several years at a private school with absolutely no job security from year to year, I can understand why those protections arose.