NPR: Teens aren’t challenged or prepared.
Morning Edition on NPR did a segment about a survey showing that teens don’t feel that school challenges or prepares them.
The NPR segment isn’t very interesting, but the discussion on the Teacher forum on Reddit is. Here is the post that introduces the NPR segment.
If history was taught like this, I would have paid attention.
The Youtube channel, Flappr, covers real history with sarcasm and a 1950’s aesthetic. The archival film is excellent, but the humor occasionally goes too far.
At North Royalton, the Special Ed department would go around with some of their students to refill the pop machines. It gave the students a way to feel like they were contributing and helped them with practical skills.
One day, as I was leaving cafeteria duty, one of the differently-tarded students hailed me.
“Mr. Nestoff, do you want to hear a joke?”
He was given a joke book for his birthday, and was pretty happy about it.
“I really do. Tell me a joke.”
“What do you call a sick pig?”
I should be able to get this, but I was stumped.
Every few years, I would get an exchange student. One year, it was a German girl. She was friendly, easy-going and got along well with everyone. It was the last day before Christmas Break, so just before the bell, I made my standard pre-break salutation.
Top students can benefit greatly by being offered the subject early. But many districts offer few Black and Latino eighth graders a chance to study it.
This is why Progressives should never be put in charge of anything, ever. It doesn’t matter how well they speak, how nice they look or what degrees they have, they can only destroy. The issue is whether or not advanced students should have the option of taking Algebra in eight grade. Most students take it in ninth.
Do bias and inequality keep Black and Latino children off the fast track? Should middle schools eliminate algebra to level the playing field? What if standout pupils lose the chance to challenge themselves?
This article in the WSJ pisses me off because the only reason public schools function at all is the integrity of teachers. Normandy and North Royalton had a few teachers who were layabouts or reprobates, but the vast majority thought that their subject was important and intended to hold their students accountable.
Teachers’ grading practices have changed and students’ grades have drifted up in recent years, a pandemic-era legacy that is being met with mixed reaction from educators across the country.
Grade inflation has been an issue for decades. Parents, students and administrators are generally in favor of grade inflation, with teachers trying to hold the line on accountability. A few teachers fold under the pressure.
WSJ: Campus Protestors Unmasked
WSJ: Campus Protestors Unmasked
In a letter to university presidents last week, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost reminded them that the state has a law against those who use masks to disguise their identity.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama, NBA icon Lebron James and Olympic gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps were some of the blockbuster names recommended by students, staff and faculty for the Spring 2024 Ohio State commencement.
Those three guys have the national prominence and stature appropriate for a commencement speaker at the third largest university in the country. For the pedantic, I mean by student enrollment at a single campus.
The last Spring commencement speaker to be recommended by the advisory committee and be chosen in the same year was Apple CEO Tim Cook, who delivered the speech virtually in 2020.
The last university president was incompetent and had an agenda, so chose speakers who weren’t suggested by the advisory committee. All the speakers recommended by the advisory committee aren’t winners, but it’s a plausible list. I don’t know what Morgan Freeman would have to say, but it would sound terrific.
A friend’s daughter graduated from OSU last weekend, so we made it a camping trip to Alum Creek State Park. I didn’t attend commencement, but the graduate came out to the campground afterward.
I graduated from OSU a long time ago, and know it’s a big and tedious affair. It usually isn’t so bizarre. While the graduates were processing in, someone fell from the stadium and died. Some of the graduates saw it happen. That doesn’t usually happen.
Ohio State is a big and well-regarded university. Commencement speakers are occasionally important people, but they are always competent and boring. Not this year. When the graduate told me there were two sing-alongs, that clinched it.
The commencement speaker for Ohio State University’s graduation this past weekend admitted to being high on psychedelic drugs, including ayahuasca. It’s why his speech went quickly off the rails.
I asked the graduate if OSU’s president was a diversity hire. Clearly the speaker was a bad choice and the speech hadn’t been vetted. The graduate said, “No, the last president was, but this one is pretty good.”
Yesterday, OSU President Carter said that he had nothing to do with selecting Pan as the speaker and that the process was “underway before he became President.”
“I did not review his speech. I did not know what he really was going to speak about, and again, it wouldn’t matter because once he gets the microphone, he’s got the microphone. It was certainly an interesting speech. I would say very nontraditional. There were some that liked it and a lot that didn’t,” Carter added.
I like how OSU’s president doesn’t try to defend the speech and wants to be clear that he had nothing to do with it. He sounds competent.
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