The saga of the wooden San Jose Schools BATHROOM PASS continues

That sounds like a lot too long to keep students at a desk. Half hour to 45 mins would make more sense. Need to get up and walk around. I don't think this sounds practical.

- . Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon
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We had communal showers at the school when I was in middle school, and 7th grade. I hope no one was taking pictures of myself and a bunch of naked 12 year old boys.

Someday I'll have to ask, at a school reunion. If someone did take pictures of a bunch of naked 12 year old boys in a communal shower, were you asking for copies of the pictures sent to you?

- . Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

That's about the same size as our HS. I can't believe any principal would be so stupid as to believe classrooms could be emptied, people jam halls, all mixing on their way to the next class, and file into the next class in 3 minutes, particularly when the clocks don't work (ours almost always did - Simplex and IBM, same clocks). Add to that the "need" for bathroom passes, and he must have been someone current administrations could look up to.

Reply to
krw

+1

An hour is about all one can expect for an attention span. My son had classes that went two hours but they were really a combination of two (English and history, or some the like). They were combined classes with about twice the size, with two teachers. They had plenty of breaks and changes of topics during the classes.

Add in the current ADD "epidemic" and it can't work.

Reply to
krw

Hmm, perhaps you're not Abe. Et tu Brute? ;-)

Reply to
krw

He was a liberal loon. You couldn't get from one end of the campus to the other in three minutes, with the crowded hallways. I averaged 4:15 from science class, to electronics, then 4:00 back to the new wing for the next class.

This was an IBM clock system, but parts of it were over 50 years old. The oldest part of the school was built in the 1800s.

Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

That situation didn't last. Everyone was pissed off about it, and I'm sure that the school board heard from a lot of parents over it.

Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

Stormin Mormon wrote, on Sat, 01 Nov 2014 08:59:41 -0400:

As a matter of fact, the teacher (who is brand new to teaching) asked me for advice on how to keep the kids *engaged* for the entire hour and forty five minutes.

She, knowing I'm good at googling, asked me to find some math games, and I also gave her a big bag of extra Halloween chocolate I had bought, which she is going to use to "reward" the kids when she catches them being good.

She also knows my strong feeling that math isn't taught correctly, which is a very long story, but the short of it is that math needs to be taught from the practical problem standpoint.

For example, I suggested she think from the perspective of two kids throwing rocks into a lake. What happens, mathematically. Or two kids trying to kick a soccer ball into a net, while clearing the height of the other kids. Things like that might keep the kids engaged, if, I suggested, she *start* a problem that the kids might be interested in, and then, working backwards, she bring in the math, and, in the end, the equation and graphs (and, ug, proofs).

I told her to think of all the math that applies to that problem (or any problem involving two kids trying to figure something out that two kids would want to figure out), and to teach that way. She told me that is a *lot* of work, and I did not disagree.

So, that might take years.

In the meantime, there are always the math games we found, which might help to exercise the kids' bodies, every 30 minutes, for a five-minute game.

Reply to
Danny D.

J Burns wrote, on Sat, 01 Nov 2014 18:11:42 -0400:

I almost never had to go to gym, because I was on sports year round. So, I missed that experience.

However, if you've ever *smelled* the varsity locker room, you'll know the meaning of "gym socks" all too well!

Reply to
Danny D.

Along those lines...

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Saw this article in other publications too...

Reply to
John Grossbohlin

You would have been safe at our school. Strict policy against knives in the shower. Most blades were carbon steel, which could rust.

Reply to
J Burns

John Grossbohlin wrote, on Sat, 01 Nov 2014 19:19:24 -0400:

Here's a quick four-sentence takeaway ...

  1. Those classes were short, at only 1 hour and 15 minutes.
  2. Students don't move about, once in class.
  3. It's mostly lecture.
  4. The kids are constantly chastised.
Reply to
Danny D.

Bill wrote, on Sat, 01 Nov 2014 18:19:12 -0400:

I did help her create some worksheets, as she was unfamiliar with manipulating Microsoft Office to make graphs.

I ended up making tables, and it took a while to figure out how to make the boxes the same with and length, and then how to add the x and y axis, as I couldn't get the tables to "group" with the drawn axis even myself.

In the end, I gave up on Microsoft Word simply because I couldn't get the non-groupable items to move together, as a single unit, when text was changed.

So, I opted for PowerPoint, instead of Word, and made a few templates for her for her worksheets. She put the kids in groups, and they moved the chairs together (forcing them to stand up) and they worked together.

That gives the kids "some" exercise.

Reply to
Danny D.

Yeah! What was I supposed to do in a 50-minute lecture when my attention span was under a minute? The fact that lectures were endless repetition showed that teachers knew we were unable to pay attention. They were putting us in a position where we had to sit still and pretend to pay attention all day long.

Each teacher would proudly tell us how many hours we were expected to spend on daily homework for that class. Add it up, and if you did nothing but attend classes and do your homework, there might be time for

4 hours' sleep at night.

It sure seemed abusive to me, but this article says teachers really are that stupid.

Reply to
J Burns

That's seriously incredible. What a major learning moment. And to think, schools over the whole great nation do that to kids every school day? Time for the peasants to start a number two pencil revolt. You have nothing to lose but your desks in rows!

- . Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Mikw Marlow: If you are so wise let's hear your solutions to each case where you kvetched. There are several, let's hear what you would have the teacher/school do.

?-/

Reply to
josephkk

It largely is/was since the 1970s. I saw it, i was there. About mid

2001 decade the parental rebellion about no schools for performance started to get results. So far only tokenism such as charter schools. Real reform won't happen until the teachers unions are broken. Which requires a society of responsibility for your actions. Not something to hold your breath for.

?-)

Reply to
josephkk

And dont mind being an aso.

Reply to
Sjouke Burry

foolishness.

I post to suit me.

?-)

Reply to
josephkk

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