Posted on 07/25/2006 8:10:42 AM PDT by Lovingthis
I came home from work one day to see my son with a weird Tinkertoy apparatus around his head. He made a Halo, just like a friend with a broken neck was wearing. The difference was that my son's halo was mounted with several guns. Cause that's how boys think and that's what boys do.
I have long said that the disappearance of the draft guaranteed that a lot of boys were denyed the opportunity to be around men and to learn how to become men. Sad.
If you read my post again, you will see that I never indicated one should not be inquisitive. Quite the contrary! But the assertion on the part of the author that a child should be allowed (without consequence) to be so disrespectful in a formal setting is an illustration of how parents are helping to degrade the very system they are condemning. Nor am I defending the public schools in every aspect. I happen to agree with the need for vouchers, for competition, and results oriented education.
I, too have several years of RECENT experience in the technology industry, as a design engineer. I can tell you that, though there is no perfect world, fighting is not encouraged, and we did our best work in arguing (amicably) over various solutions to problems. Of course "why's" are answered. Your argument seems to be that those of us who would not allow combattive behavior in the classroom are stifling the "why's". We are denying the free-flowing sand-box self-discovery made possible only by allowing any and all types of behavior despite their potential negative effects on the over-all classroom experience. Reminds me of one of my three education classes in the 1970's where "anything goes" was the way to enlighten children. I didn't buy it then, and don't buy it now.
"Why's" are crucial. Particularly if they concern the subject matter and why a device like a transistor behaves the way it does, etc. Why a student is required to do a specific type of assignment can be handled differently than the manner that was accepted as boy-like behavior in this article. He could have asked, "Mr. X, could you please explain the purpose of the assignment again?" If it appears that the teacher is giving bonehead assignments (I can think of a few like that my daughters had in high school in a super liberal teacher's history class), maybe if the student is an elementary or high school student the parents should get involved, and remove the teacher or make recommendations involving the curriculum. I did when my daughter reported lesbian promoting garbage being spewed in the class described above. But, I still think that encouraging a student to be disrepectful in a classroom in the name of "inquisitive behavior" or seeking the "why", is just pure bull.
With your industry experience, you know as well as I do this is a global economy. Most of our global competitors are not concentrating on teaching their children to be disrespectful and that such behavior should be tolerated. They are helping their children to master material required to take the reins in the world, and not to master in whining.
This is a great article. I read Sommers book, as well, several years ago and knew only too well how right she was. I went from over 30 years in medicine to teaching. I don't regret it, but I am sad at what I see in the public schools. Like Sommers and this author, I lay it squarely at the feet of the radical feminists.
I helped out in SpecEd at the military HS in Heidelberg and had a class full of very normal young men. When I asked one of them why such a bright guy was here, he was very truthful with me- he said "Because I don't wanna do the work." It was just that simple.
"I lay fault at the feet of these boys FATHERS for tolerating such folly."
one word, home schooling
ok that was two words but what do you expect from a publically educated guy
We have our daughter in a private Christian school so I don't relate to public school issues locally. Our daugher is the typical tomboy. Like you she must conform to the rules however asking questions is encouraged! It is important to mold their will but not destroy their spirit!
"It is important to mold their will but not destroy their spirit!"
THAT IS IT!
Why not to follow the principle of openness which help to dismantle Soviet union and speak the truth openly (but politely)?
When faced with such "zero tolerance", parents and students could tell in presence of other students and teachers that "It is good and patriotic to be interested in military and to consider joining army in the future! Trying to feminize boys comes from hatred toward men and is unpatriotic."
You can say it better, but the rule is that new PC tyrants are afraid of light, the more public you are more scared they will be.
I absolutely agree. I have a son who will complete night school. At this point I just want him out. I have only one son. The girls are fine-they are treated completely differently than my son.
I'm also the mother of a son, and I couldn't agree more. In fact, it seemed to ramp up and take on a life of it's own over the last decade, it wasn't quite so obvious in my small area when my son first started school.
I agree with the author, as well, except for this:
A female teacher, especially if she has no male children of her own, I’ve noticed, will tend to view boys’ penchant for challenging classroom assignments as disruptive, disrespectful—rude.
Having experience in the workings at my son's school and as a volunteer teacher, I find, after a decade (at least) of hammering it home, friends of mine who also volunteer, who also and coincidentally have sons only, many of them are just as bad or worse with what they view as 'disruptive'. In my own group, once I started - or shoould I say stopped! - focusing on the fidgeting and such, their overall behavior improved and we had a more productive class. We were originally instructed to 'stop' such behaviors because they were considered 'acting up'.
That's all my daughter dates (19) -- partly by choice. It's fool's gold. Young women think having a puppy dog for a boyfriend or a husband is more pleasant for them -- until they realize they need a man with a pair when the going gets tough.
As if we fathers control the schools, or the culture, or our crazy ex-wives.
And I disagree that the education monopoly is irrational. It's perfectly rational as far as acting in its own narrow interests is concerned, and the interest of the students be damned.
The "why" question is ALWAYS ASKED, and eventually, ALWAYS ANSWERED.
The current buzzword for this (at my current corporation, at least) is "root cause".
The WHY is always important. Technical problems that "fix themselves", will always come up again. When you ascertain the 'why' of an issue, it can be permanently addressed.
And bin Laden knew it. Groups of four -- outnmbered by at least ten to one and armed only with boxcutters -- caused the horror of September 11 while American men on four airliners sat by and let them do it.
Thank you for that, liberal PC feminists and their fellow travelers in "education".....
I thank God that I spent 5th thru 8th grades in a two room schoolhouse, 2 grades to a room, where we were taught reading, writing, arithmetic, history, geography, science, art and music by teachers who tolerated no nonsense. We were regularly tested for reading comprehension. We had recess twice a day with only a softball, bat and a football for equipment. We brought our lunch in a paper bag; there was no cafeteria, pool, gym, vending machines or any other extras. Best of all there was no teachers' union, the downfall of education, as far as I am concerned.
The punishment for misbehavior in the classroom was standing in the corner; we were told this the beginning of every school year. That was more humiliating than anything. Just the thought was enough; no student went over the line in those 5 years. Bottom line, the teacher was in charge, not the student nor the parents nor any outside organization. And common sense prevailed.
I would be home-schooling my children today.
What a sad commentary on the state of health care. Your son's friend is wearing a Halo made from TinkerToys? ;)
Hey! My husband is dyslexic too! He's worked very hard to overcome it and seemed to do better after playing "The Junior Phonics Game" with our son a few years ago. For some reason it seemed to really click with him!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1618525/posts?page=2696#2696
If it helped him it means that he is not dyslexic. It means that he cannot learn to read with the idiotic "look-and-say" "whole-word" method. He is perfectly normal.
"look-and-say" "whole-word" method is more fit for Chinese or Egyptian ideograms. Western alphabet which is designed to be phonetic and is one of the reasons why Western culture is superior to the Far East.
"look-and-say" "whole-word" method is the MAIN reason why Johnny can't read.
I hear that's still true of the Marines. Feminism, however, has taken a severe toll on the Army, or so I am told.
For instance, men and women do basic training together now in the Army, and the result has been a drastic decline in standards. Only special forces are now rigorously trained, or so say my sources.
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