Was this the norm in your school?

[Venus193]

Sophia, that's exactly what I would have said.  I really think that the whole "self-esteem" movement that happened in schools was an idea that was poorly conceived and more poorly executed.

End of digression; let's get back to the issue of cancelled lunch periods in favor of science labs.

I just remembered that AP sciences were double periods every day.  Those students had their lunch periods.  This doesn't mean that all AP kids took every subject that way; some were AP in English and History, others in math and the sciences.  It was a menu of options; not everyone wanted to become a nuclear physicist.

There needs to be a better way to hold science labs.

[twinkletoes]

This article blows my mind!

I graduated from a private high school in '99, and yes, we all had lunch breaks, which were scheduled during periods four through six; as they were during regular periods, that meant you would have about 50 minutes for your lunch break. 

While some of us may have used the time to go to the library to catch up on work, we at least had the *option* of doing so.  It's a long day as it is, especially if you were like me and were involved in a number of organizations that met before and after school.  And I'm not trying to negate anyone else's after-school curricular activities, but I ran cross-country - I needed to eat!

[Twik]

Why would anyone flame you?  It's considered quite normal and appropriate for students to be divided into, say, reading groups based on ability, so why NOT have different groups for gym? 

Unfortunately, freaky, if you ever take any "teaching methods" courses, you'll see why this is a classic "hot topic".

I remember one class we had to do group presentations on various teaching methods. It was interesting that when two women did the "mainstreaming" topic, they began by saying that at the start of their research, one had favoured it, and the other was opposed. By the end of their study, they had both flipped sides.

The thing that bothered me most about the theory, I admit, was the proponents' airy explanation of what the quicker students would be doing while the slower ones were getting the main part of the teacher's attention. "Oh, they'll be able to tutor the slower ones - that'll keep them busy and build their characters at the same time."

[MelJill]

The thing that bothered me most about the theory, I admit, was the proponents' airy explanation of what the quicker students would be doing while the slower ones were getting the main part of the teacher's attention. "Oh, they'll be able to tutor the slower ones - that'll keep them busy and build their characters at the same time."

That gets me steaming ... but then I was the quicker student back in the day ... and all it did was make me resent the slower students and did nothing to help them grasp the concept because I didn't understand then why it was so, it was just one of those self-evident things ...

For example--we were supposed to be learning fractions, and we had a figure in the book that showed nine total triangles, three of which were colored red and the other six were white.  Teacher asks the class what fraction is shaded red, I raise my hand and answer "One-third"  Teacher sputters and finally comes out with a sort of "Well, yes that is correct, but we're not ready for that.  Can someone else tell me what fraction is shaded red?"  (Correct answer being "Three-ninths" while I'm sitting there thinking "Why do you want to make it so complicated?)

[Venus193]

Can someone else tell me what fraction is shaded red?"  (Correct answer being "Three-ninths" while I'm sitting there thinking "Why do you want to make it so complicated?)

Any example like this would have really burnt my tail back in the day.

[Cz. Burrito]

For example--we were supposed to be learning fractions, and we had a figure in the book that showed nine total triangles, three of which were colored red and the other six were white.  Teacher asks the class what fraction is shaded red, I raise my hand and answer "One-third"  Teacher sputters and finally comes out with a sort of "Well, yes that is correct, but we're not ready for that.  Can someone else tell me what fraction is shaded red?"  (Correct answer being "Three-ninths" while I'm sitting there thinking "Why do you want to make it so complicated?)

My boyfriend had a similar story from when his class was learning about symmetry.  The teacher asked how many lines of symmetry there are in a circle, and my boyfriend raised his hand and said "infinity."  Of course, the teacher told him that he was wrong and that there were in fact 360 lines of symmetry.

[Athos_000]

I remember in 2nd grade they allowed students to skip levels so that those of us who were reading at an above grade level could read what we wanted to, while other students could read the assigned things. By the time I was in high school I was the "smart kid" who the teachers made tutor the slower ones during class (why oh why do they do this?). Nothing irritated me more than a lazy student just eeking by doing the minimum while I had to "help" them. Most of the time it was some star athlete. If Johnny didn't pass English because he didn't do his homework, he couldn't wrestle in the tournament, can't have that, so Athos you can help him get his work done in class. Bah!

If I was allowed to help students who really needed it, I wouldn't have minded. My HS had limited mainstreaming. Most of the kids with real learning problems had their own classes, and the few that were in regular classes never had classes with me.

[melodrama]

I really think the gym classes should be divided up into the athletic people and the non-athletic people - perhaps that way the competitive crazies can do their thing and those of us who aren't that great at sports can play and still have some kind of fun without the inflated-ego athletes ruling the court or the field.

We had this, and I loved it.  (I'm also the one from the state-mandated PE all for all 4 years school)

I think 9th and 10th grade PE was all combined, but 11th and 12th I got to take "Lifestyle Sports" which was PE for the athletically challenged.  We still had to run the mile and do the Presidential Fitness stuff, but the rest of the year was all golf, badminton, CPR and fun stuff.  Two days a week we'd go down to the weight room and you could either walk the track or ride the bikes if you didn't want to lift weights.  All of my slacker friends were in the class with me, and our teacher was really laid back and didn't expect us all to be star athletes.  It still wasn't my favorite part of the day, but it was as nice as PE class can be.

[Sophia]

I am sooo jealous.   

[freakyfemme]

The thing that bothered me most about the theory, I admit, was the proponents' airy explanation of what the quicker students would be doing while the slower ones were getting the main part of the teacher's attention. "Oh, they'll be able to tutor the slower ones - that'll keep them busy and build their characters at the same time."

That gets me steaming ... but then I was the quicker student back in the day ... and all it did was make me resent the slower students and did nothing to help them grasp the concept because I didn't understand then why it was so, it was just one of those self-evident things ...

For example--we were supposed to be learning fractions, and we had a figure in the book that showed nine total triangles, three of which were colored red and the other six were white.  Teacher asks the class what fraction is shaded red, I raise my hand and answer "One-third"  Teacher sputters and finally comes out with a sort of "Well, yes that is correct, but we're not ready for that.  Can someone else tell me what fraction is shaded red?"  (Correct answer being "Three-ninths" while I'm sitting there thinking "Why do you want to make it so complicated?)

I think that happened to me at one point too.

[shadowfox79]

The thing that bothered me most about the theory, I admit, was the proponents' airy explanation of what the quicker students would be doing while the slower ones were getting the main part of the teacher's attention. "Oh, they'll be able to tutor the slower ones - that'll keep them busy and build their characters at the same time."

That gets me steaming ... but then I was the quicker student back in the day ... and all it did was make me resent the slower students and did nothing to help them grasp the concept because I didn't understand then why it was so, it was just one of those self-evident things ...

For example--we were supposed to be learning fractions, and we had a figure in the book that showed nine total triangles, three of which were colored red and the other six were white.  Teacher asks the class what fraction is shaded red, I raise my hand and answer "One-third"  Teacher sputters and finally comes out with a sort of "Well, yes that is correct, but we're not ready for that.  Can someone else tell me what fraction is shaded red?"  (Correct answer being "Three-ninths" while I'm sitting there thinking "Why do you want to make it so complicated?)

Gah! I encountered this attitude all the time at school. I spent the whole of primary school being deliberately held back so that I wouldn't get too far ahead of the others (my teachers freely admitted this, as they thought they were correct). I was marked down for using English that was too advanced, such as stacking lines of dialogue instead of adding "he said, she said" to the end of everything. By the time I reached high school, I had learned that showing the extent of my intelligence just got me into trouble, so it took me a loooong time to get over that mindset and actually start working to my full ability. I still catch myself pretending to be dumber than I am.

[Venus193]

By the time I reached high school, I had learned that showing the extent of my intelligence just got me into trouble, so it took me a loooong time to get over that mindset and actually start working to my full ability. I still catch myself pretending to be dumber than I am.

That's sad.  While I didn't take all the advanced courses I could have in high school, I refused to appear to be less intelligent than I was.  I figured that anyone who couldn't deal with my intelligence wasn't worth bothering with.

[shadowfox79]

By the time I reached high school, I had learned that showing the extent of my intelligence just got me into trouble, so it took me a loooong time to get over that mindset and actually start working to my full ability. I still catch myself pretending to be dumber than I am.

That's sad.  While I didn't take all the advanced courses I could have in high school, I refused to appear to be less intelligent than I was.  I figured that anyone who couldn't deal with my intelligence wasn't worth bothering with.

I will say that, in some situations, covering my intelligence has given me a distinct advantage. But it isn't the right way to go about things, I admit. However, when you have had teachers punish you for being too advanced, it takes a while to get over the idea that intelligence is something to be hidden (not to be ashamed of, though - I've always valued it).

[Venus193]

However, when you have had teachers punish you for being too advanced, it takes a while to get over the idea that intelligence is something to be hidden (not to be ashamed of, though - I've always valued it).

They should have had their teaching licenses revoked.