If you've worked with little kids, one of the first things you notice is that almost every single one of them really, really wants to learn.
But somehow, during about K-4th grade, most of the kids in the US educational system seem to have that crushed out of them.
Personally, I don't think the schools are wholly to blame. Quite a lot of it is cultural. Kids learn early -- from TV, from movies, and even from books -- that it's cool to be ignorant, it's cool to be a wiseass, but it's never cool to be a nerd
Didn't work for my kids... they see my wife and me almost constantly reading (even if a lot of it is on the Internet) and they are exposed to our interests in learning. In addition to being the ubiquitous (for/.) computer nerd, I also spend a lot of time reading physics and math. My wife loves history and even gives tours at the nearby Civil War battlefield. Our kids have the typical interests of kids (video games, Pokemon, etc), but are also very interested in science and history (among other things) because they get exposed to it. My oldest son (10) wants to be a scientist/inventor and my second oldest (8) wants to be a marine biologist and/or an astronaut. Granted we are not the typical family but neither are we those high-pressure overachieving types. The real culture that affects kids at that age is at home. I know by time I was old enough to be exposed to significant peer pressure, I was perfectly comfortable with the idea of being a nerd and enjoying learning because that's the way I was raised.
Yeah, but my kid devours books about sharks, whales, and also dinosaurs. He's probably checked out almost every book in the school library on those topics over the past couple years.
I spent years getting my full intellect back from the damage done it in the schools, despite all the parental enrichment.
Like you, they didn't take what was going on in school seriously. They thought the worst thing that could happen in school is that we'd fail to be taught. It for some reason didn't dawn on them that we'd be negatively trained by the experience, and that would undermine their positive example.
In my high school (Great Falls MT, class of 1972) the school heroes were the nerds and geeks. EVERYONE knew who they were and wanted to be like them (and it had been that way since grade school). GFHS had a big sports program and were state champs in football, wrestling, and several other sports, but sports heroes still took a back seat to the geeks. (And sometimes they WERE the geeks.)
I don't think it's coincidence that in my class (some 572 of 1500 total students) there were only two dropouts. Nor coinci
I have a close friend stationed at the Air Force missile base near Great Falls, and from his tales, Great Falls, MT is a totally backwards, depressed area of the US due to little in the way of high-paying jobs. Thus, it makes complete sense that the brightest and most well-read kids were the "cool" ones out there. I would assume becoming edumacated to get yourself OUT of Great Falls would be a wonderful reward indeed!;)
Yeah, the job market in Montana is pretty limited. Great Falls is a farm/freight hub and Air Force town (during the Cold War it was the #2 target in North America, due to being NORAD's backup HQ), and that about covers everything you'll find there.
OTOH, housing costs haven't skyrocketed to the degree they have in trendy parts of the country (the average middleclass home still has a nice roomy YARD, too, which I consider an important asset in raising well-adjusted kids), and while there are very few rich, t
Yes, if the parents read, and in fact keep books in the house, it's obviously the case that the children will be readers themselves. I've noticed a correlation in this regard between dumbass parents and dumbass kids. Of course, a parent who doesn't read and regularly zones in front of the TV isn't likely to understand that they are condemning their kids to the same fate -- a life of lost potential and fatal regret.
Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. Second marriage is
the triumph of hope over experience.
The guy has a point (Score:5, Insightful)
But somehow, during about K-4th grade, most of the kids in the US educational system seem to have that crushed out of them.
Personally, I don't think the schools are wholly to blame. Quite a lot of it is cultural. Kids learn early -- from TV, from movies, and even from books -- that it's cool to be ignorant, it's cool to be a wiseass, but it's never cool to be a nerd
Re:The guy has a point (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:The guy has a point (Score:2)
So did George Costanza.
Re:The guy has a point (Score:2)
Re:The guy has a point (Score:2)
Yeah, my parents thought like that, too. :/
I spent years getting my full intellect back from the damage done it in the schools, despite all the parental enrichment.
Like you, they didn't take what was going on in school seriously. They thought the worst thing that could happen in school is that we'd fail to be taught. It for some reason didn't dawn on them that we'd be negatively trained by the experience, and that would undermine their positive example.
Re:The guy has a point (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't think it's coincidence that in my class (some 572 of 1500 total students) there were only two dropouts. Nor coinci
Re:The guy has a point (Score:1)
Re:The guy has a point (Score:2)
OTOH, housing costs haven't skyrocketed to the degree they have in trendy parts of the country (the average middleclass home still has a nice roomy YARD, too, which I consider an important asset in raising well-adjusted kids), and while there are very few rich, t
Re:The guy has a point (Score:2)