From: werme@alliant.com (Ric Werme)
Newsgroups: rec.org.mensa
Subject: Re: Student: Teach Thyself
Date: 19 Aug 92 19:01:27 GMT
Article-I.D.: alliant.1992Aug19.190127.5070
Distribution: na
Organization: Alliant Computer Systems Corp.

In article <Bt8K1E.6sq@world.std.com> rhs@world.std.com (Richard H Schwartz) writes:
>werme@alliant.com (Ric Werme) writes:
>>I don't see how encouraging children to score well on tests encourages
>>students to do anything but cram for tests.
>
>I suppose schools could encourage students *not* to do well on tests in
>order to discourage cramming.  
>
>Seriously, how do you expect schools to do it?  De-emphasize testing?  (In
>favor of what?)  Testing only on an un-announced basis?  

I don't have a good answer.  It wasn't until I was a senior that I realized
that many students' goals seemed to be to get as high a class rank as possible.
After acceptance by college, they often cut their course load back to just the
required courses.  I kept a full schedule and seemed to enjoy school a bunch
more than they did.

>>Hmm.  Can't think of anything good right offhand.  Mensans (et al!): any
>>ideas?  Ah - just remembered.  The school is into integrating various
>>subjects.  There's a senior seminar that involves biology and english.
>>It will cover enviromental literature.
>
>And you say that history was too political! :-)

I heard a report of one school that showed to grade schoolers a film of a
pastoral scene which changes as men with chain saws come to clear and
a bulldozer (filmed from a low height) comes to drain the pond.  Finally
the area is burned and the critters that are left flee or fry.

Something interesting is going on.

>>What was Pournelle/Niven's takeoff on Dante's
>>Inferno?
>
>Several of Pournelle's monthly columns in Byte have approached it :-)

I wonder if Scott Tai is Pournelle's alter ego :-) :-)

>>Oh no!  Go read that article in misc.education I mentioned in a previous
>>post.  Doing away with ability grouping is in vogue today!  

>Doing away with, or limiting?  My understanding of what's in vogue is that
>ability grouping for some subjects and in upper grades is still considered
>permissable.  And it is just plain common sense that heterogenous grouping
>can not be successfully imposed on students in upper grades who have 
>already been ability-grouped in lower grades.  I would read anything that
>advocates across-the-board implementation as being politically (and
>probably budgetarily) motivated.

Doing away with, and touted as improving the system.  Teachers will
assign extra work to bright students' portfolios and the adminstration
states that all students will be challenged to the limits of their
abilities.  It's just plain common sense!  I guess the Seniors won't
be too impacted, the school is working on something that will take a
year or so to merge the ability grouped people into the heterogeneous
classes.  Feel like driving up to Hew Hampster and telling the school
board that their plans can't work?  Monday nights at 1930.
-- 
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