They finally let me in...

[JMAN_KC]

My first post...
Looking forward to talking to ALL Shox fans
Glad to be getting to see Shox in KC this year
Listening to Mike Kennedy on the internet is still only 2nd best option

GO SHOX

[ShockBand]

Sorry it took me a few days, JMAN, sometimes I get behind on approving new users when my school stuff gets busy. Remember, "I'm heer frum da guberment, an I heer to teech you're keeds." :)

[Maggie]

Remember, "I'm heer frum da guberment, an I heer to teech you're keeds." :)

Thanks ShockBand for clearing something up for me as I had a hard time believing this at first:

75 Percent of Oklahoma High School Students Can't Name the First President of the U.S.


I'm just kidding... ;-)

[SubGod22]

That is an amazing stat there Maggie. And quite sad.

[ShockBand]

Can't pin any Okie ineptitude on me! I've only taught here in Kansas. I'm always amazed at how much my middle school students know about trivial celebrity and sports stuff and how little about "real world" stuff. But at the MS level, it is still somewhat to be expected. At least most of my current classes seem to be doing well with our current unit on gears, gear mechanisms, gear ratios, torque and speed.

As for how the survey was done, I would of course want to see the deeper details about how the survey was constructed, etc. But it doesn't entirely surprise me, as with NCLB the focus is on math and reading, and social studies along with science, foreign language, and every co-curricular (like mine, pre-engineering and technology) gets pushed to the side. The concept of NCLB is noble, the implementation is terrible. If we don't figure that out soon, we might get better at taking these tests, but we'll kill our creativity and innovation and proceed to get our arses kicked economically by China and India (and who knows who else) in the 21st century.

[RoyalShock]

At the risk of going a little off-topic, it would seem the lack of emphasis on history and government in our schools is now being felt in the real world.

But back on topic, welcome to SN, JMAN!

[Maggie]

Can't pin any Okie ineptitude on me! I've only taught here in Kansas. I'm always amazed at how much my middle school students know about trivial celebrity and sports stuff and how little about "real world" stuff. But at the MS level, it is still somewhat to be expected. At least most of my current classes seem to be doing well with our current unit on gears, gear mechanisms, gear ratios, torque and speed.

As for how the survey was done, I would of course want to see the deeper details about how the survey was constructed, etc. But it doesn't entirely surprise me, as with NCLB the focus is on math and reading, and social studies along with science, foreign language, and every co-curricular (like mine, pre-engineering and technology) gets pushed to the side. The concept of NCLB is noble, the implementation is terrible. If we don't figure that out soon, we might get better at taking these tests, but we'll kill our creativity and innovation and proceed to get our arses kicked economically by China and India (and who knows who else) in the 21st century.

I was just joking around; I may have blinders on but have a hard time believing the results of that survey. Notwithstanding, the fact that it “does not entirely surprise" you bothers me.

As an aside, have you ever heard of Dr. Ben Chavis? His book, Crazy Like a Fox: One Principal's Triumph in the Inner City is an interesting read.

He took over a school in Oakland, California - an inner-city charter school composed almost exclusively of low-income minority students. By the time he stepped down, he had turned it into the fifth-highest-rated middle school in the state.

http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Like-Fox-Principals-Triumph/dp/0451228189/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253200769&sr=1-2

[Maggie]

But back on topic, welcome to SN, JMAN!

Welcome, JMAN and I apologize for high-jacking your maiden thread.

[JMAN_KC]

Anyone in BAND is a friend of mine (SHOCKBAND)...sorry but I couldn't get my daughter to visit WSU...she is now playing saxophone in Wildcat Jazz Band (and an honorary okie since she was born in Tulsa)...

Maggie; my wife is a teacher so any education issues are relevant

[ShockBand]

Can't pin any Okie ineptitude on me! I've only taught here in Kansas. I'm always amazed at how much my middle school students know about trivial celebrity and sports stuff and how little about "real world" stuff. But at the MS level, it is still somewhat to be expected. At least most of my current classes seem to be doing well with our current unit on gears, gear mechanisms, gear ratios, torque and speed.

As for how the survey was done, I would of course want to see the deeper details about how the survey was constructed, etc. But it doesn't entirely surprise me, as with NCLB the focus is on math and reading, and social studies along with science, foreign language, and every co-curricular (like mine, pre-engineering and technology) gets pushed to the side. The concept of NCLB is noble, the implementation is terrible. If we don't figure that out soon, we might get better at taking these tests, but we'll kill our creativity and innovation and proceed to get our arses kicked economically by China and India (and who knows who else) in the 21st century.

I was just joking around; I may have blinders on but have a hard time believing the results of that survey. Notwithstanding, the fact that it “does not entirely surprise" you bothers me.

As an aside, have you ever heard of Dr. Ben Chavis? His book, Crazy Like a Fox: One Principal's Triumph in the Inner City is an interesting read.

He took over a school in Oakland, California - an inner-city charter school composed almost exclusively of low-income minority students. By the time he stepped down, he had turned it into the fifth-highest-rated middle school in the state.

http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Like-Fox...3200769&sr=1-2

Oh, I know you were just joking around, and I too have some questions about the validity of the survey especially in terms of how it was administered, but once you get past the more bright and motivated kids, the rest just have little interest in anything other than "fun" stuff. Again, its not so surprising to see that at the MS level, but you would think and hope by your senior year in HS you would start looking at the wider world and how it works. But, there are a lot of adults that take little to no interest in the workings of government, making our representation less representative and more prone to whims of extremes.