I was talking about religious, gender & racial intolerance when I said the Southern USA was in far worse shape ... not reading scores in schools.
Having lived in the Southern USA and having traveled to every state in the Southern USA, I think that it is unfair and incorrect to simply say that an entire region of a country is "in far worse shape" re "religious, gender & racial intolerance". Say that "religious, gender & racial intolerance" exists in parts of the US South due to the attitudes and actions of some people -- that may be correct, but it is also correct in most other regions of most other countries. Thus, just as you don't want to see places in AB or BC tarred with this sort of generalization, extend the same attitude to many people who live in the Southern USA.
__________________
Dr.G.
14" G4 iBook
15" MacBook Pro (July, 2009)
13" MacBooK Pro with Retina Display
Paix
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read these books." Mark Twain
"It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations – something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own." Katherine Patterson
__________________
Dr.G.
14" G4 iBook
15" MacBook Pro (July, 2009)
13" MacBooK Pro with Retina Display
Paix
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read these books." Mark Twain
"It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations – something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own." Katherine Patterson
A valid point, Macfury. I can only speak for literacy here in NL, and the emphasis now is upon critical understanding and the expression of these thoughts/ideas/feelings/understandings in an effective written manner. At least this is what I am teaching my pre and in-service teachers in my courses. Thus, students are able to understand what they are reading, able to make critical evaluations re this reading, and then express this deep-structure understanding in well-written sentences/paragraphs/essays (depending upon the age of the student).
However, for numeracy, the emphais here in NL is going away from "estimation" (getting close to the expected answer with the correct process) and more towards conceptual understanding and basic skill development. Thus, you understand the process of doing the math and are actually able to undertake this task without the aid of a calculator, which is only used to check one's math.
__________________
Dr.G.
14" G4 iBook
15" MacBook Pro (July, 2009)
13" MacBooK Pro with Retina Display
Paix
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read these books." Mark Twain
Location: Windsor, gateway to the world, but I can't find the damn key!
Posts: 4,233
This is certainly a cultural mine field...... It is amazing how generalisations can enhance myopia. First, I think it is an urban legend that the U.S. System is a collapsed house of card. It seems to me what we are acknowledging here is the generational gap that exist in the value of what is basic knowledge.
Our own country is not immune, and many times I am astounded at the lack of knowledge young people have..... I'm sure my parents felt the same.
As for religious beliefs and red neck conservatism, at little secret for you..... It isn't only a Southern thing. I also live near Michigan and I can tell you those beliefs are alive and well there..... As they are in Alberta, where the rest of my family lives.
At issue with the American system, I believe, and help me out here Dr. G, is that they have a much more fractured delivery than we do here. While we have a general curriculum set by the Provincial government, it is my understanding that it is at the county level in many states. This can not help provide consistency.
__________________
"Wouldn't you rather ride "in" the airplane?"
This is certainly a cultural mine field...... It is amazing how generalisations can enhance myopia. First, I think it is an urban legend that the U.S. System is a collapsed house of card. It seems to me what we are acknowledging here is the generational gap that exist in the value of what is basic knowledge.
Our own country is not immune, and many times I am astounded at the lack of knowledge young people have..... I'm sure my parents felt the same.
As for religious beliefs and red neck conservatism, at little secret for you..... It isn't only a Southern thing. I also live near Michigan and I can tell you those beliefs are alive and well there..... As they are in Alberta, where the rest of my family lives.
At issue with the American system, I believe, and help me out here Dr. G, is that they have a much more fractured delivery than we do here. While we have a general curriculum set by the Provincial government, it is my understanding that it is at the county level in many states. This can not help provide consistency.
True, Rps. I have taught in New York City, and there were district standards and curricula within these districts. When I taught in Waycross, GA, there were things being taught in the Waycross City School District that was not being taught in the Ware County School District. Today, it is even more "fractured".
Over the years since I left Georgia and came here to NL, I have kept in touch with a friend who just retired as a principal of a school about 45 miles outside of Atlanta. He keeps me informed as to the state of education in GA. Amazingly, Georgia went from being in the bottom five states re education test scores in literacy and numercy when I left back in 1977, to one of the top 10 states on these academic markers. They even implemented a program to pay for college and university education in a state college or university in Georgia if the student maintains a B average. So, every semester that a student gets a B average or better in full-time attendance, they get their tuition and fees credited back to him or her. This is being funded by the Georgia State Lottery that was set up to help fund the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. After the games made a profit, they used the money for education.
Still, you can go all over the US to find different standards and items that are included or excluded from the curriculum.
I strongly agree with your comment that "As for religious beliefs and red neck conservatism, at little secret for you..... It isn't only a Southern thing." Amen, Brother.
Paix, mon ami.
__________________
Dr.G.
14" G4 iBook
15" MacBook Pro (July, 2009)
13" MacBooK Pro with Retina Display
Paix
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read these books." Mark Twain
Linear Mode
