4 ms·

Her the description of the problems is vivid, detailed, and sadly not unfamiliar. This is largely separate from her suggestions as to what might solve the prob

by iguy 8y ago

Her the description of the problems is vivid, detailed, and sadly not unfamiliar. This is largely separate from her suggestions as to what might solve the problem, or at least reduce it. It's not obviously correct, but I wouldn't be too quick to write it off... she presumably thought about this for a while, and whether or not it would work, it communicates at least something about the students' mental state. I would be curious to hear what sort of system you think your hell-raising overclocker might have benefitted from. In some non-US systems, enough of this would eventually land you in a track which is pretty close to army boot-camp -- very very rigid with lots of focus on standing in line & saying "sir", none at all on french poetry. Do you think this would have improved his life (or that of his classmates)?

philipkglass 8y ago
He personally benefited from skipping the last year of high school and attending a university early. That was the first time in his life that he actually found school interesting more often than not. I could sympathize with that because I too thought that school was almost always a boring time-waster before I started attending a university; I almost didn't go because I found school so often pointless for the first 12 years. "Go to college early" is only a solution for a specific, unusual kind of troublemaker. I sympathize more with his teachers. His teachers and fellow students shouldn't have had to endure that behavior from him. Apparently many public school districts, whether poor or affluent, don't ensure that disruptive students can be removed from the classroom. That's what is necessary for teachers to actually teach. What to do with the disruptive students after they're removed from classrooms, I'm not qualified to speculate about. I'm just saying that leaving them in the classroom is also sabotaging all the students who did initially show up willing to learn, and it's hell for the teachers too.
- iguy 8y ago
  Thanks. I agree that those for whom "go to college early" is a solution must be a small minority, although they do exist. But I do wonder for how many more "do something meaningful" might be a solution. Guys perfectly qualified to be the bricklayer's apprentice... who we've decided must sit still in school until they're 18, even if it's a sad pretence of schooling.

by iguy 8y ago

philipkglass 8y ago

He personally benefited from skipping the last year of high school and attending a university early. That was the first time in his life that he actually found school interesting more often than not. I could sympathize with that because I too thought that school was almost always a boring time-waster before I started attending a university; I almost didn't go because I found school so often pointless for the first 12 years. "Go to college early" is only a solution for a specific, unusual kind of troublemaker. I sympathize more with his teachers. His teachers and fellow students shouldn't have had to endure that behavior from him. Apparently many public school districts, whether poor or affluent, don't ensure that disruptive students can be removed from the classroom. That's what is necessary for teachers to actually teach. What to do with the disruptive students after they're removed from classrooms, I'm not qualified to speculate about. I'm just saying that leaving them in the classroom is also sabotaging all the students who did initially show up willing to learn, and it's hell for the teachers too.

iguy 8y ago
Thanks. I agree that those for whom "go to college early" is a solution must be a small minority, although they do exist. But I do wonder for how many more "do something meaningful" might be a solution. Guys perfectly qualified to be the bricklayer's apprentice... who we've decided must sit still in school until they're 18, even if it's a sad pretence of schooling.