4 ms·

> On the other hand, teaching is an innate human capability, and a big part of what makes us humans. I've spent my whole career "teaching" in that sense. Expl

by mlyle 4y ago

> On the other hand, teaching is an innate human capability, and a big part of what makes us humans. I've spent my whole career "teaching" in that sense. Explaining things, mentoring junior engineers, etc. There's definitely skill transfer from that, but it's a bit different of a thing to try and take 25 12-year olds of vastly different backgrounds and ability for a year and get most of them to master a given curriculum.

WalterBright 4y ago
Yes, it's different, and it's a LOT slower, as the teacher goes over it again and again and again and again and zzzzzzzz...... I missed the first 3 months of 4th grade. The teacher told my mom that they had advanced very quickly, and I could never catch up. I would have to be put back in 3rd grade. My mom said nope, Walter is going in 4th grade. It was as if I wasn't gone a day. 4th grade had not advanced one iota. Not much to show for 30 hours of instruction per week for three months. College was a bit different. They blew through 2 years of high school physics in a couple of lectures. This was a tremendous shock to me, and frankly terrifying. I learned I could not afford to miss one lecture, or even be late, let alone 3 months of them.
- mlyle 4y ago
  > Yes, it's different, and it's a LOT slower, as the teacher goes over it again and again and again and again and zzzzzzzz...... Three things: * The normal pace anywhere -- even most colleges that are not CalTech or MIT -- is for chumps. It's slow so that everyone can keep up. * On the other hand, I don't think your experience is representative of current middle class (and above) schools. Students complete a whole lot of what was previously considered college curriculum before graduating. Many of the students at my school graduate with >1 year of college credit, and this is despite the non-remedial curriculum floor in colleges moving up from decades ago. * I don't think you can generalize your experience. You are very intelligent. Your experience (and mine) are not representative of overall student performance or problems.

by mlyle 4y ago

WalterBright 4y ago

Yes, it's different, and it's a LOT slower, as the teacher goes over it again and again and again and again and zzzzzzzz...... I missed the first 3 months of 4th grade. The teacher told my mom that they had advanced very quickly, and I could never catch up. I would have to be put back in 3rd grade. My mom said nope, Walter is going in 4th grade. It was as if I wasn't gone a day. 4th grade had not advanced one iota. Not much to show for 30 hours of instruction per week for three months. College was a bit different. They blew through 2 years of high school physics in a couple of lectures. This was a tremendous shock to me, and frankly terrifying. I learned I could not afford to miss one lecture, or even be late, let alone 3 months of them.

mlyle 4y ago
> Yes, it's different, and it's a LOT slower, as the teacher goes over it again and again and again and again and zzzzzzzz...... Three things: * The normal pace anywhere -- even most colleges that are not CalTech or MIT -- is for chumps. It's slow so that everyone can keep up. * On the other hand, I don't think your experience is representative of current middle class (and above) schools. Students complete a whole lot of what was previously considered college curriculum before graduating. Many of the students at my school graduate with >1 year of college credit, and this is despite the non-remedial curriculum floor in colleges moving up from decades ago. * I don't think you can generalize your experience. You are very intelligent. Your experience (and mine) are not representative of overall student performance or problems.