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I remember my parents being upset at my awful handwriting (and yeah, it hurts my hand, too) and them making me practice a lot during the summer between 4th and

I remember my parents being upset at my awful handwriting (and yeah, it hurts my hand, too) and them making me practice a lot during the summer between 4th and 5th grade. My writing got worse. And then in 5th grade, one of the teachers decided that I needed more practice, and did the same thing. And guess what? I got even worse. It turns out that you can't actually force someone to write better, you can just cause them more pain.

CharlieDigital 4y ago
I'm a strong believer that we're not all wired the same way and thus we can't all learn the same way. Unfortunately, unless one is born with the resources to pursue a truly individualized education, our education system is designed to benefit the most number of students with the lowest cost to implement. A classroom with 12:1 student to teacher ratio will surely be more effective than a classroom with 24:1, but are you willing to increase your property taxes to hire 2x the number of teachers? Indeed, many students like yourself will not progress optimally in such a system, but perhaps until AI develops to the extent that we can have a fully individual educational experience that kids can actually adhere to (having seen my 4 year old on Zoom lessons, I think we're a ways off even if AI can build a personalized curricula), there will be students that cannot grow optimally under a "normalized" education system designed for mass efficiency,
- PaulHoule 4y ago
  It would be cheap, however, to let kids opt out of painful activities. I was always happy to read a book and entertain myself as I was reading at an adult level at age 6. It's expensive, on the other hand, for the teacher to pick a fight about it.
  - CharlieDigital 4y ago
    You can't really develop fine motor skills and dexterity in your wrist and fingers from reading a book. They are two different types of neurological engagement. I hear you: not every child develops dexterity and control of their musculature at the same time and same pace. In fact, some people may have musculoskeletal structures that simply will not allow them to develop high levels of fine motor control. But our education system is designed to train as many students as practical with the least amount of cost.

CharlieDigital 4y ago

I'm a strong believer that we're not all wired the same way and thus we can't all learn the same way. Unfortunately, unless one is born with the resources to pursue a truly individualized education, our education system is designed to benefit the most number of students with the lowest cost to implement. A classroom with 12:1 student to teacher ratio will surely be more effective than a classroom with 24:1, but are you willing to increase your property taxes to hire 2x the number of teachers? Indeed, many students like yourself will not progress optimally in such a system, but perhaps until AI develops to the extent that we can have a fully individual educational experience that kids can actually adhere to (having seen my 4 year old on Zoom lessons, I think we're a ways off even if AI can build a personalized curricula), there will be students that cannot grow optimally under a "normalized" education system designed for mass efficiency,

PaulHoule 4y ago
It would be cheap, however, to let kids opt out of painful activities. I was always happy to read a book and entertain myself as I was reading at an adult level at age 6. It's expensive, on the other hand, for the teacher to pick a fight about it.
- CharlieDigital 4y ago
  You can't really develop fine motor skills and dexterity in your wrist and fingers from reading a book. They are two different types of neurological engagement. I hear you: not every child develops dexterity and control of their musculature at the same time and same pace. In fact, some people may have musculoskeletal structures that simply will not allow them to develop high levels of fine motor control. But our education system is designed to train as many students as practical with the least amount of cost.