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>high schoolers who couldn't subtract, and weren't about to learn to, because they are completely burnt out on the concept from having it attempted to be taught

>high schoolers who couldn't subtract, and weren't about to learn to, because they are completely burnt out on the concept from having it attempted to be taught to them year after year. Sorry, but what in the actual fuck kind of excuse is this?

qeternity 3y ago
Imagine trying to teach students year after year. Disgusting. /s
- morkalork 3y ago
  Imagine highschoolers being too burnt out from failing to learn subtraction to learn subtraction. OP's comment reeks of the soft racism of low expectations.
  - colanderman 3y ago
    You don't know anything about me, the school I worked at, or the kids I worked with. These are kids who we were lucky to have show up to class each day, each failed by the traditional school system in some way. So rather than force feed them material they hated and knew they hated because they didn't get it before and were now so far behind they felt like failures, we taught them material which was at their grade level that didn't depend on areas they struggled with and was interesting to them.
notmyuserlogin 3y ago
My youngest is in honors algebra. Can't multiply or divide to save himself. My wife and I are both teachers. No amount of flashcards, extra work, summer tutoring can get it to stick. But Algebra he can do. If you ask him to multiply or divide by hand he gets derailed loses the big picture and can't move forward. So I don't know what percentage of students have this kind of problem. But they are certainly out there.
- colanderman 3y ago
  Exactly. They're different skills, and mental "scar tissue" can build up in one subject if someone repeatedly has trouble with it even for reasons unrelated to them as a person. My experience is somewhat slanted as the context I worked on was a charter high school for students who were being failed by traditional schools for one reason or another. This meant I saw a high percentage of students who (almost by definition) struggled with elementary and middle school subjects, yet were perfectly capable learners when their individual learning styles were accounted for.
- snypher 3y ago
  I still can't add 43 + 7 that quickly but would say I have a decent grasp of algebra. Maybe I leant too heavily on a calculator at school.
colanderman 3y ago
I'm speaking from experience. The kids I've worked with who struggle here protest loudly any attempt to "return to basics" because they have done that every year from 4th to 10th grade without success and by that age see it as infantilizing. As to why any individual struggled in the first place is different for every kid. But scar tissue around the subject builds year after year until it's painful for them to return to the subject.

qeternity 3y ago

Imagine trying to teach students year after year. Disgusting. /s

morkalork 3y ago
Imagine highschoolers being too burnt out from failing to learn subtraction to learn subtraction. OP's comment reeks of the soft racism of low expectations.
- colanderman 3y ago
  You don't know anything about me, the school I worked at, or the kids I worked with. These are kids who we were lucky to have show up to class each day, each failed by the traditional school system in some way. So rather than force feed them material they hated and knew they hated because they didn't get it before and were now so far behind they felt like failures, we taught them material which was at their grade level that didn't depend on areas they struggled with and was interesting to them.

notmyuserlogin 3y ago

My youngest is in honors algebra. Can't multiply or divide to save himself. My wife and I are both teachers. No amount of flashcards, extra work, summer tutoring can get it to stick. But Algebra he can do. If you ask him to multiply or divide by hand he gets derailed loses the big picture and can't move forward. So I don't know what percentage of students have this kind of problem. But they are certainly out there.

colanderman 3y ago
Exactly. They're different skills, and mental "scar tissue" can build up in one subject if someone repeatedly has trouble with it even for reasons unrelated to them as a person. My experience is somewhat slanted as the context I worked on was a charter high school for students who were being failed by traditional schools for one reason or another. This meant I saw a high percentage of students who (almost by definition) struggled with elementary and middle school subjects, yet were perfectly capable learners when their individual learning styles were accounted for.
snypher 3y ago
I still can't add 43 + 7 that quickly but would say I have a decent grasp of algebra. Maybe I leant too heavily on a calculator at school.

colanderman 3y ago

I'm speaking from experience. The kids I've worked with who struggle here protest loudly any attempt to "return to basics" because they have done that every year from 4th to 10th grade without success and by that age see it as infantilizing. As to why any individual struggled in the first place is different for every kid. But scar tissue around the subject builds year after year until it's painful for them to return to the subject.