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> In contrast, the 2024 curriculum for eighth graders focuses on critical thinking, problem-solving, and the application of concepts rather than pure memorizati

> In contrast, the 2024 curriculum for eighth graders focuses on critical thinking, problem-solving, and the application of concepts rather than pure memorization. Modern eighth-grade assessments tend to incorporate multiple-choice questions, data interpretation, and critical analysis tasks, emphasizing skills over the retention of facts. For instance, geography in 2024 often includes understanding climate change impacts, human migration, and data analysis using technology. Students are less often asked to memorize the names of specific rivers or capitals and more often expected to understand broader concepts, such as the implications of geographic features on human civilization. Strongly disagree. A 12 year old has zero chance of applying critical thinking or data analysis to complex subjects like climate change or human migration. It's still memorization, he's still expected to regurgitate a few lines he learned in school.

pm3003 2y ago
It reminds me of a time in my first college year when we had to learn underlying principles of ethics-based leadership (I kid you not). It was some kind of bullshit but everyone did his best to take it seriously. The teacher repeated every time that he wanted us to understand broader concepts and do everything but rote learning. Almost everyone then failed the exam (based on analysing various situations). The expected answers were word-for-word copies of the teaching material, that sometimes felt unrelated to the question. It was so absurd that we all took it as some involuntary but elaborate joke/life lesson.
piker 2y ago
...and what proportion of the public school teaching population is equipped to evaluate critical thinking on such subjects? They're testing for some binary issue spotting at best.
pessimizer 2y ago
Constructivists have been claiming victory since they started, despite the consistently terrible results. So they bury rote learning under a mountain of constructivist jargon, so at least they can show something.

pm3003 2y ago

It reminds me of a time in my first college year when we had to learn underlying principles of ethics-based leadership (I kid you not). It was some kind of bullshit but everyone did his best to take it seriously. The teacher repeated every time that he wanted us to understand broader concepts and do everything but rote learning. Almost everyone then failed the exam (based on analysing various situations). The expected answers were word-for-word copies of the teaching material, that sometimes felt unrelated to the question. It was so absurd that we all took it as some involuntary but elaborate joke/life lesson.

piker 2y ago

...and what proportion of the public school teaching population is equipped to evaluate critical thinking on such subjects? They're testing for some binary issue spotting at best.

pessimizer 2y ago

Constructivists have been claiming victory since they started, despite the consistently terrible results. So they bury rote learning under a mountain of constructivist jargon, so at least they can show something.