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But yet it may have been what he needed at that stage in his cognitive and social development. It's only disruptive to a disciplinarian, industrial age approac

But yet it may have been what he needed at that stage in his cognitive and social development. It's only disruptive to a disciplinarian, industrial age approach to education.

ceejayoz 13y ago
And what of the needs of the other kids in the room, who might need to be able to hear what the teacher is saying? A whispered request for clarification on something the teacher just said is one thing. 15 separate conversations about the latest Call of Duty and who made out with whom while the teacher tries to explain material is disruptive.
- embolism 13y ago
  Teaching doesn't have to be organized as a lecture from the front. For how many of those other kids is it optimal? Alternative styles have been around for decades. It doesn't take much to learn about them if you just Google a bit.
- freehunter 13y ago
  What's also a good thing is social time with your peers. We separate kids based on age, based on which random class they're thrown in, and in bigger schools, which random lunch time they are assigned. None of these may match up with their friends outside of class time. Perhaps there would be less classroom disruption if friends could have time together outside of the one class they took together knowing that would be the only time they could be together?
  - ceejayoz 13y ago
    > Perhaps there would be less classroom disruption if friends could have time together outside of the one class they took together knowing that would be the only time they could be together? There is. School ends at 2:30, upon which point they can enlist in formal or informal shared after-school activities. Turning classes into a free-for-all where no one needs to afford the teacher and other students any respect for their time and attention isn't a great option. Plus, most classes I took in high school had plenty of group projects, small discussion groups, etc. that allowed for social interaction with friends in a non-lecture context.
    - freehunter 13y ago
      Problem is, there are no buses that take the kids home from their after-school activities. I don't know where you live, but there are many school districts in the US where kids can't walk home or expect their parents to drive them to and from school or a friend's house. When I was in school, my house was an hour and a half bus ride from school. My parents worked in the other direction. Outside of being at school, there was no hope for social interaction unless we were in town for a festival. I'm also not arguing for turning classes into a free for all. I pretty explicitly said there should be room for social interaction outside of class. In districts with split lunch hours, there's literally no free-form social interaction unless you're on one of the last buses to leave at the end of the day.
      - jff 13y ago
        We had buses to do exactly that. The "sports bus" departed at 6 p.m. every day; there weren't a lot of the buses, because not everyone did afterschool activities, but everyone who needed a ride got on the appropriate bus (east or west, as I recall) which dropped them to their home. It was free, too. This was a rural school district, about 60 students in my class, and the district extended something like 20 miles in each direction from the town.
    - embolism 13y ago
      Turning classes into a free-for-all where no one needs to afford the teacher and other students any respect for their time and attention isn't a great option. This is an insulting straw man. But I'm glad school was optimized for your needs.
      - vacri 13y ago
        This comment is a bit rich, given that you're basically saying you want it changed so its optimised for your needs.
        embolism 13y ago
        I didn't say that anywhere. I believe it should be possible to design school experiences that can meet a wide variety of needs. If the other commenter needs a quiet environment where he/she can listen to a lecture, that should be available without forcing those for whom it is unsuited to be there too.

But yet it may have been what he needed at that stage in his cognitive and social development. It's only disruptive to a disciplinarian, industrial age approach to education.

ceejayoz 13y ago

And what of the needs of the other kids in the room, who might need to be able to hear what the teacher is saying? A whispered request for clarification on something the teacher just said is one thing. 15 separate conversations about the latest Call of Duty and who made out with whom while the teacher tries to explain material is disruptive.

embolism 13y ago
Teaching doesn't have to be organized as a lecture from the front. For how many of those other kids is it optimal? Alternative styles have been around for decades. It doesn't take much to learn about them if you just Google a bit.
freehunter 13y ago
What's also a good thing is social time with your peers. We separate kids based on age, based on which random class they're thrown in, and in bigger schools, which random lunch time they are assigned. None of these may match up with their friends outside of class time. Perhaps there would be less classroom disruption if friends could have time together outside of the one class they took together knowing that would be the only time they could be together?
- ceejayoz 13y ago
  > Perhaps there would be less classroom disruption if friends could have time together outside of the one class they took together knowing that would be the only time they could be together? There is. School ends at 2:30, upon which point they can enlist in formal or informal shared after-school activities. Turning classes into a free-for-all where no one needs to afford the teacher and other students any respect for their time and attention isn't a great option. Plus, most classes I took in high school had plenty of group projects, small discussion groups, etc. that allowed for social interaction with friends in a non-lecture context.
  - freehunter 13y ago
    Problem is, there are no buses that take the kids home from their after-school activities. I don't know where you live, but there are many school districts in the US where kids can't walk home or expect their parents to drive them to and from school or a friend's house. When I was in school, my house was an hour and a half bus ride from school. My parents worked in the other direction. Outside of being at school, there was no hope for social interaction unless we were in town for a festival. I'm also not arguing for turning classes into a free for all. I pretty explicitly said there should be room for social interaction outside of class. In districts with split lunch hours, there's literally no free-form social interaction unless you're on one of the last buses to leave at the end of the day.
    - jff 13y ago
      We had buses to do exactly that. The "sports bus" departed at 6 p.m. every day; there weren't a lot of the buses, because not everyone did afterschool activities, but everyone who needed a ride got on the appropriate bus (east or west, as I recall) which dropped them to their home. It was free, too. This was a rural school district, about 60 students in my class, and the district extended something like 20 miles in each direction from the town.
  - embolism 13y ago
    Turning classes into a free-for-all where no one needs to afford the teacher and other students any respect for their time and attention isn't a great option. This is an insulting straw man. But I'm glad school was optimized for your needs.
    - vacri 13y ago
      This comment is a bit rich, given that you're basically saying you want it changed so its optimised for your needs.
      - embolism 13y ago
        I didn't say that anywhere. I believe it should be possible to design school experiences that can meet a wide variety of needs. If the other commenter needs a quiet environment where he/she can listen to a lecture, that should be available without forcing those for whom it is unsuited to be there too.