Book Nerds :D discussion

Wow…😮

Yeah, the school system, specifically in the US (I don’t know much about other systems) are terrible. I was homeschooled up all through elementary and middle school. I now attend a private online high school and although my work is arguably much harder than my peers who attend school, I’m glad I’m learning it now rather than have to figure it out later or even on my own.

Through my personal experience I’ve learned many life skills that you don’t get going to school. Specifically self discipline and motivation. It’s pretty easy to just go by and not do anything (where ever you are being educated) but when your at home it’s much easier to slack off, just look at what happened during the covid lockdowns. Because the system just shoves work down your throat for most of the day, just for you to go home and since your exhausted you wanna sit and kinda do nothing (this is general I’m not saying everyone is like this) eventually you will complete your homework but for the most part I see people just doing the bare minimum for school when they get home.

It doesn’t teach you to be disciplined, since your most likely being forced to sit watching a teacher all day, maybe sneaking your phone in class or during lunch. Then you go home and I would be willing to bet you go on your phone.

It also doesn’t teach self discipline because adults are forcing you to care basically. In most situations you have no control over what you have to do and when you do it. Not saying everyone should have complete control over, but I think it should be mandatory to teach a class where you do learn these life skills. Because once you become an adult no one will push you like that. You have to have the motivation to get up and go to work, and stay attentive during the day.

sorry for the preachiness

Started Yesterday! So far, it sucks.

Mainly it's the getting up at 6 in the morning. And the locker.

AGREE

Right now I'm in school. Xtra time.

Here in Brazil (or at my school) it is a hybrid system, which means one week I go to school and the next I stay at home doing it on the computer. Each one has its advantages I have to admit!
( If you have interest about how it works and such call me in private :) )

Okay, I'm on hold!

My country is back to full in person school. Personally, my school is amazing. If you want to see me rant about how amazing my school principal is, check JMCD’s (I think that’s how you spell it, letter are confusing, have you got a name? 😂) nook in The Daylight Readers cause I can be bothered to type it out again.

I absolutely agree with all of you on this matter. Schools presently have lost their intended function. They became a distorted parody of themselves.

One can, probably, force a person physically work faster, but not intellectually. Everybody is different in their mental capabilities, but in school everybody is equalled, which is insane. I don't say that people should be treated unfairly, no. People should be regarded accordingly, with regard to their abilities. For example, I'm not a very good at math and I need more time to understand it. But no, schools (and also the educational system which influences them) must enforce not only the time restrictions, but also dump on them the other crap. One needs a week to understand a problem, the other person two days, someone very gifted - no time at all. But everybody is expected to do it, let's say, until tomorrow.
But guess what. You have no time to even understand it. Why? Because you have another one hundred subjects to do. This split-subject-method is obsolete I'm sure. Years back, it worked surely because there wasn't much to learn. But now, the world became too complex to stuff everything and to do everything at that short time.

Exactly. I hate how schools treat all students the same. I got a safeguarding case brought against me for the most ridiculous reason ever. It was mainly because I wasn’t acting the same as everyone else. Everyone is different, they can’t expect us to act the same as each other all the time and then bring a safeguarding case against anyone who dares to be a little bit different than the ‘norm.’ It’s absolutely ridiculous. As I alluded to in my previous message, I love my school but I do hate how they treat everyone the same.

I also hate schools who enforce ridiculous rules and regulations for no reason whatsoever. Is that really needed? There was a school about an hour away from me which was famous for being the strictest school in Norfolk. They had rules like: walk on the left side of the corridor, bags in right hand and no clickable pens. The headteacher, Barry Smith, also imposed a ban on the ‘meet me at McDonald’s haircut and ordered all students to be in bed by 9:30pm. He has been accused of being racist and sexist, I have no idea if this is true but I think it probably is. And the worst thing is, he believes that he’s not doing anything wrong. He’s literally said these things things:

‘Charter kids, when I see them in the street, are super polite. They're amazing. We shake hands. It's magical. I'm so proud of them.

'Local shopkeepers often tell me how Charter kids have transformed, how they're really polite and friendly now, how they hold doors open and say thank you, in a way they didn't in the past. That's nice.

That’s all very well, but they probably act like that because they are terrified of him and what he’ll do if they don’t act exactly like he wants them too. Now I don’t go to the school (thankfully) so I have no idea what actually goes on there. But Charter was a part of the trust that owns my school so I found all of this out when I was doing some research. Apparently, he was absent from the school for a few weeks and the trust said he was working on a curriculum project centrally. But I don’t believe that for one minute. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t suspended. Now he’s the principal of some school in aLondon and I think he’s still doing the same things there. Apparently he gave over half of the school’s population detention one day last year (215 people) and apparently he gives them out for stupid things like not smiling at him. Wtf? Has he ever thought about why they’re not smiling?

I do have a million more other things I could say about this but I’ll leave it here because this is long enough. I do find it interesting hearing about other peoples schools and education systems. If given the opportunity to, I would write a paper on this. But I don’t think I’ll ever get the chance 😂

Both of my parents are teachers, so I know why they have to keep us in line. Hint: It's their job. It's not the teacher's fault

Yes. My school is strict. Like really strict. But it’s really good. Discipline is great and needed, but I think there needs to be a balance between strict and extreme.

100% Bonnie

Okay 😂😂 thanks Lia (nice name btw)

•JMCDC• wrote: "Got another statement:

If school was really for educating the youth, why do we not know how to pay taxes, get a credit card, and know how to cook SPECIFICALLY carbonara? If you say “Oh, you could ..."

Here I would disagree with you on that schools should teach you paying taxes, get a credit card etc. It's what the parents are for. Schools are about teaching you more or less stuff relating to science. If they would teach you how to cook specific dishes - well, that why you need to become a cook.
But schools became too bureaucratic with their superficial assessment system. Nobody can in a specific number express the quality and quantity of knowledge of a single person.
In addition, schools are producing, or try to produce, servile workers, who after school, college, university would get a job and be just another cog in the whole system.

This is almost like a debate

smh. that's terrible

and that is why I do NOT participate in my local school system XD I dropped out of high school and enrolled in a dual credit program at my local community college where everyone minds their own storming business and doesn't care what other people do. That plus homeschool. The school system definitely needs some fixing....ugh and my state is legit ranked like 49th for education....so sad

•JMCDC• wrote: "a little time ago---

there was this girl who had a bigggg crush on my brother. okay but she's sooo sensitive. she got mad at my brother just because he didn't agree with her on ONE thing.

ok so ..."

THAT IS DA WORST!!!!!! So sorry you had to deal with that

•JMCDC• wrote: "a little time ago---

there was this girl who had a bigggg crush on my brother. okay but she's sooo sensitive. she got mad at my brother just because he didn't agree with her on ONE thing.

ok so ..."


AGH! thats awful! I've heard a few stories like this before too... very sad. I hope your brother is okay

•JMCDC• wrote: "another rant about school out of anger

im repeating what i said in the 1st message of this thread, but it's part of our human rights to talk when we want to. teachers make us do otherwise. "dont w..."

Oh wow! I'm so sorry that you had to go through that! Good thing in my school that doesn't happen!

I've actually taught several of my friends how to write checks and balance a check book, because they'd never been shown how... Sad thing is, I never went to college and most of them had!

Well, I'm sure you taught them well, who knows? Maybe they might be very famous people in the future!

a guy from my psychology class and I were talking about how schools should teach more practical skills....like balancing a check book definitely. or even how to clean a bathroom XD some people go into college not knowing how to sweep, or clean, or write a check, do laundry, cook.

Oh yeah, that's true. I know how to do lots of that stuff, I can also sew!

why should we learn about photosynthesis though? Unless the school wants us to be failures in life, they should teach us life skills, and things we will actually use in life!

Hailey wrote: "why should we learn about photosynthesis though? Unless the school wants us to be failures in life, they should teach us life skills, and things we will actually use in life!"

yeah!

Ik school teaches us a lot of stuff that we will never use in life. It's not like Iike I'm gonna use slopes for graphs or whatever

Ugh i hated the cells unit. Actually i hate sciencein general, but i'm interested in astronomy

Also we have only 3 minutes between classes and that may seem like a lot, but it's not because now the stairwells are PACKED. LIKE CRAZY. LIKE PEOPLE LITERALLY SHOVE EACH OTHER JUST TO GET THROUGH IT'S RIDICULOUS. I wish we had four minutes, because I always walk in at the same exact moment as the bell rings. Since last year we had COVID and all, they gave us 5 minutes, which was awesomeeeee and very gracious. But 4 minutes is really a great compromise.

My school has this saying that i find really corny but like i get it: "stay to the right and be polite". a student a few years ago came up with that.

I'm not gonna actually be an artist when I grow up, but i like art... it's calming and fun. I find it soothing and relaxing. Some people do, some people don't. But you do you ;)

I play the flute and in my school, last year was so much fun, we had this teacher and she played music-associated games that made the class so much fun. We also played among us music edition... it was very fun! But this year, I have a different band teacher and he is sooo boring and he makes band not fun. I don't want to quit band because of the teacher so I will have to continue it.

I feel so sorry for you :(

I have mostly stayed out of this topic, primarily because I've been homeschooled for the past decade, but I do remember most of my time in public school (despite only being in school for 3-ish months), and I definitely have to agree that the way the system works should be amended.

Story time from my experience in public school:

I have been pretty shy since I was a child. I mostly like to spend time doing activities on my own versus with other people and I tend to freeze up when speaking to someone older than me by many years, even now. It isn't something I fully have control over.

I didn't talk in my 1st grade class. I didn't raise my hand, mostly because I never had any questions. I didn't really engage with the class/teacher unless it was show-and-tell or something similar. However, I did have three friends, so I wasn't antisocial or anything. I was a rule-following child, who realized prior to going to school that classrooms (and schools) were places where students were quiet. My mother was told that I didn't talk enough, and I think I may have been given a bad grade or something because of it; I don't remember. Not too long after this, my best friend began to whisper to me in class. I was trying to listen to the teacher's lesson, so I shushed her and asked her to be quiet. I was the one who got called out by the teacher for talking 'out of turn/without raising my hand', to the point where the teacher made me move seats so I was no longer sitting beside my friend.

To continue, I don't remember how in the world I ended up in after school tutoring for reading, but I did. The point was for the student to read to the teacher, who would then help the student read if necessary. I don't know if my teacher thought I was illiterate, but she sent me to a reading tutor in the school. My problem wasn't that I couldn't read. My mother taught me how to read prior to me entering school. The problem was that I was too shy to read aloud. Sometimes, I couldn't even read aloud at home because I'd be afraid of making mistakes and pronouncing something wrong. This still occasionally happens. I don't like reading aloud.

I have no complaints about the tutor. She was fantastic and was one of the best parts of the school day and I usually looked forward to going to her. I was able to read aloud in front of her, though I think it was just because of her personality. She made me feel safe and welcome. She didn't talk down to me as if I was stupid, which I appreciated. She was just very happy and kind (think Miss Honey from Matilda). This tutor later told my mother that she didn't know why I was sent to her because I read incredibly well.

I also got a D for something that was stupid. I don't remember what it was. I think I still have my report cards somewhere. All I know is that the D was stupid and unwarranted from what I can recall.

I had a few more issues with my teacher regarding physical limitations that I had and my medical condition (at the time I wasn't certified disabled), but I may go over these at a future time because if I cover it now, this comment will be exceedingly long. However, on that topic, teachers and schools need to accommodate disabled children/children with physical/mental limitations better. Children (and people for that matter) are not "ONE SIZE FITS ALL." We all have different needs. We all have different ways of learning. Some of us have brains that are wired differently. And a lot of times, the teachers need more sympathy and compassion.

As for my comment about brains being wired differently, no I'm not autistic (that I know of) to clarify. I've just been told by my mom that if I'd been tested, I would've come up as 'gifted' like my sister was. Since gifted people are technically considered neurodivergent, that's why I mention brains being wired differently.

wow that sounds really rough. yikes

Another comment about schools. The main example for this one isn't me. It's my older sister. So, my older sister was labeled as 'gifted' when she was a child. She was tested and put into the G/T program (Gifted and Talented program). I don't know if this type of education/program exists in other places besides the States, so here are a few links to what it is and what it's supposed to do:
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifted_...
Texas Education Agency
https://tea.texas.gov/academics/speci...

Also for anyone who doesn't know what 'giftedness' is:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelle...
And these are characteristics of gifted children (my sister checks most of these, and I check 31 of the full 38 on the first link):
https://www.nagc.org/resources-public...
https://www.davidsongifted.org/prospe...

Now back to my point. These programs are intended to give the gifted/more creatively intelligent kids a better, more tailored education. It's supposed to further their learning at a level that is higher than the other students. Once high school comes around, these are the types of kids who are pushed toward AP (advanced placement) classes where they will get class credits for a college course.

This is the problem I have. I don't have a problem with kids being 'gifted' (put in single quotations because it sounds great, but it's both a blessing and a curse, not because I don't think gifted kids exist) as it's something that happens naturally once a child is born. It's how their brain is naturally wired. I don't have a problem with gifted kids. If I did, I'd have to have a problem with my sister and potentially even myself (which I don't). My problem is that it doesn't work. Maybe it was just the way things were handled at the school my sister went to, but I've heard it said by other gifted people as well.

In my sister's case, she was turned into a 'little memory machine' (as my mother likes to call it). This means that all she was doing was memorizing things. That's a lot of what public school is (I can't speak for private school, but I've heard that the education at some of them isn't much better). Once high school came around, my sister was pushed toward AP classes. She took them believing they would further her education (and because she was pushed toward them by the school). They both did, and didn't. She learned calculus, but she doesn't use it because she didn't go into engineering or anything like that. She majored in English Lit in college, which doesn't use calculus. She also did other AP classes, like AP Biology and AP English. There may have been more, but those are the main three I can recall.
These classes, she said, weren't taught well for being marketed as 'college-level courses.' They were taught by teachers at the school who were underqualified, meaning they had a bachelor's at most in Education. The problem wasn't that they had a bachelor's. The problem was the major. Education. That's the major most teachers do, especially public school teachers. They didn't have a bachelor's in the respective classes they were teaching. They weren't taught at a college-level. It was a lot of memorization.

Fast forward to the next fall. My sister starts college, with a major in English Lit and a minor in Creative Writing. She has a Political Science course and a History course (both of which are required classes). She had to go to my mother for tutoring. She was in tears because she had failed a test. My sister who was pretty much a straight-A student in school. My sister who had taken calculus and shown that she was good in math, which a lot of kids aren't. My sister who, to my knowledge, had never failed a class, much less a test. I was nine at the time, watching all of this unfold.

My sister almost failed a History and Political Science course because the school had failed her. At the time, my mother helped her willingly but briefly thought that it was her fault. At the time, I did as well, because I was only nine and had seen my sister excel at everything she had ever done. She was the perfect student in public school. She got good grades, was in AP classes, was gifted, did band and guard/flags (not at the same time), and here she was getting bad grades in a history and political science class. It was unheard of. After my mother tutored her, she caught onto the concept of how to approach history and political science, and never had a problem again.
That's how quickly she picked up on it, and in all those years of school, she hadn't learned any of that. Those AP classes didn't prepare her for college. Despite all the school district's talk about college in the middle school my sister went to, they hadn't prepared her for college.
They had just taken an ideal student with a good work ethic and high intelligence, and turned her into a memorization machine who wasn't taught critical thinking, and who could barely think for herself in these classes. It's ridiculous. Anyway, that's my opinion on that.

You can have the G/T program, but at least live up to what it says it's going to do. And either get rid of the AP classes, or hire teachers who are actually qualified.* College isn't a bunch of facts you have to memorize. It's critical thinking and discussion. It's piecing things together with the little information you have, and it's a lot of reading (not that I've gone to college yet, but my sister has, so I'm familiar with it XD).

*This, however, may also have just been that the school my sister went to was in an area considered the 'bad side of town.' It wasn't. A lot of crime there was personal.

•JMCDC• wrote: "I personally think that school should let us pick our courses a teeny tiny bit

Some of us won't use some of the knowledge we received from some subjects when we grow up. For example, since I don't..."

Yes….relatable here

Woah, this is a heavy topic. There's a ton of things that definitely need to be reformed about the school system. I think how they deal with bullying and disabilities needs to be reformed. I also think health courses need to be reformed and I'm not just talking about sex ed. So many health courses that I've taken have stuff that's just blatantly incorrect and it's baffling.

I would say that some of the 'rules' don't make sense. For example, saying that an apostrophe/apostrophe s is always plural possessive. It's no wonder why so many people use grammar incorrectly when they believe that it's is possessive (it's is a contraction of it is) and its is not (its is possessive), or that you're is possessive when your is possessive and you're is a contraction. Some of the 'grammar rules' don't actually make sense. I didn't even go through the standard public system, so I didn't even hear these on an almost daily basis, but I still find it stupid when doing grammar and language arts pages in workbooks. Also, 'rules' like I before E except after C. There are many exceptions to the rule. Even Merrium-Webster says that this shouldn't be considered a solid rule. These are just a few words that are exceptions to this rule: "weird," "forfeit," "albeit," "glacier," and "seize."

Tazanna said "we only get three minutes between lessons"

You get movement time?? We have a bell that indicates end of lesson, and that's the bell for next lesson. We're expected to be there then. No time to go to toilet, get a drink etc. You just have to rush through the corridor

I have a lot of issues with school but my biggest problem with it is how useless most of the stuff is. I wish we could actually learn some important things on the side like learning how to do taxes and stuff. Also I don't understand why we have to wake up at 6 am. Wouldn't it be better if students could focus better in first period than slumping through classes? I would prefer if it started later like 10:00 or something. I'm not exactly a morning person :p

Luna wrote: "I have a lot of issues with school but my biggest problem with it is how useless most of the stuff is. I wish we could actually learn some important things on the side like learning how to do taxes..."

Starting later would be a good idea. Schools don't teach life skills. The problem is that parents are supposed to teach their children life skills (that's what parents of old did ), but nowadays they're too busy making money to teach the kid. A lot of the stuff school teaches is useful if you just know how to apply it. Math is applicable in real life. All that stuff is used to do taxes. Science is applicable. It helps with scientific reasoning and logic. People ask questions and have hypotheses all the time. History is supposed to teach you critical thinking (which the school system does fail on). Reading and writing are crucial skills. After all, reading is everywhere. Even algebra is applicable. It helps determine stuff when going out of town, like how much gas you will need and where you'll need to refill your tank. School does teach things that will appply to life skills, but the problem is that they don't tell you where or how to apply it. They just tell you "do this." And that's the end of it. If a student asks why, the teacher will just say something like "because it's a requirement." They don't tell the students what the skills are for.