tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post2007229411457891673..comments2024-03-13T21:26:03.011-07:00Comments on Right on the Left Coast: Views From a Conservative Teacher: Straight A's Are Not EnoughDarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730642770935985796noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-55175454928488510082019-12-30T20:30:21.366-08:002019-12-30T20:30:21.366-08:00Straight A's? I remember not having below 110%...Straight A's? I remember not having below 110% during my senior year. That was over a dozen years ago. "93% = B+" Damn curve grades.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-59070577308203263522015-09-27T16:20:48.719-07:002015-09-27T16:20:48.719-07:00I read an excerpt about Oliver Cromwell in the Wor...I read an excerpt about Oliver Cromwell in the World History book our school uses. At the end of two sentences I was ready to fall asleep. He "sent the Parliament home"? Is that all? Where's the fire? Where's the *story*?<br />http://www.emersonkent.com/speeches/dismissal_of_the_rump_parliament.htm<br />or <br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rump_Parliament#Oliver_Cromwell<br /><br />Former parliamentarian Cromwell becomes dictator and rules by decree--where *is* that?<br /><br />Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That's one of the lessons we're supposed to learn from history so we don't repeat it. But not in the world history textbook used at my school. No, he sent Parliament home, probably for some tea.<br /><br />Yawn.Darrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15730642770935985796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-22287474557261414942015-09-27T06:35:22.059-07:002015-09-27T06:35:22.059-07:00I am frustrated by some of my 6th graders who don&...I am frustrated by some of my 6th graders who don't care about learning; they just want an A. I am supposed to help them achieve this by whatever means necessary and they are mad that I don't. Their parents are too.Teacher gardenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13208175008287749994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-53528378986234506262015-09-26T21:29:21.560-07:002015-09-26T21:29:21.560-07:00Most kids are probably bored most of the time in m...Most kids are probably bored most of the time in most history classes, and yet, history books sell very well among adults. In school, you're taught and are focused on the discreet points that you need to know to do well in the class. As an adult, you can enjoy the flow and movements of history, the characters and romance of it; you can enjoy it on your own terms, not the teacher's. There's a reason why there are ten or so "history" channels on TV, and why shows (often as ridiculous as they are) like "Rome", "The Tudors", and "The Vikings" do so well, or why "Hamilton" is the hottest show on Broadway.<br /><br />It's the same with classic lit. English classes seem to be able to beat out all of the art, the poetry, and the heart out of books. Can anything kill your love of a book faster than being given one line out of book and having to write a 5-paragraph essay about it? And yet, that is often the kind of assignment teachers give students. But if you were never "taught" a classic book, and chose to read it as an adult, you'd often find that you actually love it (I had the good fortune never to have been "taught" "Huck Finn".) The canon of classic lit is what it is because they are some of the best books ever written. How many high school kids crossing the stage, diploma in hand, feel that way about *any* of the books they had to read in class? Auntie Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05777983027361603449noreply@blogger.com