I find it somewhat sad...

[Supracentral]

..that by reading the links in this songs lyrics:

http://www.teacheroz.com/fire.htm
(scroll down below the video)

that you'll find more information about the last 100 years of history than 1/2 the high school graduates you meet these days posses in total.

 

[Poodles]

Great song.

In fact, in school we had to disect and report on that song. Made a lot of people HATE it LOL

 

[savannahashlee]

Wow.. I guess I was very fortunate that my schooling didnt stop the minute the bell rang.. my parents taught me, and exposed me to a lot of that... I was very fortunate that I had a desire for knowledge, and I did have a few teachers that provided me with whatever I wanted.. They also pushed me to learn things



I've said this once, I'll say it again: Its easier to control an idiot then an educated man...

 

[Drake69]

I've said this once, I'll say it again: Its easier to control an idiot then an educated man...

Wow. There's a frightening ring of truth in that statement. Kinda like my old statement...

"Don't worry about the people who think they're smart, worry about the ones that know they're smart."

[/Existential Discussion]

 

[honestabe]

What I posted earlier for my macroeconomics class in regards to why a guy can't get a job.

Most likely he's among the millions of Americans who are too stupid to read a book and follow basic instructions and can't do a simple math problem without the aid of a calculator.

Our teachers and school officials on all levels have failed us, starting in Kindergarten. If our teachers can't pass a simple test that makes sure they are proficient in basic math and the subject they are teaching, there's no hope for the youths they're teaching. The last person I want teaching me is someone who doesn't know what they're talking about. This is why I never turned to my parents for help with my homework, because I knew they didn't understand the material I was learning.

I seem to remember my 1-3 grade teacher giving me books on writing cursive in the 2nd grade and having another teacher take them away from me, saying that they were too advanced for me and that I should wait until the 5th grade to learn cursive. This was around 1991, which dates me and shows just how little faith I have in my educators. The last thing they should be doing is preventing me from learning above and beyond.

Tom DeWeese gives prime examples in his criticism of our education system.

" Fuzzy Math means students won’t master math: addition, subtraction, multiplications and division. And "Conjugate a verb? Diagram a sentence? Learn to spell? This is language class. We have more relevant things to learn. ...

Instead, Fuzzy Math teaches students to "appreciate" math, but they can’t solve the problems. Instead, they are to come up with their own ideas about how to compute."


One book being used in classes is called "The Book of Questions." Designed around situation ethics, the authors openly admits that "this book is designed to challenge attitudes, values and beliefs." Again behavior modification – not academics is the root of this exercise."

And lastly "in Geography where, instead of looking for Colorado on a map, children are instructed to make a "Me" map to psychologically profile the children. In Civics, instead of learning how the government runs and of the great checks and balances that the Founding Fathers installed to protect our liberties, children are taught how to be "global citizens" under the UN’s Declaration on Human Rights." In Health classes children are taught about Mother Earth – Gaia, with lessons on the Sierra Club as heroes."

Seriously, is a basic education really that complicated? My god, folks, lets get our heads out of our asses and teach are children to have a freaking brain instead of growing up to drag society down.

To quote comedian Christopher Titus from his 5th Annual End of the World Tour CD set who was having dinner with his dad, Chistopher said "(serious of unintelligible words), my dad looks at my wife and says "California public schools, can you translate?""


http://www.americanpolicy.org/educ/failing.htm

/my short rant

 

[savannahashlee]

Whats even more sad is this.. More college students have probably seen this video and dont even know the connection...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QyYaPWasos

 

[Quin]

What I posted earlier for my macroeconomics class in regards to why a guy can't get a job.

Most likely he's among the millions of Americans who are too stupid to read a book and follow basic instructions and can't do a simple math problem without the aid of a calculator.

Our teachers and school officials on all levels have failed us, starting in Kindergarten. If our teachers can't pass a simple test that makes sure they are proficient in basic math and the subject they are teaching, there's no hope for the youths they're teaching. The last person I want teaching me is someone who doesn't know what they're talking about. This is why I never turned to my parents for help with my homework, because I knew they didn't understand the material I was learning.

I seem to remember my 1-3 grade teacher giving me books on writing cursive in the 2nd grade and having another teacher take them away from me, saying that they were too advanced for me and that I should wait until the 5th grade to learn cursive. This was around 1991, which dates me and shows just how little faith I have in my educators. The last thing they should be doing is preventing me from learning above and beyond.

Tom DeWeese gives prime examples in his criticism of our education system.

" Fuzzy Math means students won’t master math: addition, subtraction, multiplications and division. And "Conjugate a verb? Diagram a sentence? Learn to spell? This is language class. We have more relevant things to learn. ...

Instead, Fuzzy Math teaches students to "appreciate" math, but they can’t solve the problems. Instead, they are to come up with their own ideas about how to compute."


One book being used in classes is called "The Book of Questions." Designed around situation ethics, the authors openly admits that "this book is designed to challenge attitudes, values and beliefs." Again behavior modification – not academics is the root of this exercise."

And lastly "in Geography where, instead of looking for Colorado on a map, children are instructed to make a "Me" map to psychologically profile the children. In Civics, instead of learning how the government runs and of the great checks and balances that the Founding Fathers installed to protect our liberties, children are taught how to be "global citizens" under the UN’s Declaration on Human Rights." In Health classes children are taught about Mother Earth – Gaia, with lessons on the Sierra Club as heroes."

Seriously, is a basic education really that complicated? My god, folks, lets get our heads out of our asses and teach are children to have a freaking brain instead of growing up to drag society down.

To quote comedian Christopher Titus from his 5th Annual End of the World Tour CD set who was having dinner with his dad, Chistopher said "(serious of unintelligible words), my dad looks at my wife and says "California public schools, can you translate?""


http://www.americanpolicy.org/educ/failing.htm

/my short rant

Our.

 

[Tajabaho1]

I love that song

but then again, I'm a history freak

 

[Drake69]

Whats even more sad is this.. More college students have probably seen this video and dont even know the connection...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QyYaPWasos

That's obvious. How many college kids you know actually listen to Billy Joel?

They're more likely apt to confuse him with Billy Idol. :biglaugh:

 

[subjug4tor]

My 6th (or was it 7th?) grade Social studies class broke this song down and reported on it. Each student was assigned a 'year' of the song, and had to give a report on why each thing mentioned in their part of the song was significant. This was back in like 2000/2001. I was fortunate to have good teachers all the way through school, especially my government and history teachers in high school. Then again, I was taking advanced classes, with other students that actually wanted to learn...

 

[KicknAsphlt]

What I posted earlier for my macroeconomics class in regards to why a guy can't get a job.

Most likely he's among the millions of Americans who are too stupid to read a book and follow basic instructions and can't do a simple math problem without the aid of a calculator.

Our teachers and school officials on all levels have failed us, starting in Kindergarten. If our teachers can't pass a simple test that makes sure they are proficient in basic math and the subject they are teaching, there's no hope for the youths they're teaching. The last person I want teaching me is someone who doesn't know what they're talking about. This is why I never turned to my parents for help with my homework, because I knew they didn't understand the material I was learning.

I seem to remember my 1-3 grade teacher giving me books on writing cursive in the 2nd grade and having another teacher take them away from me, saying that they were too advanced for me and that I should wait until the 5th grade to learn cursive. This was around 1991, which dates me and shows just how little faith I have in my educators. The last thing they should be doing is preventing me from learning above and beyond.

Tom DeWeese gives prime examples in his criticism of our education system.

" Fuzzy Math means students won’t master math: addition, subtraction, multiplications and division. And "Conjugate a verb? Diagram a sentence? Learn to spell? This is language class. We have more relevant things to learn. ...

Instead, Fuzzy Math teaches students to "appreciate" math, but they can’t solve the problems. Instead, they are to come up with their own ideas about how to compute."


One book being used in classes is called "The Book of Questions." Designed around situation ethics, the authors openly admits that "this book is designed to challenge attitudes, values and beliefs." Again behavior modification – not academics is the root of this exercise."

And lastly "in Geography where, instead of looking for Colorado on a map, children are instructed to make a "Me" map to psychologically profile the children. In Civics, instead of learning how the government runs and of the great checks and balances that the Founding Fathers installed to protect our liberties, children are taught how to be "global citizens" under the UN’s Declaration on Human Rights." In Health classes children are taught about Mother Earth – Gaia, with lessons on the Sierra Club as heroes."

Seriously, is a basic education really that complicated? My god, folks, lets get our heads out of our asses and teach are children to have a freaking brain instead of growing up to drag society down.

To quote comedian Christopher Titus from his 5th Annual End of the World Tour CD set who was having dinner with his dad, Chistopher said "(serious of unintelligible words), my dad looks at my wife and says "California public schools, can you translate?""


http://www.americanpolicy.org/educ/failing.htm

/my short rant

I know I was learning cursive by 4th grade, maybe even 3rd or 2nd.....and this was in SoCal... For some reason I remember studying it in 4th grade, but pretty sure I already knew it because it felt redundant somehow. It's been so long, it's hard to remember the details.

 

[suprarx7nut]

I really dont think my teachers failed me throughout school. Looking back, I had great history teachers, great math teachers (though at the time I really didn't like many of them at all).

I don't think it's always the teachers faults, but more so the fault of the culture which surrounds school. I think this is mostly driven by parents. My parents made my education the first and foremost concern. They moved when I was 12 so I could attend a better middle school and high school and have sacrificed a good amount to help put me through college.

Unfortunately, I know many parents that simply don't care enough and don't push their children to learn. They don't care if the kid watches TV non-stop and doesn't do their history homework. Daddy's girls and mamma's boys. Ugh..


IN MY CASE, with the schools I went to, you'd have to blame the parents. There were plenty of options for advanced placement and excelled learning classes. If YOU didn't learn, it's because YOU chose not to.

Of course I also know there are plenty of shitty schools, but just wanted to make it clear my public schooling did not fail its students.

 

[JDMMA70]

History is my best subject in school, i was fortunate enough to have real good teachers. My 11th Grade US History teacher spoke about the song, when we got to certain time periods.

 

[Quin]

I switched schools three times in elementary school. We moved once, and two years after the move the county redistricted so I was forced into a third school. In my first school, we learned cursive in kindergarten. Second school (first and second grade), I learned it again in second. Third school (third through sixth), I learned it again in third. I'm sure many average communities are like this, but I found it pretty ridiculous.

I had to relearn the same grammar, writing styles, math, science, etc multiple times... We had a system called Accelerated Reader that determined what level books we could read at my last school. I took the test in third grade and scored above a 12.9 (highest it went then, supposedly equivalent to a graduating senior). So, in third grade I could read whatever I wanted. In fourth grade, my teacher forced me to read at grade level. Fifth and sixth it was back to whatever I wanted. In fourth grade, I was in a pilot program for advanced math. We basically learned fourth, fifth and sixth grade math in one year. The year after, they dropped the program, so I had to cover the same material I'd already learned two years in a row.

It's not always about home life, or wanting to learn. Public schools in general are terrible learning environments. I hit a lot of unnecessary barriers in school.

 

[mattman]

HOLY crap! I havent heard this song in like 5 years!!! I liked it till My 8th grade english teacher made us listen to it like 6 times in a row. What it has to do with english I will never Know. at least i can listen to it now with out thinking about doing suicide. Its a good song

 

[savannahashlee]

I hated the redundancy of the education system here.. I was doing the same math I did in my freshman/sophomore year that I did in 4th/5th grade.

In the same respect, though some of the blame should be put on the schools.. It really breaks down to home life and the student itself. Personal responsibility is something I constantly harp on. School today is viewed as free daycare for older kids.. Most parents dont even know the kids teachers, or what the kid is learning. My parents were very involved in my schooling. My mom was the PTA President. When my mother and I took care of foster kids, the school knew us by our first name. We were very hands on. I think that more parents should be that way

 

[DBN]

I always wondered why the people around me couldn't read or spell like I could... I always thought of it as kinda weird but I soon caught on to the fact that they were the ones who either didn't want to learn it or their teacher didn't feel like teaching it.

 

[ms07s]

Great song.

In fact, in school we had to disect and report on that song. Made a lot of people HATE it LOL

We had to do that in my school as well. Ten page reports sucked in high school. Also had to know all the Presidents, the Declaration, Bill of Rights, ect. I went to a private school, and I find it scary how little those who received public education know. Most can't convey an idea clearly. Many can't read a $6 novel. Still more can't do math. I have concluded that public education is designed to create slaves.

When a person graduates from high school they should be able to do basic math, read any book, know how and why our country was founded, and be able to write a five paragraph essay on anything.

 

[DBN]

We had to do that in my school as well. Ten page reports sucked in high school. Also had to know all the Presidents, the Declaration, Bill of Rights, ect. I went to a private school, and I find it scary how little those who received public education know. Most can't convey an idea clearly. Many can't read a $6 novel. Still more can't do math. I have concluded that public education is designed to create slaves.

When a person graduates from high school they should be able to do basic math, read any book, know how and why our country was founded, and be able to write a five paragraph essay on anything.

I think knowing the presidents and the following is a must for any school... My favorite amendment is the fourth lol.

 

[Lovesick Siren]

Unfortunately, I know many parents that simply don't care enough and don't push their children to learn. They don't care if the kid watches TV non-stop and doesn't do their history homework.

Sadly, this was me. I don't really know how it happened - whether the whole single mom of 3 with 2 jobs deal distracted her, whether she honestly couldn't care less, whether I was convincing enough of an innocent to make it seem like I could fix any bad grade or if she was just a bad parent/me a bad student - but I can only recall ONE single time (and the rarity makes it stand out) that my mother actually told me to do my homework and looked it over.

There were two occasions where, for some panicky reason I don't remember, she straight-up did my homework for me. I think I'd been out sick and she just decided to "catch me up." One other time, my sister helped me with my cursive, and yet another, my brother drew some pictures for a report I did on the Titanic.

These are the lone memories I have of family involvement.

Every night, I'd come home, write little stories in my notebook, play with some toys and that'd be it. My motivation to do homework came from not wanting to be chastised by a teacher and get embarrassed, or seeing a TV character doing homework and thinking, "Huh, looks cool when she does it." Sometimes the subject interested me and I did well, sometimes it didn't, and I didn't.

I started flunking classes left and right for refusal to do work in 7th grade. Got put into the work study program. Meetings held, a "counseling" session or two. Then I started being moved around from state to state between my mom's house, my dad's house, and my mom's job relocations, and was advanced to the next grade TWICE, even though I'd failed the year before -completely-. I still don't know how this transpired.

Eventually my mom decided to home school me, bought a single book that I never opened, and she went to work all day. I played on the computer.

. . . Looking back, I'm pretty sure it was me who was the doofus. I had a lot of opportunities that I wasted. I re-enrolled to the 9th grade, a year behind everyone I knew, dropped out before Christmas and got married.

Now, I read history books, online articles and (occasionally) Supramania, for the debates. Trying, very slowly, to repair some of the damage I've done to my education. I may never have a certificate of any kind, but at least I can study on my own so that I'm not a total dunce. I hate the thought of being stupid, and how long I was.

But it should be noted I don't BLAME her. I don't blame the school, either. I was told a million times by various superiors in school that if I didn't pay attention and do my work, I'd regret it. It was MY choice not to listen.