reducing fractions

[dannyboy at here.com]

On Wed, 16 Aug 2000 15:10:17 GMT, "Greg Scott" <home at gregscott.com>
wrote:

>I taught my son to
>do this. With a rigid inflexible curriculum, kids are bludgeoned into hatred
>of a subject that they could love. Yes, I used to teach in a conventional
>classroom. I quit because I loved teaching, and found myself incapable of
>doing so in that context. So there is a substantial kernal of truth in your
>assessment. Just don't overlook the substantial kernal of truth in mine.

Duly noted.  Without a directed curriculum there is often chaos.  You
must surely have had some sort of plan in mind.  That constitutes a
curriculum guideline.  *Who* diagnosed your son?  Such difficulties
are often diagnosed and found in the public school system.  Granted,
they do not have the facilities for the one-on-one training that can
be provided privately. Your son is indeed fortunate to have had a
teacher parent.  However that is the only difference I perceive.  Pay
more taxes, a LOT more taxes, and you can get what you wish for in the
public sector; personal private attention.  I must repeat that it is a
far more difficult task to teach ALL of the millions than just one or
two.  The concept is quite different.  If you want to change the
system, you'll really have to pay for that privelege.  As I've pointed
out to parents many times, if you want a personal tutor, you must pay
extra.  A teacher with 36 students of varied abilities in one room has
36 minutes (?) to spend with them.  That's one minute each if
*nothing* else was done.  Add attendance and other such duties and you
have only a few seconds unless you concentrate only upon the most
vulnerable.  Even you at home could not get around such problems as
readily.  A real comparison can not be made.

Also, please consider that there remains the distinct possibility that
your son was misdiagnosed to have been ultimately so successful.

Also, the "hatred" you talk about does exist, but the primary cause is
not the methodology, but the lack of pre-requisites.  Students are
passed far beyond their capabilities and so are understandably utterly
confused in later years.  Allow justified failure, and that phenomenon
will be reduced remarkably.
 
Dan.



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