posted on August 18, 2001 08:06:49 PM new
in a classroom?
Before I doze off for the night, I thought I'd pose this question.
I think I learned more in my first college art class critique than anywhere else. Twenty students were given the same assignment and solved it in twenty unique ways - some very creatively and some in more trite fashions. And people saw images, themes,patterns of which the originator of the work was unaware. The critique itself was exciting for some people, intimidating for others. Some students thought that there should be right and wrong ways to solve the problem that had been presented and others were open to endless suggestions. Just like real life and chatboards.
What have your learning experiences in a classroom setting been like?
posted on August 18, 2001 08:24:55 PM new
I had a Government class in my freshman year. I noticed the text book didn't have anything to say about the role of the military in the govenment, and mentioned it to the Prof. (I was going to school on the GI Bill, and was in the reserves at the time)
To make a long story short, he had me teach class the next week.... on the role of the military in our government.
posted on August 18, 2001 08:30:22 PM new
Microbes, I had the same thing happen in an Art history class. My prof told me not to bother showing up for a survey class because I had already taken her Twentieth Century Art exam. I showed up anyway because I caught the bus to DC after that class so I was in the vicinity anyway. She gave me her pointer, started the slides, and told me to give the lecture. And I did.
[ edited by saabsister on Aug 18, 2001 08:31 PM ]
posted on August 18, 2001 08:51:39 PM new
I'd imagine learning to read was the most important thing I learned in school.
I do remember some unique lessons. Mr. Killinger was a science teacher at a military school I went to. Most of the teachers were above average, he was always a trip. We were studying the heart and were checking our pulse and getting our heart rate. Suddenly Mr. Killinger started screaming at one of the cadets for not paying attention, he knocked over his desk, he threw his book through an open window, and screamed obscenities at the top of his lungs. Then just as suddenly, like someone had turned off a light switch, he calmly said, "okay, take your pulse again, I want you to notice how adrenaline can drastically increase the heart rate." Most of us were so rattled at his outburst we couldn't keep count, but we all agreed that adrenaline/fear/panic could elevate the heart rate to a tremendous rate increase.
posted on August 18, 2001 08:57:17 PM new
Uaru, I know I am tired and therefor, easily amused....but, you have me in hysterics...I'll bet the teacher wasn't prepared for the number of underwear changes that were required after that little display!! I guess he didn't feel a run around the building would have been anywhere near as exciting for increasing the pulse rate!!LOL
posted on August 18, 2001 09:03:17 PM new
I don't know as it's the most important thing I've learned in a classroom, but:
In the 12th grade a teacher whose class I had dreaded woke in me a great love for history. I am cursed with a poor memory for names & hers has gone completely from my mind--but I remember *her*. I was in San Francisco visiting my sister the summer before 12th grade, so my mother went & got my classes for me. I was horror-struck to discover on returning home that I was down for Ancient History because the teacher had a rep for being mean & the class for being very hard. It turned out, though, that I clicked with her right off. She was a funny, rather eccentric woman who had the great gift of bringing history alive. Every civilization after the Minoans, even the Romans with their vaunted building skills had to face the criticism that unlike the Minoans they lacked enclosed plumbing & toilets. We heard of her anger upon visiting Pompeii in the late 50's or early 60's & being denied access to rooms that were thought "unsuitable" for female tourists--and how the US Navy kept some sailors on shore leave out of trouble during the war by sending them to Pompeei as a purported "sin city" where all they found were a few risque wall paintings... You could just see all those ancient societies in your mind's eye as she spoke. And I still remember the pitcher of lemonade that she shared with us, made from one lemon. Every year her tiny dwarf lemon tree put its all into a single lemon that was so big she had to prop it up with a stick so it wouldn't break the tree. She would make lemonade every year from that single fruit to share with one of her classes.
She woke a real love for history & research in me. Ancient history, not-so-ancient history--I love to look into it all. What a gem of a teacher she was!
posted on August 18, 2001 09:09:46 PM new
Saabsister, since you mentioned critiques...
For those who haven't experienced an art critique, I'll give a brief explanation. After producing a piece of art that you believe could hang right beside Rembrandt in the National Gallery of Art, you place your masterpiece in front of a class of fellow amateur artists and they proceed to just rip it all to hell. If you are not tough at the beginning of the class, you will be at the end of the semester.
I remember one fellow who presented a drawing of one lonely flower in an over large vase and I thought it was just magnificent but all around me, students were tearing it apart and accusing the poor fellow of drawing it in the elevator on the way to the class. While I will never forget that picture because it is etched on my brain, he has probably fogotten the experience entirely.
I learned not to take criticism too seriously and I also learned that among all the good people there will always be a few outspoken AHs. The fine people may not be as loud but they are there.
posted on August 18, 2001 09:43:42 PM new
How to self moderate, she said, quietly. And be attentive in class, a very wise second grade teacher explained that when you are talking, you are not learning, only when you listen will you learn.
posted on August 18, 2001 09:52:19 PM new
I learned that it only takes one bad apple to spoil the barrel. Two to really ferment it. On the other hand, I learned to can the good apples. Only thing I got an A in, in homemaking. Trying to sew, I flunked. I wound up stitching both legs together
I also learned to cook in home ec. Loved that part. So did my fellow students....they always wanted Hepburn to cook
Oh, and I got all A's in art class. Went on to make a fairly decent living at it, too.
[ edited by hepburn on Aug 18, 2001 09:53 PM ]
posted on August 18, 2001 10:30:52 PM new
I learned that it sucked to be left handed in a right handed world.
I also learned that if the teacher says she doesn't want to hear a peep out of the class it is wise not to be the one that says "Peep". *****shrug*****
posted on August 18, 2001 10:53:54 PM new
I didnt peep. Nope, t'wasnt me. I was busy over in the corner with the seam ripper taking out those sewn up pantlegs
posted on August 18, 2001 11:02:37 PM new
LOL Hepburn! It was ME! 7th grade German class. BIG trouble I got into! My mother was NOT pleased. Nope, not pleased at all.
I got into a lot of trouble at school because I simply talked too much and made too many stupid jokes. As you can see very little has changed.
posted on August 18, 2001 11:20:00 PM new
In 7th grade our Social Studies teacher, as an aside to whatever we were learning at the moment (must have been Russian history), related a piece of historical trivia which he swore was true. A few years later, I happened to learn that that tidbit wasn't true at all, it's one of the most persistant historical myths.
Learning that what I'd been taught as a fact was wrong was very valuable, probably more valuable than many of the true facts and tidbits I've picked up over the years, as it made me more sceptical.
posted on August 19, 2001 01:52:05 AM newHow to read - we don't think of it because it comes naturally, but can you imagine your life without it?
I don't know if reading would qualify as coming naturally, maybe it is so paramount you take it for granted. I still remember "Dick and Jane", my pride in learning such a long word as "walked" and the snickering when I learned "but."
Reading is the prime objective for my wife, at the school where she teaches, they consider that most important. My wife is teaching 6th grade this year, she came home hot and bothered because one of her students has a 1st grade reading comprehension level. It really ticks her off when other teachers pass students to the next grade rather than deal with a problem.
posted on August 19, 2001 02:11:07 AM new
Do you think kids really need Dick and Jane formally or that it will just come from being involved with them and reading to them often? I ask because my 4 year old is reading. If she were to go to school, I wonder how the "learning to read" years would be for her. I can't imagine her going to K where there would be no reading.
I know there are kids much older who can't read and it baffles me.
BTW, I do "teach" her to some degree but because she naturally asks and she is not reading beyond Dick and Jane level. She keeps a "journal" (which you can't read a word of) but she writes 2 or 3 pages neatly on the lines a day. It looks like "shorthand". Have NO idea what it says.
We are ALL readers and I am forever writing so it just SEEMS to come naturally by example.
T
posted on August 19, 2001 04:00:04 AM newDo you think kids really need Dick and Jane formally or that it will just come from being involved with them and reading to them often? I ask because my 4 year old is reading. If she were to go to school, I wonder how the "learning to read" years would be for her. I can't imagine her going to K where there would be no reading.
T -- as I think you know, my younger daughter began her home school career because of issues related to her reading well while in Kindergarten. I still cannot believe that she was kept in from recess because she read aloud to her reading partner (who couldn't read, but was instead mostly guessing) rather than have him read aloud to her. He was in the 3rd grade, she freshly in Kindergarten. The teacher told me she was kept in from recess because her reading to her partner that way would "negatively impact on the self-esteem of the other children". She insisted that punishing my child for reading (which is how she explained it to my daughter) would not impact her negatively.
Bah.
(Feeling jaded today -- I'll back outta this thread now, I guess.)
EDITED because I changed sentence focus in the middle o' one -- and forgot to change the words to match. LOL!
posted on August 19, 2001 05:39:07 AM new
I guess I should clarify what I meant - I should have written, "It comes naturally, now..."
xifene, what an ignoramous that teacher was. Sure kids need self-esteem, but they also need to learn that some people do some things better than others. A math whiz might not do well in history, etc. I remember teachers splitting us up into three groups for reading, and also, matching kids who were ahead with kids who were behind.
If the school administrators are so worried about self esteem, how about let's do away with that awful process of getting naked in front of classmates while still going through puberty (locker room). Was anything more horrifying than that? I still cringe just thinking about it, even though as an adult I have no probs with it at all.
posted on August 19, 2001 09:17:18 AM new
uaru, Im glad Im not the only one who snickered at the word "but". Everytime my mom would say it, I would snicker and giggle. Finally she had enoug and said BUTT is spelled B.U.T.T. and thats what Im gonna spank if you dont STOP IT.
posted on August 19, 2001 11:41:59 AM newSadie999: ALGEBRA! Algebra literally saved my career! I'm not kidding. Even in college I usually took "fun" courses during the summer (you don't spend as much $ if you're in school ). In my second year, while still at a junior college (more money-saving--I paid my own way through college) for some reason I chose to take an algebra class. I don't know why because math is *not* my forte, but I *did* and managed to pull off a B in the class.
Two years later, when I started my master's program at UCLA, one of the requirements for getting your degree was a statistics class. That class was sheer HELL!!! I was spending *all* my time trying to make it in that class at the expense of the other courses I was taking--and not making any headway.
Then, wonder of wonders, I was reading the degree requirements one day and found--in tiny tiny print--a loophole. It seemed that if one had taken a college-level algebra course & gotten a B or better, that one DID NOT HAVE TO TAKE STATISTICS!!!! I literally ran to the Head of the Department's office & thrust the paragraph which mentioned the loophole under his nose. I was free. And a good thing, too, because there was no way I was ever going to pass that statistics class.
So, Algebra made it possible to for me to get my MLS and to become a librarian.
posted on August 19, 2001 11:48:40 AM new
For me, learning to read didn't take place in a class room. My sister, who was 9 years older than I taught me how by the time I'd reached the age of 3. But then, it would have been unusual if I *hadn't* learned how to read early as my whole family was constantly reading. My parents & my sister always had a book, magazine or newspaper close to hand. The family couldn't even go out to eat without stopping at the bookstore first--and then we'd trade books when we'd finished our own. Consequently I was reading adult books at a very young age.
As for public schools, when a child is taught to read varies from school to school. Some start in kindergarten. others in first grade.
posted on August 19, 2001 08:45:23 PM new
I learned that if you were able to some how get your parents friendly
with your teacher you could almost guarantee a C got turned in two a B.
My mom could never figure out why... when I missed the bus I would wait
around for a teacher to take me home then invite them to stay for dinner
Where there’s an A there’s a Way.....
posted on August 19, 2001 11:53:52 PM new
Learned that Michelle had a serious crush on me in fifth grade.Cornering me in the coat closet,she whipped out... THREE Roger Maris baseball cards!They were mine...all I had to do was kiss her.Despite her overtures,I managed to stall long enough to be saved by the bell.I was excited!I had in my possesion,not one,not two...but THREE Maris cards.What a coup!!!!!!!
I was King for a day,desirable,and my baseball card collection was the greatest in all the land.Couldn't wait to see what treasures tomorrow would bring.Next day,my journey to the closet discovered a startled Michelle whispering to Jimmy.In her hands was a Willie Mays.Hurt,I tucked my tail between my legs and left like a wounded puppy.
I never did get around to telling Mike(Michelle's brother)what became of his card collection.And ..I never spoke another word to Michelle.(By then,she had moved on to the more sophisticated sixth graders.)I learned that,when I was King for a day and a joker the next,my dog(a boxer named "Smoogie" ) never waivered in her devotion to me.I had learned the meaning of loyalty.
posted on August 20, 2001 12:18:31 PM new
Statistics Simplified: Everything has a 50:50 chance of happening. It either will or won't. (This probably wouldn't fly on a final, but it would give some poor TA a smile at 3am.)
We heard of her anger upon visiting Pompeii in the late 50's or early 60's & being denied access to rooms that were thought "unsuitable" for female tourists--and how the US Navy kept some sailors on shore leave out of trouble during the war by sending them to Pompeei as a purported "sin city" where all they found were a few risque wall paintings... 
