[HPFGU-OTChatter] OT: Teaching to the test

Richelle Votaw rvotaw at i-55.com
Tue May 13 00:03:11 UTC 2003


Alex Fox wrote:

> GoodGrief! Some one just popped up on a group and said that Abraham 
> Lincoln was really great in the Declaration Of Independance...What 
> the heck are they teaching kids these days? I actually had to argue 
> with this kid about the fact that he was born much later, Civil War 
> later! He wouldn't believe me! He thought the Civil War happened in 
> the 1900's! Till other people also corrected him! These kids are the 
> future? We are SO doomed.

Oh, don't even get me started. :)  You think that's bad?  Well, I teach first grade but I teach in an after school program for 4th through 6th graders.  A couple of months ago we were working on Patriotic powerpoint presentations.  Of course I had one done to show them, which mostly consists of famous US landmarks, US flags, etc.  Once they were on internet a few of them had trouble thinking of what they could type in to search for their pictures to put in the presentations.  So I'd give them hints about it, and most of them did okay from there.  A few times I had to get as obvious as asking "What country do you live in?"  The responses to that question floored me.  At least five different people (in different groups) could not tell me the name of their country unless I started reciting the pledge and they could join in and figure it out.  I promise I'm not making that up either.

Most of my first graders can tell you their country, and today we've been working on identifying our state on a US map.  I gave them a quiz on it by giving them a blank map and asking them to color Louisiana.  They all got it, except for one.  She colored Texas.  Okay, it's next door, but it sure isn't shaped like a boot!!!

Richelle


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