tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13589532.post776925929018340928..comments2023-10-09T04:11:47.358-07:00Comments on Not A Potted Plant: Textbook TestsBurt Likkohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060980744675990412noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13589532.post-2476260354587815592010-11-26T10:21:27.168-08:002010-11-26T10:21:27.168-08:00There are so many ethical dilemmas involved in tea...There are so many ethical dilemmas involved in teaching and testing, especially at the for-profit "colleges", that it would be impossible for an ethically-grounded teacher who really cares to not become discouraged and bitter. In the future, after my generation and yours have retired, quit in frustration, or died off, it will be the products of the current corrupted system who are doing the teaching and testing. We can't begin to imagine what so-called "education" will look like in 30 or 40 years! The movie, "The Book of Eli" is one creative speculation about what lies ahead.Stephen M. Stillmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17008964260739891695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13589532.post-75365138986397957112010-11-23T13:48:33.387-08:002010-11-23T13:48:33.387-08:00~Teacher Man Hug~
Some days I am SO with you on t...~Teacher Man Hug~<br /><br />Some days I am SO with you on the Morale Death Spiral. I'll see you and raise you a student who, when asked to take her book home write down 4 important equations for the test the next day, wrote down formulas from the wrong chapter.<br /><br />But that said, the problem isn't the cheating per say, it's the result of the cheating that irks me. Frankly I don't see any real value in a grade; it's just a sodding number. The problem is when that number is used to a) determine placement in the next course, b) establish readiness for the next course, c) provide tangible rewards (ie parents who pay kids for grades), d) seats in a given college or university, e) eligibilty to play in sports/ show that sports are not affecting learning.<br /><br />Sadly there is a lot tied to grades at the High School level, and even the early college level. I think what we're seeing isn't so much a dumbing down, or a lack of ethics, it's a lack of value in real thought.<br /><br />Why understand the French-Indian war enough to write a paper on it, when you can look up all you need to know on Wikipedia? Why learn how to do Sin / Cos / Tan when someone's phone has an app that will do it for you? We can get information so fast now that the value of having it in your head is all but gone. Thus, why not cheat? It's a lot easier and about as useful as learning it.Rob Ostermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07226679027078689566noreply@blogger.com