Are teenagers these days teachable or unteachable when it comes to learning in school?
78740
Our schools should teach students HOW to learn and study on their own. I was the Valedictorian of my high school, not so much because my teachers were good at teaching me (although they were very kind for sure), but because I learned how to study effectively.\n\nThere is too much information in society today. Schools should focus less on "teaching" (which presupposes that they know everything) and focus more on "empowering students to learn on their own and use their rationality to verify the relevance or validity of information they come across."
285264
It's true for me, technically. I don't use most of what I learned in high school in my job. But I do think it's a good idea to learn as much as you can in high school. It makes you a more well-rounded and interesting person later if you know something about history, literature, language, numbers, etc.
220121
if you would spend all day long explaining stuff to other people who don't know that stuff, you probably would get so used to knowing more than the people around you, that you would forget that that may not be the case for all situations and subjects.\nIn addition as a teacher you probably spend so much time answering stupid questions that you can forget that there are also smart people around. \nteachers are human and not perfect, nobody is
706722
Not at all! Teaching is a physically and intellectually challenging job, and most teachers are up to the task. Those who are not should be weeded out to seek employment elsewhere. There are many who "can't" who TRY to teach, but they "can't" do that either.\n\nChow!!
676761
i learned that the really strict catholic school i went to up till 8th grade taught me a lot more than some of the other schools around were teaching. in 9th grade i took all the honors or college-prep classes, and a lot of it was stuff i had already done in 6th grade. but, that kinda hurt me too, because i had already done that stuff, i got used to not having to really work at it. by 11th grade things caught up with me, but i was so used to not trying that i didnt care to open a book at all unless i was going to fail.
686355
teens are teens. Transfer to a Christian school if it bothers you. Or a private one, where they are too busy studying.
643863
Well... I suppose you refer to education school wise vs. at home. I am not sure about how it's going in the States. Here in Spain, it's been turned into a disaster. The new trend is to have everyone move at the pace of the slowest person, so if average reading age is 5, and the slowest kid learns at 7, then everyone has to learn at 7. If you don't pass subjects, you don't have to repeat the whole year as it used to be...you just move on so that some other facts that you will never learn can be piled on you. I guess mental discipline is not in fashion, as it's considered discriminatory. I'm sorry to say this, but the new ways with education are a bunch of crap. \nIf you are asking about education at home (manners and so on), I think parents are generally afraid to punish their kids as if being a child gave them some semi-divine shine that can't be touched. I believe kids need discipline, routine and order to develop correctly: rules help them know what to expect and become nice, charming people. Kids are not charming just because they are kids...more of the opposite. Please train your kids to turn into reasonable decent, bearable people!
52755
Well, in my opinion, success in school usually depends on the enviornment that you are taught in.  Friends, relationships, and trying to fit in are a couple of examples of why one person might not do as good as another.\n\nI wouldn't put all blame on the teacher if one person is not doing as good as the rest, I wouldn't even put all the blame on the parents.  That's just the way life is.\n\nAs for how kids could learn more efficiently.  I could throw an idea up.  Categorize all the teacher's teaching methods, such as verbal, written, computer based, etc...   Then when the kid registers they can take a questionaire to see what teacher best fits their learning style.  Of course there will never be enough teachers to fit everyone of the students.  But...hey...just an idea.\n\nI went to a night school program, and I found that a text book and computer based training worked better then having a teacher at all.  I did have an advisor, and he was cool but didn't know much when it came to teaching.  This worked for me because that is the way I like to learn.  It would not work for everyone though.\n\nGood Question!!!
754379
Children learn in spite of their teachers....The first thing I was taught at teacher training. \n\ndrilling is fine provided you understand what you are learning. The multiplication tables are a good example of this. We used to memorise those tables like a poem. Did it help? Yes becasue they provided us with quick answers when dealing with more complex issues. \n\nThe fact is that there are some things you just need to know. You can either make the effort to remember it (and there are lots of techniques for that) or you can look it up in a book every time you need to know.
640655
You can't take responsibility for the actual learning, only for making it as available and likely as you can.  You can't cram learning in, they have to accept it.
185888
If you take the same lesson plan that was devised for older students and simply resolve to spend more time explaining and demonstrating to the younger kids, will that work?  I hate to think there's anything the younger ones can't do, although grant you they won't do it with the polish of the older kids.  Please tell me we are not talking about the idea that safety is a major factor in the difference; having to use blunt-end scissors, no small parts they can swallow, and all that garbage.  A major problem when I was a kid was too boring, so the idea of working on something originally designed for older kids would have thrilled me no end.
795158
Speaking as a teacher, failure is not something we prefer to practice but it is a necessary part of teaching.  If everyone passed whether they did the work or not, there would not be starndards so why learn at all?  Teaching is changing to the extent there is a movement not of failure but not letting students go on until they master a concept or level.  You pass when you pass,  Unfortunately this is not practical in very large systems or schools and there needs to be a remediation level for students who refuse to work.  When i went to grade school it didnt matter how long you sat in a class you were not going to go to the next grade until you passed.  There was very little failure because every year there seemed to be one student held back who was of course older and larger, and obviously someone who failed.  The current system is to pass students socially to avoid some of that type of social stigma in grade school.  In high school students are not given their credits until they earn them.
673464
school has been around since the dawn of time, however, actual writing and reading probably began in mesopotamia thousands of years ago. Schools are just a way of passing on  what someone knows to other, younger people to keep up the traditions  of the group. Today school is boring, because the students don't see a need for all the learning, and most of them will never use 3/4 of what they learn.but it does keep their minds open to mew ideas. The more you learn, the more you are able to learn.
119096
Technology.\n\nIronic that something that was created to quickly access knowledge in a convenient way has served to take away from learning as well.\n\nLet me explain....\n\nOur students have been experiencing ADD in higher numbers. One finding in research is that we have become a "push button" society. Children are "plugged in" and "unplugged" numerous times during a day. At one time it was the fault of a "remote control" of a tv that allowed people to surf through numerous channels looking for the right show to stimulate their needs. Now let's not only add the TV to the picture but include the internet. They may have four or five windows open jumping from email to answers to a game to chat site back to their homework. If one doesn't give them the stimuation needed they hop to another and to another. Click to this and back to that.......get bored.....move to next window.\n\nIn addition, students have lost the art of using books for research. They "google" or use wikipedia and rely on answers fed to them from sites that aren't always as reliable as documented print in books. Oh sure.....there are many wonderful sites out there too. Don't get me wrong. But it is not enough to just "google." Students really need to master researching skills and technology has enabled quick access but at a price of accuracy. \n\nWriting is suffering as well. Students are found writing papers in "chatonese." For example:\n\n"This book is the one 4 u! It is so hilarious that I was lol. J/K!" \n\nTeachers can teach writing in brilliant forms. However, if students continually chat on the net in chat speak, it becomes a habit that is hard to break in school.\n\nTechnology is a wonderful thing! But I fear that learning has become "easier" for children. Part of the learning process is taking responsibility for your learning rather than expecting an answer to be fed to you via the net. I'm very anxious about seeing where technology will progress positively in the class room.
1175555
I think children should be taught that learning is something we do throughout life, not just to get through school.  They should be taught that a job well done is its own reward.  They need to learn to be self-motivated, independent thinkers.\n\nAs a parent, I try to instill these ideas in my children.  The best teachers are those that, whatever the subject matter, stress discovery, learning and responsibility.\n\nThanks for the work you do!
872681
I find it very doubtful that half the children in the US are home-schooled.  Home-schooling is fine with me, as long as there are dedicated parents involved, and the children have plenty of socialization opportunities.  A big thing that you learn in school is how to interact with other people.
856951
Isn't ANYTHING taught in schools anymore?