OT-Daughter's homework had something about SRA

[rockmedic109]

ORIGINAL: Cribtop

I went to a good school but had a silly history teacher argue that the IJN sailed around the north of Russia to help the Germans halt the evacuation at Dunkirk. This same genius argued that Trafalgar was not a decisive victory because many of the captured Franco-Spanish ships sunk in a storm afterward. Wow.

Wow. Frightening.

The teacher's IQ squared is still a single digit number.

[Big B]

This is Totally Off-Topic, and my apologies, But that notwithstanding...

The sentiment stated and endlessly repeated below visa-vi the popular support for the American Revolution, seems to originated from a misquote and misreading of Adams, now enshrined as truth through repetition for the last century....
http://www.independent.org/publications ... sp?id=1398

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

ORIGINAL: tocaff

The revision of history is an awful thing, but the reality is that the history itself is written by the winners from their point of view. My best example to offer up would be the American Revolution. The majority of people in the colonies weren't for independence and without the French victory might have been impossible. Read a history book in the US that mentions these little tidbits.

The Empire would have gotten sick of it eventually. One third wanted out, one third didn't and the other third didn't give a flip.

[reg113]

Very good essay for a number of reasons. All should read...

[desicat]

Much to my misfortune I read my daughters paper on Christopher Columbus. Turns out he was thought of as a failure in Spain, a poor leader, and even worse navigator. Once he mistakenly found the New World, thinking he was in India, he proceeded to enslave and willfully commit mass murder upon the indigenous population.

I asked her why she thought that the US celebrates Columbus Day and she had no idea. We did some more research during Christmas break.

This semester they are reading the play Julius Caesar. I asked her what she knew about Caesar and she said it was unfortunate that he was killed before he could really get a start on life....Looks like we have a Spring break assignment.

I mourn for our young. The difference between the public school education that my youngest is getting and the Catholic School educations that her older siblings recieved is astonishing.

[wdolson]

ORIGINAL: wdolson

I don't have kids, but I remember rolling my eyes at some of the things I saw in history class.

Same thing with science class. The school I went to for grades 6-8 was ranked the best in the Los Angeles area (it was a public school too), but my 8th grade science teacher was an idiot. I tried fighting her a few times, but it was pointless.

Bill

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy
I graduated from HS in the LAUSD myself, Bill. Whereabouts for you? Because unless you name *my* school (the best in the LAUSD), I'll have cause to dispute the verity of your alma mater's excellence. [;)]

It was a K-8 school (California doesn't tend to do the middle school thing, at least not So Cal) that was in LA County, but not the LA Unified School District. It was the Alhambra School District. My school was in the town next door, Monterey Park. The town had a huge Asian population (the highest percentage Asian in the US when I moved away) and those parents drove their kids and the school.

I started at a private Catholic school, but they had such severe discipline problems the education sucked. When the 5th grade teacher quit in tears around the Christmas break, I talked my parents into letting me go to the local public school. My mother was a mover and shaker in the parish. Her pulling me out set off a tidal wave of kids transferring.

6th grade in the new school was a wake up call for me. I had always been a top student in math, but suddenly I found myself a year behind. It wasn't until the middle of 7th grade that I started to catch up and move to the front of the pack again.

I went to a private high school that had a reputation for being tough academically (the school day was 8 hours long too). The first year was the "hit the wall" year for most students who cruised through primary school. Because I had already been through it from 6-8 grade, the first year wasn't that tough for me. It took some effort to get used to the long school day, and I hated the school. It was run like a prison. But academically I didn't find it that hard.

My high school had some pretty good teachers too (as well as some not so stellar). One of the history teachers had a rep for failing a lot of students. I found him to be hilariously funny and there was a lot of material to absorb, but I actually learned something new. I grew up in a household of history geeks, I picked up a lot from osmosis. It was rare that I learned something new in history class.

Bill

[bigred]

ORIGINAL: Cribtop

I went to a good school but had a silly history teacher argue that the IJN sailed around the north of Russia to help the Germans halt the evacuation at Dunkirk. This same genius argued that Trafalgar was not a decisive victory because many of the captured Franco-Spanish ships sunk in a storm afterward. Wow.

wow, this will be a fun thread. I recall my 7th grade teacher telling the class the flying tigers fought with Chang against the communist in 1948. I also recall immediately raising my hand, getting her attention, and then correcting her in class that the flying tigers fought against the Japs in 41. And she told I was wrong in front of the class. So I shut up, waited till class was out, went to the librairy and brought her a book with the data.

[bigred]

Looking at above post I am amazed I new what I was talking about in the 7th grade.

[warspite1]

My elder warspite's primary school teacher telling the class about how WWI started over Poland still takes some beating.

Not military related, but kind of following on from ndworl, I was told - with a straight face and deadly serious - by my economics teacher that with my right-of-centre views I might still have a chance of getting an o-level in the subject [X(]..... no bias there then....

[iley]

1965 high school world history.

Roman empire: Student to teacher:( not me)

" why was the roman army so good ".

Teacher to student:
" they have a good war machine "

Student to teacher:

" what kind of machine was it"

Teacher to student:

" I'm not sure it was probably some kind of crossbow "

Me to teacher:

"You're an idiot"

Me to the vice principal's office end of story.

[traskott]

ORIGINAL: desicat

Much to my misfortune I read my daughters paper on Christopher Columbus. Turns out he was thought of as a failure in Spain, a poor leader, and even worse navigator. Once he mistakenly found the New World, thinking he was in India, he proceeded to enslave and willfully commit mass murder upon the indigenous population.

I asked her why she thought that the US celebrates Columbus Day and she had no idea. We did some more research during Christmas break.

This semester they are reading the play Julius Caesar. I asked her what she knew about Caesar and she said it was unfortunate that he was killed before he could really get a start on life....Looks like we have a Spring break assignment.

I mourn for our young. The difference between the public school education that my youngest is getting and the Catholic School educations that her older siblings recieved is astonishing.

Poor Julius, he was so young he had no time for... wait...

[:-]

[Justus2]

I was recently at a Trivia Night fundraiser for one of the local catholic schools. One of the questions was 'What founding document begins with the phrase "When in the course of human events...". I said Declaration of Independence, of course, but my sister's friend at our table said no, it's the Constitution. We argued a bit, and I explained the Constitution starts with "We the People". She said no, she was right, she's a 5th grade teacher at that school. My sisters told her "don't argue with Joe!", but she doubled down and said she'd bet me $100 she was right. I didn't want to bet that much, but I said you're on for $20.

Our table didn't win the trivia contest, but that $20 (and the look on her face) was worth more to me than whatever prizes they were giving away that night!! I do feel sorry for the 5th graders in her class though...

[JocMeister]

Hah, can´t wait until I can attempt to help my kids with papers and stuff. Right now I´m in another phase...

-"Here dad I made a drawing for you at kindergarten"
-"Aaaw, thank you. What is it? A flower?"
-"No dad. Its poo."

.... [:D]

[desicat]

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

Hah, can´t wait until I can attempt to help my kids with papers and stuff. Right now I´m in another phase...

-"Here dad I made a drawing for you at kindergarten"
-"Aaaw, thank you. What is it? A flower?"
-"No dad. Its poo."

.... [:D]

Good luck. My daughters school no longer uses textbooks, everything is completed on an assigned iPad. I can never tell if she is doing homework or just web surfing.

Math has become a series of hunches, and using actual math to solve problems will get be graded as incorrect - even though the actual answer is MATHMATICALLY correct.

Actual civics lessons are just a rumor, while odd historical figures are added to events or amped up in importance to lend credence to gender or racial significance.

[JocMeister]

That doesn´t sound too promising...[X(]