Help me understand my son's homework.

[Emperor]

Being still in school, I can vouch that there are typos and grammar errors throughout. A few of my teachers are not native English speakers and their writing definitely make the easy to see. No matter how good the editors, books will have typos. It's just not a big deal.

--Sent From My Galaxy S4

You are looking at it through the eyes of an adult. Put yourself in the mind of a 9 year old. He wants to do well in school. He wants to please his parents and teachers. He wants to show pride in his work. He's trying hard at test day! And he knows the answer by deducing the problem the way his thought process was conditioned, but the answer is not there! Oops! Someone forgot to put it in the sheet. Oh no big deal! Happens all the time! Right?

Kid circles WRONG answer because he doesn't understand the mistake made by the adults! He needs to write a choice. Awkward!

 

[olivs260]

You are looking at it through the eyes of an adult. Put yourself in the mind of a 9 year old. He wants to do well in school. He wants to please his parents and teachers. He wants to show pride in his work. He's trying hard at test day! And he knows the answer by deducing the problem the way his thought process was conditioned, but the answer is not there! Oops! Someone forgot to put it in the sheet. Oh no big deal! Happens all the time! Right?

Kid circles WRONG answer because he doesn't understand the mistake made by the adults! He needs to write a choice. Awkward!

I totally agree with this. I remember a few times in school being distraught that I couldn't find what I knew was the right answer in the multiple choices section. I argued with the teacher sometimes, and got told I was wrong (they had personally made the tests). It really can mess with a kid's confidence.

 

[Emperor]

Are you saying that climate change isn't a thing? Not that it's caused by humans, but that it actually occurs? I can't tell from your post.

The planet is 5 billion years old. Just the data we have from the last 100 years alone, suggests that climate change is a recurring condition on this planet! Add to that the data we have gleaned from the past millions of years from the planet itself, and you have millions of years of a natural process of the Earth being, well; the Earth!

When left wing chicken littles tell me the sky is falling en masse; outside of the aid of scientific study, and when they change the names of the "cause" (Global warming to climate change), in the wake of scandal and cover up, I instantly grab my hat and coat of skepticism!

I'm with Joe! Joe Bastardi that is!

 

[madwabbit]

This thread reminds me of an old conversation we had regarding challenging your educators. It's one of the best things my parents ever taught me, but it wasn't uneventful.

why not?

I got in trouble in second grade for coloring a duck blue. The teacher told me I was wrong, and I got a and had to show my parents.

Dad: "Did the teacher say to color it a specific color?" No. She said "color it like a real duck"

Dad: "Have you ever seen a Blue Duck?" Yes. Grandma showed me her pet duck, it was blue.

When I (we) confronted the teacher, I said "just because you've never seen a blue duck doesn't mean that I haven't."

The lesson from dad: Challenge your educators and stand by what you know is right.

(We had recently moved to new mexico from japan- now that I think about it I'll bet shes never seen a white duck either.)

Exactly! She's was an ideologue! or a dumbass.


The Blue Duck! (Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos)

Let's take this Blue Duck for a example. It's the same ******** ideologues are using to hold back blacks in America or making excuses for! Because a black child has never used a saucer under a cup, should not preclude him/her from knowing what a saucer is.

And most assuredly should not be used as a crutch for why he/she can't learn in the country!

 

[olivs260]

The planet is 5 billion years old. Just the data we have from the last 100 years alone, suggests that climate change is a recurring condition on this planet! Add to that the data we have gleaned from the past millions of years from the planet itself, and you have millions of years of a natural process of the Earth being, well; the Earth!

When left wing chicken littles tell me the sky is falling en masse; outside of the aid of scientific study, and when they change the names of the "cause" (Global warming to climate change), in the wake of scandal and cover up, I instantly grab my hat and coat of skepticism!

I'm with Joe! Joe Bastardi that is!

Word. We're on the same page. Just couldn't tell from your post. Because I have family members that completely deny that it is a thing, and every time I remind them that we've had ice ages, they will argue that those aren't valid examples. They never can explain why though.

 

[XD-GEM]

Y'all are missing the point.

The correct answer is, "Styrofoam is bad for the environment and will increase global warming."

 

[AustinBR]

Y'all are missing the point.

The correct answer is, "Styrofoam is bad for the environment and will increase global warming."

Don't forget the clause about guns being bad too. That needs to be included somewhere too.

--Sent From My Galaxy S4

 

[TylerDurbin870]

This has to be just a simple misprint within the printing phase of making the book.

 

[JadeRaven]

You are correct on that; but here is a contention of mine. Being heavily involved in my younger ones homework, I have noticed numerous errors on worksheets including misspelling, grammatical errors, wrong answer choices, no correct answer choices, etc.

To me; those worksheets should NEVER be wrong! Why? Because these are the people teaching our kids. If they are THE educators, and they are THE source of curriculum; shouldn't some one be proofreading this stuff? Someone that possesses the intelligence themselves, to notice the errors before every kid in America sees the sheet.

I am there to explain why my kids brain is not the problem when he can't figure out the correct answer on an incorrect worksheet, but can't be there when he is testing, and getting really upset when he knows the process of the question being asked, but is not coming to the correct conclusion due to incompetent worksheets.

It is important! How can you routinely have spelling errors on school worksheets? I take a harder stance! I get incensed! I have my kid's principals' mobile number (at his request), and I text him screen shots of every mistake I see on a worksheet. It's a lot!

FWIW: The worksheets come out of some company in New York that is the "go to" source for the CC curriculum. To me, that is a problem in and of itself.

There is a profit motive (someone got a government contract), and an agenda.

Meh, I think it's good to have an error every now and then, as it's a good lesson that we live in an imperfect world, that we should question everything we learn, etc.

And frankly, if a kid can't handle an error from time to time in math problems, how is he supposed to cope with real life?

If we raise our kids believing that everything they learn in school is 100% true, then that's pretty scary... especially when you consider who many of these teachers are. I recall having a lot of great teachers but I also encounter a lot of questionable people with degrees in education...

Now I agree that if the vocabulary book was riddled with spelling errors that would be a problem, but IMO one or two typos here and there is perfectly acceptable.

 

[JadeRaven]

You are looking at it through the eyes of an adult. Put yourself in the mind of a 9 year old. He wants to do well in school. He wants to please his parents and teachers. He wants to show pride in his work. He's trying hard at test day! And he knows the answer by deducing the problem the way his thought process was conditioned, but the answer is not there! Oops! Someone forgot to put it in the sheet. Oh no big deal! Happens all the time! Right?

Kid circles WRONG answer because he doesn't understand the mistake made by the adults! He needs to write a choice. Awkward!

I remember encountering this sort of thing when I was 9 years old. The process of challenging the question itself was a greater learning experience than the homework itself. Building confidence in one's logic and knowledge enough to question the teacher when given the opportunity is critical in creating strong, independent minds.

 

[Emperor]

Meh, I think it's good to have an error every now and then, as it's a good lesson that we live in an imperfect world, that we should question everything we learn, etc.

And frankly, if a kid can't handle an error from time to time in math problems, how is he supposed to cope with real life?

If we raise our kids believing that everything they learn in school is 100% true, then that's pretty scary... especially when you consider who many of these teachers are. I recall having a lot of great teachers but I also encounter a lot of questionable people with degrees in education...

Now I agree that if the vocabulary book was riddled with spelling errors that would be a problem, but IMO one or two typos here and there is perfectly acceptable.

I cede some of your point. However, I believe that if we are to institute and ingrain a positive impression of learning into a child's mind; whether he questions authority or learning or not, they should not be subjected to a laissez-faire attitude about the accuracy of the course material.

Some typos change the entire context and/or meanings of sentences and points. Remember, I stated that I find them often enough for it to be an issue.

 

[Emperor]

I remember encountering this sort of thing when I was 9 years old. The process of challenging the question itself was a greater learning experience than the homework itself. Building confidence in one's logic and knowledge enough to question the teacher when given the opportunity is critical in creating strong, independent minds.

There are no 9 year olds (that I know of), openly questioning any teacher's authority when it comes to course material. Not in Ascension Parish in the school my kid is at. Sure, they may figure out something is not right about something, but I have had my own kid tell me that the teacher told him to just not worry about it.

How about a little humility! Like; "You know what Johnny, you are right! There is an error on the work sheet! Children, please note there is an error on the work sheet! It should say......"

That to me, is a far better lesson to learn than, "Just don't worry about it!" or another one I've heard "Well it's not really for a grade, so there really is no wrong answer!"

WHAT?

 

[JadeRaven]

There are no 9 year olds (that I know of), openly questioning any teacher's authority when it comes to course material. Not in Ascension Parish in the school my kid is at. Sure, they may figure out something is not right about something, but I have had my own kid tell me that the teacher told him to just not worry about it.

How about a little humility! Like; "You know what Johnny, you are right! There is an error on the work sheet! Children, please note there is an error on the work sheet! It should say......"

That to me, is a far better lesson to learn than, "Just don't worry about it!" or another one I've heard "Well it's not really for a grade, so there really is no wrong answer!"

WHAT?

9 years old is what, 4th grade? I definitely was beginning to think I was smarter than my teachers by 4th grade.

But you make good points and I agree. If it's not worth the worry, then why have the kids do it in the first place? The teacher of all people shouldn't convey that. Don't tell the students their curriculum isn't important.

However, for better or worse, the people who excel in high school, college and grad school are much better at knowing what to study and what not to waste their time on.

 

[MRBULLRED]

I understand printing mistakes. My only problem is that he was given a "correct answer" by the teacher who obviously didn't do the problem herself. His job was to show the process of getting to the answer the teacher gave him.
I'm not blaming the school. I was just confused as heck to why I couldn't get to the answer that the teacher gave to him. I was truly asking for help, not complaining. I love Prairieville Middle. I think it's a great school. One of the reasons I moved back to Prairieville was because of the great schools.
My son made the honor roll last 9 weeks and I just want him to continue to excel...
Now about the global warming.............

 

[Emperor]

Keeping with my personal philosophy to not throw accusations and issues out there without some hard evidence; here is what I got last night. This my friends, was my sons economic science test result. Normally, we would get the actual test worksheet back, but as you can see;

As a **** stirring parent who REALLY gives a crap; I am trying to obtain the actual test. If it is as bad as this note warrants, I am going to be pissed! Why? Did my son only get a "B", because he was confused by the mistakes on the worksheet?

 

[Neil09]

Wow, maybe it went off of just the questions that were spelled correctly? Hopefully that's the case.

 

[general mills]

Word. We're on the same page. Just couldn't tell from your post. Because I have family members that completely deny that it is a thing, and every time I remind them that we've had ice ages, they will argue that those aren't valid examples. They never can explain why though.

If there was no climate change, we'd be living in a world with 2 foot scorpions. EWWWWWWW, no thanks!

http://listverse.com/2013/01/14/10-prehistoric-bugs-that-could-seriously-mess-you-up/

 

[DAVE_M]

Keeping with my personal philosophy to not throw accusations and issues out there without some hard evidence; here is what I got last night. This my friends, was my sons economic science test result. Normally, we would get the actual test worksheet back, but as you can see;

As a **** stirring parent who REALLY gives a crap; I am trying to obtain the actual test. If it is as bad as this note warrants, I am going to be pissed! Why? Did my son only get a "B", because he was confused by the mistakes on the worksheet?

Sadly, it wasn't until I was in a University where I could challenge a teacher/professors materials.
High School was a joke, I proved two teachers wrong and was reprimanded for it.

College = Answer A & B are wrong, so I prove it to the instructor and the instructor comes to the same conclusion as myself.
High School = Answer A & B are wrong, so I prove it to the instructor and the instructors tell me to shut up, sit down, you answered incorrectly, because the book has answer A.

 

[Emperor]

Sadly, it wasn't until I was in a University where I could challenge a teacher/professors materials.
High School was a joke, I proved two teachers wrong and was reprimanded for it.

College = Answer A & B are wrong, so I prove it to the instructor and the instructor comes to the same conclusion as myself.
High School = Answer A & B are wrong, so I prove it to the instructor and the instructors tell me to shut up, sit down, you answered incorrectly, because the book has answer A.

Then it's worse than you can even imagine! This is grammar school.

 

[DAVE_M]

Then it's worse than you can even imagine! This is grammar school.

As the Professor would say...