Comments on: 2x + y = disaster http://www.polimom.com/2006/01/30/2xydisaster/ I used to be in the middle, but they keep moving the line! Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:46:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.5 by: Polimom http://www.polimom.com/2006/01/30/2xydisaster/#comment-55029 Tue, 30 Jan 2007 02:18:01 +0000 http://www.polimom.com/2006/01/30/2xydisaster/#comment-55029 Jack -- I was confounded when I wrote this a year ago, and I'm no more enlightened now. It does seem, though, that the intervening months have brought quite a number of educational articles and studies about the failing middle schools. The experts seem to be blaming the structure of middle school itself (as opposed to older models), and there are quite a few experiments going on with various grade configurations to see what might work better. But having written this so long ago, it's stuck in the back of my mind and bugged me. A theory I have floating in my mind relates a bit to your comment about cognitive development. What if the technological advances (as reflected in TV, and more recently computers) is spurring different regions of the brain, while others atrophy? Given that my own educational experience is sociology and psychology, brain development is, of course, a realm in which I have to claim complete ignorance.  Still -- there appear to be a number of problems fueling the problems we're seeing in the educational system(s). Jack — I was confounded when I wrote this a year ago, and I’m no more enlightened now.

It does seem, though, that the intervening months have brought quite a number of educational articles and studies about the failing middle schools. The experts seem to be blaming the structure of middle school itself (as opposed to older models), and there are quite a few experiments going on with various grade configurations to see what might work better.

But having written this so long ago, it’s stuck in the back of my mind and bugged me. A theory I have floating in my mind relates a bit to your comment about cognitive development. What if the technological advances (as reflected in TV, and more recently computers) is spurring different regions of the brain, while others atrophy?

Given that my own educational experience is sociology and psychology, brain development is, of course, a realm in which I have to claim complete ignorance.  Still — there appear to be a number of problems fueling the problems we’re seeing in the educational system(s).

]]> by: Jack http://www.polimom.com/2006/01/30/2xydisaster/#comment-55027 Tue, 30 Jan 2007 02:12:20 +0000 http://www.polimom.com/2006/01/30/2xydisaster/#comment-55027 Maybe it could be as simple(as thought anything dealing with the brain were) as humans living longer means that they develop certain brain functions later. If over time that adds up to only a matter of months later, that can be the difference of a grade for many students. Maybe it could be as simple(as thought anything dealing with the brain were) as humans living longer means that they develop certain brain functions later. If over time that adds up to only a matter of months later, that can be the difference of a grade for many students.

]]> by: Polimom Says » A dropout crisis in the Lone Star State http://www.polimom.com/2006/01/30/2xydisaster/#comment-54971 Mon, 29 Jan 2007 12:39:42 +0000 http://www.polimom.com/2006/01/30/2xydisaster/#comment-54971 [...] Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote about the problems in Los Angeles high schools, where they’re facing drop-out rates of around 50%. The LA Times ran an enormous education special about the crisis, and while they noted that there are problems for urban school districts all across the country, no-one seemed over-worried about Texas’ schools. After all, this state reported an 84% graduation rate, and Polimom’s nearest urban district (Houston) was only losing roughly 1/4 of its high school students. [...] […] Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote about the problems in Los Angeles high schools, where they’re facing drop-out rates of around 50%. The LA Times ran an enormous education special about the crisis, and while they noted that there are problems for urban school districts all across the country, no-one seemed over-worried about Texas’ schools. After all, this state reported an 84% graduation rate, and Polimom’s nearest urban district (Houston) was only losing roughly 1/4 of its high school students. […]

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