Writer's Block: Educate Me

[veronica_rich]

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Well, sports have clearly been overhyped for a while, from a purely unbalanced standpoint. Fitness is important, but Christ, you can't really go out and learn calculus without some substantial help.

I think media consumerism should be taught to all high-schoolers - at least one semester. We have so many people who don't know how to critically examine news stories for bias or tell news from entertainment, or what to look for in a reputable news organization (not perfect or unflawed, but reputable), or who don't understand why they shouldn't get all their news from one source. We have so many people who blanket blame "the media" for society's ills without understanding WHY they should or shouldn't, and they could better understand the structure of how such an organization works (i.e. ownership, that the underpaid reporter doesn't pick the stories, what an editor is responsible for, etc.). Basic stuff it wouldn't take long to teach and would last a lifetime.

Comments

[bonnie-halfelvn.livejournal.com]

In this age of polarized politics, I don't think it would be possible for many educators to teach how to spot responsible journalism, etc.

I think students should be taught how to balance a checkbook, make change, and make and stick to a budget.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

News isn't just about politics, and you don't need to dwell on personal beliefs to spot responsible journalism - in fact, that's the point of responsible reporting and editorial content, to give more than one POV. That's akin to saying I can't do my job because of my personal beliefs, which is not true. I've been doing it for almost 20 years with very few complaints. I never had a GOOD editor who would've let me get by with writing something blatantly partisan without a counter elsewhere on the same topic.

Besides, perpetuating their ignorance that close to adulthood doesn't do them or us any favors. A kid can vote and join the military, and enter into contracts at age 18. Saying we don't tackle something that contains politics would pretty much keep history out of schools, don't you think? And geography and literature (think of Swift and so many other writers)? And sex education?

ETA2 because I can't damn well spell: Forgot this part - we had a class when I was in jr. high on life skills you mention, and I've never heard of anyone else having this in school. As I said below, you could couple this with my idea for a semester, and make the other semester basic Economics as a requirement to graduate (that's what ours was).

[bonnie-halfelvn.livejournal.com]

What I'm saying is that many teachers cannot tell the difference between responsible journalism, lazy journalism, and spin, and many perpetuate the latter two, I'd bet. I'm not saying or even remotely implying that YOU can't do it.

Reporting on the politics of history is different than rewriting it, like many do. Sorry, call me jaded, but I live in an area surrounded by conservatives, so my view may be skewed, but there are many pockets with this mentality, so maybe not. Meetings where I work make me feel like I'm from another planet, and have given me a very bad taste for topics like this where the idea is that things are supposed to be "thorough, fair, and balanced." Here, they are definitely not. On the other hand, it's been a very long time since I've been in a high school classroom, and I don't know how it is here these days.

And sex education was a complete joke when I was in school. But since I'm tuned in to these issues because of my involvement with the lgbt community, I'm sure that in many places, it's no better now than it was then.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Well, this is why schools would need someone like me to teach the class, not some teacher who isn't trained for it. I actually know what I'm talking about. *G*

As far as history, think about it: Imagine teaching kids about Roosevelt and the New Deal. It was 80 years ago, but can you imagine it wouldn't bring up a discussion about privatization of Social Security now? Shoot, people still can't agree on whether Vietnam was a war or a police action, but it's teachable history because it was so long ago. I think this is where you bring in community leaders to talk to the class, like old people, former teachers, ex-military, activists you might know, a city councilperson, see if you can get a state rep., etc.

I remember Mr. K's history class - we had a lot of fun, but boy, we weren't P.C. or avoidant at all. We debated, we argued, we even raised our voices. Mr. K stayed neutral or asked questions, and he would shut us up if we got too rowdy, but it turned out to be good for us, I think. And this was on old stuff, not just current world events (1980s, that is). It was a good chance for him to teach a bunch of kids about how to disagree and be civil (and I have always lived in conservative areas, so I empathize with you - and I was even a liberal kid. I remember disagreeing all the time with Mom and Dad - hell, Mom didn't agree with me on almost anything other than abortion, until I was in my 30s; Dad still doesn't).

Sex education wasn't too bad for us. Most vividly I remember having to watch a film about childbirth - that sealed my childfree-ness for me. I remember thinking ARRRGGHHHH DO NOT WANT!

[bonnie-halfelvn.livejournal.com]

I am childless, also, but not because of anything I learned in school.

Wow! Imagine a history class that has lively discussion and debate. Never happened in any of my classes, except for government. Most of the teachers droned on, and they would go off-topic, because they were bored of themselves, too. ;-P

I didn't give a rat's ass about history until I visited some historic places as an adult, where I could see and touch things.

[a-silver-rose.livejournal.com]

My sixth-grade class was taught to balance a checkbook, and I had to take Consumer Ed in both Junior High and High School.

And do you realize you're advocating that schools teach something that will enable children to think for themselves? *gaspandswoon* Heaven forbid that the extremists tolerate that! (note sarcasm)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

It's a radical notion, I know, I know. There are adults who don't know how to think for themselves. (Pro tip: When you're calling the editor to complain about the government wasting money on specific businesses and specific numbers, it's a good idea to cite some source more ... research-oriented, than Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck. I'm pretty sure I stumped the guy when I dryly remarked, "And we know how trustworthy THEIR information is." I wish people knew the difference between a pundit and a reporter.)

[bayliss.livejournal.com]

I think students should be taught how to balance a checkbook, make change, and make and stick to a budget.
I agree with this. I had problems with this up until about mid 2002. I also think responsible credit card usage would be another good thing.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I think this would be a good companion to what I suggested - call it a Life Skills class. We actually had one when I was in the eighth grade in 1985. We learned how to read simple legal agreements, like an apartment lease, fill out job applications, make a simple resume, write checks, calculate loan payments, and such. We even went to the grocery store and learned about comparison shopping and per-unit pricing to seek best deals.

[bayliss.livejournal.com]

We didn't have anything like that here. We had home economics which taught us how to sew and cook. That was it.
I did take Child Development my senior year for the excuse of playing with pre-schoolers. I told the teacher i wanted to play with kids my own age. LOL

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I didn't take Home Ec; I was one of the few girls to take Shop instead (wood only; I wish we'd had automotive). Grandma taught me how to cook, I knew how to clean, and I hate sewing and was bad at it even with Grandma's help. Still, it's a good class to have around, so long as its pushed for both sexes instead of being a girl thing like it was in 1986 at our school.

[bayliss.livejournal.com]

I took shop for one semester in JR High. Unfortunately, the shop teacher was a pervert who liked to touch little girls. He was caught and subsequently fired but no one had proof so he wasn't charged. He went back to Jackson, Minnesota.

Had I known that we did have an Automotive shop in High school and it wasn't taught by Pervert man i would have taken it.

I didn't take home ec in high school. Just Child Development, which had an equal number of girls and boys in it. :)

[bonnie-halfelvn.livejournal.com]

I did not have the option of taking wood shop or mechanical drawing. I went to school in the age where girls did girl stuff and boys did boy stuff. ;-P

[bonnie-halfelvn.livejournal.com]

That would be excellent. I had nothing of the sort.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

This was what I would call one of the top 5 classes in school for being useful. Typing comes in first, oddly enough. LOL

[bonnie-halfelvn.livejournal.com]

Funnily enough, I hated typing, and now I'm really glad I know how to do it. I also hated sewing, and now, since I never really did learn it in school, I have taught myself how to do it, albeit not real well yet, because paying someone to make a costume gets expensive! ;-)