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Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Mars on October 02, 2008, 09:50:06 pm

Title: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Mars on October 02, 2008, 09:50:06 pm
So I'm pissed at my brother's 5th grade classes

One of his teachers wants to have the class read The Freedom Writer's Diary which isn't bad for a high School, or even late middle school... but 5th grade? My brother hasn't even had sex ed in school yet (he does know about it) and they want to give him a book that gives a graphic description of an abortion? I think my brother should be learning, yes, but a lot of people don't want HIGHSCHOOLERS reading this book.
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Polpolion on October 02, 2008, 09:53:43 pm
but a lot of people don't want HIGHSCHOOLERS reading this book.

Evidently, even more people do want fifth graders reading this book, or they wouldn't be reading it.
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: captain-custard on October 02, 2008, 09:54:25 pm
excuse my ignorance but how old is  5th grader ?
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Mars on October 02, 2008, 09:56:35 pm
9 to 10
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Goober5000 on October 02, 2008, 10:35:18 pm
Yeah, the public schooling system pretty much sucks all around.  Homeschooling is A-1 SUPAR.  And I say this as somebody who has been through public school.
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Colonol Dekker on October 03, 2008, 07:34:58 am
Schools are fine, it's the majority of students that make it an abomination.

Edit
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Solatar on October 03, 2008, 09:04:14 am
I went to a Catholic elementary school (public for two years of it) then a public middle school and finally a Catholic highschool.

Whether or not you agree with the religion, they do a great job of educating. If you're not Catholic, you might have to sit through an hour of mass a week or take a few religion classes (easy A's...) but many in my highschool (it was only 60/40 Catholic/non-Catholic IIRC) thought it was worth it.

EDIT: It then becomes a choice of whether you want to deal with rednecks in public school or snooty ****s in private school...
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: colecampbell666 on October 03, 2008, 02:23:06 pm
The Canadian system sucks, they push you through till 10th grade,a nd then you can fail as much as you want after that.
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Colonol Dekker on October 03, 2008, 02:57:59 pm
Wanting to fail? :confused: does not compute.
 
Life's competetive. Don't take anything less than gold.
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Solatar on October 03, 2008, 03:43:27 pm
Believe it or not, much of today's youth do not really give two ****s how they do in school. It's sad really. I know somebody who dropped out of public highschool the DAY he turned 18, despite being two weeks from graduating. You can't fix stupid.
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Hazaanko on October 03, 2008, 03:54:42 pm
Wow thats.... pretty extreme.  Thats teachers for you these days though.  Get away with teaching whatever they want pretty much.
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Colonol Dekker on October 03, 2008, 04:06:58 pm
Believe it or not, much of today's youth do not really give two ****s how they do in school.

It was the same a decade ago when i was a lad, not my attitude at school. But the fact my secondar/comprehensice <yank>high</high> school had an eleven foot fence, security cameras and we had to be buzzed in back in 1995, pretty much set the standard in south east london before steven laurence was even stabbed. if you didn't survie malory, ......man you never had a chance.


i encourage you to google stats and history of it.

It was in Donwham/grove park.
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Ford Prefect on October 03, 2008, 05:05:09 pm
I went to an excellent public school, thank you very much. The only major problem with public education is the fact that it's dependent on property taxes, so rich towns have good schools and poor towns have ****ty ones.
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Colonol Dekker on October 03, 2008, 05:14:44 pm
i didn;t say public schoo produces bad people i said.

Schools are fine, it's the majority of students that make it an abomination.

Edit
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Ford Prefect on October 03, 2008, 05:17:21 pm
Sorry, that wasn't a response to you; I should've quoted Goober. I'm really hung over right now.
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Solatar on October 03, 2008, 06:14:26 pm
I went to an excellent public school, thank you very much. The only major problem with public education is the fact that it's dependent on property taxes, so rich towns have good schools and poor towns have ****ty ones.

I agree. I live in the Nashville, TN area and several of the school systems are amazing, while a few of the rural areas in the outlying areas are dismal.
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: BloodEagle on October 03, 2008, 06:42:21 pm
Believe it or not, much of today's youth do not really give two ****s how they do in school. It's sad really. I know somebody who dropped out of public highschool the DAY he turned 18, despite being two weeks from graduating. You can't fix stupid.

This usually goes double for college students*.

*At least for the ones I knew**.

**I didn't like them in the slightest***.

***Because they were all assholes.
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Goober5000 on October 03, 2008, 06:59:02 pm
I went to an excellent public school, thank you very much.
So did I, and I did very well too.  That doesn't change my point.
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Ford Prefect on October 03, 2008, 07:12:19 pm
That the public school system sucks all around? I admit two schools isn't a great sample but I don't see where you're coming from.
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: S-99 on October 03, 2008, 08:18:25 pm
I'd say the freedom writers diaries should stick with highschool only. Junior high seems like those years perfectly ripe for "to kill a mockingbird." That one book suggested by your bros 5th grade teacher sounds quite filled with adult content (i don't mean porno), as well as an uneducated choice of book for a 5th grader.

Anywho, they should hurry up and give him the sex ed class. I had sex ed when i was in 5th grade :yes:
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Polpolion on October 03, 2008, 09:40:31 pm
Yeah, the public schooling system pretty much sucks all around.  Homeschooling is A-1 SUPAR.  And I say this as somebody who has been through public school.

Public schooling would rock just as much as homeschooling if there was a 1:1 teacher to student ratio...
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Mars on October 04, 2008, 12:55:28 am
Depends on the teacher you end up with... a lot. (I was home schooled 2 years in elementary school)

In another example, if I ended up with my Sociology teacher, as a Highschool English teacher and it was a 1 on 1 setting... I'd go crazy

Honestly, my mother was a horrible, horrible teacher.
Title: Re: The Freedom Writer's Diaries... in a 5th grade class?
Post by: Solatar on October 04, 2008, 10:52:04 pm
I disagree with the 1:1 ratio being the best at all times. Sure I would have loved to have learned math one on one, and my private lessons from my violin professor are clearly the best way to learn. However, think back to many of the history classes I had with 20 other people. The discussions you can have in a class setting like that are irreplaceable.