Week One - Public Education

[Alex Gandy]

At the beginning of Ch. 4, after completing first grade, Scout feels that school was cheating her out of something and that she would have to endure "twelve years of unrelieved boredom."  After reading about Scout's school experience in Ch. 2-4, do you think this is fair for her to say?  Why?

Thinking about education in general, do you think this assessment of public schools is accurate or is it too harsh?  Would you describe your experience in public school in a similar or different way?    

[Ali Quarles]

I think personally she was right to describe her experience how she did. Public Schools merely teach you memorization. I feel like there is a lot of good information the schools give us, but they way of testing and using the informations she similar to her experience. She knows a lot, but the school just does not know how to deal with what she already knows.

Alison Marie Quarles

On Apr 28, 2013, at 11:43 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote:

At the beginning of Ch. 4, after completing first grade, Scout feels that school was cheating her out of something and that she would have to endure "twelve years of unrelieved boredom."  After reading about Scout's school experience in Ch. 2-4, do you think this is fair for her to say?  Why?

Thinking about education in general, do you think this assessment of public schools is accurate or is it too harsh?  Would you describe your experience in public school in a similar or different way?    

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[Dalia Gabriela Rebolledo]

Scout has the right to say that her education is boring because it really is. She's having an education in which she can't learn to read or write until she goes to a higher class, but the fact that she already knows how to read makes the whole class boring and is not fair for her to learn to read "the right way" when she already knows how to read. She should be given the choice to go to a class where she could learn useful things, but "it was not until the sixth grade that one learned anything of value." I think this educational system is to harsh, nothing compared to my education (since I always learned things of value and there was no right way of learning).

2013/4/29 Ali Quarles <alison....@yahoo.com>

[Jacob Tanamachi]

From my personal experience, the majority of learning achieved has been done outside of school; learning through real-life situations. Aside from a select-few classes, school simply shows you what things are rather than explaining how they are, or how they came to be. For example, I sit every day in chemistry for 50 minutes to learn about numbers, theories, letters, and equations that will have no relevance whatsoever to my life and what I plan to do with it. I believe that school assessment is in general, neither harsh nor accurate, but rather invalid. In my perfect world, schools would be tailored for every student's specific desires and aspirations rather than effectively clumping up a mediocre curriculum into a ball and shoving it down our throats every day for 2/3 of every year. 

On Sun, Apr 28, 2013 at 11:43 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote:

At the beginning of Ch. 4, after completing first grade, Scout feels that school was cheating her out of something and that she would have to endure "twelve years of unrelieved boredom."  After reading about Scout's school experience in Ch. 2-4, do you think this is fair for her to say?  Why?

Thinking about education in general, do you think this assessment of public schools is accurate or is it too harsh?  Would you describe your experience in public school in a similar or different way?    

--

[Caleb Smith-Shaw]

I feel like school has kept her from learning more than it has taught her anything. Scout is obviously capable of reading and writing, whereas the other students in her class are not. In her  class, she doesn't feel like she is learning anything, and learning is something she enjoys. These reasons along with her unlikeable teacher are why she probably feels the way she does, and is probably not looking forward to the years to come.

[Jacob Tanamachi]

Ali, I agree with you about Public Schools merely teaching us memorization. A class with true depth and pursuit like Ms. Gandy's is very hard to come by. I feel like a robot being fed information threw a preverbal tube every day in almost every class. I believe that students should be taught information based on what they plan to do with their adult lives, so they can be better prepared for college and a future career of their choice. 

[dali...@gmail.com]

Jacob~ I agree with the fact that schools sometimes teach things that students may be the least interested in, but what do you mean with invalid? Do you think that in the book the educational system is invalid rather than harsh?

-----Original Message-----
Date: Monday, April 29, 2013 5:13:23 pm
To: fg...@googlegroups.com
From: "Jacob Tanamachi" <jet.tan...@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Week One - Public Education

From my personal experience, the majority of learning achieved has been
done outside of school; learning through real-life situations. Aside from a
select-few classes, school simply shows you what things are rather than
explaining how they are, or how they came to be. For example, I sit every
day in chemistry for 50 minutes to learn about numbers, theories, letters,
and equations that will have no relevance whatsoever to my life and what I
plan to do with it. I believe that school assessment is in general, neither
harsh nor accurate, but rather invalid. In my perfect world, schools would
be tailored for every student's specific desires and aspirations rather
than effectively clumping up a mediocre curriculum into a ball and shoving
it down our throats every day for 2/3 of every year.

[Shaye Murray]

Jacob and Alison, I agree with you both. School is too repetitive and irrelevant to have true meaning. There is a need for basic knowledge, but as you said Jacob now I sit in classes for 50 minutes where I learn things that won't benefit me in my future pursuits.

[Shaye Murray]

Scout has every right to say her schooling is cheating her out of something. She is being restricted on the amount she is allowed learn. As if she's not allowed to advance if her classmates aren't at the same pace. Similar to the "no child left behind" campaign that we use in our own school system. I think the fact that as a first grader she already knows the education system is corrupt really says a lot about it. For twelve years she will be force fed a lot of information she won't use and will most likely forget when it isn't necessary for her to know it anymore. It is sad to think about how our school experience is similar to hers though it's 50 years later. Why have we not made any changes in our education system when it is what shapes and advances our society?

Sent from my iPhone

[Wil Kahlich]

I think this is very fair for her to assume. She has a very narrow range of experience in this regard, and all of it proves it to be true. She has gone from playing everyday with her brother and having free reign over her activities, so a slow-paced, regimented environment. An environment that is also behind her current skills, as she can both read and write.
I think it is unfair to generalize all public schools in this way. The school experience much depends on the attitude of the teacher and how they engage the class. My personal experience has been fortunate, in that I have had good teachers that have kept me interested and made my school experience fun and engaging.

On Sun, Apr 28, 2013 at 11:43 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote:

At the beginning of Ch. 4, after completing first grade, Scout feels that school was cheating her out of something and that she would have to endure "twelve years of unrelieved boredom."  After reading about Scout's school experience in Ch. 2-4, do you think this is fair for her to say?  Why?

Thinking about education in general, do you think this assessment of public schools is accurate or is it too harsh?  Would you describe your experience in public school in a similar or different way?    

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-Wil

[Ali Quarles]

I completely agree with Caleb. I that the teacher is purposely holding her back. She wants to learn something she enjoys and not have to relearn what she already knows. Some people do not realize there is more than one way to do or learn things. Just because it is different does not mean it is completely wrong.

Alison Marie Quarles

[Ali Quarles]

I completely also agree with Wil. Not all public schools are this way. I mean I personally went to a great elementary school that seem to let there students expand pervious knowledge and almost start to bridge that knowledge with what they are teaching instead or completely blocking it out. This is the best way of teaching a young child.

Alison Marie Quarles

[Wil Kahlich]

This is a response to pretty much everybody-

I think that the purpose of elementary school, middle school, and highschool is to prepare you for your general education and for life overall. This is why you have to take PE classes - because being fit will benefit you. This is why you have to take health  - because knowing how your body works is important. This is why you have to take comm. aps. - because knowing how to speak publicly is important regardless of what career you wish to pursue.
Also, there is a reason we have electives: so that you CAN begin to learn about what you want to. Pearce has many different classes to sign up for that are relevant to many, many fields.

But truly learning about the career you want is what college is for. At college, you learn what you need to know for that job. All of your education up until then is preparing you for that education. It is unfair to say the public school is irrelevant - it isn't.

--
-Wil

[Alexandra Olazaran]

I feel like Scout's assessment of public ELEMENTARY school is correct but not public school in general. In elementary school you're looked down upon by your teachers if you know more than your peers, but then in public high school you are expected to be the smartest. In general, both are boring though because most subjects do not relate to your life and I understand how starting school can feel like entering jail.
It is definitely fair for Scout to feel cheated and that school is wrong because school should promote learning while her teacher wants her to unlearn. I haven't personally been in a situation where a teacher asks me to unlearn, but I have been treated differently by my peers for knowing more and they have wanted me to unlearn.

On Apr 29, 2013, at 11:14 PM, "dali...@gmail.com" <dali...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Sarah Park]

Scout does have the right to say that school was cheating her out of something and that she would have to endure "twelve ears of unrelieved boredom". In chapters 2-4, Miss. Caroline stopped her from learning further and into a more advanced level. School has cheated her out of learning more than she already knows. If she has an higher knowledge and skills, she should be able to move on further, however, because of the strict curriculum, she will have to stay with the rest of the group and their slower learning abilities.

Relating this to the current education system, I think that it is pretty accurate because like Jacob mentioned, we are required to sit in a classroom every single day learning things that may not be in our best interests. I think that sometimes, when I am learning in a classroom and understand some concepts quicker and easier than other students, I am not allowed to go on. I am told to stay with the rest of the class and to not work ahead.

[Mikayla Lewison]

I feel like Scout is very fair to say that school is boring to her. She is very smart for her age and isn't challenged at school due to the fact that no other child in the first grade is on her learning level. Coming from a private school for 15 years of my life and transferring to public school, the curriculum is very different. I often notice a repetition in the assignments from my private school to Pearce, but not as in depth. She has every right to say it's boring because sometimes I feel the same way. I'm not saying public school is boring my any means because trust me somethings are difficult for me to learn, but I find myself relearning curriculum while others are learning it for the first time.

-Mikayla Lewison

---

From: Ali Quarles <alison....@yahoo.com>
To: "fg...@googlegroups.com" <fg...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 3:32 PM

Subject: Re: Week One - Public Education

[Ali Quarles]

I think the reason we have to sit in classes we don't have interests in is because we need to get a taste of everything. School is suppose to help us expand our horizons. No one comes out of the womb knowing physics or knowing geometry.

Alison Marie Quarles

[Charlie Tapken]

I believe it is completely right for her to say because shes learning things that she already knows and her education is being limited. Compared to our education I wouldn't say it was "tweleve years of unrelieved boredom" in the way she means it. She means it more in an educational way but people always say school is boring but that is just because of the different interest not the fact that were having to learn the same stuff over and over and do it the exact way the teacher says even if there is a way that helps us out more. If we knew something that school hadn't taught us yet and then we begin to learn that same thing again in school but we had to basically go through the entire learning process and pretend or be limited to what we were suppose to do or say school would be pretty boring especially not learning anything new.

On Sun, Apr 28, 2013 at 11:43 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote:

At the beginning of Ch. 4, after completing first grade, Scout feels that school was cheating her out of something and that she would have to endure "twelve years of unrelieved boredom."  After reading about Scout's school experience in Ch. 2-4, do you think this is fair for her to say?  Why?

Thinking about education in general, do you think this assessment of public schools is accurate or is it too harsh?  Would you describe your experience in public school in a similar or different way?    

--

[Igor Do Nascimento]

I think that most people are taking it too much on the basis of learning new stuff or learning unnecessary stuff, when Scout says she feels that school was cheating her out of something and that she would have to endure "twelve years of unrelieved boredom.", in my opinion scout says that because she always saw kids in school playing, gathering, having fun, and obviously learning new things everyday, but right on her first day of school things don't go well for her, which gives her a first bad impression of school and the imprudent actions of the new teacher towards her irks her.

[reese.svetgoff]

I think Scout's assessment of education is fair for her particular case. Scout is a first grader who can read very well, in fact, she is advanced for her age. This is the only reason why she is so bored. It is because she is not learning anything new. In my personal opinion, I think standardized testing is pushing our classes to a point to where all we can do is memorize the information, contrary to understanding it. This constant blind learning is pushing us over the edge, and into the pit of endless boredom. This is why I agree with Scout because in most classes at school, we don't truly learn, we memorize, and endure.

[zulrich]

To be honest, I think school is not a waste of time. Education is necessary to a successful life, that is, if you want to be successful. Generally, people want to be successful, just throwing that out there. You can't have that Ferrari, or expensive phone you always wanted if you don't have a job, which requires some education prior to even getting the job. So, education is important. It's not fair to say she has to endure the "12 years of unrevealed boredom" because she wont have much more of a future now than she did then.

On Sunday, April 28, 2013 11:43:31 PM UTC-5, Alex Gandy wrote:

[Meagan Kelly]

I really like what you have to say Igor. From our point of view school can be repetitive, but from Scout's point of view school is holding her back from learning more. Her teacher is actually telling her "Stop learning, you're too smart."

I do believe that our schools are boring but can you honestly say you haven't learned something that won't help you in life? I mean unnecessary maybe, but it won't make you worse off in life. 

Ps great use of vocabulary Igor (;

Sent from my iPhone

[Shaye Murray]

But Alison, why are we forced to sit and learn things that won't benefit us in the future? Why can't we just attend the classes that would help us in our future ventures? We all have interests. Now we need classes that teach us things that we could use to make a career out of our interests.

Sent from my iPhone

[Siqi Huang]

Although the informations we learn doesn't necessarily come in handy when it comes to life, education is, nevertheless, still essential to children's development. Rather than pushing what algebra or mixing atoms or learning history will ever help us survive in a forest, it is about the way we learn to deal with troubles that somewhat parallels with reality. There are many obstacles in life and the way us students deal with it usually reflects on how we will deal situations in life. I'm not saying everyone is like this. But going to school and accomplishing their requirements structure our attitudes. Also I'd like to clarify that there's definitely a lot of pressure and people often confuse education with intelligence. Scout definitely seems to be capable of more than what her grade requires and in this case, school should guide her instead of rigidly setting her on just one level at a time. In our current education system, I feel like all I am good at is finishing tasks on time while procrastinating. The idea of ranks puts on pressure and a lot of times lower some people's esteem. I know that if we try we would get far but I see kids who have the potential to reach beyond but aren't able to express that through ranks or digits. I just want to clarify that intelligence and education are two different things because people often lose the meaning of that due to competition and stress

---

From: alexga...@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:43:31 -0500
Subject: Week One - Public Education
To: fg...@googlegroups.com

At the beginning of Ch. 4, after completing first grade, Scout feels that school was cheating her out of something and that she would have to endure "twelve years of unrelieved boredom."  After reading about Scout's school experience in Ch. 2-4, do you think this is fair for her to say?  Why?

Thinking about education in general, do you think this assessment of public schools is accurate or is it too harsh?  Would you describe your experience in public school in a similar or different way?    

[Katharine Jovicich]

Scout was right to say this because her teacher should of been proud of one of her students being able to read and write. Scout should have been able to skip a grade or not be told to stop learning.
Public schools very because there's advanced placement classes and regular classes. Advanced classes tend to not be boring and have more homewok. Regular classes tend to have less homework and don't cover as much therefore most of the time it can be boring.
I do think Scout will go through school and be more challenged, so she won't be bored for 12 years. A good chunk of her school career will be boring.

[Caleb Smith-Shaw]

Jacob, I agree with you. Much of schooling, especially in elementary school, is based on repetition and memorization. There isn't much room for individual learning when you are in a situation such as Scout's, where everyone is taught using the bland Dewey Decimal method. I think Scout has the right to feel the way she does about school. Because she already knows most of the material that she is being taught in class probably angers her because she likes to learn. I think that another main reason for Scout feeling the way she does about school is because of her teacher, Ms. Caroline.

[Blake Grabsky]

     Shay, I think it's good that we learn things that we may not necessarily be interested in. I, and probably many others, still don't know what career I want to pursue. Learning a little of everything can guide me in the general direction of what I'd want to be. 

     That's what's so great about middle school and high school - We take core classes and electives. So, we get to learn important material that is very useful (like math and English) while taking other classes that we're interested in.

     I don't think Scout is going to be miserable for all of her 12 years of education. But I do think she will be for elementary school.

     In middle and high school, we get to take electives, so school actually has some interest in it. However, in my elementary school, there was no freedom of choice. 

     I was never able to make any decisions concerning my schedule. We had one teacher for each year (called our Homeroom Teacher) and one classroom for each year. This one teacher would teach us math, English, ect. Elementary School wasn't interesting and it got old really soon.

--Blake Grabsky

Sent from my iPhone 5

[Amy Schmitt]

I think it was fair of Scout to call school boring because she is at least three years ahead of the school curriculum and when a child is that advanced, going over the basics seems dull, or boring. I think Scout was making a huge assumption when she stated that the next twelve years would be "of unrelieved boredom," because the work load could very well catch up to her, and the amount of children who have to repeat grades because of a lack of care will drop but I understand that she was just starting school and wasn't being dead serious. 

I think that the assessment is too harsh, because generally children go to school to learn, and if they already understand the concept at hand then they are not learning. I would describe my experience in a similar way in subjects like math because I already know the curriculum, but I wouldn't call Chemistry boring because I have so much to learn. Also, I wouldn't call my English class boring, not because I'm being pushed to learn a new concept, but because I am being pushed to think about new concepts, and I am able to think about them in an entirely new light. 

[Amy Schmitt]

At the beginning of Ch. 4, after completing first grade, Scout feels that school was cheating her out of something and that she would have to endure "twelve years of unrelieved boredom."  After reading about Scout's school experience in Ch. 2-4, do you think this is fair for her to say?  Why?

Thinking about education in general, do you think this assessment of public schools is accurate or is it too harsh?  Would you describe your experience in public school in a similar or different way?

 

I think it was fair of Scout to call school boring because she is at least three years ahead of the school curriculum and when a child is that advanced, going over the basics seems dull, or boring. I think Scout was making a huge assumption when she stated that the next twelve years would be "of unrelieved boredom," because the work load could very well catch up to her, and the amount of children who have to repeat grades because of a lack of care will drop but I understand that she was just starting school and wasn't being dead serious. 

I think that the assessment is too harsh, because generally children go to school to learn, and if they already understand the concept at hand then they are not learning. I would describe my experience in a similar way in subjects like math because I already know the curriculum, but I wouldn't call Chemistry boring because I have so much to learn. Also, I wouldn't call my English class boring, not because I'm being pushed to learn a new concept, but because I am being pushed to think about new concepts, and I am able to think about them in an entirely new light. 

[zulrich]

I really like what the both of you have to say. On Meagan's side, yes. You never know when you will need to know that one thing you thought was not important. Yes, I agree that everyone in school, has learned something useful at one point. Hey, you learned the Capital of the United States is Washington D.C., right? See? Something useful. On Igor's side, Nice use of vocab dude :) and I agree, she already knew too much and learning it again is like torture to her. I know for me, re-reading a good book isn't as good as reading it the first time, because you already know what happens in the end.

[Jansen Rees]

Yes, I do believe that that is fair for her to say. Everyone has a right to their own opinion and if Scout believes she is being cut short, than that is what she believes. In my opinion, I agree with her. Scout is already smarter than her class mates because she can read and write, but yet her teacher, Miss Caroline, makes her stop. I do believe this statement is some what accurate. For example, some kids learn faster than others and yet they still have to learn at the same pace as everyone else. In my opinion, I do think those kids are being cheated out of something. If they are being taught what they already know, then what are they learning? This causes those kids to become bored and not like school. I do not believe I am being cheated out of anything, but I know from experience that some kids do. 

[Jansen Rees]

Yes, I do believe that that is fair for her to say. Everyone has a right to their own opinion and if Scout believes she is being cut short, then that is what she believes. In my opinion, I agree with her. Scout is already smarter than her class mates because she can read and write, but yet her teacher, Miss Caroline, makes her stop. I do believe this statement is some what accurate. For example, some kids learn faster than others and yet they still have to learn at the same pace as everyone else. In my opinion, I do think those kids are being cheated out of something. If they are being taught what they already know, then what are they learning? This causes those kids to become bored and not like school. I do not believe I am being cheated out of anything, but I know from experience that some kids do. 

[Jansen Rees]

I like Igor's point about us thinking too much about the learning aspect because I did it that way. I never thought about her not liking school because she had a bad first day. That would make a lot of sense because she is in fact only in first grade so her saying "twelve years of unrelieved boredom" could and most likely was just an exaggeration. I also agree with Will. Like he said, Scout goes from doing basically whatever she wants to, to being confined in a classroom with rules she's never had before. Just based off that, I can see why she would not like school. 

Sent from my iPhone

[Emma Preston]

I think Scout is completely justified in saying that her schooling is boring. The material that is being covered in her class is not on par with her skill level. As to whether public schools in general are as boring as Scout is finding her own, I think it depends on the student, the teacher, and the dynamics between the two. Some personalities mix better than others, and that is something that we unfortunately have to deal with as we progress through our schooling. I also think that we are forced to do too much memorization. Instead, we should be focusing on skills we will need in the future, and figuring out where our interests lie, among other things. 

[Mikayla Lewison]

Shaye makes a good point! If we are forced to learn something we don't want to learn, we'll get bored. We wouldn't retain any knowledge we don't want or think is necessary. I mean, it's not like everyone likes school even, and if we are forced to learn how awful is that? Alison is right though by saying that we should "expand our horizons" but I think only to an extent. If we want to be a doctor when we grow up and we are in a class learning about how to build robots, that can't help us in what we want to do for the future.

---

From: Shaye Murray <murray...@gmail.com>
To: "fg...@googlegroups.com" <fg...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 4:09 PM

[Caleb Smith-Shaw]

I agree with Blake's point that sometimes being exposed to different things in school can be helpful. I am sure that many people who once had a good idea of what they wanted to do in life ended up in an occupation different to what they had imagined earlier in their life. I think the main reason why Scout is dreading the upcoming years of schooling is because of Miss Caroline. This is her first year of school and she doesn't have experience with any other teachers. For all Scout knows, all of her teachers might be just like Miss Caroline. 

[Emma Preston]

Shaye, I completely agree with the point you made about how we have to sit through classes that are irrelevant to our future. We should not have to spend our time memorizing formulas and trying to keep enthalpy vs. entropy straight if we have a passion for, say, writing and we know we want to pursue a career in journalism. Or, if we have to attend these classes when we know we will not have any future in them, we should at least have a wider selection of electives to choose from, or ones that are at least more career-specific. 

[Gissel Glez]

For Scout feeling that school was cheating her out of something in the short time she had been in her first's grade at school can show that she absolutely dislikes school. This can be a really big problem because she still does not know how school is exactly.  She knows more than the students in her class, also she seems not to be interested in learning or school because of the teacher telling her to stop leaning new things. This normally does not happen in any school for example in public schools they support you and teach you well without being too harsh on you.

 From my personal experience in school I actually have had very good teachers that had teach me many things in my education that will help me to succeed in school, but Scouts education is a really different experience from mine.

---

From: alexga...@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:43:31 -0500

Subject: Week One - Public Education
To: fg...@googlegroups.com

[Angelica Pasaran]

I think Scout has every right to state her opinion like that. She is smarter compared to the other students in her class and she shouldn't have to dumb down to their level. Today we have PreAP and AP classes. We all learn at different paces and PreAP and AP classes happen to teach faster. We have the choice to learn at a faster pace unlike Scout, she has to put up with the students who have failed multiple amount of times, --- On Mon, 4/29/13, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Sarah Park]

Although I did say that sometimes public schools can be boring, I agree with Wil. Public schools base their curriculum to prepare us for the future. It gives us a variety of subjects to find an interest in and a basis for any future career. Personally, I have been to a magnet school and a public school, and without those education systems and curriculum, I wouldn't have the knowledge I do now. I also completely agree with Alex. In the book, it only shows Scout attending elementary school, but not all the public schools in general. It is true that in elementary school, teachers tell you to stay put and follow along with the rest of the class, but in high school, you are expected to exceed. Scout has only experienced a fraction of public schools, but with that fraction, she has the right to say that public schools are boring. However, I think that you need to have experienced the full education within the public school system to really judge how you feel. 

[Siqi Huang]

Shaye, I wondered about that too and I've been one of those who would complete tasks because it's required. I understand that nothing in chemistry will ever spark my interest in the science field and that proofs from geometry will never help me in life. However, it's the way we resolve obstacles. So school actually DOES shape us into the way we look at the world. Think of English, when we were in elementary most of our vocabulary and grammar were pretty dry but as we grew, our dictionary expanded too. Every little aspects, like the way we communicate and different methods to solve certain math problems, sum to who we are today.

---

Subject: Re: Week One - Public Education

From: murray...@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:09:59 -0500
To: fg...@googlegroups.com

[Kennedy Curley]

I think Scout has a valid argument because she has already learned how to read, so she's basically waiting on everyone else to catch up with her and for the school to teach her a new way of reading and writing. Scout essentially has to wait another year before they even teach the other students how to do what she already understands. It's not fair for her. Fortunately, in my opinion, our educational system has been better about that. We all learned how to read around the same time, and it was earlier than third grade. Since junior high, we have had the option of taking PreAp or regular courses, so it's kind of like choosing your level of learning.

[Amy Schmitt]

I agree with you Shaye about how our school system today is similar to Scout's. I don't think that we are forced into classes with others who aren't on the same learning curve as us though because we are able to chose what courses we take now. The Sophomores who are only in the same grade as me because of the "no child left behind" system aren't necessarily in the same classes as I am because of the available AP and pre-AP  courses I am able to take as apposed to the regular ones. I understand however that elementary school is different than high school, and I understand that the level at which students learned was very different then. I also agree with you (and loved how you phrased it) when you stated that education shapes and advances our society.

On Wed, May 1, 2013 at 9:35 PM, Sarah Park <ha.y...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Robert Cooper Flickinger]

I Agree with what alison is saying. Just because your in a certain grade doesnt mean that you have the same intelligence level as everyone else. The fact that scout knows more than she is learning gives her the right to say that what she is learning now is boring because if she already knows half the things she is being taught then it is bound to be boring

[Angelica Pasaran]

I agree with Shaye. we shouldn't have to sit in a class that wont benefit us in our future. Of course we need the basic knowledge like Shaye said, but it's pointless having to take a class that wont be relevant in our future. we should be able to pick classes that WILL be relevant in out future. --- On Tue, 4/30/13, Shaye Murray <murray...@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Shaye Murray <murray...@gmail.com> Subject: Re: Week One - Public Education

To: "fg...@googlegroups.com" <fg...@googlegroups.com> Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2013, 6:26 AM

Jacob and Alison, I agree with you both. School is too repetitive and irrelevant to have true meaning. There is a need for basic knowledge, but as you said Jacob now I sit in classes for 50 minutes where I learn things that won't benefit me in my future pursuits. On Apr 29, 2013, at 11:14 PM, "dali...@gmail.com" <dali...@gmail.com> wrote: > Jacob~ I agree with the fact that schools sometimes teach things that students may be the least interested in, but what do you mean with invalid? Do you think that in the book the educational system is invalid rather than harsh? > -----Original Message----- > Date: Monday, April 29, 2013 5:13:23 pm > To: fg...@googlegroups.com > From: "Jacob Tanamachi" <jet.tan...@gmail.com>

> Subject: Re: Week One - Public Education >

> From my personal experience, the majority of learning achieved has been > done outside of school; learning through real-life situations. Aside from a > select-few classes, school simply shows you what things are rather than > explaining how they are, or how they came to be. For example, I sit every > day in chemistry for 50 minutes to learn about numbers, theories, letters, > and equations that will have no relevance whatsoever to my life and what I > plan to do with it. I believe that school assessment is in general, neither > harsh nor accurate, but rather invalid. In my perfect world, schools would > be tailored for every student's specific desires and aspirations rather > than effectively clumping up a mediocre curriculum into a ball and shoving > it down our throats every day for 2/3 of every year. > >

> On Sun, Apr 28, 2013 at 11:43 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> At the beginning of Ch. 4, after completing first grade, Scout feels that >> school was cheating her out of something and that she would have to endure >> "twelve years of unrelieved boredom."  After reading about Scout's school >> experience in Ch. 2-4, do you think this is fair for her to say?  Why? >> >> Thinking about education in general, do you think this assessment of >> public schools is accurate or is it too harsh?  Would you describe your >> experience in public school in a similar or different way? >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "fgsea" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an

>> email to fgsea+unsub...@googlegroups.com.

>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "fgsea" group.

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[Caren Aguilar]

Yeah, the only reason that Mrs.Caroline didn't want Scout to read was because 1: SHE wanted to be the one to teach all the first graders how to read , 2: It's almost like she doesn't like it when kids actually lean by themselves and not by her hand, and 3:she seems to ether want to teach the kids the new decimal system, or she just hated Scout in general( and maybe she doesn't get the whole country town thing or feel of the town) who knows, she seemed to be very stressed on the first day of school, so it might be just that.

---

From: Kennedy Curley <kennedy...@gmail.com>
To: fg...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wed, May 1, 2013 9:40:06 PM

[Caren Aguilar]

I agree, the more exposed you are to different things, the better you will be in the future, its as Harper Lee intended in her book, you must look at the world in someone elses eyes then you can understand how they feel at times.

---

From: Caleb Smith-Shaw <calebsm...@gmail.com>
To: fg...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wed, May 1, 2013 7:09:42 PM

Subject: Re: Week One - Public Education

[Kennedy Curley]

Shaye brings up a good point, and I understand it but I also understand the opposing point. We need to learn the basics of our core classes, but the only class that I think everyone will need in the future is English. A lot of us already know what subjects we know we want to cut off of our schedule. For example, mine would be chemistry. I love my teacher and classmates, but I don't understand it at all, and I don't ever want to have to take it again because I won't need it for the career I'm choosing to pursue. However, I understand that we have to take some of these classes because a lot of students don't know what they want to do in their future, so they need to know everything in order to make a better decision on what they want to do. Stats show that 70% of college students change their major at least once. If this scenario of choosing your classes based on your desired future were true, those students who change their major to something else might need knowledge in a class that they didn't take because it wasn't in their original plans. If that were the case, then they would have dug themselves into a very deep hole.

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[Owen Lee]

I completely agree with Angelica. She stated that we have PreAp, AP, and regular classes for students nowadays. I do not think it is fair for her to stay when she is so much more advanced than the majority of her class. Like a few students were saying, school is too repetitive for Scout. She already knows the information they are going over, which makes it unfair to Scout considering the fact that she is about three grade levels higher than everyone else.  

[Robert Cooper Flickinger]

The teacher doesnt like the fact that scout knows more than everyone else and scout is bored because she knows more than  everyone else. She already knows how to read And write fairly well and this advantage over the other students and the fact that all the stuff that scout knows they will be learning over the years will prolong her boredom immensley

On Sun, Apr 28, 2013 at 11:43 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Caroline McCoy]

I agree with Jacob on the fact that we do learn things that will benefit us more not from the curriculum, but from our own personal experiences outside of school, possibly including a few that happen during school. Jacob talked about how in his perfect world schools would be tailored to each of our own specific needs and would have something to do with what we may or would like to be later on in life. I know none of that would ever happen, but if schools or anyone that has a say in what we learn would consider that thought, and consider that what we learn should benefit us instead of us learning it for one year and not using it again afterwards, maybe we would also be more interested and everyone would benefit from a bit of change in the planned education we currently have.

From: Angelica Pasaran <supe...@att.net>
To: fg...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 10:16 PM
Subject: Re: Week One - Public Education

I agree with Shaye. we shouldn't have to sit in a class that wont benefit us in our future. Of course we need the basic knowledge like Shaye said, but it's pointless having to take a class that wont be relevant in our future. we should be able to pick classes that WILL be relevant in out future. --- On Tue, 4/30/13, Shaye Murray <murray...@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Shaye Murray <murray...@gmail.com> Subject: Re: Week One - Public Education To: "fg...@googlegroups.com" <fg...@googlegroups.com> Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2013, 6:26 AM

Jacob and Alison, I agree with you both. School is too repetitive and irrelevant to have true meaning. There is a need for basic knowledge, but as you said Jacob now I sit in classes for 50 minutes where I learn things that won't benefit me in my future pursuits. On Apr 29, 2013, at 11:14 PM, "dali...@gmail.com" <dali...@gmail.com> wrote:> Jacob~ I agree with the fact that schools sometimes teach things that students may be the least interested in, but what do you mean with invalid? Do you think that in the book the educational system is invalid rather than harsh? > -----Original Message-----> Date: Monday, April 29, 2013 5:13:23 pm> To: fg...@googlegroups.com> From: "Jacob Tanamachi" <jet.tan...@gmail.com>> Subject: Re: Week One - Public Education> > From my personal experience, the majority of learning achieved has been> done outside of school; learning through real-life situations. Aside from a> select-few classes, school simply shows you what things are rather than> explaining how they are, or how they came to be. For example, I sit every> day in chemistry for 50 minutes to learn about numbers, theories, letters,> and equations that will have no relevance whatsoever to my life and what I> plan to do with it. I believe that school assessment is in general, neither> harsh nor accurate, but rather invalid. In my perfect world, schools would> be tailored for every student's specific desires and aspirations rather> than effectively clumping up a mediocre curriculum into a ball and shoving> it down our throats every day for 2/3 of every year.> > > On Sun, Apr 28, 2013 at 11:43 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote:> >> At the beginning of Ch. 4, after completing first grade, Scout feels that>> school was cheating her out of something and that she would have to endure>> "twelve years of unrelieved boredom."  After reading about Scout's school>> experience in Ch. 2-4, do you think this is fair for her to say?  Why?>> >> Thinking about education in general, do you think this assessment of>> public schools is accurate or is it too harsh?  Would you describe your>> experience in public school in a similar or different way?>> >> -->> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups>> "fgsea" group.>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an>> email to fgsea+unsub...@googlegroups.com.>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "fgsea" group.> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to fgsea+unsub...@googlegroups.com.> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.> > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "fgsea" group.> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to fgsea+unsub...@googlegroups.com.> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "fgsea" group.To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to fgsea+unsub...@googlegroups.com.For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.

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[Caroline McCoy]

Of course there are some teachers out there that do have some good ideas, but even as early as grade school a lot of the fun learning ideas that our teachers had were taken out because the state required even more tests to be taken throughout the school year. They were forced to spend needless time in class on a curriculum that we are all guessing we have. No one is even sure what the state will put into those tests, which wastes a lot of time. So even though we know we all need to learn, the government doesn't have the best idea of what we do in classrooms and how our learning should be accomplished.

From: Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com>
To: fg...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sunday, April 28, 2013 11:43 PM
Subject: Week One - Public Education

At the beginning of Ch. 4, after completing first grade, Scout feels that school was cheating her out of something and that she would have to endure "twelve years of unrelieved boredom."  After reading about Scout's school experience in Ch. 2-4, do you think this is fair for her to say?  Why?

Thinking about education in general, do you think this assessment of public schools is accurate or is it too harsh?  Would you describe your experience in public school in a similar or different way?    

--
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[Ethan Frechtman]

I think that for Scout's particular situation at that time, considering that she already knew a lot of what was being taught to her, it was perfectly warranted for her to think that school was cheating her out of having fun. She is not unlike a large number of current students (sometimes myself included) that have the thought of school being nothing more than boredom. I am not alone in thinking that the way education is being given to us by the school system right now is flawed. What good is the curriculum when it only prepares us for a test at the end of the year, and then the material is forgotten, and we start over the year after with more material that will again be forgotten as soon as its purpose has been fulfilled, ad infinitum.

On Sun, Apr 28, 2013 at 11:43 PM, Alex Gandy <alexga...@gmail.com> wrote: