spoonek4

[QUOTE]Originally posted by KW-AP1
[B]

Oh sorry.

geppetto

You know, I guess when it comes down to it, it isn't the success in school that I am talking about, but rather the attitude. I know some kids that do very poorly in school, but I believe that they will do well in life because of their attitude.

One guy in particular is failing English 12 because he refuses to follow the rules the English teachers have dictated regarding creative writing and poetry. I know the kid is smart and he discusses the issue in an intellectual manner, and quite frankly his argument makes sense to me. He is going to miss graduation because he is making a conscious decision to not conform. I don't worry about him because he is taking a stand and he knows what the cost will be.

The ones that I have a problem with are the kids that think they can do nothing and expect to get something. I caught a bunch of kids cheating this year and their parents actually had the nerve to come in to the school to argue that the kids should not have been suspended because I didn't specifically say that they could not cheat. Believe it or not, one of the suspensions was overturned based on that argument. If the parents are acting this way, you can imagine what the kids are like.

I also know that the world is very competitive now, and some parents and kids don't realize just how hard it is to get into a good university/college/trade program. There is a huge gap between the achievers and the underachievers. I would say I have a bi-model distribution with my classes My class averages are still about 70%, but I end up with about 10 kids getting in the high 90's, and the other twenty in the low 50's. The kids that are in the lower category are fooling themselves if they think they are getting into a good post secondary program (and most of them believe that that is where they are headed -- can you say "would you like to supersize those fries???").

Then there is the government contributing to the problem. They quite correctly determined that graduation rates are too low, but instead of improving the education that the kids get, they lower the graduation requirements. This is brilliant... we'll increase the rate of stupid sloths graduating. It is equivalent to the Ministry of Health saying people are dying at too early of an age in life, therefore, we are shortening the number of days in the year from 365 days to 300. This will result in an increase in the average age of people before they die. Overnight the average life expectancy of a British Columbian will rise from 70 years of age to 85 years of age. Wow what a great job the ministry did! Of course, the end result is that we'll still only live about 25500 days. I just love those movable goal posts...

Bottom line, I feel that society is getting too soft. Parents (some, not all) are dropping the ball, teachers (some, not all) are giving up, students (some, not all) are missing the boat, and the government (pretty much the whole gang in Victoria) are a bunch of bone heads.

Now that is a rant!

spoonek4

[QUOTE]Originally posted by geppetto
[B]The ones that I have a problem with are the kids that think they can do nothing and expect to get something.

Indecision

It's gotten even easier, all they have to do is wave the squeezie!

amen!

navybeaN

Geppetto,

Interesting insight on how the high schools are now. Like you said, the ones that are expecting something for nothing are just fooling themselves. That's just the way the world works, with work, people, tangible, non-tangible things, and even family and relationships to some degree.

You know what they say, teaching is a noble profession. Someone's life you touch will someday become a doctor, political leader or CEO.

Btw, do you mind sharing with us which school you and your wife teach at?

swoosh

I think it's important that some of these kids understand the value of a dollar. Otherwise they'll be like one of my friends who is 40 and still doesn't know what he wants to do when he grows up. He still relies on the bank of " mom and dad" , and expects them to take care of him. He says he's just waiting for his inheritance.

Btw, who bought their car outright ?

Indecision

Not me, financed it at first. Just this year's May I decided to pay it off since my invested money aren't making $4/day to pay for the interest on the car

Speaking of owning the car. I've crossed the CA-US border about 6 times in the S since owning it, every single time I get the same set of questions depending on the car I drive:

custom: "how old are you?"
reply: <current age>
custom: "is this your car? do you own it?"
reply: "yes and yes"
custom: "what is your occupation?"
reply: <current job>

if I drive the CRV
custom: "where are you heading?"
reply: Seattle
custom: "how long are you planning to stay there?"

geppetto

I got an intersting question on a return trip from Seattle...

Question: "Is your car stock?"

Answer: "Everything but the floor mats."

Question: "You didn't have any modifications done while you were down in the states?

Answer: "No" (thanking my lucky stars I didn't go down to by some new SO2's).

spoonek4

That's right. How much it takes to earn 7 bucks?

My uncle referred me to work p/t and finally I sorta learnt how much it takes to earn that minimum wage(gotta work my fawking ass off!!!). Also learnt how to deal with ppl, proper work manner and attitude etc. Which I can never experienced from any co-op or CAPP program(sorry Mel ).

But I wasssssssssss sooooooooo happy when I got my first bunch of "blood money". Feel quite proud of myself that I made it. Feel better when I go out with friends, at least I don't need to put it on my parent's credit card (like somebody did coz his parents doesn't let him having too much cash flow).

So I will get my kids to start working right from high school. No matter they're doing good or bad in school, real life experience is important.