My teachers just let me read and ignore the class, but they made sure my Dad got my homework assignments. The rest of the room might be doing algebra or chemistry, but I was traveling through Africa or China a few hundred years ago. When I finished reading about the Mongols, I’d be marching with the Ninth Legion, heading north from Hadrian’s Wall. (Spoiler alert— the Ninth never came back.)
Yeah, I read on about third grade level when I started school, just by sight recognition. So I never was in an actual reading group, just set in the back of the room with whatever book I chose. I learned about phonics when I had to start teaching reading.
When I was in grade school and time was set aside for us to do some exercises at our desks, and I finished quickly, the teachers were OK with me strolling over to the classroom encyclopedias and picking up where I’d left off reading them.
I think good teachers recognize that there’s a wide range of different abilities, interests, alertness levels, and ambition in a group of a couple of dozen kids whose main similarity is that they’re about the same age. If you just “teach to the average” (the middle of the bell curve) and do no more, you’re going to bore some of the kids at one tail of distribution and flummox some at the other end, which is why some time needs to be set aside for personal attention.
And I cannot stress strongly enuf my admiration for this good teacher’s habitual refrain of “any questions?”
Bilan 12 months ago
Caulfield, how about if she gives you more layers of assignments?
thevideostoreguy 12 months ago
Caulfield, buddy, it isn’t her job to make you care. That being said,it SHOULD be her goal.
fuzzbucket Premium Member 12 months ago
My teachers just let me read and ignore the class, but they made sure my Dad got my homework assignments. The rest of the room might be doing algebra or chemistry, but I was traveling through Africa or China a few hundred years ago. When I finished reading about the Mongols, I’d be marching with the Ninth Legion, heading north from Hadrian’s Wall. (Spoiler alert— the Ninth never came back.)
eced52 12 months ago
The look. All teachers have it. Chill you to the bone.
Ignatz Premium Member 12 months ago
My high school notebooks looked like I was taking a class in cartooning.
jessegooddoggy 12 months ago
Good conversation today.
sandpiper 12 months ago
As usual, Caulfield took the long way to get nowhere. Arguing logic with the Queen of Logic just left him cold.
goboboyd 12 months ago
Even bite-sized lessons can be a challenge for us ADHD folks drifting into our other worlds.
Diane Lee Premium Member 12 months ago
Yeah, I read on about third grade level when I started school, just by sight recognition. So I never was in an actual reading group, just set in the back of the room with whatever book I chose. I learned about phonics when I had to start teaching reading.
Mike Baldwin creator 12 months ago
Great stuff!
Otis Rufus Driftwood 12 months ago
Caulfield got another bad grade he doesn’t think he deserves?
Richard S Russell Premium Member 12 months ago
When I was in grade school and time was set aside for us to do some exercises at our desks, and I finished quickly, the teachers were OK with me strolling over to the classroom encyclopedias and picking up where I’d left off reading them.
I think good teachers recognize that there’s a wide range of different abilities, interests, alertness levels, and ambition in a group of a couple of dozen kids whose main similarity is that they’re about the same age. If you just “teach to the average” (the middle of the bell curve) and do no more, you’re going to bore some of the kids at one tail of distribution and flummox some at the other end, which is why some time needs to be set aside for personal attention.
And I cannot stress strongly enuf my admiration for this good teacher’s habitual refrain of “any questions?”