(no subject)

[meorae]

So I don't need new glasses and I also don't have glaucoma. For some reason, I only learned today when the optometrist checked both my dad's eyes and mine that my family has a history of glaucoma... Although according to wikipedia, there's only a six percent chance of having/developing glaucoma if there's a family history, so whatever.

And now I'm going to spam you all with links...

How to Read, written by columnist Nick Hornby.

Engines for Education. Which repeats the arguments against the current system that we've all had and discussed before and presents a solution. And then the author of that hyperbook/e-book/whatever you want to call it, Roger Schank, has an ongoing column about education here. I agree with almost everything he says. And I haven't seen anyone else who understands the viewpoint of the student in our current education system as well as he does. Ok, truthfully, I haven't done much research into what other people are saying about education, besides what my friends think, and what Paul Graham thinks. But if you have a couple hours on your hands, I'd suggest reading the book and columns.

Some amusing snakes on a plane references: this userpic and then Snape's on a Plane.

And nude rugby players, just because. They're nude, slashy, artistic and male. So obviously you're going to look at them. Except maybe not...

And then some random youtube videos:
Bush "singing" Sunday Bloody Sunday
House video set to Monty Python music
The Azkaban Cell Block Tango

Ok, I'll stop now. And maybe I'll stop updating every single day...

I really need to sort through my favorites/bookmarks/whatever and organize them better. I also need to clean up my desk, as I have a place for ever paper/book/magazine that's on it, but am too lazy to put things where they belong, so they end up in the disorganized mess that's on my desk right now. And to add to this list, I should also turn off my computer and read all those books I want to read, or watch all the television series everyone's always talking about (House, Numb3rs, Supernatural, etc) or sort through my clothes and give away the things I haven't worn in years and probably never will wear again that are just taking up space right now. And then I should write the english essay at some point and maybe skim through the math packet. Oh and I still need to see Snakes on a Plane and... *wanders off on the web and chooses not to do any of them*

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Pfft. Update as much as you want; it's your journal. Unless of course you don't want to be updating so much.

And I have seen maybe 2 episodes of Numb3rs and from what I can tell it's to die for. Aside from the brother yaoi. >>

[arrowwhiskers.livejournal.com]

Guh, that was me. I guess this is what I get for commenting instead of working...>>

[acern.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, have you looked at the comments for that Rugby post? XD

Because telephones are highly overrated....

[arsinyk.livejournal.com]

Are you free anytime before school starts?

Re: Because telephones are highly overrated....

[acern.livejournal.com]

Yes. I've got a friend over for the next week or so, though, so if I see you she might tag along. She's never been into yaoi or slash, but I'm in the process of converting her, so you can help me if you like. :D

Re: Because telephones are highly overrated....

[arsinyk.livejournal.com]

An innocent! How exciting! :D

Would you and your friend like to come see SoaP or something with me and Katherine sometime this week?

Re: Because telephones are highly overrated....

[acern.livejournal.com]

I think we would. I'm not sure when she's leaving, so I'll ask, but I think we're free pretty much all day most of the week.
Gianna also mentioned she'd like to see it- it's okay if she comes, too, right?

Re: Because telephones are highly overrated....

[meorae.livejournal.com]

Sure. Now we just need to choose a date/time and hope they don't ask for id, just like they didn't last time.

[prettypettigrew.livejournal.com]

Haha, I loved those movies. Quality!

[wirlia.livejournal.com]

I don't know... I don't agree with what Engines for Educators guy is saying, though I haven't read very much of his stuff and need to before I have a maybe-intelligent argument about it. :P I read this and this and don't quite agree with the things he laid out.

He says in the first link that "We must start teaching more human subjects--how to get along with fellow students, how to deal with stress, how to make life decisions, how to run a business, how to deal with health issues, how to make an intelligent decision as a voter about whether to bomb a country in Central Europe." But I think the first two *are* taught (and honestly, I think if I had to go to a class that taught "how to get along with fellow students," I might just feel pressured to put a bullet in my head :P). In a couple paragraphs before that quote, he says "Why are children learning algebra or trigonometry? The fact is that no one really can say why." But in order to know if you should bomb a country in Central Europe, as a well-educated voter, you would have to know how much all that costed, and how many people it would hurt, and how it would change the global economy, and honestly, I think you need history, and current events, but also some basic algebra to do that. You'd probably need more than some basic algebra to run a business too, it seems to me. And he said some other stuff that I don't agree with about French and Chemistry in the other one, but I should probably read Engines for Educators to know *why* he thinks all this before I become biased against him, so I'm going to stop acting like a moron now and close my mouth.

Were there any particular articles you liked by him?

[meorae.livejournal.com]

Let's see... I really think that you should at least read through the beginning of the book thing before you start arguing about it.

But to place those articles in context, he believes that there shouldn't be grades and that there shouldn't be classes in the sense that you have your head stuffed full of facts that you'll probably never need again. He believes in learning by doing and classes set up so you learn when you need the information and not learn just so you can pass the class.

When he's saying "Why are children learning algebra or trigonometry?" he is saying he believes they're useless out in the real world, but after reading his book, he is also wondering why they are learning them now at this age and why they are learning them as a bunch of formulas instead of how they'll be used in the real world.

In addition, you say "But in order to know if you should bomb a country in Central Europe, as a well-educated voter, you would have to know how much all that costed, and how many people it would hurt, and how it would change the global economy, and honestly, I think you need history, and current events, but also some basic algebra to do that." And that's his point. In a decision like that you need a number of different tools (or what he labels 'scriptlets') to make your decision an intelligent one. But right now, those tools are learned in separate classes and only learned for the test. Why not learn those tools by being required to make that vote? Why not be asked if you should bomb a country and be pointed in the direction of that information if you need help? At the end of a, I guess project, like that I'd probably remember all that information a lot better and also how to get that information better, so I could then make that decision later in life, than being lectured in history about history, in algebra about algebra, etc.

His articles don't really make sense unless you've actually read at least some of the book. And then the articles will make sense. Most of the articles I agree with after knowing what he believes. But they're all his responses to current events, so I agreed with them, but didn't actually like them or think they provided information on his point of view.

I would start the book at the beginning, here but it doesn't really matter. And I liked this although you probably want to read this, this and this and then this first. And know that GBS stands for a goal-based scenario. And really, the separate pages of this book online are all of a paragraph each. So start the book and see how far you get in the half hour or whatever you have available.

[meorae.livejournal.com]

Oh, and the set-up of the book online is a bit strange. You can either choose a random page from the outline, read it and then follow the links at the way bottom, that are labeled by different questions you might have, or you can start at the beginning and read through the book by clicking the next story link which is right under each story. So starting with Why Schools Fail to Teach Our Children you could move on to The Purpose of Engines for Education and then to Roger Schank and Education and etc.

[wirlia.livejournal.com]

yeah, I've read the first bit of the book, and the setup is kind of wacked, but I dunno.

hahahaha I really think that you should at least read through the beginning of the book thing before you start arguing about it.
I knoooowwwwwww lol :): I haven't read very much of his stuff and need to before I have a maybe-intelligent argument about it. (and even then it probably won't be so intelligent, sorry :P)

[meorae.livejournal.com]

Oh, completely forgot about the end of the book, at least online. Eight Things That Can Be Done and The Student Bill of Rights sum up what Roger Schank said in the rest of the book minus all the talk about software and the future. So if you want to quickly understand what he talks about/what he believes, maybe just look at those.