Muticaction Table /Cursive Writing / Letter Writing

[Wayne Goodwin]

Do Teacher's still teach "Cursive Writing" in classrooms , What about "Multiplication Tables" in class rooms ?

I heard the other day , Guess it was our state of NC was going to require all schools to teach Cursive writing and Multiplication Tables in school . I didn't know it stopped ?

Do you still write "Letter's" ?

That is an art that should be kept in our society .

[Wayne Goodwin]

I learned very slowly in learning to Cursive write . Took me a while to learn it . In my early years i got pretty good at writing . Now as i got older my writing is the pit's . Guess Computers have a lot to do with that . I learned my Multiplication tables in the 4th grade . Being able to do that has really been helpful in my work and every day life .

Writing letters has come almost to a stop . Really don't have anyone to write unless doing it to myself .....

[CaliforniaNow]

I usually write a few lines in with my Christmas cards and get a few lines back.  Last time I talked to my uncle I told him I'd write when I had something good or interesting to say, so that means I have to.

Didn't know they'd ever stopped with multiplication in school - sounds odd.

[Dell]

This is somewhat like the pledge of allegiance. One person says it should be a law and the next day people all over believe it is not being done. Nobody checks anymore? I have not found a single person that says they don't do the pledge in their public school. Nor has anyone said they don't teach cursive or multiplication tables. I guess it is just easier to be gullible on line.

[blithe spirit]

Schools are still teaching letters and numbers and reading and writing and arithmetic...probably not the way you were were taught though.

Technology is certainly a big part of education these days and so is standardized testing.

My curriculum is dictated by the state via teaching standards that students are tested on and their grade is then used to grade me as a teacher. Its called accountability ....and this is the way legislatures have decided to determine how wisely your educational tax dollars are being spent.

"Cursive Writing" is pretty much going by the wayside....it is taught but not practiced regularly. "Multiplication Tables" are still being taught. 

Oh...and we don't say the Lord's Prayer anymore but we do still say The Pledge of Allegience and we have a flag in our classroom. I know lots of folks that have been out of touch with schools for a while always wanna know that too.

[Lifesighs]

What ever way they were teaching math in my school days didn't compute with me. On my own when I was first married I brought home many library books to try to teach myself math, I think I succeeded a little. I made a very good living in the finance area during my working years. I was able to understand and explain some complex investments to employees. Managed many formulas for computing payrolls for different grades of truck drivers for many years and 1500 employees in many catagories at the City. We had over 300 pay codes at the city and 500 deduction codes. It wasn't easy.

[crestofwaves]

Being a little cynical since I have absolutely seen a big DECLINE in the accountability of students to learn "things" since I started  back in 1987, I would say if something is going to hurt a kid's self esteem or something is going to ask him to work too hard or think too much, it probably isn't going to be taught anymore.

 

• In English, we have been asked to teach short works since asking the kids to read long works is just too much for them. 
• We have to spend an entire marking period on the personal narrative rather than clear expository writing. 
• We teach around essential questions like "what makes a good friend" and " what is romantic love" rather than teach American Lit, Brit Lit and World Lit. 
• We went from a normal schedule to a rotating drop schedule that drops one class each day so that the kids would not have homework in every class every night because it stresses them out too much. 
• Grammar wasn't taught for many years until people realized that students couldn't write clearly anymore, so now we squeeze in a little grammar here and there. 
• Technology has changed the need of schools to actually teach information because all the info is at the fingertips of students. 
• All of my students print except the ones who can't even do that so they must use the computer. 
• Many many classes have special ed co-teachers who hold the hands of kids and kids get extra time, sometimes unlimited extra time, to finish their work. 
• Some kids in English class, even in junior year, get to expand on essay questions orally instead of having to write things down.
•  Teachers are expected to post notes for students so that if they don't take them in class, they can just look at our websites and it's all there for them. 

And those are some of the reasons I retired when I did.

[Wayne Goodwin]

I guess the old day of learning have gone . Too hard for a kid to do , stresses them out . I am so glad i learned as much as i did . Regular Math i feel is a must , maybe not now . I may have not made A"s in school but was happy of all the C's i got . I wasn't real good in English but passed . Back then i stuttered to much mainly because i was shy . That is one reason i quit going to Church . Shyness and the ability to read out loud . I have learned to read much better and not afraid to speak out now . I guess in another 20 , 30 years . Every thing will be done the tech route of I-Pads smaller computers with very little book learning , Sad ....

[blithe spirit]

The kids you mention are what we call ESE here and they are required to be in the least restrictive learning environmnent which is also known as inclusion...they are allowed to have accomodations to try and meet the requirements...however if they they can't complete the regular program on their own, they don't receive a regular diploma.. we have different levels of graduation. They can't go on to college unless they get a regular diploma, pass the state exit test and take either the SAT or the ACT.

When I was in school, they had different tracks for different kids...one track for college prep...another track for specialized job training...another track for general vocational prep...and another track for dropout prevention...and never the twain should meet.

In our County about 20% of our kids that don't drop out do not earn a regular diploma.

[crestofwaves]

In my school, the kids pass, by hook or by crook.  We have  resource room capabilities, but the special ed kids are mainstreamed.  They do not fail!  Law suits would ensue, money would be lost if they did.  It's all about the stats in NJ now.

[Wayne Goodwin]

My Brother was set back several years in learning from a disease he got when he was 5 years old . He had went into convulsions and stopped breathing . They brought him back but he laid in comma for weeks . When he started school he was slow learning . The teacher passed him every year to just get more or less rid of him till he got old enough to quit ... I failed the 3 grade , believe it or no because i had went to check my rabbit traps before the Bus came . I had a severe urge to have a bowl moment and crapped in my paints . No way i was going to school like that . Some of the kid's saw me hiding in the bushes and reported me to my teacher . For that one day i got an incomplete for that report card . She never knew the truth and told my parents i needed to retake the 3rd grade . All my friends went up a grade from me .

[crestofwaves]

Life down south sure is different, Wayne!

[blithe spirit]

We have kids taking Algebra and Geometry for high school credit in middle school and kids also taking Biology and Chemistry.

The big push here is to take AP classes in high school so you can get college credits...much less expensive college education that way.

Lots of issues in education these days for sure...