What Should We Teach?

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Comments

Anonymous said…
If you're asking what kids should learn, I'd vote for them learning about the impact of animal agriculture on the planet. From food scarcity to greenhouse gas production,the increasing demand for animal products is causing incredible health and environmental problems and is unsustainable.

I'd recommend showing kids the documentary "Cowspiracy" now streaming on Netflix. Not your usual vegan gore fest of brutality against farm animals, this is a look at the fact that raising animals to eat and drink their secretions creates more than twice as much greenhouse gas as all transportation uses combined. That's cars, trains, buses, etc. Also it shows how veganism is too hot for Greenpeace, Rainforest Alliance, Sierra Club and other giant conservation to handle. Suitable for children.

Sorsha Morava


BTW, can a kid get vegan food in a SPS lunchroom?
Sorsha, you'd have to ask. I don't know how far the district has to go to accommodate students' food needs. I know that in the late '90s(?), the district made sure to have a non-pork offering for Muslim students.
Anonymous said…
I'm planning to teach code because another teacher did last year and it was so engaging. We have a lot of students who are not engaged in school. Some research shows that engagement is huge in the average student learning and adding something that engages students will make a difference. There's a lot of boring stuff in school. Some engaging activities can't hurt.

Engager
Anonymous said…
There's some pretty ugly stuff about Seattle the kids should learn, like this:

http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/coon_chicken.htm

The infamous Coon Chicken Restaurant in Lake City. The racist past of this city is astounding and should never be forgotten.


Milhouse
TechyMom said…
Learning to code is NOT about a "prosperous future." It is about logical step by step thinking and creating something from nothing. Exposure to this kind of thinking is good for developing minds, in the same way that exposure to music or art is good for developing minds. Some kids may find that they love it and build a career (I did). Others will just have a small idea how the technology around them works, or be able to apply the logic, modeling and construction skills they learn to math, writing, making, or art.
Anonymous said…
Wow a question bout "What should we teach?"...
but like most questions asked of the general public it is likely irrelevant as:

The following line, from a study that looked at the influence of "average Americans" on public policy, says it all:

"The preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically nonsignificant impact upon public policy."

When the preferences of the economic elite match up with the general public's preferences that is when the general public might mistakenly believe they have some clout.

In the SPS the really significant action the general public can take is the election of school board members ... and then pray those directors don't drink too much of the "Kool-aid" ..... There was a reason that the four directors elected in 2007 were able to spend $480,000 campaigning and it was not to represent or press for the "preferences of the general public" ....

It is hard enough for union members to delude themselves into believing that Union Leaders are usually representing the "preferences" of the members ... Look at SEA and WEA support of Common Core and how those decisions came about.
(and those union dues are doing something for Union Members but from many decisions you wonder what)

Like it or not "Long Live the Oligarchy" -- for the preferences of the general public are irrelevant and money is speech these days.

-- Dan Dempsey
Anonymous said…
If I'm not mistaken, the WEA payed lawyers to challenge the charter school law.

That's certainly money well spent.

Taft
Anonymous said…
Code.org, the non-profit behind the Hour of Code, also offers free professional development for elementary school teachers. It includes free lesson plans, online and offline activities, and tips for integrating the material into existing curriculum in a variety of ways. There is an upcoming class listed on their website for next Saturday, but they seem to be offered every month or two. Code.org is very committed to introducing coding in public schools to all kids, and not just those whose parents can afford after school camps.

CodingForAll

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