Jump to content

The Academics Thread


Pariah

Recommended Posts

As some of you may know, I am a huge fan of the Crash Course and Extra History series-es on Youtube. There are now so many Crash Course subjects that I can;t list them all -- my favorite is Philosophy because it's just so much fun.

 

But aside from the philosophy series, there also series on topics like US and World History, US Government and Politics, Mythology from all over the world, and many sciences. There is also a course on "business soft skills". I wonder if series like that can be part of a partially-home-based curriculum in some disciplines.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My YouTube guilty pleasure is the historical battle tactics and battle history channels like Bazbattles, Kings and Generals, Historia Civilis, and Invicta.  Concise and well-done 10 to 20 minute videos giving some history leading up to the battle and then 2D Adobe animated reenactments showing strategies and important moments of each encounter.  Great stuff.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, archer said:

Not only did I not learn calculus but I didn't even learn religion.

I'm pretty sure you're joking, but Fred Rogers' ministry wasn't about "winning souls for Christ".  In fact, a good part of his audience wouldn't even know he was a clergyman. Many still don't, or don't see that as relevant to what he actually accomplished.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have a whole bunch of new teachers in our building this year, some being 9th grade teachers transferring over and some being new teachers replacing those who have retired. I met one of the our new Math teachers today at lunch. Or, I should say, I re-met her. She was one of my students several years ago.

 

As a teacher, seeing somebody follow you into the profession is pretty cool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Michael Hopcroft said:

I'm pretty sure you're joking, but Fred Rogers' ministry wasn't about "winning souls for Christ".  In fact, a good part of his audience wouldn't even know he was a clergyman. Many still don't, or don't see that as relevant to what he actually accomplished.

 

I watched religiously yet didn't learn religion.

 

Pun alert.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Pariah said:

We have a whole bunch of new teachers in our building this year, some being 9th grade teachers transferring over and some being new teachers replacing those who have retired. I met one of the our new Math teachers today at lunch. Or, I should say, I re-met her. She was one of my students several years ago.

 

As a teacher, seeing somebody follow you into the profession is pretty cool.

 

I know the feeling. It also makes me feel a bit old, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Michael Hopcroft said:

I'm pretty sure you're joking, but Fred Rogers' ministry wasn't about "winning souls for Christ".  In fact, a good part of his audience wouldn't even know he was a clergyman. Many still don't, or don't see that as relevant to what he actually accomplished.

 

36 minutes ago, archer said:

 

I watched religiously yet didn't learn religion.

 

Pun alert.

 

13 hours ago, archer said:

 

I watched him religiously as a kid.

 

Not only did I not learn calculus but I didn't even learn religion.

You know who else has gotten a major reputation boost after people seriously thought about what he did? Bob Ross. Viewed as endlessly spoof-able during his lifetime, the painter/educator has become admired as an oasis of calm in an increasingly troubled world, the sort of forgiving teacher we need at a certain point in our lives.

 

Now, no doubt to get really good at something you need rigorous teachers. The easygoing, overly-receptive won't help you get better. But Bob Ross wasn't teaching us how to paint. He was teaching us to appreciate the moments of calm we are presented, and to use them to make something beautiful -- even if the end product is not good enough to show anyone else.

 

He left behind many beautiful landscapes that his estate resolutely refuses to put on the open market even though they could be worth millions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Old Man said:

Fred Rogers, Bob Ross, and Steve Irwin are generally held to be the holy trinity of the late 20th century. 
 

To be fair I didn’t understand how brilliant Mr. Rogers was until I learned what he was like off camera. 

 

Let me also nominate Carl Sagan. Without Cosmos, I doubt I'd be teaching science for a living.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Old Man said:

Fred Rogers, Bob Ross, and Steve Irwin are generally held to be the holy trinity of the late 20th century. 
 

To be fair I didn’t understand how brilliant Mr. Rogers was until I learned what he was like off camera. 

He was the epitome of how the New Testament describes a "servant of Christ" -- loving and charitable to almost all, teaching unconditional love within families, and being a source of comfort in difficult times. Nowhere is this more evident than in the short video he released after the September 11th attacks in 2001 (has it really been 19 years? I seem to remember it like it was sooner.)

 

The irony is that his message recently came under attack -- by a prominent evangelist, no less -- as instilling self-esteem before it was earned. How can a six-year-old possibly earn the right to value themselves? It would be like a first-grade teacher telling their class "You are all garbage until you have proven otherwise". Worse, imagine parents doing that.

 

While merit is important, it cannot be everything. I was going to ask the teachers in this thread how they would balance teaching the subject and dealing with students who need other forms of support.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/19/2020 at 7:48 AM, Starlord said:

My YouTube guilty pleasure is the historical battle tactics and battle history channels like Bazbattles, Kings and Generals, Historia Civilis, and Invicta.  Concise and well-done 10 to 20 minute videos giving some history leading up to the battle and then 2D Adobe animated reenactments showing strategies and important moments of each encounter.  Great stuff.

Always looking for history stuff, I will keep in mind

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Michael Hopcroft said:

He was the epitome of how the New Testament describes a "servant of Christ" -- loving and charitable to almost all, teaching unconditional love within families, and being a source of comfort in difficult times. Nowhere is this more evident than in the short video he released after the September 11th attacks in 2001 (has it really been 19 years? I seem to remember it like it was sooner.)

 

The irony is that his message recently came under attack -- by a prominent evangelist, no less -- as instilling self-esteem before it was earned. How can a six-year-old possibly earn the right to value themselves? It would be like a first-grade teacher telling their class "You are all garbage until you have proven otherwise". Worse, imagine parents doing that.

 

While merit is important, it cannot be everything. I was going to ask the teachers in this thread how they would balance teaching the subject and dealing with students who need other forms of support.

Not a teacher, but I think it would require putting in the work to know the kid and where their mind is.

 

Self esteem might be something you can't get too high or too low (I know more about the latter due to my  previous classmates)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Badger said:

Not a teacher, but I think it would require putting in the work to know the kid and where their mind is.

 

Self esteem might be something you can't get too high or too low (I know more about the latter due to my  previous classmates)

Can't let get too high or low I should say

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...