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Feanor

Blogging since the First Age

Even worse

It is snowing a little this morning, not enough to be cool but enough to be annoying

Reading the news today I discovered that the italian science teachers have been examined with the same test as the italian students who got a very bad score compared to students from other countries worldwide. The science teachers performed even WORSE than the girls and boys, it seems in some areas the intermediate school teachers outperformed the high school teachers.

This explains much. How are the students supposed to know the answers if the teachers don't know either. And the funny thing is teachers are payed to pretend to teach things they don't even know.

The Minister of Education says "we are working on a plan for the formation of teachers" and I am reading ridiculous excuses from principals and techers associations like "for many years teachers have been hired in public schools only because they waited in a list as temporary teachers" or the ilarious "science teachers aren't ignorant, unfortunately they cannot stay informed because they have got only 5 payed hours for courses". Like you don't know basic biology or chemistry if you don't keep informed all the time. The science you study in school is often centuries years old. I can almost hear the teacher saying "hey, they have discovered Earth is a sphere and it is not flat? Geez, how should I know, I don't have time for le last updates".

Did I say we are sinking? Nope, we are already on the bottom.

Just a pictureWorst Web site ever

Comments

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In Japan,it seems to me that teachers are so busy that they can't have time to brush up their teaching skill and deepen their knowledge.

Usually there are 40 students and one teacher in a class. Teachers try to curb the student to complete the schedule. They seem exhausted.
So,it would be difficult to rise their teaching quality.Peccato...

By Green Aya, # 6. January 2008, 07:05:03

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I've spent a lot of time in schools and I don't know in Japan, in Italy I am pretty sure teachers aren't exausted because they work too much. Like I said above, I don't understand what the point is about "deepen their knowledge". People who work in IT like programmers MUST stay up to date every day. Teachers spend years saying always the same old things and those things are often CENTURIES old. I could teach in high school using Wikipedia to prepare the lesson the night before. My opinion is, besides some exceptions, teachers are people who could not do anything else, so they teach or pretend to teach.

By LorenzoCelsi, # 6. January 2008, 09:08:03

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If it makes you feel any better, I am sure the US is coming in last in every category. That's why so many kids are being home-schooled here. Sad :frown:

By 67shelby, # 6. January 2008, 21:01:23

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It doesn't make me feel any better actually. Italy is a small place, crowded and without natural resources. Without investing in knowledge we are doomed.

By LorenzoCelsi, # 6. January 2008, 21:15:02

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I'm sorry. I've never been to Italy but I've always pictured it as a beautiful place - your pictures make it look very nice.

By 67shelby, # 6. January 2008, 21:17:37

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It can be beautiful but you don't eat beauty. :smile:

By LorenzoCelsi, # 6. January 2008, 21:22:19

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Point taken :smile:

By 67shelby, # 6. January 2008, 21:23:15

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I think this is a problem everywhere! Portugal has had really bad scores also compared to the rest of Europe! I wonder how much truth there is in these scores or whether it´s not something to make people feel bad about themselves and un-motivated???

By wickedlizard, # 9. January 2008, 10:47:31

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Personally I believe there is too much focus on standardized tests, at least in the US. I know really smart people who don't "test" well and really dumb ones who do. Creative learning and thinking should make a comeback!

By 67shelby, # 9. January 2008, 14:03:55

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In Italy the problem is about the public services in general. They had been used for many years as instrument to gain votes in exchange of jobs, expecially in the south. As result, there are too many employees, hired without any quality selection and they are not managed for reasonable level of service. People are scared to go to hospitals in some regions because you may die there, there are emergencies of any kind, like not enough water, trash that isn't taken away, etc.

On top of this, the general culture of people across all over Europe and in Italy in particular has probably increased in average terms because there are very few people who can't read and write. On the other side people don't know much else, we are becoming more like USA as one single global melting pot focused on consuming goods and not aware of anything that is not broadcasted on TV.

This is a long and difficult discussion.

By LorenzoCelsi, # 9. January 2008, 16:31:10

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It is a long and difficult discussion and here I am thinking I would be happier in Europe somewhere and yet you just described my state (and probably many others). There must be some country that gets it right?

By 67shelby, # 9. January 2008, 18:35:54

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Probably not. You know, the "globalization" means there is the same MTV everywhere, the kids wear the same clothes, buy the same gadgets, eat and drink the same crap and so on. There are ironic phenomenons like angry people in those third world countries who burn the US flag wearing rapper/hip hop/gangsta "fashion".

Here in Europe the main resource we have got is the heritage of all that difficult history and those many differences from any little place to the other. But young europeans are taught to be ashamed of it. We are importing any sort of foreign people and culture, forgetting our own.

This trend and the reasons of it are probably enough for some books, too much for a blog comment.

By LorenzoCelsi, # 9. January 2008, 19:13:39

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Well darn - and I've been romanticizing Europe for years now thinking it was so much more "civilized". So, the US has managed to corrupt it too? That is not good. And I am serious - I get so tired of *globalization* as you put it. Noone is happy to be different anymore. Shame :frown: But, I shall leave it to the book writers as you suggest. Have a good day Lorenzo!

By 67shelby, # 9. January 2008, 19:21:18

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I guess I should have said Have a Good Evening!

By 67shelby, # 9. January 2008, 19:38:44

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We are prisoners of our contraddictions. You can easily think of many examples of people who affirm with pride they "diversity" yet they want to be "equal", treated like everybody else. Even women who want to be both special, unique and in the same time perfectly identical to men. Confused roles, confused ideas. We make war to bring peace, kill people for their sake with smart bombs.

In my opinion the biggest difference between Europe and US nowadays is not in culture but in the fact I told above, that Europeans are ashamed of themselves while Americans (still) belive to be the center of the universe, like Europeans did till the '900 and the final fire that burned everything.

By LorenzoCelsi, # 9. January 2008, 19:52:50

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As much as I hate too, I have to agree with much of that. The worst thing that's happened in my life was being told that I could do anything I was capable of and then finding out that that just is not true. Old stereotypes prevail and unless you are very fortunate or very connected, women are still limited in the roles they are allowed to play. I would have preferred not to be encouraged when I was young bc now it is depressing to know that no matter how smart or talented I may be, I am still just a *girl* in this purportedly free country of mine. And I'm really not a feminist - just a very strange girl who happens to like cerebral challenges.

And yes most Americans are self-centered, obnoxious, consumers who have never had a free thought in their lives. Imagine living in that environment>

You and I may have too much in common - I try not to give in to the doom and gloom but it is hard :smile:

By 67shelby, # 9. January 2008, 20:02:52

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See, that is not for girls, it is for everybody. Any place you go you find that the talented people are not the successful ones. That is because in life, regardless you are a girl or a boy, what makes the real difference is your ability in selling and selling yourself first.

That is depressing only if you are one of those people who wrongly think that "to do" things is more important that "to sell" things, otherwise that is fun. Have you ever seen any genial technician or artist become president of anything?

If you want to rise your kids to be successful, teach them how to grow public relations, even in the smallest things.

About girls and people being equal, I understood how things worked back in school when I was asked by the teacher and I got a bad grade then the teacher asked the girl in my class and when she could not aswer she cried and the teacher told her he would have asked again tomorrow without giving her a bad grade. Or at university, girls getting higher grades with shorter skirts. :smile:

Anyway, I meant that today's people are always saying one thing and its opposite in the same time. That produces confusion and we are stuck moving in circles like chickens without head instead of walking any direction, wrong or good.

By LorenzoCelsi, # 9. January 2008, 20:25:22

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I understand you and mostly agree! The problem with public relations is that requires a proficiency in lying - no? So, yes, I want my son to be successful but I also want him to be a decent human being. I'm not sure that is going to be possible in today's world nor am I sure how to achieve a balance. Everyone is out for him or herself and those that aren't get left behind. Why is friendliness such a weakness these days? That's a rhetorical question BTW.

By 67shelby, # 9. January 2008, 20:33:20

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See you are already on the wrong path. If I wasn't the nerd loser that I am, I would tell you that you don't LIE, you tell people the right things to make them feel comfortable while they do what you want. Selling them stuff you give them what they want and make them happy.
What is the point in saying the wrong things (we nerds call that "truth") and make people upset at you instead of making "friends"?

Once upon a time I was managing a group of people. You don't say "that is wrong, do it again", you say "that is very good job but maybe you could try to change it a little". When somebody says a very stupid thing you don't say "see, for this and that reasons that is stupid", you say "yes, I agree with you completely but..." and so on. At the end managing means to find what motivates people and use that to make them do things you want. Saying the "truth" is the wrong thing to do since people don't want to hear that.

By LorenzoCelsi, # 9. January 2008, 20:55:15

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But Lorenzo I have been on the wrong path all along - I am a romantic - I took French in high school, it is after all one of the most beautiful of the romance languages. I dislike selling and dishonesty. I would love to live in a world with no money - and no I do not care to experience communism unless it is the happy kind :smile: - but how do you transform a romantic into a happy practical realist as you are suggesting - note the key word being *happy*?

Gotta go now - my son is awake! Enjoyed our chat :smile:

By 67shelby, # 9. January 2008, 21:03:25

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Oh I was saying that for you, if you see the title of my blog you understand pretty much everything about me... :smile:

By LorenzoCelsi, # 9. January 2008, 21:05:33

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Lighten up Lorenzo! :smile:

By 67shelby, # 10. January 2008, 00:11:51

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So true Lorenzo!!!!

By wickedlizard, # 10. January 2008, 21:04:22

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At my old high school, all the relaly good maths teachers were quite old. Now they have retired and there are only young maths teachers there. These young teachers don't know a lot...and the students have to help them!

By galadriel, # 11. January 2008, 02:01:26

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