[geeks] New Tech Schools: Digital Harbor in Baltimore

[Lionel Peterson]

>From: jvdg at sparcpark.net
>Date: 2007/04/12 Thu AM 02:56:11 CDT
>To: geeks at sunhelp.org
>Subject: Re: [geeks] New Tech Schools: Digital Harbor in Baltimore

>Jonathan C. Patschke wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 11 Apr 2007, Bill Bradford wrote:
>>
>>> I don't know that it's EVER been about "broad concepts".  Today it's
>>> Word and Excel and PowerPoint.  15 years ago it was Wordperfect, Lotus
>>> 1-2-3, and DBase.
>>
>> When I took a course like that (1994 or so), we had to learn Microsoft
>> Works, then 1-2-3 and WP 5.1, then Word and Excel.  Catching the
>> concepts was important; knowing what button to push was minutiae.
>
>Consider yourself lucky. My a-hole teacher even had the audacity to make
>"what function key enables bold type" an exam question. I was *so* tempted
>to answer, "depends on the program", but I wanted to just pass and be rid
>of that stupid class.

I once took a "Word Processing Concepts" "course by exam" - it was a program-neutral, multiple choice printed test. I passed without studying (what could I study?), and it will go down as the easiest 3 credit hours I ever got...

Speaking of easy credits, it was interesting how many local parents were up in arms over the possible loss of Auto and Wood Shop classes at the local high school... I think many of their "AP" class-taking wunder-kids are really interested in learning towork a lathe or rebuild an engine so much as they want a homework-free class where they can get an easy "A"? The parents think their kids are "passionate" about woodwork and/or small engine outo repair...

Hah.

Kids haven't changed that much, IMHO - the expectations of the parents have. I went to see a speaker about the negative effects of competition in schools, and while most of his argument was (IMHO) BS, he made an interesting point - the majority of Validictorians that apply to Princeton University don't get in. How do those kids feel after sacrificing their childhood for a chance at "the good life" at Princeton feel when they can't even get in the door? To be considered a "loser" by their parents at 17 must be crushing - but I'm sure the parents of these kids would blame the school (but Johnny worked so hard, why can't he get in?)...

Lionel