Poison 'em While Young

To me, a big believer in necessity of high-quality education, it is mind boggling to see how learning gets marginalized and commercialized. Here’s a picture of an assignment for a 4–6 year-old child.

The exercise book this idiotic assignment is taken from has a lot more assignments of this kind where arithmetic is taught by counting hamburgers and cupcakes. This creation of contemporary advancements in visual aids is available at your local Wal-Mart or Parent & Teacher Store.

My daughter is a little learning workaholic like myself, and when I come across an exercise with burgers and muffins, I cross it out and tell her that we won’t be doing it. We simply pull out another assignment sheet and move on. I also use it as an opportunity to tell her that this is bad food.

Here’s another example, this time from a college-level physics book:

I fail to understand how NBA players help explain "Newtonian mechanics", Newton’s laws, and so forth. Is this how we define force these days? What is this? Physics for complete idiots? Or another opportunity to poison a young mind with an ad?

You're kidding, right? Do you cover your daughter's eyes when you go to the grocery store? I don't see how saying that hot dogs belong with buns will make your child into a hot dog eater. Case in point: I've seen many assignments that show carrots, but I'd be willing to bet that not every child doing the assignment develops a fondness for carrots because of it. Seriously, though, association is something that children need to know conceptually: this goes with that. Are you going to inject some sort of normative conclusion into everything? "This doesn't go with that because that's bad, bad, bad." Except that it still does.

Also, the picture of the basketball play is just an illustration on a very introductory page. It's not even referenced in the text. I'd be on barricades with you if the entire chapter examined basketball and focused on personalities, but the rest of the sections in the chapter seem pretty good. What would you have them put there instead of the picture? A picture of Newton? Boring diagrams of a cannonball launched in an arc? Physics is everywhere, even in a slam dunk. If it's an ad, what's it selling? That the NBA exists? That people should go see basketball games? Umm, I hardly think that a physics textbook is the most effective venue for NBA "propaganda."

Oh and it's really great when you stick to ASP.NET.

Bill, I appreciate your perspective on this. Case in point: besides her native language, my daughter is learning two more. The learning capability of a child at this age is beyond what you and I can comprehend. Blowing all this potential on trite bun/weenie exercises is a waste.

Have you looked through the menu of a public school in your area? Here is what's on the menu of ours (and it's considered a really good school):

Two Hard or Soft Shell Tacos w/Meatfilling Lettuce, Pizza Wedge, Chicken Nuggets, Hamburger or Cheeseburger, Rotini with Meatballs, Grilled Cheese Sandwich on Whole Wheat, Meatball Hero with Tomato, etc.

Would you like to add up the calorie intake and tell me if this is anywhere close to being healthy for a child? I believe she needs to be able to recognize what's good and bad for her. Otherwise you let other people raise your child, feed and plant in her/his brain whatever they want. I take this business VERY seriously. Much more seriously than ASP.NET.

I see nothing wrong with illustrating concepts of physics the "traditional" way. Have you seen the movie "Supersize Me"? Remember when they showed a picture of Jesus to a kid and he identified him as George Bush? There you have it.

One more thing, Bill. Someting I've learned from running a blog, and heard this voiced by other blog owners: you, and you alone, determine what gets published.

I don't know where to even begin.

Your rationale for not allowing her to link the hot dog and bun was, as far as I can tell, that it marginalizes learning. (I think this is your point since you also lambaste commercialization of learning, which I took to be your criticism of the basketball picture.) I'm guessing that you think hot dogs and buns are trivial ways to illustrate the concept of association. What would be an appropriate way that doesn't blow her potential?

Then you list a menu that, I assume, sickens you. I read it and I don't see anything wrong with it. Unless the portions are outrageous and the kids feel compelled to eat every last morsel, I'd say that it's pretty well-balanced. Nearly every school (or district) has a nutritionist whose job it is to design the menus to reflect kids' needs. Calorie intake, by itself, isn't bad. Calories are units of energy and kids need energy to grow. Calories without nutritional benefit are bad, but I don't see any empty calories in your menu.

As for illustrating physics, what the hell does Jesus and George Bush have to do with anything? We're talking about a college physics textbook. Surely the reader is wise enough to think that the basketball player pictured is not Isaac Newton. Or maybe I'm missing your point, which I searched vainly for.

You can certainly talk about anything you want on your blog. If you don't want to hear people's opinions, then close down comments. I merely said that I like it better when you stick to ASP.NET.

I like off-topic posts on tech blogs. It gives me a little better feel for the author.
I do not, however, like Bill Brown. Take your snide attitude elsewhere.

Actually, I thought Bill's comment was reasonably balanced. I too write off-topic stuff on my blog, I take positions, and often people comment who disagree.

So, what's the big deal?

Milan, I think in your first example is all about left brain, right brain.

Aren't eduators looking to tech a whole brain experience? It's obviously a right brainer example.

I'll be honest, I'm not sure if this post is more about bad food or bad education? So I'll comment on both.

Bad education: Yep, kids can sure learn a lot more than what are schools expect from them. It seems that these days education is more about "feeling good about yourself" and socializing that real learning. They don't want to hurt a child's feelings by saying "you failed" so they make it so easy they can't fail or they pass them anyway. Case in point: At my son's soccer practice (kindergarten) I overheard a father saying he was impressed that his son is learning his colors in class. What! At that age they should be able to read basic things, write basic things, and some reading comprehension. Colors and numbers should be introduced as soon as they are communicate. I guess that is why we home school our kids. For those who are worried about home school kids not having any social skills - that's what sports and other programs are for. Not school. Plus, the things that kids are learning through their "socializing" are things I would prefer my kids not to worry about until they are older.

Bad food: I did see "Super Size Me" and I tell you what, we don't eat at McDonald's anymore and we thing more about what we put in our mouths. I couldn't believe it. The point about Jesus vs. President Bush is (I think) that kids are learning and seeing more things about commercial products and what's on the news and less about things that add real substance their lives. Like school and faith. There is plenty of time for them to be adults...when they are adults.

BTW, I like off-topic posts too.

Before you start flaming me about the errors in my post...that's what happens when you type too fast and then just use spell check. See, I'm even becoming too dependant on technology.

Erik, why would I pick on your typos? :)

I found your site this morning by looking for an article on DotNet profiling and code coverage, but got sucked into this post (which is at LEAST as interesting).

4-5 years ago, the Great State of California passed a law requiring graduating seniors to pass a standardized test in order to receive their diploma. The law was to go into effect beginning with the class of 2004. The students get six chances (two each year 10th, 11th and 12th) to pass the test. My own son, a mediocre student at best, passed the exam on his first attempt - so I can state with authority that the exam is not that difficult.

Nevertheless, because it looked like there would be a lot of students failing the exam, they deferred the effectie date of the law until the graduating class of 2006.

Guess what was in the newspaper this morning? The "shocking" revelation that educators were worried, once again, that the bar was too high, and that perhaps we ought to look for "alternative measures" (read: subjective assessment) of whether a student should me given a diploma.

I don't know how I feel about the hot dog/bun association, but I do know that I as a parent, I was fed up with everything turning into an art project. Studying the westward migration of the 1800's? Half your grade was building a model of a covered wagon. Medieval history? 20% of your grade based on creating a stained glass window from black construction paper and colored cellophane. And don't even get me started on best-guess spelling.

The educational system is failing us. At least with the traditional dirll-and-kill math exercises I experienced as a kid, I got a solid enough foundation in math that I ended up taking five quarters of calculus. The son I mentioned above hesitates when he needs to multiply 4x12 in his head.

And as for the so-called "nutritionists" employed by the school districts who call the catsup served with the (32% fat) hamburger a "serving of vegetable", give me a break.

/rant - but thanks for letting me borrow a piece of your soapbox.