Neapolitan

Please do it sounds exciting. What's first base holding hands or kissing? Kissing I think it would be more like a peck because if was French kissing I think that would be second base - right?

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Freebase Dali

Base system as in Base 2, Base 10 and Base 16?
If so, write away.

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VEGANGELICA

You...you want me to write?!? Hallaleuia and Glory Be!!!!! Now I can write *two* essays!

First, though, I looked up the name of the type of schooling I experienced in elementary school and that I'd recommend instead of Unschooling: THE OPEN CLASSROOM. Open classroom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And now, the ESSAYS:

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For Freebase, a mini-essay on numerical base systems:

When I was in an open elementary school classroom in 1st grade, I learned that numbers can be expressed using different bases. This knowledge was very meaningful to me because I became aware that people had constructed much of what I took for granted in the world.

Since that time, I have always enjoyed tracing the development of concepts that seem immutable now but actually arose out of people's heads. Understanding the rudiments of the base systems for numbers made me see that there is not one way life can be. Rather, many possibilities exist and we shape and choose among them.

This realization made me feel powerful as a child. I have never lost the feeling that knowledge is power and I am far from impotent. The base systems for expressing numbers in different ways taught me that the first step in changing the world is to be able to imagine another one.

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For Neapolitan, some information about Sexual Base Systems:.

Hopefully all Unschooled as well as Schooled children learn the following at some point in their educational careers: several Sexual Base Systems may exist.

I feel that first base includes all forms of kissing (including French kissing), and second base is using your hands to fondle everywhere else. Wikipedia seems to agree: Baseball metaphors for sex - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Note that CONTROVERSY simmers over the definition of THIRD base. According to Wikipedia, third base includes genital fondling, while according to the definitions below, genital fondling would be considered Second base.

Also note that these Sexual Base Systems would define hand holding as second base. Since this seems silly, I propose that hand holding be considered the run toward first base after you have managed to hit the ball.

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mr dave

WOOHOO!

although i have to admit i love telling people 9+6=F hahaha

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i am the universe

Astronomer

I just love it how everybody thinks they know everything about education because they once went to school and therefore are experts. "I went to school, and so I know what education is all about." I wonder how many people who actually get a say in the education system actually have any teaching experience... I know in Australia the Education Minister is actually a lawyer. That makes so much sense, non?

I have to refrain myself from commenting on issues like these because it makes me so angry that people with actual teaching experience and knowledge on how students learn don't get their opinions respected in the slightest.

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boo boo

I do agree with the idea that one of the major problems is that schools treat all children as part of a group rather than as individuals, I strongly support the theory of multiple intelligences, the learning process varies from kid to kid, and when one method doesn't work, teachers should find another way before immediately writing them off as a failure.

This is one of the major upsides to homeschooling. However I've been homeschooled since 3rd grade and I know from experience (or lack of) the value of public school as a tool for learning social skills in addition to academic ones.

Still, the public school system failed me, and it fails a lot of kids because it doesnt treat them as individuals and really reach out to them in an effective way, you gotta give them motive, a desire to learn. A lot of stuff about the public school system is memorization and bureaucratic routines, and keeping with tradition, kids just don't give a sh*t.

There's little tolerance for debate or challenging and provocative ideas in the classroom which is very important in the learning process.

One reason I'm an advocate for homeschooling is that there's a more direct form of communication, however I think homeschooling should be a job for well educated private tutors, because most parents in this country are f*cking idiots and if they start teaching kids whatever they want this country is royally f*cked.

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It's only knock n' knowall, but I like it

http://www.last.fm/user/kingboobs

Astronomer

This is pretty much the dominant teaching philosophy in Australia and New Zealand. When I go into the classroom, the first thing I gauge is what Bloom's intelligences the children seem to favour and how I can work this into lessons to cater for everybody's different learning styles. Is this not something that is embraced in the US?

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Burning Down

This is one of the reasons why I really enjoy university. My parents are not the type to say "you have to be a doctor or a lawyer" or something like that. They are fine with whatever choices I make regarding school. In college/university, the student gets to pick electives along with the few courses he/she needs to take for their program. But it does also seem that more students care about school at this stage in their lives because they are paying for it or their parents are, so they want to do well and not have it be a waste of money.

someonecompletelyrandom

Not really. Especially from Jr. High upwards it's mostly about conditioning the kids so they can pass the tests so their school won't get it's funding cut. In general, they're treated like a batch and if the kids don't conform to that teacher's style of teaching then it's viewed as the kid's fault for being so dumb.

That's not to say it applies to all US Schools. We have some very nice ones with some fine people working at them and trying their best to educate kids. But for a lot of schools, especially in low-income areas, it's a real mess.

bungalow

this is retarded. if you let a child do whatever they want, they're not going to chose to educate themselves. it takes time to mature to realize the value of your education and until then you begrudgingly endure it. some people realize the importance of education sooner than others, but does it really make sense to let a fourth grader decide what he wants to learn and when? there is a fundamental educational groundwork that has to be established and it has to be forced on kids, they aren't just going to decide to learn it.

also this idea that public schools should be focused on teaching kids what they want to learn about is a little silly too. high school aged kids should not be tailoring their class load for a predetermined career path--very few high school aged kids have any sort of firm idea about what they want to do with their career so to tailor their education around a career path that will likely change dozens of times as they mature and head to college is ridiculous. public schools exist to provide a well balanced education to kids whether they think they want it or not. reform needs to come by way of better trained teachers, a system that is focused on fostering critical thinking and not just passing tests (which usually comes with a good teacher), more money for school systems, etc. and not by letting kids control their own education.

there is no single person of group of people to blame for the failures of the education system in this country--there is blame to go around. parents need to spend more time encouraging their children to learn and open their minds, exposing them to different viewpoints, teaching them to not be judgmental. teachers need to be passionate about the subject they are teaching and hopefully pass that passion on to their students through their enthusiasm (i know i always got more out of a class when it was obvious my teacher/professor was very enthusiastic about what they were teaching) and they also need to be knowledgeable in the subjects they are teaching (sounds like a no-brainer but it's shocking how many gym teachers out there are giving our children history lessons or teaching government classes with no passion or real knowledge of the subject). the teachers also need to be focused on making sure their children understand the material they are presenting and are able to think about it critically--not just memorizing material or having a shallow understanding so that they can pass a test. i think in our public school system it is almost impossible to get a decent education without taking advanced placement or honors courses where your school offers them--college prep classes operate on a standardized system that panders to the lowest common denominator and instead of challenging those people and offering resources to help them they just dumb down the whole system so the greatest number of people can pass. it's a horrible system and having sat through a couple college prep courses in high school i am amazed that kids who have taken nothing but college prep classes have learned anything at all in their years of schooling. it definitely puts in to context and helps me understand how millions of americans couldn't find great britain on a map if you asked them to, or name the vice president. the level of intellectual stimulation in those classes is dismally low and i'm very appreciative of the ap classes i was able to take. in my college prep classes there was very little discussion--no one ever took issue with or questioned anything the teacher had to say. no one offered their own ideas for debate or responded to anyone elses--it was mostly vocabulary words and note-taking from lectures in which the girl's basketball coach simplified the workings of the US government to an elementary level and then gave us ridiculously easy, multiple choice tests every few weeks that he specifically told us would be easy because he wants us to pass (it was a gov class, needed for graduation)--what kind of educating is that?

another problem for many people is our culture of anti-intellectualism (especially where i'm from, the south, but all over the country i'm sure) in which people who are intelligent are viewed as pretentious or arrogant and it is considered 'uncool' to value learning. this mentality is widespread and can be reinforced by parents (if not directly then by the parents' own lack of value placed on education and literacy) and often infects a person for life if they don't snap out of it. as a whole our populace is not very well educated i would say and as a result does not pass a love for learning on to their children, continuing the problem.

i don't know what it would take to make all children (and anyone else for that matter) WANT to learn and actively pursue an education but it certainly isn't just to tell them to learn about whatever they want to learn about. learning independently is important--it is good to have outside interests and hobbies and passions, learning about these things on your own will also help you become a better learner in school, but it is still important to have that general education framework pushed on you because you aren't going to get it otherwise. i think the key to having children want to learn though is good, passionate, knowledgeable teachers. one good teacher can completely change your entire life by sparking an interest in a certain subject within you which leads you to devote your life to that subject--if all teachers were that good i imagine we would be making progress in educating the children of this country.