[etni] Fw: re: recollections
- From: "Ask_Etni" <ask@xxxxxxxx>
- To: "ETNI" <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 4 Oct 2009 06:23:33 +0200
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marlene" <marlenegay@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: recollections
I remember studying history in the 6th grade where we had to outline the
chapters each week. I loved history, but hated outlining. We had current
events where we had to summarize an article to present before the class. We
also made trips to the library to learn how to research articles. We didn't
have matriculation exams in Florida, so I was able to finish high school
early by finishing my credits for a high school diploma in the evenings. I
started university in Israel at age 16 together with my roommate from
Montreal, Canada where they skip 12th grade altogether and enter university
after 11 years of schooling. Hmmmm...
In this week's "Bsheva" Hebrew weekly, there's an article about the
scientist/mathematician David Zeiton. He teaches in the Math Dept. of Orot
Teachers College. He says the way they teach math here is catastrophic. By
spoonfeeding the students, they never learn to think. He suggests using the
methods of studying Talmud and applying them to the study of math. Students
should learn how to do the proofs themselves, etc. I've met lawyers who
although not religious, enjoy studying Talmud - as an intellectual exercise.
BTW, in a similar vein, the old method of teaching reading of Hebrew using
the vowel sounds was found far superior than the newer holistic methods.
Moadim L'simcha - Happy Succot!
Marlene
Laurie wrote:
> A few recollections; my memory has been jiggled by a few recent postings.
> I went to elementary and high school in Yonkers, N.Y.
> From elementary school and onwards we:
> 1. read books and did book reports. (I was an avid reader, "bookworm", and
> frequented 1 of the 2 public libraries, coming home with the maximum
> allowed pile of books each time...on the bus!)
> 2. did projects - history, science, Spanish, English, etc. - (This means
> that we learned how to use the library, (no Google or Wikipedia!)
> research a topic, summarize, take notes, compile a bibliography,
> write footnotes, etc.)
> 3. had spelling tests
> 4. learned how to and wrote compositions
> 5. practiced penmanship
> 6. had plenty of homework and studying for quizzes and exams - no
> complaining allowed!
> 7. sat for the NY State Regents Exams (Bagrut) - all done in the course of
> a couple of weeks at the end of the school year. No classes canceled "the
> day before" for studying. No "matconet". If you failed, you went to summer
> school and only then you got a chance to retake the exam!
> Did I forget anything? Probably, but this paints a pretty clear picture,
> I'd say.
> p.s. When we were given a Spanish research project in high school, it was
> taken
> for granted, and rightfully so, that we knew how to do one! (as explained
> before).
> And, as I found little information in the Yonkers Public Library, I recall
> taking the subway from the Bronx, downtown to the Yeshiva U. library, in
> order to spend hours researching Yehudah Halevi, for my Spanish project
> and presentation.
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