"Stewart Schooley" wrote :


Maybe we should talk about 'who' and 'where' we teach. As a retired
teacher
I know that if a kid doesn't want to learn, no amount of increased
educational spending will make him learn and if a kid wants to
learn,
nothing can stop him.

If a kid doesn't want to learn, sounds like a failure of the teacher
to properly communicate and motivate to me.

If a kid gets a chance to spend a few days mucking out chicken houses
when the temps and the humidity are both about 90, hopefully the kid
will learn something like maybe they don't want to muck any more
chicken coops.

If they are also informed that without an education, they will
probably spend a lot more of their life mucking chicken houses or
other similar unpleasant tasks, they will probably get a real big
chunk of motivation along about then.

Communication and motivation are tools that work almost every time out
of the box.

Know someone who fits the above like a glove.

Today he is middle aged, full blown rocket scientist who put himself
thru both undergrad and grad school with full scholarships.

As a 14 year old kid, stole his father's car, totaled it, and damn
near killed himself in the process.

It was a defining moment in his life.

Lew