Clay Spinuzzi wrote:
>
> The recent discussion reminds me of a private school I attended during the
> third and fourth grades. Each student got her or his own carrel (basically,
> a cubicle) with a corkboard and tacks; a desk surface; and a drawer for
> writing implements and whatnot. Students could not interact with each other
> and could interact with the two "teachers" only through raising small flags
> to get the teachers' attention.
>
> There was no lecture or class discussion. Each student worked at her or his
> own pace on printed workbooks.
>
> At the end of each workbook section, the student would raise a small U.S.
> flag to gain the attention of the teacher. Once the teacher gave her or his
> assent, the student would go to a stand at the center of the room (the
> "grading station") and grade her or his own workbook using a key. Based on
> the quality of the grade, the student would then either redo the section or
> move on to the next section.
>
> The only interaction with teachers was at the end of the workbook, when the
> teacher would give the student a one-on-one quiz, and at the beginning of
> the class day, when the entire class would say the Pledge of Allegiance and
> so forth.
>
> I don't remember if we wore uniforms or not, but I believe that boys had to
> wear ties.
>
> Years later I described this bizarre system to a friend, who nodded and
> said, "Oh, they were preparing you for office work."
>
> =============
> Clay Spinuzzi
> spinuzzi who-is-at iastate.edu
> Iowa State University
> 206 Ross Hall
> Ames, IA 50011
> (515) 294-9325
> www.public.iastate.edu/~spinuzzi
--
Kenneth S. Goodman, Professor, Language, Reading & Culture
504 College of Education, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
fax 520 7456895 phone 520 6217868
These are mean times- and in the mean time
We need to Learn to Live Under Water