Monday, May 17, 2004

Daily Yomiuri On-Line

There are some interesting suppositions in this article passed off as truths.
1. The reason teachers have a hard time mananging first-grade classes is that children are unable to adapt to their surroundings.
2. There is a disintegration of acceptable behavior.
3. This disintegration is the fault of family and community to raise children properly. Even though a few paragraphs later a university spokesperson hints that teacher training may be a problem.
4. Children who are not psychologically mature enough (read children who do not obey blindly) contribute to "unacceptable behavior."
5. Children who cause trouble are those who cannot adapt. (see #3 above.)

On the whole, a pretty poorly written article, but one that demonstrates the level of confusion in formal education about how to educate young people. Small classes? More teachers? Better parents? Lots of thrashing around, but no real evidence supporting any decisions.

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