
How the Tough Got Going in Kentucky - tomaskazemekas
https://www.gatesnotes.com/Education/Kentucky-Learning-Trip?WT.mc_id=01_06_20116_09_KentuckyTrip_BG-LI_&WT.tsrc=BGLI
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skywhopper
The image comparing the classroom layout in 1915 vs 2015 is misleading, but
also silly. The US educational system has served a lot of people very well
throughout those 100 years using exactly that setup. Such rhetorical
strategies drive me nuts. Lots of things are different, but change for
change's sake is never a good idea.

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jmnicolas
What surprised me was how sad the children looked on the 1915 photo. Like
they're in detention or something.

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arethuza
There are cultural differences around smiling so its possible that they are
trying to look serious and studious - assuming that the US attitude to smiling
has changed over the years.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smile#Cultural_differences](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smile#Cultural_differences)

NB On my first visits to the US 20+ years ago I was surprised at how you would
get big beaming smiles* from people for no apparent reason... but then again
I'm from a notoriously dour part of a dour country.

[*] I of course eventually realised that people were giving me big beaming
smiles because they were paid to!.

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WorldMaker
Certainly the US attitude towards smiling has changed with regards to camera
technology. I'm too lazy to look up primary referents on the subject right
now, but long shutter times encouraged people not to smile to avoid grotesque
photos and then as shutter times got faster photographers began to eventually
"mandate" smiles to prove that they had better cameras until eventually it was
weird in the US not to smile in a planned photo.

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monkmartinez
I like the 1915 layout. I also send my kids to a "traditional" school that
emphasizes; writing, reading, and math(no common core). Teacher stands at the
front of the class and teaches. The kids are required to memorize basic math
facts, poems every two weeks, and give book reports since kindergarten. They
are expected to recite the poems in front of the class in a loud, concise
manner.

They are taught how to think critically with math/science work-sheets that
force concentration on math/science in a way that, I think, actually applies
to everyday life. There is very little technology in the classroom, also
something my wife and I chose.

Rows of seats with windows all along the entire length of one side in every
class room if the kids want to day dream/look at clouds a bit. They have
homework from kindergarten and my kids get it done the second they come in the
house (30-45min a day)... Only because they want to go ride their bikes, and
play in the neighborhood :)

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snowwrestler
Why would you call out "no common core"? It sounds like your kid's school is
likely well in line with, or exceeds, the Common Core.

More and more it seems like people don't know what the "Common Core" even is.
It's just becoming shorthand for whatever someone doesn't think they like
about math pedagogy.

In short, the Common Core is a set of standards for math proficiency. It does
not dictate any particular way of teaching math.

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jmknoll
Wait, so how do you put a piece of candy in a bag without opening it?

By ripping a hole in the side?

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cm2012
For a given definition of "in", you could push the candy in through the
stretchy plastic to the center without breaking the wall. Or, if you push all
the way through, it's probably going to be the smallest hole necessary.

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hibbelig
It said "paper bag" :-)

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bjelkeman-again
It is interesting with standing space for some of your work. I find that I
can't stand and do certain types of work (I have a standing desk I use a lot).
Writing which require assembling a lot of information into something coherent
is really hard for me to do standing. I could imagine that maths would be the
same, but I haven't tried it. If you then have a class room with only standing
space, maybe that isn't great. But it could of course be the opposite, that
standing works better.

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kwhitefoot
Office work and education are different things. I have a standing desk and I
use it standing about half the time. I mostly design, write, and debug
software and I can do it standing as easily as sitting. But I couldn't do that
work effectively in the classroom described in Gates' article. On the other
hand, when discussing new features and brainstorming radical changes then that
classroom looks just like the conference rooms that we do use for that.

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powertower
> What’s happening at Betsy Layne and other Kentucky schools show what’s
> possible when _students are held to high standards_ and good teachers have
> the opportunity to become great.

Key point above for me.

The worst schools in America tend to almost always not hold students to any
standard, with all bad behaviors excused via certain political talking-points
that deflect blame onto everyone else (everyone but the student and the
parent).

