The New Normal

[tirolski]

I taught high school art (pottery and photography) for a year in a private school.
I quit.

Didn’t know ya is an artist. Helps to explain yer for nice pics.
Do ya still throw pots?
I’d like a mug with skiing art on it.
Could help support yer ski blog-forum.

 

[Milo Maltbie]

... the majority of students are awesome, the parents are the challenging ones.

I taught at the college level so I didn't have any contact with parents, but I was the asshole parent. When my son was in HS, we got into a fight with his guidance counselor over a course he wanted to take. I think he was impressed with the way I stood up for him and won, but the guidance counselor called in sick every time we scheduled a meeting with her after that. I thought I was just applying the ethical negotiation principles that I learned on my job, in a non-threteaning way, but apparently the intensity was too much for her. I lost a lot of respect for her after that, and for the whole school administration for the way they handled subsequent meetings.

mm

 

[Harvey]

Didn’t know ya is an artist. Helps to explain yer for nice pics.
Do ya still throw pots?
I’d like a mug with skiing art on it.
Could help support yer ski blog-forum.

I don't throw anymore. I actually sold off my entire studio before we moved two years ago.

Blogging is a much easier way to work for no money than ceramics. It's much more compatible with skiing. More social too.

I love eating and drinking out of handmade stuff. I have a pretty good supply of things, some made by me and some by the master I studied under:

Byron Temple - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Byron Temple

Byron Temple was first exposed to handcrafted pottery through the ceramic pots his family used on a rural farm in Indiana.

americanart.si.edu

He was a great person, with a legit place in ceramics history. He was a little guy and pretty old, I would do his grunt work in the morning, lifting heavy stuff, loading kilns, making clay, etc and he would teach me in the afternoon. He had this thing for gourmet snacks and would feed me some great stuff from some place he called Zabar's (?).

Eventually pottery breaks (it's part of the potters business model!) And slowly my collection is getting smaller. Some of my favorites have been superglued!

My mom has a twelve piece dinner set she bought from Byron that she wants to pass on to me.

 

[Brownski]

God bless the teachers- really. It’s a hard job that is absolutely vital for everyone’s future. That being said, I can only remember one teacher from my whole career as a student who I would consider sitting down with to catch up. Most of them were unremarkable clock punchers. A few were remarkable for being clueless, uncaring assholes. I have teachers in my family too who seem like good caring professionals. Really- I look at my cousin and aunt who are teachers and they seem saintly almost. But it’s hard to square with what I remember from school. It’s hard to square with what an utter failure our educational system is overall too.

 

[MC2]

. It’s hard to square with what an utter failure our educational system is overall too.

I feel like this is one of those “I hate Congress, but I like *my* congressman” things.

What would you say we’re failing in the most? And, if we’re such a failure, why do so many people from around the world want to come here to learn?

 

[Harvey]

What are the criteria that determine success or failure of an educational system?

I really enjoyed my college education. The second best part was catholic school k-4. I guess that means I like the private better than the public.

I'm probably not the best person to judge my own education. It certainly didn't train me for a specific job, I had to figure that out for myself. But college taught me how to write — which in my mind is teaching someone to think.

 

[Brownski]

Probably too hard not to make it political but we’re completely failing at providing a basic K-12 education to kids who aren’t naturally gifted or lucky enough to get the basics at home. Social promotion or whatever it is. Our literacy rate is way too low. It obviously varies a great deal district to district but a HS diploma should at least mean that a kid can read and write and do basic math, know a decent bit of history, civics, economics- basically be a person who is ready to be a productive member of society. A HS diploma should say to an employer “this person is at least teachable”.
It has less harmful impacts but schools also do a terrible job of helping C & B student underachievers really reach their potential.

 

[Campgottagopee]

Probably too hard not to make it political but we’re completely failing at providing a basic K-12 education to kids who aren’t naturally gifted or lucky enough to get the basics at home. Social promotion or whatever it is. Our literacy rate is way too low. It obviously varies a great deal district to district but a HS diploma should at least mean that a kid can read and write and do basic math, know a decent bit of history, civics, economics- basically be a person who is ready to be a productive member of society. A HS diploma should say to an employer “this person is at least teachable”.
It has less harmful impacts but schools also do a terrible job of helping C & B student underachievers really reach their potential.

Laid down the 420 post

 

[Low Angle Life]

It has less harmful impacts but schools also do a terrible job of helping C & B student underachievers really reach their potential.

Growing up with a learning disability that went unnoticed until high school I can confirm that under achievers are often left behind or to fend for themselves.

My partner teaches in a multiple disability classroom ages 7-9, I can also confirm that they are similarly not given the appropriate resources to succeed to their fullest potential, keep in mind this is in a top 10 school district in NJ. The irony that her classroom is in a moldy basement is a great illustration of this.

 

[Brownski]

Laid down the 420 post

Didn’t even realize