[Default] On Fri, 13 Aug 2010 22:27:02 +0100, invalidd
<invalidd@invalidd.invalidd> typed:
>David wrote:
>> [Default] On Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:43:25 +0100, invalidd
>> <invalidd@invalidd.invalidd> typed:
>>
>>>
>>>My understanding is that a metre was the approximate length of a French
>>>King's arm whereas a yard was the approximate length of fingertip to
>>>middle of neck, hence the extra 3 inches.
>>>
>>
>> You have that backwards. The metre is longer than the yard by ~ three
>> inches.
>
>B*gg*r, you're absolutely right.
>
>Thank you for correcting me.
>
>> I taught during the Australian changeover. After the change we were able
>> to delete sixty percent of the time needed to teach arithmetic
>> conversions and apply that time to other subjects. The main stumbling
>> block was money, pounds, shillings and pence took an inordinate amount
>> of time to pound into those thick heads but the time needed to learn the
>> other imperial measures was necessary as well to fulfil the school's job
>> of supplying ready-made consumers to the marketplace.
>>
>> You have obviously never had to teach young impressionable minds who
>> forget the factors and forget whether to multiply or divide. It may be
>> easy for you but not for most.
>
>I can only say I'm surprised, I wouldn't have thought it was that big a
>deal especially for people with the learning aptitude of young children.
Young people are fallible just as much as oldies. They have to learn and
they have to want to learn. Many teachers do not teach in an interesting
manner and this puts children off the learning process. The hardest part
I found was in re-engaging their minds with a desire to learn after
their previous teachers had failed.
In one school I taught one of the boys sang in a dead flat monotone.
When I asked why it turned out that the teacher two before me at that
school had told this lad to "Shut up, you can't sing." Of course since
this teacher was being held up as the best teacher ever by the residents
of the town I blew up. My statement was to the effect that "Everybody
can sing. Just try to get your voice to go up and down along with the
rest of the kids. It doesn't matter if you don't quite hit the note.
Singing is about enjoying yourself."
About a month later I was amazed as I passed by the shelter shed one wet
day during lunch. The boy that had been labelled as a non-singer was
leading the rest in singing some of the songs I had taught them and he
was hitting the right notes all the time.
Some time later one of the town gossips passed a remark about how good
the teacher two before me had been. In public! With almost everybody in
the town present. I calmly and dryly noted that "Yes, he was such a good
teacher that he nearly destroyed one boy's enjoyment in singing" and
told the story. I never heard another word from the townsfolk about how
good that idiot teacher had been.
As background I was the only teacher at that school which only had
eighteen pupils ranging from Beginners to Intermediate.
--
David
No email replies please.
FORTUNE PROVIDES QUESTIONS FOR THE GREAT ANSWERS: #19 A:To be or not to
be. Q:What is the square root of 4b^2?
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