[etni] down memory lane

From: טיטלבאום טובה <teitel_j@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:19:13 +0200
I feel slightly uncomfortable reading other people's positive memories of their 
schooldays. I remember my school days with great affection but
my memories of Australian schools of the 50s are slightly different. We had no 
homework in primary school. Teachers were expected to teach what the pupil had 
to know within the framework of the school day. (This was still true in the 60s 
when I became a teacher. If you gave homework it showed you were doing a poor 
job of teaching). We started getting homework from 7th grade and up and NO we 
did not do book reports. We had tests and exams and thrice a year report cards 
and mid term summing up of our progress. There was no "moed B" and if you 
failed you felt your world collapsing. The pressure to succeed was fierce Those 
of us who survived the system and went on to tertiary studies were the problem 
-free achievers. Most kids did not do Matric. You only had to pass in four 
subjects. English was compulsory but the other subjects had to be studied in 
depth and I do mean in depth. There were no further entrance exams to 
universities and colleges. It was presumed if you survived the rigours of high 
school including the matric demands you were prepared for tertiary studies. 
There was absolutely no leeway for L.D pupils They dropped out of school by the 
9th grade and became hugely successful businessmen. Check the list of the 100 
wealthiest people in the community. You would be surprised to find how many of 
them had dropped out of school including some from my class. So was the system 
better than what we have today? No I don't think so. It left many highly 
intelligent people feeling frustrated, excluded  and inferior.
Tova T.
----------------------------------------------- 
** Etni homepage - http://www.etni.org 
   or - http://www.etni.org.il **
** for help - ask@xxxxxxxx **
** to post to this list - etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx **
-----------------------------------------------
[etni] down memory lane

Other related posts:
