“Information sheets” are being at the collegiate level as well. Personal experience.

Yes they are, although where I saw it most (in engineering and science classes) it actually always made sense to me. The goal of a fluid mechanics class for example is not to ensure that the student has memorized all the facts, equations, tables, etc. to solve the problem, but to establish that they can apply the information readily available to determine the solution. I can only think of one technical, math-heavy, class where we weren’t allowed a “cheat sheet”, and it seemed ridiculous as the tests became nothing but a demonstration of rote memorization of the relevant equations. I bet you not one of the 100+ students in that class remember any of the stuff they memorized from that class, but at least some of us know the principles at work, and how to find the information needed to analyze the problem.

I don’t remember using “information sheets” in my engineering classes in college but we were allowed to used reference materials for formulas and standard data tables. I believe that reference materials are still being allowed for the Professional Engineering exam.

Using cheat sheets in grade school or high school is exactly that….cheating. Not only that, but why on earth would a teacher think that it was OK for some students to use information that wasn’t provided to other students? When I was in the public school system I was fortunate enough to have some very good teachers who simply expected everyone to do their best. Now it seems that we are racing to the bottom with mediocrity at all levels.

I totally agree with your statement, “If challenging children to work harder, letting them fail and repeat grades and singling out and providing extra help to the few students that really need it won’t work (and it doesn’t) then the system IS THE PROBLEM.”

Bingo.

I was a classroom teacher for many years. I have taught my own kid, hundreds at the elementary level, hundreds at the college level and tutored everything in between. I’m sure you have many TSpers with similar backgrounds. I’ve been forced to accept in my classrooms students with mental disturbance, mental disability, and learning disability to the serious detriment of all my students’ educational goals. Even so, I fought my students’ parents to insist upon high expectations and challenging the kids to actually master the material rather than just “covering” it. I also fought my principals over the same issues (at least until the first year’s test results bore me out). Fortunately, my principals were smart enough not to mess with success. (No, I never taught to the tests!!)

I had two NON-education degrees before I chose to become a teacher and yet my teacher coworkers sniped that “anyone off the street” was being hired by my district. I then completed ANOTHER graduate degree in education (with a 4.0) and was shocked to learn how incredibly low the expectations were. (Frankly, I could have completed the graduate program as a high school student, but I digress.) Extrapolating to the undergraduate degree program expectations gave me insights into the caliber of expectations for folk who are trained in that system. No wonder the teacher certification test at that time also included a basic literacy test! (No joke – This was about 25 years ago.) I can’t speak to current conditions other than what I have personally observed and what I have read over the course of a lifetime; perhaps standards have risen in the interim.

Do not read a blanket condemnation of EVERYONE who chooses to educate others in my comments. There are many, many highly intelligent , competent, caring people for whom teaching is a true vocation, a true raison d’etre, regardless of monetary considerations. But my observations indicate most educators (and perhaps employees in general) can be placed into one of three categories, Victims, Prostitutes or Lovers because it’s a sure thing that teachers are going to get it one way or another due to the system.

Victims are those who are trapped in the career. They don’t like it, but they have no other skills, hence no other choices for work. Perhaps they even are trapped in a specific district because all their retirement funding is there. (Many teachers’ wages are not subject to SS; rather a state or district pension fund is the rule and those funds rarely, if ever, transfer to another funding entity.) These folks will NEVER buck the system; they’re too dependent. Days off, summer or holiday breaks, and another other time they don’t have to be with their students are like being paroled. In prison speak, they are the trustees.

Prostitutes are those who may have other career choices, but they are too lazy and comfortable with the system the way it is. They put up with all the nonsense and just do the bare minimum to maintain their jobs. They may even fake enthusiasm if they think it will increase their profit. Every day on the job is spent in anticipation of the end of the work day. They enjoy all the breaks and make sure they take all their allotted sick days, training days, etc. They do not give one extra second of work other than exactly what they are paid for. These folks will NEVER buck the system; why should they?

Finally there are the lovers. These folks are the true lights that give hope for better days. These are the folks who used to be called “dedicated.” These are teachers parents with any sense hope and pray will come into their children’s lives. There are extremely few of them, in my experience. Many are struggling to buck the system, at least within their own classrooms. The odds are stacked against them.

When you speak of comparing schools to prisons, I’m wholeheartedly with you. They undeniably are modeled and run on the same principles. Even the appearance of most school buildings is eerily similar to prison compounds. I’m looking forward to your next broadcast.

Another distinguishing factor between yaupon and privet is their leaves. Yaupon has a serrated edge (because it is a holly) while privet has smooth margins. Yaupon also has red holly berries in winter. Privet has blueish berries. The flowers of the privet are more fragrant as well, as Jack mentioned. Once you learn to identify the plant, it is pretty distinct. I was care not to describe it, because one should always look at multiple photos from multiple sources before foraging. Foraging texas is one of my go to’s. Hope that helps to rectify things. Jack seemed kinda upset that i didn’t mention the possibility of mistaking the two.

Information sheets, to me, are bogus no matter how they are used. I graduated high school in 2004 and college in 2007. As far back as I can remember, I have had teachers “legalize cheating”. To me, it doesn’t help anyone at anytime. If you need formulas or what not, it should be printed on the test for you. Tests are there to test you and your brain ONLY. But, I love learning and I take it seriously. I will always be a lifelong learner and it’s one of the reasons I went into IT. IT is always changing and therefore I need to re-skill all the time and learn new things. Teachers can’t help students love to learn. They can help fan that flame but the spark has to be within first and allowing an information sheet to anyone, smart or weak, is not helping.

Two comments and one is a question. Would dry canning things like mushroom powder keep it from caking ? Read the ‘Little Britches’ series by Moody. That was a tough and very realistic boyhood. Someone already mentioned, ‘The Long Winter.’ by Ingalls. These books are a great resource if homeschooling kids K-6 and even older if you feel comfortable building on them. There is a homeschool resource out there called the Prairie Primer. In this you do everything from dissect an eyeball, making Pemmican, and hand sewing small items. This is a link to my favorite in Moody’s series. Our library carries all of these but we liked them so much we purchased them. http://www.amazon.com/Man-Family-Ralph-Moody/dp/0803281951/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403096488&sr=1-2&keywords=little+britches