Public School Rants: Part 2

By special request from impatient readers, I'm back to ranting about public school issues. Something that's always irritated me is when teachers don't keep up with their respective fields. Asking them to keep up with new pedagogies (like methods for making sure that those who learn differently have access to assignments differently) would be to ask them to sacrifice their first born child. But when it's on the blasted 6:00 news, looks like they'd at least have heard of it.

When Dante was getting ready to start the 2nd grade, we were watching the 6:00 news in late summer when this story came on the screen. Boy was he excited to think of ten planets! What would they name it? All kinds of questions. He started school several weeks later, and got treated to an astronomy lesson, which he normally likes quite a bit. I know about what transpired, because I was treated to a verbal onslaught by the offended teacher a day or so after it happened.

Apparently, Dante was sitting in the room with the other kids when the teacher began talking about the planets. "There are nine planets in the solar system," she announces confidently.

"Ten." Comes a small voice from the back. She frowns and starts again.

"There are nine planets in the solar system."

"Ten. Ten planets." Says the peanut gallery. Now, according to her, she's really worked up. At this point in the story, I have my hand over my mouth trying not to laugh in her face.

"There are NINE planets in the solar system!"

"No." At which point he checks out of the conversation, believing the woman to be behind the times, and starts playing "airplane" with his pencil, so I'm told.

"He had no respect for the teacher!" She fumed.

"But there are ten planets. They found another one past Pluto. It was on the news, did you catch it?" I responded. If looks could kill...


Now, of course, Pluto isn't even considered a "real" planet. I wonder if any of the teachers are bothering to drop it from their teaching, explain what it's considered to be now, or if it's just business as usual? Dante has issues with teacher authority anyway (as do I, so it's partly my fault he's the way he is). When teachers don't know what a then 7-8 year old knows, he checks out. I probably would to.

-- Virgil