@futurebird
oh, I don’t recall exactly (this was in the 1980s lol) but it was way larger than a normal class size—so I’d say at least 60, probably more
@geonz

@futurebird kids also benefit from having role models. In the case of teachers, the simplest part of being a role model is demonstrating interest in the topic being taught, showing that it has value to real adults and isn't just something forced on kids by 'the system'

@adamr

I have a Masters (in astrophysics), have been tangentially involved in academia throughout a working life, and I am here to tell kids that what they are being taught has no value to adults other than to keep them in line and is forced on them by the system.

@futurebird

@tkinias

There is a notion that "students aren't learning anything in study hall so it's not important"

I think for middle school students this is a big mistake. Study hall is the start of learning to manage your own time. Do you get your homework done? It's also learning to be considerate of others.

Some of the other teachers think I'm a little crazy for wanting to discuss it so much, but I think we could improve it a lot.

@futurebird @tkinias

Study hall can also be a place and time for kids who feel overwhelmed at school (or home!) to chill out.

@richpuchalsky @adamr

Do you think compulsory education should be abolished?

@futurebird

i think that there should be a social expectation that young people should learn, and that adults should not be able to prevent children from learning. But as an anarchist of course I think that the state should end, as well as a state mandated system of education.

@adamr

@richpuchalsky @adamr

I think powerful people will use that to take advantage of people by keeping their understanding of the world limited and in the absence of state education it will be the church and whoever gives the church the most money indoctrinating everyone.

@futurebird increasing students per teacher based off either of these is full on insane though. Education has a quality problem because of low teacher numbers to begin with

A teacher needs to know their students to be effective. This puts an upper limit on the number of students one teacher can teach at once. Something like 150 students. I need to know their names, and when I see that name a little about who that is.

Further, a student should have at least 4 or 5 teachers who know them. This is a selection of hopefully trustworthy and supportive adults they can turn to.

Most plans to make school less expensive mess with these numbers.

@flying_saucers @futurebird

Improving education begins with

- more teachers
and
- better pay.

...

Everything else is a lame excuse.

And most of "everything else" is generally a distraction from the main problems.

@futurebird

Quite possible! (Anarchists are not really big on the church either.) But communities can build schools and staff them without a church organization, or young people can learn through one-on-one teaching from adults.

When looking at bad possible alternatives we have to compare them with what actually exists, not the ideal of what is supposed to exist.

@JeffGrigg @flying_saucers @futurebird Nit: the word "lame" should really be retired from usage like this. It's gratuitously ableist and has plenty of non-hurtful alternatives.

@dalias @flying_saucers @futurebird

Noted and improved.

Alternatives to "lame excuse" here:
https://www.powerthesaurus.org/lame_excuse/synonyms

The people talking about implementing AI in education are saying things that start out sounding sensible until you think.

Most of my students don't need "extra attention" what if the AI could take care of the easy students and I would get the ones who need more nuance?

Well first of all detecting who needs "extra" is subtle. How will you do that?

Second: what if the majority of my students don't need "extra attention"

*because they got real help from supportive teachers previously?*

@JeffGrigg @flying_saucers @futurebird Thanks! ️

@richpuchalsky

I think it's beneficial to have education connected to larger secular bodies eg. the state because it forces all of the little communities with their "values" (values can be excellent, or horrible) to find some common ground.

Should we teach that the earth is flat?
Is evolution real?
Does *everyone* need to learn how to read?

If you let "the local community" decide such things they have often made the wrong call on these questions which have objectively correct answers.

@richpuchalsky

I don't call myself an anarchist. Or anything really. I suppose I'm not since, from what I've seen as a teacher, people crave, love and seek out organization and someone to tell them what to do. This can be exploited so easily. Often it is exploited.

A lot of what I do as a teacher is try to get my students to stop turning to me to tell them what to do about every single thing.

And I use their inclination towards obedience to guide them towards that. Kind of a paradox.

@futurebird I've been an edtech spectator (and at times a practitioner) for a very long time - and I was a classroom teacher for over a decade prior to that.

And I often wonder: what if the billions of dollars spent on educational technology with zero research base was spent on class size, meals, teacher training, school based health centers -- where would we be?

But we'll throw good money after bad because AI has a better marketing budget than kids and teachers.

@JeffGrigg @flying_saucers @futurebird I so love how on fedi you can just bring stuff like this up non-confrontationally and folks look it up and fix it, rather than turning into some kinda standoff over "wokeness run amok" or whatever. ️