In your opinion
I would say Science , some people really enjoy it at school but I don't in the slightest.
Whether you LIKE a subject has nothing to do with whether it's USEFUL. For example, I hate math -- always have -- yet we all use it every single day, and I'm glad I was forced to learn it. Science and math are both about understanding /recognizing patterns in the world, and they're about stretching your critical thinking skills so that you can think through problems in the real world. Whether you personally enjoy them or not, they're the exact opposite of over-rated.
The other is on the "life skills pathway" and he is learning "real world math," mostly so he will be able to budget, spend wisely, and not get taken advantage of (like he won't fall for someone giving him the wrong change due, for example). He will learn about loans, interest rates, credit cards, etc. My other one won't get those classes, so we will have to teach him that stuff ourselves. It seems strange that the son who will likely need more support as an adult will get a better "real world" education than the one who might actually be able to live independently.
As a high school teacher, I cringe every time I hear people say, "No one's teaching our kids about real world math!" Yeah, our students are instructed in this topic in multiple classes over the course of their years in high school. They don't take one class labeled "Finance" or "Practical Math", but they discuss theses things in math class, in Civics /Government class, and even in literature. I'm always picking up worksheets that kids lose in my classroom, and I see exercises on calculating interest, on using loans wisely, etc. Thing is, it doesn't seem real to the kids /don't stick with the kids because they don't have a real-life application for it yet ... and that's where it falls to parents to provide real-life opportunities to use what they've learned: budgeting for back-to-school clothes, choosing groceries, discussing investments.
What state is this?
I am trying to do as much research into this as I can, because I really do want to argue this with the district. It seems really unfair. Unfortunately, our state has said that local districts can set their own (higher) graduation standards, so we might have no luck.
Doesn't matter the state. Special Ed laws are federal.
Given the obesity issues in this country, I’d call PE & Health two of the most UNDERRATED classes in school, along with my personal choice of typing.
Yeah, our health/PE teachers say, If you don't take care of your body, where will you live?
We don't teach typing any more; at least, not the typing I took in high school -- typing was literally new for me in high school. Instead, today we teach Computer Applications in high school. The class assumes that the students know how to type, but the class teaches how to use programs well. In my classroom, I can tell who's had that class and who hasn't. The kids who've had Computer Applications know how to format a word document (instead of using lots of spaces), know how to merge files, how to use email, etc.
The "digital divide" is real. About half my students genuinely are stumped with simple tasks like printing only page 4 of a multi-page document or saving a file to a flash drive; these students are consumers of technology, but they don't really understand it.
We had a liberal chemistry teacher who only lasted that one year (but made chemistry interesting), and one time a sub who taught the boys how to make gun powder.
Wow. Our students make soap. You went to the cool school.
We went to one our dd’s meet the teacher night last week and she has been placed in “ discreet math.” I thought what in the H is that?
The teacher went on to tell us this is the class for kids who really don’t do well in math( algebra, trig, etc...) Come to find out this was practical math. They learn about taxes, 401K, financing, budgeting, etc... I was thrilled that this was something she can use! When she goes to college she WILL NOT be a math major but now she can balance her check book!
Discreet math is a class name that popped up only 2-3 years ago. It's aimed at students who are bound for community college or private colleges -- kids for whom mat doesn't come easily /naturally. I would not call it "practical math" because they do review Algebra and do a bit of Trig, but practical math is a part of the class.
