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[mccfan]

The Fox story ended with "Students are feeling like they're not taken seriously enough and their concerns aren't focused on," he added, "and no action comes out of what they do and say."  Well, maye that's because what they have to say isn't all that useful or inciteful. 

We all know there are classes in which the teacher is not very engaging, but I have seen a lot more classes in which the students seem loathe to do the reading.  Um, has anyone told them that discussions of most subjects are dull when you know nothing about them and can't summon the energy to think about them?  I get high marks for enthusiasm in my classes, which I take to be the opposite of "disengaged."  But cultivating the same level of interest in my students remains a challenge.

Joh Stuart Mill did say that a person who does not participate in the affairs of his country will care nothing for it.  Perhaps that applies to students and the reading as well. 

On the other hand, I just got back from attending a class presentation by my daughter's 4th grade science class.  Their teacher is excellent at getting them engaged b/c they have a hands on science curriculum.  They didn't just read about light bulbs and currents, they designed and constructed circuits and flashlights and cardboard box houses with light bulbs that really worked.  I was really impressed.  Elementary school science used to be about reading a book and maybe drawing a diagram.  My kid is not keen on reading but she does love making stuff.  And she now knows more about electricity than I do. 

[bio_prof_]

I got bored in my jr. high/high school classes. It had nothing to do with the teacher; the all-day schedule broke my attention. I'd lose my focus and get bored. The prof could have been swallowing fire for me. I never did get used to the schedule.

But I didn't expect to be edutained.