I was interested in the article on STAR tests at SBHS. I was a
substitute teacher there for several years in the mid-90s. I taught
whatever they needed and often it was remedial math classes.
Editor
I was interested in the article on STAR tests at SBHS. I was a substitute teacher there for several years in the mid-90s. I taught whatever they needed and often it was remedial math classes. They rarely gave me time to prepare, calling before 7am for a class at 8:20am. Usually the instructors left lesson plans but it was often the second class of the day before I felt prepared.
I found that the students were unprepared in subjects that they should have learned in grade school, such as fractions. I tried to enliven this by citing real life situations such as dividing a pizza into slices for a group and charging for the size of the slice. But still many of them were apathetic.
I am encouraged by your article that the freshmen seem to be more proficient in math than the juniors. Maybe the local grade schools have awakened to the fact that they must prepare their students for high school just as SBHS must prepare its students for college or a career.
I have always felt that many students should be directed into careers that don’t require college just as they do in Europe. My first wife who was German was taught to be a seamstress in high school and she was very good at it. Others become very good at trades such as tool and die or auto repairs. Nowadays they could be taught computer programming without having to go to college.
I note that SBHS did not do well on history either. I taught this subject several times and found a general apathy toward it. I tried to enliven it with my own experiences in the depression, World War II, Korea and Vietnam but without much luck. Some kids do not respond to history. Again, they should be able to graduate with real world oriented curricula that give them talents to succeed.
John B. Fitch, Hollister
