tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post1882275401338388040..comments2024-03-28T09:22:36.967+13:00Comments on Offsetting Behaviour: Information mismatchEric Cramptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-77352571353202106872013-03-20T19:56:51.466+13:002013-03-20T19:56:51.466+13:00Our maths teacher also taught physics and chemistr...Our maths teacher also taught physics and chemistry. We merged the Grade 11 and Grade 12 classes to have enough to put physics and chemistry on in alternate years. <br /><br />Division of labour...extent of the market...Eric Cramptonhttp://offsettingbehaviour.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-78865737797019300902013-03-20T17:05:53.163+13:002013-03-20T17:05:53.163+13:00Yeah, I had a couple of good teachers, too. My mat...Yeah, I had a couple of good teachers, too. My maths teacher was especially good, but just limited to the classes she had a critical mass to teach. And in a graduating class of 40, there wasn't much mass.hprotagonistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-44380635126961864952013-03-20T08:54:12.821+13:002013-03-20T08:54:12.821+13:00Agreed on all, though I am glad we had some good t...Agreed on all, though I am glad we had some good teachers in Swan Lake.Eric Cramptonhttp://offsettingbehaviour.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-888560692599072502013-03-20T08:17:31.510+13:002013-03-20T08:17:31.510+13:00There are other problems. The big one, from exper...There are other problems. The big one, from experience, is that these smart kids from rural areas (of which I was one, if I may humbly boast) are likely to be under-prepared academically compared to those from more urban areas. Yes, we might do quite well on standardized tests, but at least in my high school, the ceiling on what I could learn in high school was quite low, simply due to scale.<br /><br />I finished all the regular math courses by sophomore year, and had to do "self study" for calculus and beyond for the final two years. I basically taught my Physics course, because our science teacher wasn't really up to the job. When I went to Caltech, I was just simply starting from behind, and I hadn't been confronted with anything terribly challenging for a long while. It took me a year (thankfully fully Pass-Fail) to figure out how to study properly and to understand the resources that were available at a university (office hours, study groups, etc.). <br /><br />So to add on the information mismatch, you pile on a real fear of being unable to compete with those from better-resourced areas, along with the massive culture change that comes with moving from a rural area to an urban one (how come all these buildings are in the way of the sunset?), and it's understandable why these kids don't stretch.hprotagonistnoreply@blogger.com