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Wednesday, March 26, 2008

A neat SAT story

Here's a story that will make you smile. A teenager in a high school in Miami Springs has formed his own class to prepare for the SATs. And he's gathered a group of students who have pledged to meet for 90 minutes a couple of days a week to prepare themselves for the SATs. They are busy teaching themselves the vocabulary, grammar, and math that their own school didn't teach them so that they can raise their SAT scores.
Each student took a turn unmasking the misplaced modifier, the noun-verb disagreement or the lack of parallel structure. The group had an extended sidebar about the difference between “sit” and “set.” And when Jessica mistook “lay” for “lie” in correcting a particular sentence, the rest of the room groaned, giving everyone a moment of levity.

Some nights, as William and the rest made their way through the grammar and syntax, the reading comprehension and essay practice, the algebra and geometry, they wondered why the material looked so unfamiliar. Did Miami Springs not teach it? Had they themselves forgotten it?
Perhaps their school never taught it. Perhaps it was taught and they didn't learn it at the time. But now they are.

I love the idea of these kids setting themselves a goal and gathering together to accomplish it themselves instead of sitting around and complaining about how unfair it is that there is this test that will ask them material they were never taught. If they reach their goals on the SATs and get into the types of colleges that they're interested in, they will serve as role models for all their peers.
Labels: Education

posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 6:50 AM

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HOME Site Feed Comments from an AP history and government teacher in Raleigh, NC. e-mail betsynewmark AT gmail.com Betsy neither necessarily uses, nor endorses, the products advertised on this site. Wikio Your Market Research Here		Wednesday, March 26, 2008 A neat SAT story Here's a story that will make you smile. A teenager in a high school in Miami Springs has formed his own class to prepare for the SATs. And he's gathered a group of students who have pledged to meet for 90 minutes a couple of days a week to prepare themselves for the SATs. They are busy teaching themselves the vocabulary, grammar, and math that their own school didn't teach them so that they can raise their SAT scores. Each student took a turn unmasking the misplaced modifier, the noun-verb disagreement or the lack of parallel structure. The group had an extended sidebar about the difference between “sit” and “set.” And when Jessica mistook “lay” for “lie” in correcting a particular sentence, the rest of the room groaned, giving everyone a moment of levity. Some nights, as William and the rest made their way through the grammar and syntax, the reading comprehension and essay practice, the algebra and geometry, they wondered why the material looked so unfamiliar. Did Miami Springs not teach it? Had they themselves forgotten it? Perhaps their school never taught it. Perhaps it was taught and they didn't learn it at the time. But now they are. I love the idea of these kids setting themselves a goal and gathering together to accomplish it themselves instead of sitting around and complaining about how unfair it is that there is this test that will ask them material they were never taught. If they reach their goals on the SATs and get into the types of colleges that they're interested in, they will serve as role models for all their peers. Labels: Education posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 6:50 AM \|

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Wednesday, March 26, 2008

A neat SAT story