tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15350975.post3318133666571681743..comments2024-03-27T09:08:50.883-07:00Comments on Bad Mom, Good Mom: Do you want the true answer or the right answer?badmomgoodmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11569728075698885020noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15350975.post-64896872309364778142011-04-22T18:08:40.496-07:002011-04-22T18:08:40.496-07:00I love the last comment. Such a good point. As...I love the last comment. Such a good point. As far as bringing kids up to know right vs. true answer, I think kids primarily learn from watching you the parent, and if you navigate society successfully, while still maintaining your integrity, most probably they will too. Keep talking to them, though. Sometimes, as you've discovered, it does need to be spelled out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15350975.post-923731191977735432011-04-13T20:01:27.212-07:002011-04-13T20:01:27.212-07:00The mistake Iris caught is one that comes up a lot...The mistake Iris caught is one that comes up a lot. Elementary scool and middle school teachers and textbooks often have problem with the seemingly simple concept of every element of one set being an element of a larger set: the idea that every square is also a rhombus, or that every rectangle is also a trapezoid, and so on. If you can't insist on formal definitions for geometric shapes, where can you? One doesn't always need to use language formally and carefully, but sometimes you do have to, and basic shapes are a good place to practice. You might object (ok, readers of this blog won't object, but some people do object) that defintions of shapes are mere pedantry, but later, when the fallacy is "he's not a person, he's a defendant!" the stakes are higher!Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16618601657441653057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15350975.post-84472752545446519152011-04-13T19:50:46.265-07:002011-04-13T19:50:46.265-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16005356258008240253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15350975.post-48121298230090716782011-04-13T08:13:59.459-07:002011-04-13T08:13:59.459-07:00Ha! I just had an argument with my partner over wh...Ha! I just had an argument with my partner over whether squares were also rectangles (of course they are- but it occurs to me that if we teach 'basic shapes' in e.g. toddler puzzles so differently from 'geometrically defined shapes' in class, we are asking for trouble). <br />Anyway, I also remember a time when I was learning to take standardized tests and I went through similar issues. I don't think it's 'cynical' at all to tell kids to find the 'right' answer rather than the true answer... it's an important distinction.Beccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15356974556397009124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15350975.post-88618298622590526892011-04-13T07:46:55.199-07:002011-04-13T07:46:55.199-07:00I think that question has been around far longer t...I think that question has been around far longer than that particular test as I remember the same question from my own childhood, and I remember pointing it out to my teacher and my parents at the time, along with other errors. Of course that was decades ago in a different state.<br /><br />I am not convinced that testing always tests one's abilities to learn or accumulate knowledge but rather one's ability to interpret expectations and provide the "right" answer. This in turn is deemed predictive of how well one might adapt.<br /><br />But then, perhaps I am growing increasingly cynical with the passage of time.Mardelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04850551308931710502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15350975.post-43730805059141127942011-04-13T04:25:09.236-07:002011-04-13T04:25:09.236-07:00She is just like my son, who found three errors on...She is just like my son, who found three errors on his SAT (on which <br />he got a perfect score!!!)<br />He told his teachers and the SAT people, but they didn't act surprised.<br />I think the kids take too many tests.Little Hunting Creekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15581836733935812927noreply@blogger.com