Pop Quiz
Created by Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller
1. What percent of teachers report liking their jobs after 10 years in the field?
- 93%
- 84%
- 16.5%
2. Why would a school ban the game of tag?
- It's not included on the state assessment test and therefore has no value.
- Some children complained that they were chased.
- Kids get all sweaty and stink up the classrooms.
3. Who says that "Free and unstructured play is healthy and essential for helping children reach important social, emotional, and cognitive development milestones as well as helping them manage stress and become resilient?"
- The Federation of Retired Playground Supervisors
- The American Academy of Pediatrics
- Nike Corporation
4. Some schools in Nevada don't have detention anymore because...
- They can't afford it.
- They have replaced Detention Rooms with Responsibility Rooms where students learn lessons in responsibility.
- The students are so well behaved they don't need them.
5. How many states still allow corporal punishment?
- None. The barbaric practice of hitting children with a hand or a paddle was ended over 100 years ago.
- Twenty-three
- Not enough. The sting of the paddle is an effective form of punishment.
6. What has hit a 40-year low in the field of education?
- The amount of time spent on test prep
- Passing out stars and stickers to bribe students to perform and conform
- The percentage of male teachers
7. What is it that elementary students get no academic benefit from, yet schools require more than ever?
- Homework
- Free time
- Video games
8. What has the most potent sting?
- A hornet
- A wasp
- The spelling bee
9. What do two-thirds of the American public want left behind?
- No child
- Homework
- The No Child Left Behind law
10. What do major league baseball players, professional wrestlers, New England Patriots head coaches and most students have in common?
- They enjoy reading the classics.
- They think learning a foreign language is important.
- They all cheat.
Answers
- Ninety-three percent, according to a new survey done by the National Center for Educational Statistics. They also found that the attrition rate for teachers was lower than that of other professionals.
- Tag was banned in Colorado schools because some children complained that they were chased. Running games are still allowed as long as children don't chase each other.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics in a recent report strongly defended play in response to federal education policies that have led to reduced recess and physical education in many schools.
- Las Vegas area schools say they can no longer pay for detention. They are too understaffed to pay for a place for even the most badly behaved students. Their solution: The parents should be hit with fines.
- Twenty-three. Most states that allow corporal punishment are in the South and Midwest.
- According to the National Education Association, the percentage of male teachers has hit a 40-year low. Fewer than one out of every four teachers is male. The reason cited is that teaching offers neither high pay nor high profile.
- Duke University professor and homework researcher Harris Cooper says that elementary school students get no academic benefit from homework—except for reading and some basic skills practice. Yet, the beat goes on and schools require more than ever.
- The spelling bee's sting is the greatest. "Spelling bees honor the children who already know how to spell and do little to support those who need explicit instruction," according to Sue Ann Gleason, a first-grade teacher.
- Nearly two-thirds of American adults want Congress to rewrite or outright abolish the landmark No Child Left Behind Act. Opposition is especially high among people most familiar with the law, according to a survey by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University.
- As Regan McMahon reports in the San Francisco Chronicle, the two most common answers to the "prevalence of cheating" question by high school and college students are "Everybody does it," and "It's no big deal." Sadly, those answers are accurate. According to a 2005 Duke University study, 90 percent of high school students admit they have copied another person's homework. Seventy-five percent own up to cheating in general. The prevalent student attitude is "Everyone's doing it, no one is getting caught; therefore, I'd be a fool not to do it." In the past, cheating was restricted to those who couldn't obtain good grades on their own. Now, since there is no shame attached to the act, cheaters are more likely to be the good students.
