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Teaching Fifth Graders Engineering

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the get-on-the-method dept.

Jamie noticed a NYT story saying "To compete in a global economy, some school districts are offering engineering lessons to students in kindergarten. " The story is about 5th graders working on a new experimental curriculum that is well beyond the egg drop of old.

12 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Parents are the Biggest Factor by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Funny

    You could adopt the alternate strategy, of forcing them to play with a "Child's First Call Center Playset: Now with over 500 recordings of angry, clueless, customers and verbally abusive managers!" for 14 hours a day.

    This won't actually teach them anything; but it will fill them with a burning desire to acquire job skills.

  2. Re:NICE! by ArhcAngel · · Score: 2, Funny

    I remember igniting magnesium and throwing chunks of pure sodium in a bucket of water...Ahhh...those were fun times. It wasn't elementary but it was pretty cool.

    --
    "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
  3. Re:Do it Mythbuster Style! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Plus, explosions keep the kid's interest really effectively.

  4. Re:Parents are the Biggest Factor by decipher_saint · · Score: 2, Funny

    I always wondered what happened to the kids who played with those toy phones...

    "Yabba-Dabba Doo! My system won't power on"

    --
    crazy dynamite monkey
  5. Re:Parents are the Biggest Factor by Rogerborg · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm an engineer, and I am a parent

    Inconceivable!

    For once, that word does mean what I think it means.

    --
    If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
  6. Re:NICE! by bickerdyke · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hmm.. I think it was elemantary sodium you used for that....

    --
    bickerdyke
  7. I call bullshit by Hognoxious · · Score: 3, Funny

    Fifth graders are far too soft and slippy to make anything useful out of.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  8. Re:What a waste of tax money! by PriceChild · · Score: 2, Funny

    Engineers don't work in factories, troll...

    People who work in factories are mostly drones or technicians at best (with an occasional engineer to...

    I don't think you wrote what you meant. Let me edit it for you: "Engineers don't work in factories, except for when they do. Thankyou very much for your input to the discussion, here ends my respectful reply."

  9. Already used in the field by Combatso · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is where BP's ideas are coming from

  10. Re:Parents are the Biggest Factor by Barrinmw · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yes, instead of Barbie, make sure every girl gets a Princess Leia Doll!

  11. Re:He Huffed and he Puffed.... by Nadaka · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ask a 5 year old about dogma and they with respond by asking for a puppy.

  12. Before they can spell it? by russryan · · Score: 2, Funny

    My Dad had a sign on his desk that said, "Siks munths ago I coodnt even spel injuneer. Now I are one."