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#3100442 5-Jul-2023 23:54

Cemix Cemseal Water Based, which is 6-7% silane and 90+% xylene.

"This is obviously some strange use of the word 'water' that I wasn't previously aware of".

Geektastic

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#3100461 6-Jul-2023 08:16

“Police notified the woman on Tuesday that the luxury Rolls-Royce had been found abandoned four kilometres from her house. It was being repaired for damage.

The woman’s husband said the damage, a blown tyre, would cost about $15,000 to repair.”

I know Rolls Royces are expensive to run but wt*! Does it have solid gold tyres?!

PS strange that I cannot use wt* in a thread actually titled wt*!!

geoffwnz

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#3100468 6-Jul-2023 08:34

Geektastic: “Police notified the woman on Tuesday that the luxury Rolls-Royce had been found abandoned four kilometres from her house. It was being repaired for damage.

The woman’s husband said the damage, a blown tyre, would cost about $15,000 to repair.”

I know Rolls Royces are expensive to run but wt*! Does it have solid gold tyres?!

PS strange that I cannot use wt* in a thread actually titled wt*!!

Depends how far it was driven with said blown tyre. Once it starts to delaminate and flog the bodywork around it, you can do quite a bit of damage to the guards, suspension etc in the vicinity. Obviously my frame of reference is WRC Rally cars that will often complete a stage on the rim if it's faster to continue than stop and change the wheel.

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frankv

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#3100494 6-Jul-2023 10:12

gzt:
Handsomedan:

The so-called "fast draft" said science would be taught through four contexts – the Earth system, biodiversity, food, energy and water, and infectious diseases.

This level of panic is probably overreaction. Clearly all those things do contain physics, chemistry, and biology. It's unlikely to mean staff will be given new titles. It's more likely to mean existing teaching will be performed under those themes. Ie; curriculum level view not content level view. Content will not necessarily change.

The curriculum is a specification of the content. If content doesn't change, what is the point of this "change"?

This seems to be emphasizing temporary fads (Why "infectious diseases" rather than just "diseases"? The obvious answer is covid) and pushing special interests rather than establishing a framework for understanding the world around us. Whilst "infectious diseases" is interesting and slightly relevant in the context of covid, I don't see it as a cornerstone of science. I also don't see a lot of chemistry or physics in it. Likewise "biodiversity" is relevant to conservation and NZ's endangered species, but it is a subset of biology. Likewise, I see "the Earth system" as code for ecology and climate change, which leaves "food, energy and water". Cynically, that also looks like conservation to me. Not that I think that conservation is bad, but it's an outcome of science, not a foundation.

Certainly climate change could provide a context to learn the basic laws of physics like thermodynamics and energy transfer and some physical chemistry. Similarly the others. Certainly they're all good and hopefully interesting things to learn. But I think that this is going to be a top-down system which leaves gaping holes in the foundations. For example, none of these contexts seem to cover the basics of chemistry like atoms and bonds and molecules, except as a side-issue. If we're going down the road of relevance and current events, "space travel" and "submarine structures" would provide more physics and chemistry, and be more relevant than "infectious diseases".

I predict an ongoing demand for curriculum reviewers. Perhaps the economics curriculum could be changed to include this.

DonH

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#3100497 6-Jul-2023 10:40

neb: Cemix Cemseal Water Based, which is 6-7% silane and 90+% xylene. "This is obviously some strange use of the word 'water' that I wasn't previously aware of".

Big "sticker" saying "water washup". Small print saying "Use solvent thinner for washup." The ingredient list reads more like paint thinner with flow additive rather than a concrete sealer.

People hear what they see. - Doris Day

Dingbatt

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#3100503 6-Jul-2023 10:56

Handsomedan:

Teachers shocked at leaked draft of science curriculum - 'Where's the science?

I have been pondering whether this is of such importance that it needs its own thread?

Just more dumbing down to the point where people haven’t got the understanding to think “that’s not right”.

This quote from the movie Idiocracy seems apt;

But Brawndo has what plants crave! It’s got electrolytes.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

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neb

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#3100505 6-Jul-2023 11:08

frankv:
I predict an ongoing demand for curriculum reviewers.

I predict an ongoing demand for schools like Kristin which teach to a globally accepted and relevant standard like the International Baccalaureate rather than running social experiments on children.

(Private school established by a group of parents with a few dozen pupils, now around 2,000 and a waiting list a mile long. "Private" doesn't mean Auckland Grammar exclusive but merely that the school chooses not to participate in the MoE's social experiments).

Handle9

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#3100643 6-Jul-2023 15:10

neb:
frankv:
I predict an ongoing demand for curriculum reviewers.

I predict an ongoing demand for schools like Kristin which teach to a globally accepted and relevant standard like the International Baccalaureate rather than running social experiments on children.

(Private school established by a group of parents with a few dozen pupils, now around 2,000 and a waiting list a mile long. "Private" doesn't mean Auckland Grammar exclusive but merely that the school chooses not to participate in the MoE's social experiments).

It’s funny you should mention Kristin. Science in IB is taught within the context on a “Unit of Inquiry.” It’s basically the same concept as what is being reported.

FWIW my kids have been in an IB school for 5 years and my wife teaches IB. She informs me that it’s very similar to the NZ curriculum and teaching techniques.

Geektastic

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#3100664 6-Jul-2023 16:30

I don’t have children (that I know about) but what always confuses me about this is that we had an excellent way of teaching people in the mid 20th century that produced some of the finest minds in history.

I’m unsure why it is felt necessary to mess with what works very well.

Handsomedan

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#3100668 6-Jul-2023 16:40

neb:
frankv:

I predict an ongoing demand for curriculum reviewers.

I predict an ongoing demand for schools like Kristin which teach to a globally accepted and relevant standard like the International Baccalaureate rather than running social experiments on children.

(Private school established by a group of parents with a few dozen pupils, now around 2,000 and a waiting list a mile long. "Private" doesn't mean Auckland Grammar exclusive but merely that the school chooses not to participate in the MoE's social experiments).

Private also means extortionately large annual fees per child.

https://www.kristin.school.nz/media/3805/2023-domestic-student-fees-1.pdf

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Handle9

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#3100674 6-Jul-2023 16:56

Handsomedan:
neb:

I predict an ongoing demand for schools like Kristin which teach to a globally accepted and relevant standard like the International Baccalaureate rather than running social experiments on children.

(Private school established by a group of parents with a few dozen pupils, now around 2,000 and a waiting list a mile long. "Private" doesn't mean Auckland Grammar exclusive but merely that the school chooses not to participate in the MoE's social experiments).

Private also means extortionately large annual fees per child.

https://www.kristin.school.nz/media/3805/2023-domestic-student-fees-1.pdf

Along with the fees comes much smaller class sizes and less “social” problems. IME that has a much greater impact on the quality of the kid’s education than the curriculum.

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FineWine

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#3100676 6-Jul-2023 17:14

Handle9:
Along with the fees comes much smaller class sizes and less “social” problems. IME that has a much greater impact on the quality of the kid’s education than the curriculum.

I can attest to that.

After going from a large 2 building country school in Taranaki, primers in one and standards to Form 2 in the other, run by a husband & wife team, then moving to a large state school in Wellington for my first Standard year where class sizes were about 20 to 30, then going to private boarding schools in Masterton (Hadlow Prep > Rathkeale College) where average class size was 10. I did SOOO much better in the smaller class size where teacher one on one was critical to my education. I was failing in the state system and my parents realised this.

In my last year of college, 1971, my folks paid $1000 as a boarder per term (3 terms then). Now look at the fees.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

gzt

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#3100704 6-Jul-2023 17:54

FineWine: In my last year of college, 1971, my folks paid $1000 as a boarder per term (3 terms then). Now look at the fees.

The average yearly wage was near 9k in 1971. I'd guess it was taxed at a higher rate too. Adjusting for both, the difference is not extreme compared to the price schedule above.

gzt

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#3100712 6-Jul-2023 18:15

Geektastic: I don’t have children (that I know about) but what always confuses me about this is that we had an excellent way of teaching people in the mid 20th century that produced some of the finest minds in history.

I'm not sure what your point might be. Care to name any examples as explanation?

Dingbatt

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#3100778 6-Jul-2023 22:13

gzt:
Geektastic: I don’t have children (that I know about) but what always confuses me about this is that we had an excellent way of teaching people in the mid 20th century that produced some of the finest minds in history.

I'm not sure what your point might be. Care to name any examples as explanation?

Half the folks on Geekzone? At least in their own minds 😂

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

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