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Archive 1 |
Current headmaster prefers title of headmaster for her job, not headmistress. -- MOSforever 06:11, 14 July 2005 (UTC)
No, if that's the official term (no matter how peculiar), it should stay. -- Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης) 15:21, 14 July 2005 (UTC)
"Headmaster" is the term Boston Latin School has used since 1635, and she has no intention of changing it. It doesn't matter if she is not a "master," she is still called the headmaster (which I suppose you could translate as "head of the masters," which she is.) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.163.243.54 ( talk • contribs) 2006-07-15T11:23:02 (UTC)
I'm not sure how noticeable this is, but Pres. Bush visited in 2000 to talk about/announce No Child Left behind.
When Bush visited he addressed the current Headmaster as "Headmistress" and she was visibly put out by it. Her official title is Headmaster.
The difficulty with BLS is that homogeneous student bodies turn half the inmates into chronic underachievers. Where students share a single attribute--in this case, academic ability--the environmental press reinforces those who are sensitive to it negatively. One study, by a high school principal, says that a public high school student experiences 6,000 instances of negative self-esteem in a four-year high school career; BLS has more, and for some, over six years. This produces anxiety that impairs achievement, a characteristic that persists in any environment where only excellence will do. It turns out, says research, that all students learn more, including the gifted, when all levels of student ability learn together. Democracy turns out to be good learning theory. BLS was never based on research, but on a Seventeenth Century notion that the mind is an empty room waiting to be furnished. For example, there's no evidence that language study trains the mind any more successfully than Music or computer programming. The best thing that BLS could do for students is apply educational research to teaching. As things stand, BLS claims all who survive it. Learning should be a joy. Haec studia nolunt mentem. [James Sutton]
"It turns out, says research, that all students learn more, including the gifted, when all levels of student ability learn together. Democracy turns out to be good learning theory."
Not only is the first sentence in that statement blatantly false (to speak nothing of the absurd second sentence), I suspect one would be hard-pressed to provide reputable research which could provide a reasonable metric on how much "learning" takes place under various conditions. It is quite clear, however, that when gifted students are in an environment which must cater to a common denominator, they generally are not provided an opportunity to reach their full potential. As no context is provided, it is possible that the statement refers to an entire institution, and not to individual classes (such as advanced or accelerated classes in english or mathematics); however, a claim that the same principle applies to the stratification of institutions would not be spurious.
Franklin died in 1790. Was this a testamentary bequest, or is the date of the endowment stated here wrong, or did he rise up from the grave to establish it? - EDM 21:29, 8 December 2005 (UTC)
I think the NPOV approach to the question of whether BLS or Roxbury Latin gets the title is simply to acknowledge that there is some disagreement.
Also, there are a bit too many details here about Roxbury Latin. The fact that it moved to West Roxbury at some point hardly belongs in the BLS entry.
Actually, I haven't edited that section at all. The comments above were a suggestion for how to deal with the BLS vs Roxbury Latin issue. (Sorry they weren't explicitly signed.) johndburger 02:22, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
Exactly. We should acknowledge the unclarity. It is definitely not a certainty that Boston Latin is the oldest school.
Agreed. For example,
The Collegiate School claims to be older.
Boston Latin School is the oldest "Public School" in the United States.
This is not any one school's page -- this is an encyclopedia. I do not think that either Collegiate or Boston Latin has a clear-cut claim; thus, we should make sure both pages reflect the ambiguity.
"Alumni" means they graduated, so I reverted the dropouts added to the alumni section—that's why they're mentioned separately. — johndburger 17:30, 3 June 2006 (UTC)
Actually, the alumni association's definition allows that any who attended for more than 2 years are "alumni," if not graduates. That's been consistent throughout our history. Ben Franklin and Arthur Fiedler are just two of the many who didn't actually graduate. A full 4 or 6-year course of study wasn't always practical--just ask the many living alumni who left early to serve our country during wars or to support their family. Even today, if a former student wishes to remain part of the community, we're happy to oblige. (This comment added by Lpfblsa · 2006-08-02T12:57:17)
The article headline says that it has been suggested that Boston Latin Academy (Dorchester) be merged into this article.
They are two completely separate schools. Merging them would make no sense at all. Whoever suggested that was probably not familiar with the Boston exam school system.
What percentage of those who enter in the seventh and ninth grade end up graduating? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.22.201.9 ( talk) 03:30, 31 January 2010 (UTC)
I graduated from Boston Latin in 1997. At the time, 5 years of Latin were required from those entering in seventh grade, and four years from those who entered in the ninth. Therefore, I had the option not to take Latin my senior year, as I entered in the seventh, but all of my friends who joined as freshman had no choice.
Since Latin was founded in the 17th century I assume it was all-male. When were girls first admited? ( Alphaboi867 19:51, 9 November 2006 (UTC))
Girls were first aditted to Boston Latin School in September 1971, the first of whom graduated in June 1977. Purplemouse 20:46, 7 March 2007 (UTC)
A few weeks ago it was announced over the school PA system that the current headmaster is resigning, should this be added?
There's a lot of sections that should be in prose written in point form. Perhaps an editor can restructure it to a more appropriate format? (The title's a piss-take, as an aside, due to lecturers and tutors of various 'humanities' style subjects being obsessed with point form. :P) Jachin 12:01, 2 May 2007 (UTC)
If it [2] was published in the US before 1923 it's in the public domain. SteveSims 01:05, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
Image:Sigillum scholae latinae bostoniensis.PNG is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.
Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.
If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. BetacommandBot 11:33, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
![]() | This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 |
Current headmaster prefers title of headmaster for her job, not headmistress. -- MOSforever 06:11, 14 July 2005 (UTC)
No, if that's the official term (no matter how peculiar), it should stay. -- Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης) 15:21, 14 July 2005 (UTC)
"Headmaster" is the term Boston Latin School has used since 1635, and she has no intention of changing it. It doesn't matter if she is not a "master," she is still called the headmaster (which I suppose you could translate as "head of the masters," which she is.) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.163.243.54 ( talk • contribs) 2006-07-15T11:23:02 (UTC)
I'm not sure how noticeable this is, but Pres. Bush visited in 2000 to talk about/announce No Child Left behind.
When Bush visited he addressed the current Headmaster as "Headmistress" and she was visibly put out by it. Her official title is Headmaster.
The difficulty with BLS is that homogeneous student bodies turn half the inmates into chronic underachievers. Where students share a single attribute--in this case, academic ability--the environmental press reinforces those who are sensitive to it negatively. One study, by a high school principal, says that a public high school student experiences 6,000 instances of negative self-esteem in a four-year high school career; BLS has more, and for some, over six years. This produces anxiety that impairs achievement, a characteristic that persists in any environment where only excellence will do. It turns out, says research, that all students learn more, including the gifted, when all levels of student ability learn together. Democracy turns out to be good learning theory. BLS was never based on research, but on a Seventeenth Century notion that the mind is an empty room waiting to be furnished. For example, there's no evidence that language study trains the mind any more successfully than Music or computer programming. The best thing that BLS could do for students is apply educational research to teaching. As things stand, BLS claims all who survive it. Learning should be a joy. Haec studia nolunt mentem. [James Sutton]
"It turns out, says research, that all students learn more, including the gifted, when all levels of student ability learn together. Democracy turns out to be good learning theory."
Not only is the first sentence in that statement blatantly false (to speak nothing of the absurd second sentence), I suspect one would be hard-pressed to provide reputable research which could provide a reasonable metric on how much "learning" takes place under various conditions. It is quite clear, however, that when gifted students are in an environment which must cater to a common denominator, they generally are not provided an opportunity to reach their full potential. As no context is provided, it is possible that the statement refers to an entire institution, and not to individual classes (such as advanced or accelerated classes in english or mathematics); however, a claim that the same principle applies to the stratification of institutions would not be spurious.
Franklin died in 1790. Was this a testamentary bequest, or is the date of the endowment stated here wrong, or did he rise up from the grave to establish it? - EDM 21:29, 8 December 2005 (UTC)
I think the NPOV approach to the question of whether BLS or Roxbury Latin gets the title is simply to acknowledge that there is some disagreement.
Also, there are a bit too many details here about Roxbury Latin. The fact that it moved to West Roxbury at some point hardly belongs in the BLS entry.
Actually, I haven't edited that section at all. The comments above were a suggestion for how to deal with the BLS vs Roxbury Latin issue. (Sorry they weren't explicitly signed.) johndburger 02:22, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
Exactly. We should acknowledge the unclarity. It is definitely not a certainty that Boston Latin is the oldest school.
Agreed. For example,
The Collegiate School claims to be older.
Boston Latin School is the oldest "Public School" in the United States.
This is not any one school's page -- this is an encyclopedia. I do not think that either Collegiate or Boston Latin has a clear-cut claim; thus, we should make sure both pages reflect the ambiguity.
"Alumni" means they graduated, so I reverted the dropouts added to the alumni section—that's why they're mentioned separately. — johndburger 17:30, 3 June 2006 (UTC)
Actually, the alumni association's definition allows that any who attended for more than 2 years are "alumni," if not graduates. That's been consistent throughout our history. Ben Franklin and Arthur Fiedler are just two of the many who didn't actually graduate. A full 4 or 6-year course of study wasn't always practical--just ask the many living alumni who left early to serve our country during wars or to support their family. Even today, if a former student wishes to remain part of the community, we're happy to oblige. (This comment added by Lpfblsa · 2006-08-02T12:57:17)
The article headline says that it has been suggested that Boston Latin Academy (Dorchester) be merged into this article.
They are two completely separate schools. Merging them would make no sense at all. Whoever suggested that was probably not familiar with the Boston exam school system.
What percentage of those who enter in the seventh and ninth grade end up graduating? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.22.201.9 ( talk) 03:30, 31 January 2010 (UTC)
I graduated from Boston Latin in 1997. At the time, 5 years of Latin were required from those entering in seventh grade, and four years from those who entered in the ninth. Therefore, I had the option not to take Latin my senior year, as I entered in the seventh, but all of my friends who joined as freshman had no choice.
Since Latin was founded in the 17th century I assume it was all-male. When were girls first admited? ( Alphaboi867 19:51, 9 November 2006 (UTC))
Girls were first aditted to Boston Latin School in September 1971, the first of whom graduated in June 1977. Purplemouse 20:46, 7 March 2007 (UTC)
A few weeks ago it was announced over the school PA system that the current headmaster is resigning, should this be added?
There's a lot of sections that should be in prose written in point form. Perhaps an editor can restructure it to a more appropriate format? (The title's a piss-take, as an aside, due to lecturers and tutors of various 'humanities' style subjects being obsessed with point form. :P) Jachin 12:01, 2 May 2007 (UTC)
If it [2] was published in the US before 1923 it's in the public domain. SteveSims 01:05, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
Image:Sigillum scholae latinae bostoniensis.PNG is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.
Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.
If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. BetacommandBot 11:33, 6 June 2007 (UTC)