SoulPancake / Conversations / What do we need to do to fix public education?

omgilykatie8

- 2 years ago

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What do we need to do to fix public education?

I will graduate high school with a barely passable knowledge of even basic math. A friend of mine is set to graduate this year too- except she is almost illiterate. She gets A's and B's in her classes but is not able to read much beyond "d**k and Jane". People like her and I keep getting passed without ever learning. Changing and confused ideas of what the curriculum should be create an atmosphere that is rigid and inflexible and at once dizzyingly complex.

How would you change public education so that students are more prepared for life?

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stop spending stuff on unnecessary stuff. i mean obama cutting the scheduled trip that nasa was granted from president bush's administration was definitely understandable. we do not need to go to the moon during this economic crisis.

1. Hold parents more responsible for the upbringing of their children. School is not daycare, it is an opportunity to learn.
2. Hold teachers more responsible for demonstrating effectiveness (test scores, audits of classrooms, child's successes, etc). I don't know the standards but there is one somewhere.
3. Hold children responsible for their work. Keep tests legitimate, avoid supplementing grades with fake extra credit so everyone can get an A.
4. Encourage vocational schools to the academic less focused. Would you rather have formal craft or a BA in Communications with a 2.5 GPA?
5. Pay a living wage to young teachers and find ways to remove ineffective teachers (especially ones who have "tenure")

this has been an ongoing battle for I don't know how many years. the public school system is designed to teach sort of "middle of the road", and I think that the road is pretty narrow. Students here, in Texas, are taught to the "test' (TASP or TAKS whatever it is). Beyond that, I don't see much actual "education" going on. Part of the problem is that if students don't pass that test, jobs can be lost and funding can be cut. Sort of a catch 22. Allegedly the test is designed to tell us how much the child is learning. But, do you know that, here at least, a kid can graduate wiht an 8th grade level in english, science and math? and with all A's!
part of the problem, I think, was back in the 60's states decided they had to "level the playing field". probably, I suspect as a part of some kind of federal manadate like "no child left behind". the reason cited is that "minority" and "disadvantaged" children would be unable to keep up, much much less have the capacity to learn. If I were the mother of minority children I would be slapping somebody.
after that, it got decided somewhere that if the kid wasn't learning, or wasn't performing, well the kid was just stupid or lazy. nevermind kids are not actually being taught.
When my oldest son was in the first grade, I was called to a teachers confence because he wasn't "perfoming" well in class. He refused, basically, to read in class, or otherwise, First grade readers. I asked him why, because I knew he could read, and quite well. He said he wasn't going to read that stuff because it was "baby" and "stupid". What did he want to read? World Book encyclopedia. however, THAT was not in the curriculum. So, he read it at home. he checked books out of the college library because the school library was "dumb". his IQ was in the 160 range. was he stupid or lazy?
Now we have a degree called "education". In the State of Texas, anyway, one must have a degree in "education" and be "certified" to teach. If one wants to teach, and has a degree in another field, one must take the additional courses in "education" and sit for "certification".
My granddaughter is in theatre at high school. her theatre teacher has a degree in education, that includes 3 hours of a class called something like "drama for teachers". That is her qualification for teaching that subject. I have a Masters degree in theatre, which includes 130 college hours, plus classroom experience teaching at the college level. yet, I cannot teach theatre to high school students unless I go back and get more college hours in "education" and "certification". why would I want to do that?

after working with the public education system for about three years, i've found that the biggest problem is that it is not well suited to different learning styles. some children learn by hands on work, while others learn best straight from the text, and others learn best with visual aids. I think there should be a more multi-faceted approach to learning. also, i feel that come junior and senior year of high school, students should be directed more towards courses which develop the skill sets needed for the type of career they are interested in...not that it should be as advanced as an undergraduate major, but courses should focus on a given student's general area of interest. Also, a smaller student to teacher ratio would be beneficial, I spent some time as a teacher's aid and even with two adults in the room, there isn't enough time in the day to make sure each student is truly grasping the learning material

www.newsweek.com/id/154901

Michelle Rhee seems to have some good ideas. She is chancellor of the Washington DC schools, which are generally rated at the bottom of the lists. But it also seems her popularity has declined, but I can't get that article pulled up.

The ideas she has seem solid. And I agree that something needs to be done.

Make it fun?

Focus on learning basic math, THEN try to help the public education system.
just saying.

Start by dumping degrees in "education" and hire teachers who majored in what they are teaching. Teachers who have to hit the books every night to stay ahead of the students are not teachers, they are baby-sitters. Coaches should be hired separately - if the school district can afford them - and teachers should be available after school just as college professors have "hours" for their students. I would even go as far as having elementary and certainly, middle school, children taught by more than one teacher. The teacher who majored in English teaches English; the teacher who majored in history teaches history, and especially the teachers who majored in math and science teach math and science.

And if the child does not have a diagnosable condition (exclusive of all universally popular hyperactivity disorders) and they fail to perform, LEAVE THEM BEHIND. The most important thing to do is STOP coddling children and teaching them that it's never their fault, and they are perfect and special. They aren't. They're just a bunch of dumb kids like the rest of the dumb kids. Make an effort or be left behind.

Education is NOT a right - the opportunity for education may be, but education is something in which the child must participate. No passing through so their feelings aren't hurt.

And throwing money at the system is not going to fix it. The system must be changed or we will fall irreparably behind the rest of the world in every possible area of excellence.

The only way to really fix education in this country is to start changing the attitudes of students, start making them want to learn. Most students in this country know the education system is a joke and they pretty much gave up on it.

yes. it needs quite a lot of fixing. but that sort of thing requires money.

education seems to be valued more in other societies where it costs them something. like in africa where children can only go to school if they can afford to pay for it...the children are much more eager to learn because it's not something they "have" to do, but something they "want" to do.

kids in america take their (relatively) free education for granted. so even the resources that ARE actually being put into education aren't being fully appreciated by the recipients.

does this mean that i think education should only be for the privileged? no. absolutely not. i believe that literacy and education are rights. but like so many other "rights" we americans have, we tend to take them for granted.

money doesn't fix everything, but good, quality teachers and better curriculum cost money. so in this case, money would do our education system a world of good.

SoulPancake

omgilykatie8

What do we need to do to fix public education?

kristinegotpwned

stop spending stuff on unnecessary stuff. i mean obama cutting the scheduled trip that nasa was granted from president bush's administration was definitely understandable. we do not need to go to the moon during this economic crisis.

northstop

melb2

geongingeardum

PopeSkippyXVI

DanielPotashov

Make it fun?

angelasays

Focus on learning basic math, THEN try to help the public education system.
just saying.

idamines

DJFlyingSquirrel

The only way to really fix education in this country is to start changing the attitudes of students, start making them want to learn. Most students in this country know the education system is a joke and they pretty much gave up on it.

glasshalffull

What do we need to do to fix public education?

stop spending stuff on unnecessary stuff. i mean obama cutting the scheduled trip that nasa was granted from president bush's administration was definitely understandable. we do not need to go to the moon during this economic crisis.

Make it fun?

Focus on learning basic math, THEN try to help the public education system. just saying.

The only way to really fix education in this country is to start changing the attitudes of students, start making them want to learn. Most students in this country know the education system is a joke and they pretty much gave up on it.

What's Next?

Focus on learning basic math, THEN try to help the public education system.
just saying.