The Sad State of Education in America

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by RightHand, Sep 27, 2010.


  1. 45acpJHP

    45acpJHP Monkey+

    :unsure:
     
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  2. mauistacy

    mauistacy Monkey+++

    That's why I homeschool my children. This is a great book: Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling In America. By John Taylor Gatto
     
  3. cool hand luke

    cool hand luke Monkey+

    3 disclaimers

    1. this is my first post on this forum, just starting to get a grasp on where the heck were headed and am trying to educate myself.

    2. My wife teaches public school

    3. I have a special needs kid.

    Just want to lay out all the axes i have to grind up front.

    First let me say that reading this thread REALLY makes me glad I live in Texas. Yes, the schools here have big problems, but luckily the teachers aren't one of them. Without the unions pulling strings they are a great bunch of dedicated people. Yes there are a few bad apples but there are in any profession.

    The problems that have been brought up so far, lack of parental involvement and no child left behind are incredible problems. The idea that all kids are the same is the most PC bs to come out of washington. As has been stated, all this does is makes sure you teach to the lowest common denominator.

    However, I really think that these are just two of the symptoms of the real problem. The problem isn't in the schools, it's in our welfare state, and the dissolution of the nuclear family.

    Why would the poor kids my wife teaches be motivated in school? No one in there family cares about school, and they have seen first hand how well you can live if you put a little effort into milking our welfare state. A study was done recently in Mississippi that showed that a woman with 2 kids working a minimum wage job has around $36000 actual income in a year if you include all of the money the govt gives for food stamps, section 8 housing, etc. The same woman with 2 kids and a college degree that makes 64,000 a year actually has only 34k a year to live on after paying taxes and childcare. So if you are a 16 year old girl, you've seen most of the girls you know get pregnant and start collecting checks. Sure sounds better than going to school for 4 more years to live on less money! If we didn't have the welfare system, there would be motivation for these students to actually improve themselves.
     
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  4. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    You had me at Hello...

    Welcome to the Monkey. I think you'll fit in very well around here.
     
  5. VHestin

    VHestin Farm Chick

    I had alot of trouble in elementary/middle school, because I had the unmitigated gall to question the curriculum. And in math, my trouble was I had my own thought processes and when it came time to show my work, it wasn't how we were 'supposed to' do it. I mean I had the right answer, but it was still WRONG. Of course now that I'm done with school I've pretty much repressed it all. I love calculators!
     
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  6. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    Hehehe..... I had a great instructor for Computer Programming, who let those of us he trusted do more than the usual lessons - I had the habit of doing each program three different ways, arriving at the same result each time. He was interested in the RESULTS, not the method. More like real life, though in real life programming we do have to consider the poor bugger ten years down the road - so no more super-fancy routines - "keep it simple!"
    I calls it "programming to the dumbest common denominator"...... ;)

    The idiot they hired just as I was finishing (had his degree in Psychology.... what the "H" was doing in Data Processing...!?) insisted on making his students do HIS method, and graded like a high school class - he totally misunderstood the Vo-tech school's proven concept of turning out 'ready to work' programmers! I'd have failed or quit his class - thak Goodness I had the better instructor!
     
  7. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    BTT
     
  8. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    The town I live in has a pretty good school system, so much so that the parents of smart kids are now pulling theirs out of the zoo in the town down the road and enrolling them here. They want to get them away from the "let's have babies at 13 and go on welfare forever" mentality. the ISD was all for it, brought more money into the district. Problem is, some of that idiocy is importing over with their kids and the locals ain't happy about it.
     
  9. mysterymet

    mysterymet Monkey+++

    Seriously considering taking the kids out of public school and sending them to the local catholic school.
     
  10. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    Y'all would be surprised how many Florida Deprtment of Education employees home-school their kids. Yeah, we can be said to be 'working for the Devil", but the State level does serve important functions. Leaving the 67 districts, and dozens of colleges, Universities and private schools totally to themselves would be a logistical and educational nightmare - no standards, nobody's transcripts being compatible with other state's, smaller school districts left behind because they cannot afford the most basic services. Many have NO IT department or people.
    Our biggest problem is the State legislature and the Feds both handing us 'unfunded mandates' that we MUST, by law, incorporate into the system. Some 'law maker' gets a fancy idea, and forces it on us, not knowing or caring that the work to implement means other necessary work goes undone. Gosh, I Hate and Despise politicians!!!!!

    But by gosh, if by some freak of karma, we do get a kid whose 'first language' is KLINGON, we have it in our data tables and his transcript will show it!..... I kid you not. I read it myself in the UN mandated ISO Languages Table..... Had to incorporate it into my system! THAT is the sheer nonsense the Feds hit us with.......
     
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