What is wring with the American Educational system

[marharth]

What about choir? Team sports? Various shop classes? Is everyone going to need to know how to make a stool? No? Does that mean we should stop offering that class as well?

 

There is something to all this nonsense about "a well-rounded education". Presenting a developing mind with alternative ways to express itself is indeed a good thing..... Or, should we go back to the one room schoolhouse, and just teach readin', writin', and 'rithmatic??

 

I have seen high school GRADUATES that needed someone to read the questions from the test to get their drivers license, and no, they were not mentally impaired, they just never bothered to learn anything in school, but, surprisingly enough, graduated anyway.

 

Schools WASTE boatloads of money..... We have a fine example less than 20 miles away. Seems back when the economy was doing fairly well, they built themselves a nice new high school. Well, the old football field was still over at the (now) middle school, and the bleachers needed some work. (keep in mind, that at this point, the economy was RAPIDLY declining, and the housing bubble had just burst......) Their solution? Spend multiple ten's of thousands of dollars to bulldoze the old bleachers, and spend another 2.5 MILLION building a NEW football stadium..... think that's bad? Just you wait... there's more...... The original designs of that brand new stadium, which the voters turned down TWICE, and the school board went ahead and built it anyway...... didn't have any bathrooms..... the school boards brilliant solution? Build yet another building for concessions, and bathrooms. For another couple hundred thousand dollars..... oddly enough, they didn't have the money to do that, but, got it started anyway..... and decided "if we build it, they will come"...... (enrollment was declining as well, so, their funding was declining along with it.) They tried yet again to pass a millage (tax) to finish it. The people voted it down. They solicited folks that regularly donated money to the schools. Got some, but, so far as I know, two years later, that building STILL isn't finished. What's even funnier? The people of that community had a school board election.... AND PUT THE SAME PEOPLE BACK IN.

 

So, what's wrong with american education? Americans. That's what's wrong. Their are individuals out there that are pretty damn smart, have a clue, and occasionally speak their minds, but, get a large crowd of us together, and collectively, we got nothin' on a box of rocks. We continue to exhibit the same old behaviors, but, expect a different outcome "this time"...... Congress is a PERFECT example of this.

IMO locally controlled school boards are also a terrible idea.

[HeyYou]

With the wrong people, ANY board is a bad idea. Trouble is, the "right" people are usually bright enough to realize that "school board" is NOT a job they really want.

[draconix]

Perhaps this would be the best time for me to drop the big "bomb" that nobody is going to agree with... but hear me out.

 

One more fix that would resolve our schooling problems once and for all... Privatize all schools. One of the biggest problems with the school system is that it's got everyone's hands in it, and everybody's tugging a different way. One executive leading one brand of schools with the aim of delivering a quality product at a price that people can afford. We need someone who can take personal responsibility for our schools. Not some chairman who was voted in for a few years, and leaves, knowing that as soon as his term ends he can wash his hands of all responsibility. (This is also a problem with our current "democracy" system, by the way). If one man or woman is in charge of making a school profitable, and can be held accountable for the quality of the education.

 

If you're dissatisfied with the quality of education your son or daughter is receiving, demand a refund! Then take your money to a different brand of school. The competition of a free market here will ensure that you get what you pay for. With the introduction of a whole new market of people seeking education that they can afford, you will see new schools popping up at prices much lower than what you are seeing right now.

 

We need to get the government out of our education system too. It's none of their business. We don't need "no child left behind," and we don't need them to decide whether or not to teach evolution in our schools, and we sure as hell don't need their candy-assed version of our American History.

[marharth]

Perhaps this would be the best time for me to drop the big "bomb" that nobody is going to agree with... but hear me out.

 

One more fix that would resolve our schooling problems once and for all... Privatize all schools. One of the biggest problems with the school system is that it's got everyone's hands in it, and everybody's tugging a different way. One executive leading one brand of schools with the aim of delivering a quality product at a price that people can afford. We need someone who can take personal responsibility for our schools. Not some chairman who was voted in for a few years, and leaves, knowing that as soon as his term ends he can wash his hands of all responsibility. (This is also a problem with our current "democracy" system, by the way). If one man or woman is in charge of making a school profitable, and can be held accountable for the quality of the education.

 

If you're dissatisfied with the quality of education your son or daughter is receiving, demand a refund! Then take your money to a different brand of school. The competition of a free market here will ensure that you get what you pay for. With the introduction of a whole new market of people seeking education that they can afford, you will see new schools popping up at prices much lower than what you are seeing right now.

 

We need to get the government out of our education system too. It's none of their business. We don't need "no child left behind," and we don't need them to decide whether or not to teach evolution in our schools, and we sure as hell don't need their candy-assed version of our American History.

That is assuming everyone can pay for school, which is a false assumption.

 

If schools are profitable then education wouldn't be a priority, profit would. Parents want to send their kids to nearby schools, and they most parents won't be willing to move long distances to change a school.

[draconix]

The market drives the prices for schooling. Private schools are more expensive now because only "rich" people are seeking private schooling. Like I said before, with new markets opening up, (lower and middle class markets,) we'd see new kinds of private schools that are able to operate with the same amount of tuition fees as public schooling. There may even be low-income schooling that gets some grants from the government in order to help cut the costs for lower income families.

 

I suppose the one problem left over by privatizing all schooling is that it would continue the already-existing cycle of the rich kids getting better schools than the poor kids. (Think, rich towns have schools with more money from tuition and taxes and such, whereas inner-cities have more kids with less revenue per student.) However we're still better off in every other aspect.

[marharth]

The market drives the prices for schooling. Private schools are more expensive now because only "rich" people are seeking private schooling. Like I said before, with new markets opening up, (lower and middle class markets,) we'd see new kinds of private schools that are able to operate with the same amount of tuition fees as public schooling. There may even be low-income schooling that gets some grants from the government in order to help cut the costs for lower income families.

 

I suppose the one problem left over by privatizing all schooling is that it would continue the already-existing cycle of the rich kids getting better schools than the poor kids. (Think, rich towns have schools with more money from tuition and taxes and such, whereas inner-cities have more kids with less revenue per student.) However we're still better off in every other aspect.

I still don't see why you think that profit means better education.

 

The market may or may not drive the prices for schooling. It depends on how the schools will profit, not how the public needs to learn.

 

Having a entirely private schooling system honestly is a terrible idea. That would mean you would also need to get rid of the mandatory schooling laws to some extent, and your giving more of the jobs that are supposed to be done by the government to private companies.

 

A profit motive generally leads to terrible things, and its not going to help everyone to have a entire country run by corporations. Our medical system requires you to buy your health already and you can see how that is failing, I don't want to have to buy the simplest form of education as well.

[Aurielius]

@Marharth

OK I will freely admit that I went to private schools, but Art and Music classes were something that stayed with me my entire life, long after I forgot how to properly diagram a sentence. To say that these disciplines are not part of education is to see the world in colorless terms. I find it intriguing that you can wade in on the problems of Public Education when you evidence so little assimilation of the standard curriculum in your posts. We have already eliminated Civics, History and English as any of your fortes; so what exactly was it that you excelled in that allows you to speak with such certainty as to wherin the critical fault lies in the system.

 

"Ars longa, vita brevis." ~ Horace

( "Art is long, life is short")

[SilverDNA]

@Marharth

 

The main reason music, art and literature play an important part in education is Interpretation. If teachers don't teach how to interpret a picture and what the artist wants to express with it; or in music what the hidden message is of a political song the pupils lose the basic structure of interpretation on their own. this is an important basis for every democracy as politics have to be interpreted, and it is in the best interests of a democracy to have as many bright people who can think for themselves because they are the fail safe of every democracy.

So if a democratic country removes any education in art, music and literature, or even burns books or withholds information; or if teachers are installed who aren't good or get a teaching plan for a year that hasn't any importance in literature, art and music then what form of state could profit from such a biased education which is teaching generations with biased information?

Now neither an ignorant nor a downright oppressive person (there is a third alternative but I dare not to speak of that openly) would ask to completely cut the teaching of art, literature and/or music.

If you would, please go to the next corner and think it over there until you find out for your self why critical thinking on your own is furthered by music, art and literature?

Now either Ignorance or a down right oppressive person (there is a third alternative but I don't dare not to speak that out openly) would ask to completely cut the teaching of either art, literature or /and music.

If you would please go to the next corner and think it over there until you found out for your self why critical thinking on your own is furthered by music art and literature?

[Keanumoreira]

You know, Marharth, I fail to see who died and put you in charge of the school system all of a sudden. Children should decide what they want to learn in school, not what you want them to learn. Your artless personality and disrespect for the musical arts doesn't give you the ruling authority to outright ban them from those who wish to learn from them. People can't afford to go out in the world and pay 400 dollars just for a two hour session. Sorry if you can throw that money away, but people such as I would rather learn it in a public atmosphere in which we are both comfortable and that isn't too expensive for our pockets. I have the choice to decide what paths I choose in life, and I CHOOSE to leave you out of those decisions. Do whatever it is that your heart desires, but mine screams for what classes you deem inappropriate. You don't exactly set a good example for our generation by choosing to limit what little options we already have. You know what, why don't we all just give you the books and you decide which to burn. If you want to lead humanity to the burning inferno, then who's to stop you but yourself? I want to get the maximum amount of education I can to put bread on my table for the future children I will create, raise, and protect. I hope they don't mimic the foolishness you have displayed here today. Once again, you prove why the world thinks the American school system is a de-evolutional one for the species.

[grannywils]

Marharth,

I am a product of a well rounded public school education in the U.S. First through Twelfth grades. That's it. No college. No special classes. Just a simple education. I find it amazing that a person of your age who is just now emerging from his high school years is totally incapable of expressing himself properly in the English language. You are lecturing others on whether or not to include Music and the Arts in our educational system and yet you don't know how to properly use an article in a sentence. Here is a link that might help you: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/540/01 I strongly recommend that you use it.

 

I assume you do believe that English should be taught, don't you? If so, and since you so apparently enjoy debating why not utilize your wonderful free education and speak so that you can be understood. Let those who have interests in other areas focus in those areas. A well rounded individual makes for a stronger citizen. Is citizenship of interest to you? Then civics should be a part of your suggested curriculum. Where exactly do you draw the line? Please let me know when you can do so in a coherent paragraph that is not all cut and pasted out of prior arguments, with one liner rebuttal.