Why is education so poor?

There are kids who know stuff before they start school. The education system still sucks for them. What are we going to do for them? Social priorities are not going to change quickly, and the more we try to change it, it seems like it doesn't help any.

 

The answers are simple:

1. Dismantle the "child-centric" culture.

2. Voucherized competition.


Simple to state, but a lot of sacred cattle gotta become Big Macs to affect real change.

 

I do generally agree.

 

In all honesty, I think has to do with a couple of things.

First and foremost: the educational system. We not only have the right on education, but in our Constitution we also have the right on freedom of education. All schools are publicly funded. We have mainly four types of "organising authorithies": (1) city/town/village; (2) the Flemish Government; (3) Provinces (Antwerp, Limburg, East-Flanders, etc.) and (4) everybody else who wishes to offer education (catholics, jews), the only requirement is that they offer good education. A pupil can change schools at any given time. This means is that the money "sticks" on the student, and not on the school districts. In fact, the only country that has school disctricts is the USA. I had never heard from it before I became a member of this forum. It was totally alien to me.

Me for example, my kindergarten was catholic, my primary school was organized by my local town and my high school was organized by the Flemish Government.

Secondly, the entire high school system is different than in the States. We have 4 types of high schools: GSE, ASE, TSE and VSE: General, Art, Technical and Vocational.

Thirdly: strong public tv-channel, very important!

There is a term that can not be translated into English.

It is "volksverheffing" -- it kind of means "to lift the people (folks?) to their highest possibe potential".

 

The root of education problem stems from the home. Parents need to active in their kids education. Take part, help study, not blame teachers for kids short comings. That would be a good start.

 

This answer is the solution. Nobody in America wants to accept personal responsibility. They just want to dump their problems on someone else. I have too little self control so I'm fat. Now I expect the doctors to fix me and I don't want to pay for it. I bet you parents know more about the Super Bowl than they do about their children's grades. Teachers all have college degrees and are probably better educated than most people on this forum. If someone's kid isn't doing well in school guess who is the weakest link? Hint, it's not the most educated person.

 

Even if you have parents that do that, the education system sucks.

 

Amen to ALL of that!! America has become a nation that needs to move FORWARD, and the things you mention above are are progressive in my view but also address many things that those with conservative values seem to be concerned with.

 

I think the behavior of many kids I've heard about myself, and depicted in the classrooms in the video, generally challenges your assertion above.

I think MOST of the problem is the CONDITION of the kids' minds (the societal aspects I generally referred to). I have a relative who teaches... and how the kids are prepared (or not) BEFORE they set foot in the school, makes a massive difference overall.

More specifically, we have to DO SOMETHING as a nation to LIFT ALL AMERICANS; a bunch of poor/economically-desperate people's kids, funneled into ANY school system... isn't going to guarantee necessarily-positive outcomes. Again, the economic/social conditions of the people we gather-up to EDUCATE (the kids), are significantly affected by what they experience OUTSIDE of the various classrooms they attend. I have educators in my family, and they have confirmed this many times over.

 

as with most things, education must have a solid foundation. There are disciplines which successful people have in business and the same is with students.

There are those who are good at regurgitation whihc is basically repeating on a test what they read or were told. Then, there are those who can process and reach conclusions. Those are the ones who will succeed at life.

Phonics is a great way to teach kids to read and write and is a forgotten method. All of my children know that if you score less points than your opponent that you will lose vs loose. The also know that preventive care and not preventative care is important for a healthy life. I can go on.

It's also good to teach children early how to do simple math problems and addition and multiplication tables, and being repetitive with them helps them as they grow older. We rely too much on calculators and spell check but learning problem solving without technology sharpens the brain. It prepares you to be able to comprehend easier and solve problems.

Parents must take a role in working with their kids. Every kid should be able to perform basic reading and writing before a first grade teacher even sees them. A parent can help make that happen.

 

I disagree.

The root of the problem isn't that parents are active or inactive in their children's education first and formost. Sure, it is better to have an active parent than an inactive one, just to clear the air. But I can't remember my parents ever helping me out, ever. Or be involved. When they asked I always said I'll manage without their help and that they had to leave me alone. Except when I deliberatly asked them to "hear me out": in 2nd and 3th grade of primary school when learning my multiplication tables, and during 5th and 6th year of primary school to practice dictation in Dutch as well as in French. I never was good in that. In my 2nd year of high school I was the biggest nightmare imaginable -- I often got "0/10" on my dictations -- it dragged my points for the subject of "Dutch" down enormously. That year I was glad to only get a 5/10 or a 50/100 on my report cards and exams. Things picked up afterwards...

Anyways -- the root of the problem is that parents need to have time for their children, full stop.

European welfare state!

Did you guys actually know, that if you transtlate the above concept in let us say French, Dutch or German -- it means "prosperity state"?!

 

I agree with Janpor, the money should follow the kid, not the school. Parents should be able to choose what school fits their child's needs. If the school they want cost more than what's allowed, the parents make up the difference. The problem there is that Liberals would complain if it's Catholic school. That shouldn't make any difference as long as the school meets Federal requirements of what subject has to be taught.

We need more vocational schools for those kids that can work better with their hands than with their minds. It gives them the basics to survive in a society, with reading writing and math, but the rest of the time they learn a trade.

We need to bring back discipline. As that video shows and we all know, kids act up to much in school. Teachers can't teach when they are constantly trying to control a class and kids can't keep their mind on the studies when commotion is constantly going on. We had it when I was going to school and we didn't have that problem. You show them discipline at an early age and they grow up not needing it anymore.

 

discipline is not an evil word

discipline is picking up after yourself

it's working on your school project a little at a time vs trying to do it all on the last day.

it's paying attention in class

it's arriving to work on time

it's giving 100% to your employer


by doing tasks with kids such as addition and multiplication tables, and doing it again and again will discipline them for problem solving

 

Discipline is pointless if that is your definition. Why pay attention in class if you already know everything they are teaching? You have to look like you are giving 100% to your employer, but you don't. Doing something over and over again that they already know is just going to make them hate going to school. The world is technologically advanced enough that there is no need for discipline.

 

That's unfortunate. Most mammals take care of their young. Just because your parents were absent doesn't me that was ideal. I'm sorry you had to live like that. My parents love me.

It is not the governments responsibility to raise you. Parents need to be involved with their children. If their child is failing in school they need to get involved instead of just blaming a teachers' union. They need to take personal responsibility.

 

I guarantee you those children who are failing don't "know everything they are teaching." Honestly you are the guy who was talking about five page English papers in another thread. So based on that statement we can tell you never went to college. What makes you such an authority on education when you don't have one yourself?

 

We are mostly talking about primary and secondary education, something I know very well. I didn't do most of the things he said were discipline, but I have straight-A's. Just because you have an education doesn't mean you are smart. I have a high school education and know enough about college to know what problems exist there as well.

 

My parents never checked or helped me with my homework. I get all A's.

 

I guess you deliberately ignored the rest of my post, eh?

What I said was that parents need to have time for their children, full stop.

Not solely for their children's education as you, and others, are putting it.

Parents are not trained to transfer academic knowledge upon to children.

Sure, parents need to be involved in their kids education -- but that is not the most important thing for their children to do well in school.

Besides, to much parental involment is not good either -- then you end up in a situation in where parents and teachers are not working together but parents go out and blame everything on the teacher. That already is happening on a large scale. Parents and teachers were some sort of a monolith. That isn't the case anymore, or at least less than it used to be.

And I'm only 23 y.o. -- I'm getting old. Quarterlife right ahead!

 

Actually, parents are the most important, but it usually has to start early. By the time some parents start caring, it is too late.

 

Of course, parents are important!

But they don't need to sit next to their kids 24/7, almost making the homework of their kids.

 

That's not what I said. Parents need the right amount of involvement in their children's education, and somehow provide them with the ability to look after their own education.