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Education Part ll

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JOEBIALEK

Rough_Rock
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Jun 28, 2005
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This is the second part to an earlier writing about education in the United States. As you may recall, I advocated for the privatization of all schools from kindergarten to graduate studies. This piece will focus on the curriculum that needs to be followed.

Everytime I encounter someone in the workplace, I am reminded of just how much we have failed to properly educate United States citizens in the fundamentals of communication: reading, writing and speaking. Few would argue that the time is long overdue for the United States to "get back to the basics" of a fully functional education system. We need to exclusively focus on the development of communication skills from kindergarten to eighth grade along with annual testing that measures apptitude and interest. Training in mathematics should be limited to addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Unless communication skills are fully mastered, there is no need to advance to high school.

For those who graduate to high school, the emphasis could evolve into a curriculum of philosophy, sociology, economics, psychology, science and religious studies. Books such as "For Dummies" and "The Complete Idiot''s Guide" could be used to foster an understanding of different religions. Athletic activity would be strictly confined to cardio vascular exercises and all sports would be eliminated. While there would still be an emphasis on communication skills, the focus would now be on developing a foundation of basic knowledge so as to be able to graduate to college. Testing for apptitude and interest would continue through high school increasing the chances of picking the right field of study . Those not continuing on to college would enter some type of apprenticeship training for the purpose of learning a trade. For those who do graduate to college, the student would continue to study an advanced version of the same curriculum as high school but only for the first two years then they would complete their education by strictly focusing on coursework designed to train them in their field of study. Nearing graduation, internships would be required to begin the transition to the working world. Think of how different our society would be if our education system could just teach the fundamentals of reading, writing and speaking.
 
Just out of curiousity.. how do you plan to compensate for those that do not learn effective ways of communication? They do not advance.. ok.. what are you planning on doing with those people? What type of testing? Apt testing that is going on now.. SAT's ACT? The test that tests how well you can take a test? Philosphy? Without the knowledge and background of history? Pschology? Teach and focus on a science that is expiremental and without expert.... hmmmm? Remember.. people used to think that Freud was genius.

What about the essentials of writing and literature. Luther changed the face of Christianity through effective and persuasive writing. Voltaire may have been a philosopher.. but what would he have been without his background in history and literature?

I agree that sports NEED to be curbed in public education. But I heartily disagree that children need to be turned into robots. Children need to learn about competition and comraderie. They need to know how to be a team player and one of the best ways to do that is through competitive sports..

I COMPLETELY agree that something needs to be done about education. But when I read your post... I was thinking of a place.. somewhere in the future, where men in white lab coats decide the fate of children based on what they think is best for them. Each child is chosen to stand in a certain line... one line leads to a future, albiet unknown, still a future, ( as long as the pass the next examination) while the other children, so poor at passing 'the examination' are put in the other line and led somewhere away from the chosen... oh wait.. maybe that wasn't in the future.... Maybe that was the 40's.

It reminds me of some futuristic nightmare.

Look.. I don't like it. Some of it makes sense... other things don't. Are we so ready to turn our children into little robots, have them be seen and not heard, chose a child's worth based on their perceived skills by the 'good intentioned, men in the white coats, 'experts' of the world' That's very very scarey. No thanks... I'll pass.
 
standing there with you, Mine.

and how would privatization change things?

peace, movie zombie
 
The problem with education in America is that they teach to the lowest level and teach the same crap over and over and over again.
I was bored as heck all with it all the time.
The smart kids are just making time, the slower ones get all the attention and the ones in the middle get no help.

No thanks if I ever have kids they are getting home schooled.
 
Date: 10/27/2005 11:35:30 PM
Author: strmrdr
The problem with education in America is that they teach to the lowest level and teach the same crap over and over and over again.
I was bored as heck all with it all the time.
The smart kids are just making time, the slower ones get all the attention and the ones in the middle get no help.
I agree 100% storm.

My youngest daughter was in the 1st grade last year. She had a teacher that was in her 1st year of teaching. My daughter was the absolute youngest she can be to be in the grade. She had a difficult time reading and would get very upset and throw tantrums at home when it was time to do her HW. It was just not like her. She was so frustrated. We began to think that she had a learning disablility. We had a conference of advisors from the school, she went through testing and they found that she NO learning disability. MOF she was off the charts on her learning and understanding in comparison to other children in her grade.

They finally did an interaction with her. They sent her to another class( an hour a day) and began to give her a peer lesson.. (she taught other kids to read and older kids taught her to read) Very soon she was reading above average. She moved up 5 points in less then 6 weeks. Later we found out that there were simalier problems in the class. Apparently, the ''smarter kids'' were being given ''busy work'' the slower kids were being given exsessive attention. Tara got lost in the middle, until finally she was just plain LOST. I thank God that we interceeded when we did. What about the parents that do not think to jump in.. or trust the system.. or think that something is so wrong with their children and just accept that. So those slower gets all the special classes and work to help them ''catch up'' the higher one twiddle their thumbs (after all.. to advance them further would not be politically correct and would hurt the feelings of the slower children
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) and the kids in the middle.. they get forgotten...

Something definitely needs to be done...
 
good points...
 
My public school 8th grade graduated two kids who went on to be valedictorians at private high schools. I was not in a wealthy school system. We had special-needs kids mainstreamed into our classrooms. It can be done. My own kids are learning by leaps and bounds in a fine public school.

The will of the people to posess a fine public school system is a hallmark of civilized society. I reject the notion that privatization (or homeschooling) is best in the long run for the majority of children. Sometimes I think critics take the easy road and are looking at the past through rose-colored glasses.
 
I live in a school district that is sooo worried about redistricting that they forget that there are CHILDREN involved.
 
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