I don't care how many extra days they add to the school calendar or how many extra hours they add to the school day. We can continue to blame teachers, principals, school districts, etc. We can add extra funding, extra programs and anything else you can imagine to "improve" our schools. However, nothing will change until
all parents take the same responsibility in raising their children and preparing them for school. For instilling in their children the importance of education and how it will directly impact their lives.
Unfortunately, we live in a society where many people pop out kids left and right and believe that once they start preschool or kindergarten, that their job is done. I cannot tell you how many times I have met with parents (of 4th graders) that are surprised that their kids can't read. They are quick to blame the school and teachers, but never acknowledge their own role in their child's education.
All of these countries that do so much better than the US have residents that value education. They know what happens when you are not educated and what impact it has on your future life. We don't have that here. I've had 9 year old girls tell me that it's okay if they don't go to college and/or get a job, because you can get money from the government, and if you have babies you can get your food paid for as well.
The truth hurts, but we need to be honest with what the real problem is.
True....
But why would a parent first be told in 4th grade. The child should NOT have passed first, second, or third and if the parent fought it, the school would have told the parent(s) that their child could not read.
I have a hard time buying that the parents didn't know unless the system decided to just trot the child along expecting them to catch up at some point.
I do agree that many parents toss their kids out to school and they are done with them.
My mother was "kind of" like that--at least she appeared that way. But she was active duty military and didn't have much of a choice. Coming to open houses and parent meetings were difficult at best.
In fact for much of my early elementary career, her higher ranked husband would be coming to get me and handle things if needed b/c he was easier able to step out of the office for such things. As a pion, she was at the mercy of her superiors--and way back when...the military wasn't exactly family friendly (not sure what they are no!).
Heck, my driver's license acquisition was delayed by more than a year for similar scheduling issues.
However--my mother would have known if I couldn't read much earlier than 4th grade. They just didn't pass non-readers back then.
Both my brother and my sister were held back early on due to learning difficulties. Best decision for both of them despite being somewhat "elder" when they graduated high school. Both did go on to college and get college degrees.
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Onto my own opinion of the topic in question--we have such a very different thought of the educational process than other countries. I know someone mentioned Japan. Well, that country has longer school days and goes to school more days in the year.
Our country would have a cow.
There just isn't enough time in the 12 years of school to get an adequate education that is comparable to other nations.
Plus as others have said, EVERYONE can get an education here. That is not a bad thing. But it can cause a "dumbing down" so that "average" here--will be "below average" in other nations. Again--nothing wrong with that inherently, but it makes for a tough comparison and borders us comparing apples and oranges.
Lastly--all the magnet schools, AP classes, IB classes--the reason we have those--is to create smarter students who have a better education. That is a sign that what our country has isn't adequate. And quite frankly--the availability of those classes extends only to the counties that have enough funds to provide those classes and the teaching staff capable of teaching it.
I am partial to some of the European models that have students tracking an area of interest much earlier in their high school (and perhaps middle school careers). But often, the complaint is "kids should be kids" and "why have them decide their life's work so early".
Parents often fight for their kids "right to be kids" and not so much for their "right to be prepared for life".
Education is part of child rearing--and one of my reasons for homeschooling is that I would likely spend MORE time with homework and keeping up with their teachers than it would take me to just teach the curriculum myself.
I saw that someone balked b/c their 3rd grader didn't have formal science for more than 1 week out of a 6 week period and didn't have any social studies.
Different curriculums do different things and this is the first year her science has gotten a bit formalized. Yet she performs astoundingly well on her standardized testing for science in the past 2 years despite us truly not cracking a science text book until this year. She just likes to read about it for fun and has fun with science kits. Science is all about the world around us and a 3rd grader not having a more formal science curriculum likely will not suffer.
Sometimes, I feel that our educational system in America can't see the forest for the trees (probably messed that one up, sorry!) and attempts to go about fixing things all the wrong ways. Until we get back to super basics with modern technology added in, it will just continue to spiral in the wrong direction.
I do not feel this way always--just sometimes.
I am not sure our country would know what the REAL problem is if it smacked them in the face. We have 50 different states and countless school districts and individual schools doing what "they" think they should to fix the problem with the "right answer".
The problem isn't just ONE problem and it is unfair to blame it on any one entity.
There's that old saying--you can't change others, you can only change yourself.
Schools can't make parents take an interest and parents can't make schools do what they think they should to properly education their children. We should stop pretending it is someone else's fault and stop playing educational victim.
Who was it--Ron Clark? (movie in which Matthew Perry played him and he now has a school in Atlanta). He didn't seem to blame anyone but opted to just teach the kids and did so in unconventional ways. Couldn't bring the kids to conform to how he did things, so he did things to appeal to them that would help them learn.
One scored her a 2 b/c her badget information was boring. The teacher scored her a 4. It was probably a 6th grader who finds 4th grade girls boring.
if it was my speech class.
