When did American Public Schools start to go down hill? (requirements, algebra)

[wit-nit]

Things started going downhill with the 'hippie' generation in the 60's.
The average college graduate today has the equivalent of 1950's 11th-12th grade education. The average HS graduate today has the equivilant of an 8th grade education of the 1850's. Jay Leno's street interviews prove that.

[TKramar]

Originally Posted by questioner2

Everyone I talk about tells me how terrible the public schools are now a days. They tell me "in their day" our public education system was much better. The kids minded their teachers, people paid attention in class and the quality of instruction was much better.

If you are a baby boomer or older, do you think the school you went to "in your day" is better than what your kids have today?

If this is the case then there must of been a glory day in America's history when schools were great. In what era was our public education system in good shape?

There wasn't a time in history when schools were in "good shape". It's all down to the individual students. Some want to learn, some are just trouble.

[HighPlainsDrifter73]

Originally Posted by BlueWillowPlate

Unlike private schools, public schools have to take every single student who registers.
Not all private schools are fine institutions, not all public schools have gone downhill, but I don't think the Pledge of Allegiance has a whole lot to do with it--that's a symptom, not a reason.

The downhill public schools probably had/have a few problems in common:

Huge class sizes
Behavior management problems
Unmotivated staff
Unmotivated (for one reason or another) students

What are the reasons for those problems?
I think things *did* get kinda touchy-feely. Grade inflation and the self-esteem movement have gone way too far.
And there are public schools that are grossly overcrowded, while others that are closed for lack of students, all in the same city. This is not all Management's fault; it is yet another symptom of America's social issues.
I agree with Truthhurts that there probably was never a national heyday in public education.

Excellent points. I could not have written better myself.

[John23]

Originally Posted by questioner2

Everyone I talk about tells me how terrible the public schools are now a days. They tell me "in their day" our public education system was much better. The kids minded their teachers, people paid attention in class and the quality of instruction was much better.

If you are a baby boomer or older, do you think the school you went to "in your day" is better than what your kids have today?

If this is the case then there must of been a glory day in America's history when schools were great. In what era was our public education system in good shape?

I don't know if there ever was a "golden era" of education. People look back at schools from the 50's and 60's fondly, in part I think, because it was so easy to graduate, get a job, settle down, buy a house, raise a family. People use to start families in their early 20's.

-Little if any debt (at least compared to now)
-Livable wages after graduating highschool
-Little to no stress (at least compared to now)

Now days, it's hard to believe what's going on. You're in school 5 days a weeks, 9 months out of the year, for 15-17 years, and you can hardly support yourself at the end, thats a horrible failure. On top of the debt, the stress, you're too caged up in the system now.

I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but its scary how little exposure you get in school to whats going on in the rest of the world. How do kids in Japan study? What are kids in France learning right now? How do our textbooks compare to those in other countries? You dont have a clue. Why are we scoring 18th out of 30 industrialized countries? It's a system that completely walls you off from reality and from whats going on in the real world. Any wonder why so many are lost, confused, (depressed) in their 20s?

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by John23

you can hardly support yourself at the end, thats a horrible failure. On top of the debt, the stress, you're too caged up in the system now.

Yes. But what is "the system"?
Back in the old days, nobody worried about which cellphone service to choose, what kind of Ipod or laptop to own, or whether gas was under $3 a gallon.

I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but its scary how little exposure you get in school to whats going on in the rest of the world. How do kids in Japan study? What are kids in France learning right now? How do our textbooks compare to those in other countries? You dont have a clue. Why are we scoring 18th out of 30 industrialized countries? It's a system that completely walls you off from reality and from whats going on in the real world. Any wonder why so many are lost, confused, (depressed) in their 20s?

Study abroad is a very good experience for both student as well as teacher.
At a preschool where I once taught, Japanese educators visited us to learn about our methods.
One thing I can tell you is that in many other countries, young students (not just high schoolers) are learning other languages, especially English.
Regardless, America has social problems that are dogging the educational system. Other countries experience similar problems, but it seems magnified here.

[skoro]

I think the general perception is that your local school started a steep decline the day after you graduated.

[Clay Lady]

I believe it began when the public felt that teachers didn't need to be paid a top wage for educating our youth and parents became too busy to see that their child had their homework done and understood.

There is a major move to private schools by those that can afford the cost and an attitude it is someone elses problem for our failing schools. When is the last time you volunteered your time to help out in a class - share your knowledge - or attended a school board meeting?

[MamaBee]

My great-grandmother had to stop going to school after 8th grade in 1924 to work in a factory and help support her family after her Dad died. She was 14 years old and would be considered a "drop-out" these days...a failure of the system. She was an extremely intelligent woman and injected my grandmother and mother with a love of knowledge. After her husband died she started her own business and was successful.

It's about the parents! My step-sister is a teacher and started out in Kindergarten in the Olney section of Philadelphia. One student was frequently not there and never did well in class (in KINDERGARTEN). She called the mother of the child (because there was no father present, otherwise I would've said parents) and she proceeded to yell at my step-sister stating "What do you want ME to do about it?"

[BLAZER PROPHET]

When the teachers unionized.

Look it up.

[nebulous1]

Originally Posted by ImRandy

When did they stop saying the Pledge of Allegiance?

I don't think they are allowed to say the Pledge of Allegiance in most schools now, because it doesn't include other nations, and foreigners are offended.