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Municipal unions are the financiers and enablers of the Left wing of the Democrat party.
Good, I knew you had a shibboleth ready at hand, regardless if it answered my question or not. Sounds like you like one-party political systems best. You must have really hated Walesa, who brought both unions and multi-party politics to Poland. Nothing worse than a government being harrassed by pesky opposition parties.
Good, I knew you had a shibboleth ready at hand, regardless if it answered my question or not. Sounds like you like one-party political systems best. You must have really hated Walesa, who brought both unions and multi-party politics to Poland. Nothing worse than a government being harrassed by pesky opposition parties.
My take on this topic can be summed up in the following: "The problem with American education is that it believes and attempts to treat everyone as equal despite the obvious fact that they are not."
I whole-heartedly believe that the best and brightest of the United States are equal to anyone in the world, the problem is that we do not cater to our best and brightest as the rest of the world does, we cater to the lowest common denominator. American education has long been rooted in the belief that everyone deserves a fair and equal education. That is a noble and wonderful thing, but the exexcution does not have to be so dogmatic. We invest our resources and time trying to push the largest mass of students possible all towards the same goal, college. We spend more time and money to educate our worst students and those with disabilities than we do to educate our best and brightest. The rest of the world does not share this vision and seems to embrace a little Karl Marx; "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" which in the realm of education is a much better philosophy than "all men are created equal."
In order to better/fix the American education system we need to be willing to do what the countries whose systems are better than ours are willing to do...tell kids that they all aren't mini-Einsteins and educate them based on their abilities. I would think something similar to the German system (it is the one with which I am most familiar) would be a good place to start the discussion.
Throughout a child's life in Germany they are constantly tested and evaluated to determine the best course of education for that child. Kids follow the following path:
Nursery School (PK and K) - Most children begin attending school at age 3 and this period of time culminates in Kindergarten at age 6, which all are required to attend. The point is to assess and provide early intervention for any issues/delays a child may have. It also serves to identify children who appear to be more advanced than others. All children receive the same general education at this level.
Grammar School (grade 1-6) - All children attend grammar school until around age 12. The final two years (grades 5 and 6) are spent doing intensive review between parents, teachers and students in an effort to decide the future educational direction of the student. This "orientation" phase is specifically designed to determine the best fit for the student academically and has a large impact on the students future career.
Secondary School (grade 7-12/13) - All children attend a secondary school, but these are divided into three basic types:
Hauptschule - Is essentially a vocational/trade school. Students attend until grade 9/10 at which point they graduate and move into an apprenticeship program and become qualified for work. This can be anything from a carpenter or plumber to a factory worker. The goal of the school is to teach needed life and basic work skills.
Realschule - Is the middle level school and students receive a broader education than at the Hauptschule. They generally attend until grade 10/11 at which point they can go into an apprenticeship program or apply to attend a Gymnasium. Students from here have a broader career track, but it is based on their performance in the school. This level is most equivalent to an American high school.
Gymnasium - This is the highest level school academically and students attend until grade 12/13 at which point they graduate by passing the Abitur exam. Students at these schools are the best and brightest and study a wide variety of subjects becoming increasingly specialized and focused as they move through their time there. Upon completion, a student is eligible to attend a university or go into a specialized apprentice program, like working in a hospital or as a paralegal before continuing their education.
Students are tested in order to graduate at all levels, but the tests are comprehensive board style exams, not simple multiple choice "scantron" style tests. They are more similar to what someone earning their MBA would go through. There is more variety in German education than what I presented since each state has its own system, but that is the basic model.
Very similar to the Soviet system of education, only Soviet education was somewhat less flexible, more intense ( more math and science oriented) and more compressed ( 10-11 years instead of 12-13.) And this system of classical education originally came to Russia from Germany in...18th century from what I remember. ( This is for people who still wonder how "the Soviets could beat the best-equipped German Army.") One of the reasons is right there - Russians were using the same classical system of education in public schools, that was screening the most capable children from the early age on. This system produced great deal of scientists and engineers - the kind of skills that require talents and can't be just bought with money.
NJ, in another thread I have argued for educational reforms along the lines you have stated.
Thing is, a system like that is vulnerable to criticisms of unfairly putting certain students on certain tracks, particularly males of certain ethnic backgrounds and females in general.
So there you have it - once political correctness enters the picture, the quality of education is going down.
So there you have it - once political correctness enters the picture, the quality of education is going down.
Let me help you out here buddy as a key part of my post seems to have went completely over your head.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kovert
Thing is, a system like that is vulnerable to criticisms of unfairly putting certain students on certain tracks, particularly males of certain ethnic backgrounds and females in general.
That is why I have also argued that the military is a great model and example that encouraging diversityDOES NOThave to come at the cost of lowering standards and performance.
Pretty interesting that somehow who praises "classical education" dropped the ball in catching this crucial detail.
These kids may not be "classically educated" but they proved themselves to have a hell of a lot more smarts than many adults and Ivy Leaguers.
"In their free time after school, 15 teens from a low-income high school in Philadelphia built a car. And not just any car: their 160 mpg Factory Five GTM biodiesel hybrid kit car has outperformed other fuel-efficient cars built by professional engineers and graduate students from Ivy League universities.
Out of the 111, West Philly was the only high school team. Their entries were a Factory Five GTM biodiesel hybrid kit car that achieved the equivalent of 160 mpg over 100 miles, and a converted Ford Focus gasoline plug-in hybrid. The team blew everyone's expectations out of the water when they made it to the semifinals, beating out over 80 teams. Equally astounding is the fact that at a school where 85 percent of students are economically disadvantaged and in a region with a drop-out rate of over 50 percent, every single member of the X Prize team graduated.
The success of their project has drawn national attention to the importance of hands-on education in helping students with different learning styles thrive academically."
It would be interesting to compare if students who have access to the drawing, painting, dance, theater, shop and home ec in addition to the 3 R's do better as compared to students that just focus on the 3 R's just to get higher test scores.
Last edited by kovert; 10-11-2011 at 01:27 PM..
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One of the reasons is right there - Russians were using the same classical system of education in public schools, that was screening the most capable children from the early age on. This system produced great deal of scientists and engineers - the kind of skills that require talents and can't be just bought with money.
