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wow..tough love eh ? Well, I'm all for "sink or swim" tactics.
I don't mean it to sound harsh but NOTHING else has worked for some segments of our society.
I'd bet anything that if you really showed these parents that the coddling has come to an end they would click off the tv and sit down with their kids and go LINE BY LINE over their homework each and every night.
They would also go to PTA meetings and get to know their kids teachers. Heck, they may even volunteer at the school.
With that kind of support how could the children not succeed?
The SAT and ACT are standardized college admission tests not high school graduation.
But they test the same thing and can easily be used.
They are taken in junior/senior year and cover Math, English, Reading and Writing (for SAT). ACT covers more.
I don't mean it to sound harsh but NOTHING else has worked for some segments of our society.
I'd bet anything that if you really showed these parents that the coddling has come to an end they would click off the tv and sit down with their kids and go LINE BY LINE over their homework each and every night.
They would also go to PTA meetings and get to know their kids teachers. Heck, they may even volunteer at the school.
With that kind of support how could the children not succeed?
You are right. I have to agree with you. I've seen it with my own eyes.
we need to start by eliminating the unions and the NEA from having anything to do with education.
next we need to eliminate as much of the administration as possible, and get education back into the hands of local school boards.
we then need to eliminate tenure, and institute a system where teachers are rated on their ability to actually teach their students.
next we need to challenge the students. rather than just give them the information, we need to teach them how to use the library, and other sources, and teach them how to learn.
after that we need to eliminate the garbage social programs that clutter up the curriculum, and get back to teaching math, english, reading, writing, real science, real history, etc.
we need text books that have NO political slant one way or the other.
we need to set the standards up high and challenge the students to meet the standard, rather than dumb down the standard.
and last we need to get the courts OUT of the system, and tell the parents that if their child does not meet the standards, they will be held back until they do. no more just passing along students that can barely read or write.
are we going to solve the problems overnight? no, it will take a while. but these are the things we have to do if we are going to fix the education system in this country.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sailordave
Eliminate the federal department of education. Cut administrative positions. Go back to neighborhood school districts instead of busing to try to racially balance schools. That last one would cut local school cost and result in students spending less time on the bus and getting a bit more sleep. Some could even ride their bikes to school. It would also develop a sense of community since all the kids in the neighborhood would be going to the same school. Elementary school grades should focus almost exclusively on reading, writing, and basic math. It's sad that our schools and colleges are graduating star football and basketball player who can barely read at a third grade level. Go back to phonics type lessons to teach reading. Take a look at elementary and middle school schedules from the 70s and further back. Bring back those recess schedules. Take problem students out of class! They're ruining it for the rest of the class.
Holy Cats! The misinformation some people have! The federal share of ecuation money is about 10%, and that includes the school lunch program. School districts are very much a "local control" type of government. There is very little busing for racial integration these days. Most districts have a system of neighborhood schools.
Parents need to be parents, it all starts at home. Parents need to teach their kids the value of a good education, lead by example.
How many out there view the school system as a day care, simply because they have to work 12 hrs a day to pay the mortgage?
Demand standards, abandon liberal orthodoxy which suggests every kid deserves a chance to learn, everyone is a winner blah blah blah. That's not life and does nothing to prepare kids for the realities of this world.
Also lay off the mantra that kids must go to college. They should have a viable track for kids to learn a trade or skill so they can be gainfully employed upon graduation.
Start with getting the federal government out of education. Education is not a legitimate function of federal government.
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