Why don't we replace schools with superlibraries? (colleges, exam, courses)
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One way in which the Russian education system has always saved money compared to the US has been "economy of scale," as it's basically one system for the entire Union/Federation. I don't see the US embracing such a thing any time soon.
I was very impressed with the enthusiasm I saw from Vietnamese students and educators, but I don't think the average American would much want to send their child to a typical Vietnamese school. Most schools are very regimented and the purpose of all exercises is to do well on standardized exams. Lots of rote memorization, recitation, etc. Facilities are extremely basic in many parts of the country.
1. I agree about economies of scale. I'm originally from NYS, where virtually every little town had their own school system. Economically, I felt schools were much better off in the larger districts (county) in Maryland and Virginia. When I moved to Colorado Springs I was appalled that there were so many different school systems in just one small city. It makes no sense.
2. I found similar situations in the schools in Thailand. Class sizes approaching 50 students per class, rote memorization, etc. I did have to laugh, when I told my faculty that in Thailand the students bowed to the teacher when they entered the classroom, my teachers thought that was great. They weren't as impressed when I told them that the teachers bowed to the principal when the principal came into the classroom.
This is hyperbole: "we have legions of terrible teachers who are clock watching functionaries". The ratio of good to bad teachers is pretty much the same as in any profession.
US teachers by in large are bottom 1/3 of college graduates.
........and the noted: "Ed School Follies" is a must read.
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Now of course we have many excellent, dedicated, kid focused, and very well educated teachers. That said teachers are like cops...........mostly unable to see that many in the cadre should be doing something else.
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100% true story. Years ago I was at a bar with some friends. One of the young ladies was in a gloomy mood. Turns out she was taking the Oklahoma state teacher's assessment test the next day and she knew she would fail because failing any section meant overall failure and she had never learned how to manipulate fractions - FWIIW she went to college in Tennessee.
I've wondered for decades if this was the right move all in. But over beer and on bar napkins I showed what 1/1 +, -, x, and / by 1/2 were and that is she could keep those relationships and mechanisms straight she could decipher nearly all fraction problems. She passed.
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And I'm not for a moment claiming I could do it. I couldn't.
I have lived in both Russia and Vietnam. Russia does not have special education. Vietnam has special education in theory, but in practice, few government schools have the funding to offer it, although the situation is much improved over what it was before the economy took off in the early 2000s. This is a HUGE expense that American schools are on the hook for, that Russia and Vietnam are not.
It is widely agreed in Russia that schools there are underfunded, but of course, finding the funds is an issue. I went to school there and I would say Russian government schools compare favorably to western public schools, but there is a major issue looming: the average teacher now is quite aged, as they're largely holdovers from Soviet times. Young people are not going in to teaching now because the pay is terrible, even by Russian standards. As the old guard exits there will be a huge teacher shortage.
One way in which the Russian education system has always saved money compared to the US has been "economy of scale," as it's basically one system for the entire Union/Federation. I don't see the US embracing such a thing any time soon.
I was very impressed with the enthusiasm I saw from Vietnamese students and educators, but I don't think the average American would much want to send their child to a typical Vietnamese school. Most schools are very regimented and the purpose of all exercises is to do well on standardized exams. Lots of rote memorization, recitation, etc. Facilities are extremely basic in many parts of the country.
Thanks for this post. It's always good to hear from people who have "been there", as opposed to those who get all their information from social media.
Anything is better than the crapola system we have now.
Remember the saying of the devil you know being better than the devil you don't...
BTW Keeping rowdy kids disciplined is a function of the public school system. You wouldn't want gangster wannabees roaming around during school hours - sadly this would be an issue if mandatory school was abolished
1. Yes, it is an interesting idea. But I'd say it needs a lot more than "some more fleshing out".
2. Yes it matters when we have uneducated people in our country. It dumbs down the whole country. It dumbs down the voting public.
3. Adults are supposed to make good choices FOR kids.
I think we all agree on that. To me the biggest source of disagreement is whether the current system is a solution to that problem or a cause of it. That's why we wind up diametrically opposed on so many things.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EDS_
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100% true story. Years ago I was at a bar with some friends. One of the young ladies was in a gloomy mood. Turns out she was taking the Oklahoma state teacher's assessment test the next day and she knew she would fail because failing any section meant overall failure and she had never learned how to manipulate fractions - FWIIW she went to college in Tennessee.
I've wondered for decades if this was the right move all in. But over beer and on bar napkins I showed what 1/1 +, -, x, and / by 1/2 were and that is she could keep those relationships and mechanisms straight she could decipher nearly all fraction problems. She passed.
______________________
And I'm not for a moment claiming I could do it. I couldn't.
We live in Tennessee. That's why we paid out of state tuition for our kids to attend college in another state. Seriously.
2. I found similar situations in the schools in Thailand. Class sizes approaching 50 students per class, rote memorization, etc. I did have to laugh, when I told my faculty that in Thailand the students bowed to the teacher when they entered the classroom, my teachers thought that was great. They weren't as impressed when I told them that the teachers bowed to the principal when the principal came into the classroom.
Most of East Asia still follows the Confucian model of education, which is all about memorization and finding the one "right" answer. Even undergraduate university courses in China, Korea etc. are mostly lecture and memorization, with little critical thinking and analysis. Consequently those universities are not well regarded internationally.
Most of East Asia still follows the Confucian model of education, which is all about memorization and finding the one "right" answer. Even undergraduate university courses in China, Korea etc. are mostly lecture and memorization, with little critical thinking and analysis. Consequently those universities are not well regarded internationally.
My daughter had some roommates at the U of Colorado who were exchange students from Japan. They thought CU was much harder than their college in Japan.
Instead of having schools that impose a one-size-fits-all, rigid curriculum on everyone, what if we instead had "public superlibraries" which were basically libraries, plus miniclasses ( a miniclass is like a class that results in a certification at the end), plus mentors and counselors to help guide learners, plus daycare for young children? I would propose having a system like this, where children 0 to 8 would be eligible for free day care, young people 5-18 would be eligible for up to 7-8 hours of free miniclasses per weekday, and adults would be eligible for one free miniclass per day as a poverty-fighting measure? Obviously some fine-tuning would be needed but with the appropriate conditions, replacing schools with superlibraries could be made approximately revenue-neutral.
Thoughts?
Because then my crooked state of NY won’t be able to justify the $10’000 to $40,000 annual property taxes. Plus, people who go to the library for quiet reading time will flip out with the noise. This will never happen and there is no need for it.
Sounds like a big step in devolving into a 3rd world nation.
Interestingly, the idea would probably be much more successful in 3rd world countries, where children overcome great hardships to go to school, knowing the advantages an education brings. Check out Oprah's school in Africa, for instance.
In the USA? No chance. We have become WAY too comfortable and complacent in this country, and it shows.
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