Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Is something an opportunity if the option is not at all viable?
Cultural and social differences may have a strong impact on what careers we develop. I love the idea of having different tracks for different kinds of brains to pursue. Bring back the choice of following a typical college track vs a technical track, right from the outset. Some people are interested in lots of subjects, but others are really turned off from a typical education plan which is too 'theoretical' rather than immediately practical in a recognizable way. Let some folks be given tons of the brainiac options and others be given tons of the technical/practical options, as per their own choice of course. Both will have the same opportunity of being valuable to society.
Simple. Do you think that all children born in America should be given the same quality education?
Equal opportunities, yes.
While there are certainly improvements that can be made in the US system, I like that it doesn't track kids at 6th grade or so, like some European systems.
Opportunity, yes, facilities, certainly. But, in my dream world (which I realize is far too costly to ever implement), every child would have an IEP. An "Individual Education Plan", geared to their way of learning. All three of mine had them, two for giftedness, one for a learning disability. But it was wonderful meeting with their teams every year and being able to customize their learning environments. It would be great if every child had the same level of attention.
I am with you on the IEP idea. If I am not mistaken, educational systems in different countries do this and it seems to work well.
Simple. Do you think that all children born in America should be given the same quality education?
Any parents who are interested in providing a quality education for their children should have that opportunity. Those who are not interested in providing a quality education for their children should not be allowed to inflict their children on those who are, unless the child shows sufficient initiative independent of and notwithstanding their upbringing. But separating the two requires making value judgments that we're no longer comfortable making openly and honestly.
So instead we implicitly make them anyway by creating a patchwork of thousands of boundary-protected school districts that reflects the broader societal divide between the haves and the have-nots, and then perpetuates that divide by foreclosing access to better educational opportunities to those who need it most.
What a delightful education system we've created in this country.
Not all children are capable of learning the same quality education. Some kids, due to mental disabilities, might never be capable of learning the same things that non-disabled kids can learn. But they should be given the opportunity to learn advanced trig, if they show the capacity to learn it, just like everyone else should have that opportunity should they show the capacity to learn.
I think there is something to be said for educating oneself outside of school as well. Just because you want to learn something doesn't mean the school should provide the teacher and materials to learn it.
If you are on the technology track but want to learn about theater design because you think its fun and interesting, great. But you should do it on your own time, either in the form of an extracurricular or taking extra time in your schooling to do so. Example, if you are going to take a 3 credit course on theater design, that will be in addition to your tech track classes not a replacement for one of them.
Any parents who are interested in providing a quality education for their children should have that opportunity. Those who are not interested in providing a quality education for their children should not be allowed to inflict their children on those who are, unless the child shows sufficient initiative independent of and notwithstanding their upbringing. But separating the two requires making value judgments that we're no longer comfortable making openly and honestly.
So instead we implicitly make them anyway by creating a patchwork of thousands of boundary-protected school districts that reflects the broader societal divide between the haves and the have-nots, and then perpetuates that divide by foreclosing access to better educational opportunities to those who need it most.
What a delightful education system we've created in this country.
WOW! That is the worst thing I've seen anyone post here in quite a while, and that's really saying something. Those kid's whose parents are not involved are the ones who need a good public education the most, so they can grow up and become self-supporting. That's what you'd want, right?
Any parents who are interested in providing a quality education for their children should have that opportunity. Those who are not interested in providing a quality education for their children should not be allowed to inflict their children on those who are, unless the child shows sufficient initiative independent of and notwithstanding their upbringing. But separating the two requires making value judgments that we're no longer comfortable making openly and honestly.
So instead we implicitly make them anyway by creating a patchwork of thousands of boundary-protected school districts that reflects the broader societal divide between the haves and the have-nots, and then perpetuates that divide by foreclosing access to better educational opportunities to those who need it most.
What a delightful education system we've created in this country.
Bingo!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am with you on the IEP idea. If I am not mistaken, educational systems in different countries do this and it seems to work well.
