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Even the fashion industry realizes our public schools suck!
And it’s funny how Today.com reports this in a negative light, as though these shirts are less appropriate than the ones that say 'Support Single Moms' (with a stripper silhouette in the background) or 'Mom says I ride on the short bus because I’m special.'
I think I’ll take the kid with the 'Allergic to Algebra' shirt, thank you very much!
Also humorous (although more sad than funny) is Change.org's assertion that marketing the 'Allergic to Algebra' t-shirts only to girls somehow constitutes sexism. Are there really grown adults out there who think that girls are less aware than boys that the "New Math" initiative is utterly pointless, and that boys would be less willing to show it on their clothing than the girls these shirts are marketed to?
Most public schools are failing miserably... high school graduates are less equipped for life than ever before... teacher accountability is at an all-time low... corrupt teachers' unions are destroying the system... standardized tests no longer mean anything... students who don't know algebra --but get "A" grades in every other Gen Ed subject-- still can't graduate from most colleges and universities... and the US Department of Education continues its a more than 30-year tradition of failing American taxpayers and their children.
...Yeah, let's go after t-shirt manufacturers.
"Most public schools are failing miserably."
Quite a claim. Do you have any credible stats to back it up?
IMO, urban schools might fall into your category, but, Ii would say suburban schools are probably going a fairly good job.
Do you know anyone who has graduated from a public school? Where do they live.
I don't think the point of the shirt is about spreading awareness on public school issues.
I was being facetious. I’m surprised no one has picked up on that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FrugalYankee
The thread title is blatantly misleading.
Please see above.
Quote:
Originally Posted by skoro
Whatever happens, please don't let reality get in the way of a good rant.
Please see below.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quick Enough
"Most public schools are failing miserably."
Quite a claim. Do you have any credible stats to back it up?
Not “quite a claim.” This is common knowledge.
And everything you need to know about how widespread the problem is, can be seen in the performance of the graduates; they are products of this failed system. It's leadership by example, in action. Here are all the stats anyone needs:
Quote:
Originally Posted by ’Are High Schools Failing Their Students?’ by Education.com
Does earning a diploma guarantee that a high school graduate is ready for work and college? It should, for very practical reasons. Entrance requirements for colleges have increased. Employers expect more. Students must be able to communicate effectively, think critically, analyze and interpret data, and evaluate a variety of materials. Sixty-seven percent of new jobs in the market today require some postsecondary education (Achieve Inc., 2006).
Yet despite these demands, many high school graduates are inadequately prepared to continue their education or to enter the workforce. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), at least 28 percent of students entering four-year public colleges in the fall of 2000 were required to take remedial courses when they started, especially in mathematics and language arts, as did 42 percent of those enrolled in two-year public colleges (NCES, 2004). Employers also have noted that many recent high school graduates do not possess the basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills they need to function on the job; and providing remedial training to address this problem costs employers millions of dollars each year (The American Diploma Project [ADP], 2004).
Growing concern about the academic proficiency of high school graduates has placed high school reform at the forefront of the education policy agenda. Critics have begun to question the degree of academic rigor in our nation’s high schools, and many states and school districts are looking for ways to address this issue. This month’s newsletter explores the issue of academic rigor and highlights current efforts to challenge and support high school students.
And those are just the college students! If 70% of all college students have to take remedial courses after beginning their first year, the majority went to public high schools, and they are the best students these schools are producing... It can mean only one thing.
I also have personal experience. I spent eight years in the public school system, and all four high school years in private school; I’ve seen both sides of the equation. They are like night and day. At first, I wondered if my experience was unique because I went through public school in a suburban setting… But found out that it wasn’t; going to a public school in an urban or rural area wouldn't have made any difference, unless I were to have been extremely lucky.
How do I know? Because I’ve spoken with several people who’ve gone through the public school system --from all areas urban to rural-- from California, Washington, Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Arizona, Texas, New Hampshire, Georgia, and New York. Every single one of them feels they were failed by the system. And these are not stupid people; I met and studied with them at a leadership school at Maxwell Air Force Base. Each holds an informed opinion and all are trustworthy individuals.
And no one asked them to go the extra mile, and make up for several pointless primary and secondary school years spent in boredom and frustration. They did so on their own initiative, with the moral imperative to help guide and lead other people who also went through then public school system, but unlike them have fewer career options and less of a chance for equal upward financial mobility.
That's not including the people I went to college with, by the way; most of them hold the same grievances too.
The only reason why these bright men and women left the public school system as smart individuals is because their parents raised them right, and gave them the tools to succeed early on... Knowing full well their chances of learning or cultivating such skills in a public school were slim-to-none.
So if any of my friends wants to show their displeasure by wearing a T-shirt like the kind being produced by Forever 21, I say go for it! (And for those who are wondering, Forever 21 may only sell female clothing but these kind of shirts are also being sold to males by other companies. So there goes the sexism argument!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quick Enough
IMO, urban schools might fall into your category, but, Ii would say suburban schools are probably going a fairly good job.
Do you know anyone who has graduated from a public school? Where do they live.
Please see above.
This is a "go outside and take a look around" issue.
Last edited by CornerstoneEagle04; 09-22-2011 at 11:33 AM..
True, but guys don't usually run around in clothing making statements about their supposed lack of smarts. This is similar to the "Math is hard" Barbie.
they don't?????
are you kidding me? try googling and see what you get. I can't link them because it is a copyright infringement but trust me, there are more than I care to count.
All who fail the school system, did it all by themselves.
Both public and private systems try (but with the private, the parent has a direct investment, but even that does not guarantee success),
but if the student does not want to learn, and has little parental support,
guess what - no matter how much is spent, you're not going to learn a darn thing.
I'm surprised no company has thought to steal that Internet meme image from a few years ago where it shows an integrated function, and then appears to spell out '∫ex' near the bottom of the solution. I'm sure that would have made some whiny group of complainers irate. Wish I could find the picture of that to repost... seem to have misplaced it. Such a shirt probably could have made some decent money, especially if marketed in big chain stores like JC Penney.
I'm not seeing a controversy here. Oh, people will make it one and give stuff like this way more attention that it would have received otherwise but whatever. It's a joke shirt that most people would wear a couple times for laughs then forget about becasue it's not actually trendy.
Besides, nobody bitched about the t-shirt I wore in highschool that read "Home of the Whoppers"...lol.
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