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Secondly, South Korea and most of the rest of the top 5 aren't "liberal". Unless you consider things like a complete ban on abortion in SK "liberal" along with rapant racist attitudes and a host of other things I'm going to guess you aren't going to want to say are "liberal" viewpoints.
Hmm strange that Australia and NZ are very liberal and do a better job of educating children than the USA.
So a couple of questions, first why no school uniforms ? secondly fifteen year old girls wearing makeup to school, why is that allowed ?
Reagan's policy of allowing people to pull their taxes out of funding public education and use vouchers or getting a tax credit undermined the whole system.
The vast majority of school districts do not allow for school choice and those that do don't have that option because of Reagan.
So, our schools are doing a fine job compared to the rest of the world. Sure, we can improve, but this is not a crisis like illegal immigration or the runaway national debt or violent crime in Chicago.
So it is just demographics, interesting. Thanks for linking that analysis. I originally tried to find a breakdown by ethnicity, but couldn't find one when I looked.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jetgraphics
Why American education is bad?
Simple.
The beneficiaries, the children, and their parents are not necessarily the ones directly paying for the schooling.
If public funding of schools was abolished, no parent would spent hard earned money on a school that didn't / couldn't teach. Nor would any competitive school tolerate disruptive students.
Exactly. American students want to be spoonfed. They won't study, think classes are a time to socialize, won't do their assignments, won't study HARD, and their parents seem to be very cool with that, and want teachers to work magic with their brains. Americans need to learn from the kids of Chinese parents.
I agree. Contrary to popular belief, I cannot open their heads and pour in the knowledge. Our kids are so used to instant gratification that they seem to lack the ability to work to understand something. I really do fear for our future. Our kids don't take the time to understand and don't think they need to remember anything beyond the test. Parents and kids alike cry foul if I expect them to know something that was taught in a previous class without reteaching it.
One of the things we are known for is innovation. What does innovation take? It takes enough knowledge to start putting things together in different ways and it takes thinking about things to understanding. My prediction is we are about to lose the only edge we have in the world market. Innovation. Our kids don't think they need to remember anything because they think they can Google it. Unfortunately, Google won't put things together for you. It won't see the connections for you and Google can't take the place of critical thinking. The kids I teach are users of information but they can only use EXACTLY what is handed to them. They don't put the pieces together. They don't see relationships. However, they get great grades... To quote one of my students at the end of last year: "It's not about learning. It's about grades.".
I taught school in Spain, and I taught school here (private and public). I was shocked teaching here. I've never seen such ill-behaved, lazy students as in the U.S. Problem is, American parents are fine with that, but at grade time blame the teachers for their kids doing almost nothing to learn.
Kids text and talk during class, show up without a pencil or paper, don't do their homework, etc, etc, etc.... and at grade time the parents demand to know what the TEACHER is going to do to fix the grade. Bad grades....which are anything lower than an A....are the TEACHER'S fault not the student's fault.
What is wrong with education in this country is our student's (and parent) attitude about learning. It's not about actually being competent at something. It's about a grade on a piece of paper and if your snowflake doesn't get the one you think your snowflake deserves, you threaten to sue or make so many waves the teacher loses their job.
if the federal government gets out of it and gives the power to the states. then they might do well. but in reality, it all begins at home. many homes don't have both parents. and the one that is there is not really there. there is little discipline, too many parents setting low standards. then I guess it depends on the state. and the culture. there sure is a difference in majority white schools from majority black/Hispanic schools. the white school have higher grad rates. the minorities have become enslaved through the breastfeeding from uncle sam. we have become a slave in the mind. our young men and women have no ambition. slavery is alive and well, in the mind of the youth
The problem with the internet, jetgrpahics, is that some people may not know you're joking.
Free choice versus no choice is not a joke, it's a tragedy.
"Public" education has become a disaster because of the simple fact that the consumer has no choice in the matter, because he does not directly pay for it.
And the providers of the service have to comply with the funding source (i.e., Federal government, state government) no matter how absurd or ill advised.
For the fastest resolution to the problem - abolish public funded education.
Let free choice in a free market take over.
"Free choice versus no choice" refers to the whole system of education - including the compulsory funding and the compulsory attendance - not just choice of school.
What benefit is compulsory attendance at a school that is filled with disruptive students and where the students graduate functionally illiterate?
"Free choice versus no choice" refers to the whole system of education - including the compulsory funding and the compulsory attendance - not just choice of school.
What benefit is compulsory attendance at a school that is filled with disruptive students and where the students graduate functionally illiterate?
It's a gigantic bureaucratic boondoggle.
Best solution - end public funding.
Then we would have an uneducated populace. Ending public funding isn't even very practical since many states have constitutional amendments that require attendance and public funding.
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Kids text and talk during class, show up without a pencil or paper, don't do their homework, etc, etc, etc.... and at grade time the parents demand to know what the TEACHER is going to do to fix the grade. Bad grades....which are anything lower than an A....are the TEACHER'S fault not the student's fault. 
Ending public funding isn't even very practical since many states have constitutional amendments that require attendance and public funding.
