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We've collapsed education into only academic and it's all for college preparedness.
That was our reform. We got rid of the the vocational/academic tracks the last 2-3 years of high school.
So yes..all kids must now take Algebra II or Trig because we changed the rules.
The last two years of my HS education were not so basic anymore, we had to specialize on 4 subjects. I remember biology and chemistry were two of mine, I used to know the details of the citric acid cycle and all those processes by heart
But at least it was good training for the brain...
Most of what we learn at school, not just math, will be forgotten within maybe a decade after graduation. Except for the most basic formulas and ideas I have forgotten everything I used to know in physics, maths, chemistry, etc. The same goes for history, Latin, and other subjects.
Use it or lose it. You obviously haven't used any of your acquired knowledge, so you lost it.
I have used and expanded some of it in the course of specializing at the university, but all the rest is indeed more or less gone.
Not really. I'm sure you recall history when we debate here in threads and can cite general statements.
The basic k-12 gives everyone the same foundation.
What you do with it from then on is up to you.
Look at other countries.
Mexico only required a 5th grade education until fairly recently.
Some of them are here now and cannot even read Spanish.
Think..5th grade. That means you've learned about adding, subtracting, division, multiplication and fractions.
You didn't learn about negative numbers or how to solve for a missing number (variable). You've never heard of any chemicals or know about biology or much about any history, US or foreign.
We have people living here with a 5th grade education.
They cannot read their own native language.
They have families and they work but what is the calibre of the work and would they ever advance ?
They rely on their kids or other family members or social services to help them live in society today.
I see what little education produces and the US saw that too when they mandated K-12 for ALL Americans.
I have used and expanded some of it in the course of specializing at the university, but all the rest is indeed more or less gone.
I think high school science classes are very useful, especially for those who do not study science/engineering in college. Although we do not remember most of the stuff clearly, we still have the sense. Those who never learned it sometimes sound ridiculous.
Our PISA based standings make absolute sense culturally. In fact, I'm amazed we're as high as we are. Success leads to comfort, comfort leads to laziness, laziness leads to ignorance. Check the data called "world history since forever" and you'll see all successful empires gradually get more and more ignorant and lazy. The 3rd World should kick our national butt in stuff that requires effort, like learning, because on the per capita scale, few societies on the planet use less effort in a given day than the average American.
We expect less of our students.
We expect less of our teachers.
We expect less of our parents.
Is it really that shocking that we get less as a result?
Salary of teachers, money spent on schools, money spent on technology, testing, blah blah....all irrelevant in the face of LOW EXPECTATIONS. If I mandate using calculators in math class, human nature will bend towards learning button pushing being easier than learning math theory. Guess the result? If I decide that bad grades are stigmatizing and damaging to self-esteem, thus requiring a change to grading to make everyone feel better, human nature will bend towards least effort required to get through what is essentially a 13 year babysitting exercise.
Every other excuse is nonsense. We expect less, we get less. It's really that simple.
I think high school science classes are very useful, especially for those who do not study science/engineering in college. Although we do not remember most of the stuff clearly, we still have the sense. Those who never learned it sometimes sound ridiculous.
Yes, having learned it in the past is a good thing. I noticed that when I read stuff I thought I had long forgotten, it is relatively easy to restore it in my brain.
And what probably always stays is the mere capability to think in more complex ways.
YOU just ignored the entire slew of countries that are doing better than you, and chose to harp about Finland and forcing kids into vocational and trade schools to do construction and work in restaurants. What about all the other countries which are leaving you in the dust?
Oh, they don't count. Nobody cares about them, right? They don't matter.
You'd rather cut off out nose to spite your face rather than admit that maybe, just maybe, you could learn from other countries instead of dredging up lame excuses on why you're doing so poorly.
Since my original response was in regards to Finland, it makes sense that I respond about Finland.
As for the other slew of countries, they do some great things. Even Canada. Some of those things we can't do here because of politics and some would simply be unconstitutional.
Our PISA based standings make absolute sense culturally. In fact, I'm amazed we're as high as we are. Success leads to comfort, comfort leads to laziness, laziness leads to ignorance. Check the data called "world history since forever" and you'll see all successful empires gradually get more and more ignorant and lazy. The 3rd World should kick our national butt in stuff that requires effort, like learning, because on the per capita scale, few societies on the planet use less effort in a given day than the average American.
We expect less of our students.
We expect less of our teachers.
We expect less of our parents.
Is it really that shocking that we get less as a result?
Salary of teachers, money spent on schools, money spent on technology, testing, blah blah....all irrelevant in the face of LOW EXPECTATIONS. If I mandate using calculators in math class, human nature will bend towards learning button pushing being easier than learning math theory. Guess the result? If I decide that bad grades are stigmatizing and damaging to self-esteem, thus requiring a change to grading to make everyone feel better, human nature will bend towards least effort required to get through what is essentially a 13 year babysitting exercise.
Every other excuse is nonsense. We expect less, we get less. It's really that simple.
In 2003 we were #24 in Math.
9 years later in 2012 we are #36 in Math.
Each 3 years the PISA shows us falling lower.
??? What's so important about math scores? How often do you actually USE your high school math in your daily life? It's important for engineers but not for most of us.
Burger flippers use math. Double meat is twice as many patties as single meat. Every day. All day. Math is important.
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