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I don't disagree at all. In fact my kids left a flipped classroom model when they finished middle school and I thought that was a great tool. They also had peer reading groups which had my kids reading HS level material in the 4th and 5th grade.
Mine, too. And they rarely had homework.
They also taught themselves to read. I couldn't stop them. The peer spelling groups were a disaster, though.
I just think we are on the wrong track with the kids from families who are disadvantaged in all kinds of ways.
Per usual, the OP blames "bad things" on liberals without even a slight explanation. Not even a ****ty, incoherent one. At least at one point, people bothered to do that... We really are in decline....
Also, considering high school has been turned into college training, and college has been turned into jobs training, the stakes are unnecessarily high.
This article snidely points out that it takes 6 years for students to complete a 4 year degree, but that means nothing. When I was in college, there were degrees that had to take 5 years based on what credits were required and when they were offered. And many people change majors because they're being asked to decide what they want to do with the rest of their life. God forbid it takes them more than a few years to decide that.
And go to the voucher program? Disaster waiting to happen.
Why
If the public schools are failing our kids, why not try an innovative approach?
I find it funny how liberals want everyone to get healthcare whether they can pay for it or not. But when it comes to education, if you are poor, you must be stuck in a failing school.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fordtrucks
High school graduates who can barely read, write and do basic math getting A's on their grade cards. Only in liberal America everyone gets a trophy.
Well if they are floundering on their SAT's & ACT's, then those standards must be lowered also, so everyone can be equal. You know the line, "diversity is our greatest strength", and we must not make any kids feel they are inferior to others.
Heck, what do you think "Common Core" is teaching. So long as you use their convoluted methods in math for instance, you can get the answer wrong, but still get credit for having done it their way. However if you get the answer right, but do it in your head (or the old way of calculation), you are marked off for it.
They should do the same with sports, to where every team has a no cut policy. That way when the academically gifted come home, they can say to their parents they made the varsity football team and will be a starter. After all, they need to be considered equal physically, otherwise their poor self esteem might be bruised.
Former teacher here. It's rarely the teacher and almost always the administration or Department of Education for the state or federal government.
I always wondered why kids would show up to my 9th grade classes with low reading abilities. When I spoke to some middle school teachers, they told me "we tried to fail Jimmy, but the administration told me to do anything possible to ensure he gets a D".
Schools don't like Fs because they bring the school's rating down, which equates to lower funding and more questions being asked from the state and feds. So in order to avoid Fs, they tell teachers to give all students Ds.
News for you: This is not a liberal/conservative issue. What happens is that at an early point in school, certain students are selected and anointed as academic princes and princesses. They are kept in those positions, to serve the egos of teachers and administrators. They need not actually learn much of anything, except how to cram bits of information into short-term memory, for taking classroom tests.
But this doesn't work for long, comprehensive tests or those like the S.A.T., given by national agencies. These tests require solid knowledge and understanding of subjects and how to solve problems using it.
Former teacher here. It's rarely the teacher and almost always the administration or Department of Education for the state or federal government.
I always wondered why kids would show up to my 9th grade classes with low reading abilities. When I spoke to some middle school teachers, they told me "we tried to fail Jimmy, but the administration told me to do anything possible to ensure he gets a D".
Schools don't like Fs because they bring the school's rating down, which equates to lower funding and more questions being asked from the state and feds. So in order to avoid Fs, they tell teachers to give all students Ds.
I recall a PBS special but don't recall if it was Norway or Sweden, there was no homework and when a child fell behind there was immediate attention to bring the student up. Here there are students that are left behind early on making it impossible to address.
As are the new C. If you do not have an A, you are doing poorly.
There are schools, even high schools, that will not allow you to fail a student. They can refuse to even write their name on a piece of paper, and you cannot give them a 0 for the assignment. Teachers usually oppose this methodology; they are definitely not driving the force.
I spent the majority of my career in 5th grade. We were not allowed to give below 50% for an assignment turned in, even if it was blank with just their name. This policy was my principal's decision and it was not advertised to parents. I would write their actual earned score on the paper (even if it was below that 50%). Now, the parents who looked at the online grade book could obviously figure this out, but I was not going to let it be widely known.
The reason behind this phenomenon is very simple- parents. Parents complain when their child gets even a B. C is no longer considered average; it is failing. Actually, you must have an A or you are failing.
My popularity as a teacher, from the parents, was very widespread. They loved me or hated me. I was not easy. I did not hand out As. You had to work for As. Some parents questioned me. I usually told them if they didn't learn to work hard now, they were going to struggle later in their academic career. I shared my philosophy- they were in elementary. No one is ever going to look at these grades for anything. My job, as a teacher, is to prepare them for what is ahead. This goes beyond academics. The training wheels are still on in elementary school. Why hold on to the bike, too? Let them wobble. They will be better for it in the long run. Some parents loved that I pushed their kids. Others hated I didn't give out the easy A. Can't please everyone. At the end of the day, I know I did the best for my students. As long as multiple kids were able to earn As in each subject, I knew it was possible and I wasn't pushing too hard.
I recall a PBS special but don't recall if it was Norway or Sweden, there was no homework and when a child fell behind there was immediate attention to bring the student up. Here there are students that are left behind early on making it impossible to address.
I'm not a fan of homework. I only gave it to my honors students because I got tired of chasing kids down for it. Their homework was just to study the material learned in class. If they don't study, they'll flunk the test, simple as that.
In some classes, it's difficult to "catch up" if you fall behind. If you haven't acquired the knowledge from Unit 1 in Algebra I, you will likely be completely lost by the time Unit 3 rolls around because Unit 3 builds on top of prior units.
The real problem is that many classes in America are based on pure memorization and not applying the knowledge to the real world. Instead of memorizing dates in history, why not show students how those events impacted the future and how they formed the world we live in today.
Again, I will agree with you that in a case like your son, he is 'other motivated' and it could very well be that whatever he will be very successful in just can't be measured by the system of education in place.
But you cant tell me that there aren't bright kids out there who have parents that either can't or won't support their child's education, and that is a far larger percentage of the problem than the one facing you.
My kids too could read before kindergarten and had music and art lessons, and I feel lucky that I could provide that. But it's more than that. Example, earlier this week I was eating a McDonald's with my oldest when she pointed out a mother with 2 young kids. The kids had some sort of coloring book or comic book and were trying to read it. Even my 15 year old noted how the mother could not be bothered to bothered to put down her cell phone and engage with her kids. Passive.
Then, when I was between jobs a few years ago I volunteered at my kid's elementary school going on field trips and tutoring some kids. There was a boy who always sat on a bench instead of playing with the other kids at recess. He was there because he had not finished his homework assignments, and I asked him why he didn't do it so he could play. He said his parents told him he didn't have to do it because it was a waste of time. Active.
How can any teacher compete with that?
I actually do believe that homework is a waste of time and told my kid's teacher's this when they were in preschool. I refused to let them do homework in preschool in particular and since they went to private preschools, the schools didn't make a big fuss about my kids not doing that homework nor were they punished for not doing it. Homework is actually the one thing that I do "go there" about, especially in elementary school as IMO it is not necessary and educational studies show it is not necessary for kids to are not behind to have busy work types of homework everyday.
On the kid reading at McDonald's, what's wrong with letting the kid try to read by themselves? I learned to read by myself when I was 2-3 years old according to my aunt who babysat me. Both my daughter and son learned to read by themselves. I don't sit and read with them every time they read at McDonald's. My daughter takes books with her everywhere she goes (people think its cute) she loves to read and reads 5 grades above her current grade level. If we go to McDonald's, I don't sit and engage with her when she is reading her book. I didn't when she took her picture books with her when she was younger either. If I saw that mother, I would think she was doing a good job by having books available for her kid to "try" to read. That shows IMO that she is an "involved" parent and she realizes that early literacy and making reading material available to her kid is important
But I'm not one of those moms who think that kids should always be playing with or engaged with adults. I was not when I was a kid. My mom never engaged me in reading when we were out as I, too, like my daughter took a book everywhere I went when I was a kid. You give them the opportunity to read and to experience different things and learn to do things by themselves.
I also don't think my son is unique, I think your kids may be unique in that they are very dedicated to their grades. I work a lot with teens and my son is average and only unique in the fact that he aces standardized tests and exams and he can make full length, interesting movies via various sorts of artistic styles versus other kids. He also is skilled in general engineering as he went to an engineering focused school since he is a hands on learner. He can speak well and lead groups. So he has a lot of skills that many other teens don't have and as a parent, I have learned to accept the fact that he is a great person and is talented in various ways and just doesn't care about getting As as much as other kids.
I also have a nephew who is very similar to how I was as a teen. He goes to a top prep school in our area. He has a near 4.0 GPA (his school doesn't inflate grades either). He is always studying and worrying over his grades. I worry about him because he stresses himself out about being the best in his class, like I used to do. He is a great kid. But so is my son who gets Cs. They both are creative and I adore both of them. But they have different motivations. My son is very serious about his hobbies, whereas my nephew is very serious about his grades. My nephew has mostly the same hobbies as my son, but my son is better at the hobbies (of which he wants to pursue as a career) than my nephew is. My son also loves sports, he wrestles, runs track, and plays baseball. My nephew hates sports and is horrible at sports and ironically my brother (his dad) gets upset about him not liking sports like I used to do with my own son for not getting the best grades he could get.
Most kids are average and don't get all As. That's the point and them not getting all As all the time or being 100% dedicated to school work doesn't mean they don't have supportive parents. It means they are not as into school as those students who focus on it like my nephew does. They are more focused on other things and more often than not those other things are positive hobbies or activities in their lives.
Also most parents are "involved" and loving parents. IMO we need to be less hard on each other as parents. Kids getting good grades doesn't mean the parent is a great parent. As stated, I got good grades. I was a TAG kid from K-12. My dad was a crackhead and in and out of jail a few times. My mom was a teen mom and was on welfare and went through all sorts of drama when I was a kid. I didn't have "great parents." My nephew mentioned above, his parents aren't all that great and he has even admitted that he wishes I were his mom (and I'll probably talk my brother into letting him come live with us so he can have a stable home life). He doesn't have any support. They don't even have internet at his house and he stays after school to do homework or goes to the library everyday until 8:30 pm during the school year so he can get the best grades. His grades, like my own, have nothing to do with his parents. I also have many friends with teens who are great parents whose kids are F students or who have average kids like my own. Most people are average and that's the point I believe as well with the article. It is odd for kids to get all As. Something has to be going on either at the school or with the parent meddling in the school system to make them give their kid good grades.
Don't blame the teachers! Blame the parents!! Teachers try to hold kids accountable, but when mommy and daddy complain to the principle that it's the teachers fault little johnny is failing, what do you suppose happens? That's right, teachers are forced to dumb it all down. Parents suck at parenting today, they have no expectations for their kids and allow them to do as they please. In what universe should a kid that is failing all their courses be allowed to have a cell phone. Yet, it happens everyday, and you blame the teachers, laughable.
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