Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - How would you change the education system?

SirSeymour · 04-09-2009, 07:47 AM

We have to change the basic premise of education in this country before we can fix it. Right now the stated goal of all pre-college education in this country is prepare everyone for college. Not everyone is going to college. In fact, we don't want everyone to go to college. It is a bad goal.

We need to realize that we have different types of students and work to meet the needs of all of them. A cookie cutter solution designed to prep kids for college is wholly inadequate and wrong for the kid who is going to graduate and go to work as a day laborer in construction or as an unskilled, unionized line worker for an auto manufacturer. More emphasis on a vocational track with classes in life skills would help this a great deal. It would also get the kids who are not interested in college out of the classes they don't want thus cutting down on teachers work load and the number of disinterested students that can cause disruptions in these classes.

I think we also need to get rid of students personal technology in schools...specifically cell phones. They are a completely unnecessary distraction during the school day. If parents need to contact kids they can do it the same it was done when I was in school...call the office and leave a message.

Specific ideas that I like to change things:

Bring back the idea of failure. School is, in a very real sense, a prep for life and employers fire people who fail too much, too often or too big. Schools are doing a disservice by not allowing kids to fail when they fail.
Vouchers. Public schools have no real competition right now. They know they are getting the money. If parents have the option to take not just their kid but also their money and go somewhere producing a better product then public schools will be forced to get better.
Students should be separated by ability when appropriate. Main streaming doesn't so much help the kids at the bottom of the ability scale so much as it handicaps the kids at the top. Teachers are stuck working with the bottom few who are struggling because they are not allowed to fail them while the top kids are allowed to get bored.
Every student should be required to learn a second language and that should start with kindergarten. It is a recognized fact that languages are easier to learn at younger ages so this needs to start very early. The specific language should be left up the local school district to choose as what is appropriate and useful in Texas or SoCal is not the same as what would be appropriate and useful in NE right across the border from Quebec.
Do away with technology before 6th grade. The US is losing ground in the world to countries who focus on the basics...reading, writing and math. You don't see a computer in an elementary classroom in China or India. Teach a firm foundation first then go on to other stuff.
Logic and philosophy should be taught in a real way in high school. Teaching facts is great but if you teach a kid to think, they can get the facts for themselves.

Just some ideas my wife (public school teacher at the elementary level) and I have been kicking around for a while.

04-09-2009, 07:47 AM	#19 (permalink)
SirSeymour Ambling Toward the Light Location: The Early 16th Century	We have to change the basic premise of education in this country before we can fix it. Right now the stated goal of all pre-college education in this country is prepare everyone for college. Not everyone is going to college. In fact, we don't want everyone to go to college. It is a bad goal. We need to realize that we have different types of students and work to meet the needs of all of them. A cookie cutter solution designed to prep kids for college is wholly inadequate and wrong for the kid who is going to graduate and go to work as a day laborer in construction or as an unskilled, unionized line worker for an auto manufacturer. More emphasis on a vocational track with classes in life skills would help this a great deal. It would also get the kids who are not interested in college out of the classes they don't want thus cutting down on teachers work load and the number of disinterested students that can cause disruptions in these classes. I think we also need to get rid of students personal technology in schools...specifically cell phones. They are a completely unnecessary distraction during the school day. If parents need to contact kids they can do it the same it was done when I was in school...call the office and leave a message. Specific ideas that I like to change things: Bring back the idea of failure. School is, in a very real sense, a prep for life and employers fire people who fail too much, too often or too big. Schools are doing a disservice by not allowing kids to fail when they fail. Vouchers. Public schools have no real competition right now. They know they are getting the money. If parents have the option to take not just their kid but also their money and go somewhere producing a better product then public schools will be forced to get better. Students should be separated by ability when appropriate. Main streaming doesn't so much help the kids at the bottom of the ability scale so much as it handicaps the kids at the top. Teachers are stuck working with the bottom few who are struggling because they are not allowed to fail them while the top kids are allowed to get bored. Every student should be required to learn a second language and that should start with kindergarten. It is a recognized fact that languages are easier to learn at younger ages so this needs to start very early. The specific language should be left up the local school district to choose as what is appropriate and useful in Texas or SoCal is not the same as what would be appropriate and useful in NE right across the border from Quebec. Do away with technology before 6th grade. The US is losing ground in the world to countries who focus on the basics...reading, writing and math. You don't see a computer in an elementary classroom in China or India. Teach a firm foundation first then go on to other stuff. Logic and philosophy should be taught in a real way in high school. Teaching facts is great but if you teach a kid to think, they can get the facts for themselves. Just some ideas my wife (public school teacher at the elementary level) and I have been kicking around for a while. __________________ SQL query SELECT * FROM users WHERE clue > 0 Zero rows returned....