Edumacation Reform
Jul. 22nd, 2006 04:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
baphnediaThe problems in the Education system are more a case of nobody taking responsibility - because taking responsibility could be admitting that it's 'all their fault', which it's not. The problems in education are threefold:
The kids, in many cases, only learn what is forced down their throat - there is a lack of motivation about being proactive with learning. Sure, an 'A' means that you're really good at regurgitating the information that you're given, but there is much beyond what you're taught that is out there to learn. It is up to the kid to learn and go as far as they want to - usually most have trouble getting what they want to get, because they stopped learning too early. Students who show a lot of initiative and respectable grades typically wind up not having to pay for college thanks to scholarships, and don't have to look at college loans, among other things.
The parents have a huge influence on their kids. The parent who never learned Algebra because they never figured that it could possibly apply to daily life will have kids that will never learn algebra because their parents never did. The parents depend too heavily on the Governmnent to teach their kids, then accuse the Goverment of teaching their kids the wrong stuff (evolution vs creationism and other such conflicts for example). You know what? Lay off. Your kids are probably smarter than you are (their brain cells have had less time to die off than yours) and the can probably take that information in and decide what they'll stand behind on their own. It's not a perfect world - your whole family isn't ruined if everyone doesn't have the same opinion. Besides, being a source of different information helps kids understand the complexity of perception, perceived reality, and objective truth. Anyway... I could rant about this all day long...
The goverment needs to stop taking money away from the schools. Bar none. Being a teacher used to be a respectable job, it used to pay well enough to get by one your own, and the teachers of today were inspired by the teachers of the past. That inspiration is probably one of the only things holding that together. Back in the day, teachers would stay after classes were done, to help students who still didn't 'get it'. At one of the schools I recruit from (the one with some of the worst average ASVAB scores - when graduates AND students of that school take a fairly easy test), the students get out at 3:11pm. The teachers are out by 3:12pm (3:15, if they had to pee). The contract is more important to the teachers than the students, which might be why so much crap is graduating that particular school.
So here are some ideas to rebuild the system:
Create up to a 20 year public education system and place the responsibility of keeping kids in school on the children and their guardians. The 'best and brightest' in our current system get a free ride, or pay less for post-secondary education. Make that opportunity available for everyone, but add a catch for quality control: Once a student fails or drops out of school, it is the guardian's (or the student's, depending on age) responsibility to obtain educational credentials through private institutions (military training could be considered, once certain requirements are met).
Normal graduations could take place as early as the eighth grade, where the student understands if they disenroll, they must go through private education channels to continue. Private sector focused education will be available to those who wish to take it, and a new sector of the education industry will be created (by demand) providing some relief in the overcrowded educator market while creating more jobs in the services and training industries. With increased focus, highly specialized and technical occupational training are possible in the both public and private training environments.
Remove the idea of education level as a status symbol and replace it as a description of aptitude, ability and potential, measured to set standards, while keeping in mind that there are always black sheep in the system who will surprise and undermine what's there (with their little GED). :)
The kids, in many cases, only learn what is forced down their throat - there is a lack of motivation about being proactive with learning. Sure, an 'A' means that you're really good at regurgitating the information that you're given, but there is much beyond what you're taught that is out there to learn. It is up to the kid to learn and go as far as they want to - usually most have trouble getting what they want to get, because they stopped learning too early. Students who show a lot of initiative and respectable grades typically wind up not having to pay for college thanks to scholarships, and don't have to look at college loans, among other things.
The parents have a huge influence on their kids. The parent who never learned Algebra because they never figured that it could possibly apply to daily life will have kids that will never learn algebra because their parents never did. The parents depend too heavily on the Governmnent to teach their kids, then accuse the Goverment of teaching their kids the wrong stuff (evolution vs creationism and other such conflicts for example). You know what? Lay off. Your kids are probably smarter than you are (their brain cells have had less time to die off than yours) and the can probably take that information in and decide what they'll stand behind on their own. It's not a perfect world - your whole family isn't ruined if everyone doesn't have the same opinion. Besides, being a source of different information helps kids understand the complexity of perception, perceived reality, and objective truth. Anyway... I could rant about this all day long...
The goverment needs to stop taking money away from the schools. Bar none. Being a teacher used to be a respectable job, it used to pay well enough to get by one your own, and the teachers of today were inspired by the teachers of the past. That inspiration is probably one of the only things holding that together. Back in the day, teachers would stay after classes were done, to help students who still didn't 'get it'. At one of the schools I recruit from (the one with some of the worst average ASVAB scores - when graduates AND students of that school take a fairly easy test), the students get out at 3:11pm. The teachers are out by 3:12pm (3:15, if they had to pee). The contract is more important to the teachers than the students, which might be why so much crap is graduating that particular school.
So here are some ideas to rebuild the system:
Create up to a 20 year public education system and place the responsibility of keeping kids in school on the children and their guardians. The 'best and brightest' in our current system get a free ride, or pay less for post-secondary education. Make that opportunity available for everyone, but add a catch for quality control: Once a student fails or drops out of school, it is the guardian's (or the student's, depending on age) responsibility to obtain educational credentials through private institutions (military training could be considered, once certain requirements are met).
Normal graduations could take place as early as the eighth grade, where the student understands if they disenroll, they must go through private education channels to continue. Private sector focused education will be available to those who wish to take it, and a new sector of the education industry will be created (by demand) providing some relief in the overcrowded educator market while creating more jobs in the services and training industries. With increased focus, highly specialized and technical occupational training are possible in the both public and private training environments.
Remove the idea of education level as a status symbol and replace it as a description of aptitude, ability and potential, measured to set standards, while keeping in mind that there are always black sheep in the system who will surprise and undermine what's there (with their little GED). :)
