I believe I could make Vast Improvements to our public education system here in the USA

If anybody is thinking about taking out a $25,000 loan to attend a University right now... I'd strongly advise against this. (FYI)

Look, here is the problem. It's simple.

The problem starts around the 8th grade.... possibly your freshman year.

If a teacher or parent cannot identify a young adolescent's strengths and weaknesses by the time a child reaches the age of 13, 14 or maybe 15 years old ... Then that is where the failure needs to be placed on the mentor.

So why all the waisted time teaching 7 subjects to a teenager when he has no interest in learning half of them? Maybe the young man wants to spend more time on writing, and developing his creative skills. Or maybe the young girl has an interest in learning about Animals & Biology. Why not sacrifice certain time spent on other weaknesses such as Algebra for example, and try to develop a certain craft for these children.

If I could reform education... This is where I would start, and make no mistake about it, I still believe in a well rounded education... But I don't believe I need to learn Algebra II when it takes an extra 10 hours per week to achieve an "A" in the class.

It's so easy to fix this problem... But yet I feel it will never get fixed.

It's late... And I plan on bumping this thread in future with a more detailed plan tomorrow.



[edit on 13-11-2009 by Doomsday 2029]

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reply to post by Doomsday 2029


you know how to improve it, so does everyone else who has been in school within the past 3 decades. unfortunately those people rarely get to decide what changes should be made. also those people are the ones that get ignored when they find more problems with the "solutions" offered to the original problems.

reply to post by Doomsday 2029


I agree 100%.

The public school system seems so determined to create a generic human being with no real skills other than memorizing a few useless facts. I recall learning the same things over and over again. Nearly every years History class went over the Pilgrims, New World, Revolutionary War and Civil War and every Health class was Diseases, STDs and Body systems (circulatory, nervous).

I really think the last 3 years of schooling, like you said, should be spent working on a skill the kid is shown to be strong in/ have strong interest in. We need to have skilled citizens not just generic cookie cutter kids.

reply to post by Titen-Sxull


I can attest to this. I received rather good grades whilst I was in school. I have a gifted memory and was able to just parrot back what I was told. Remember the week's buzzwords till the test was over, and then moving on. I found it rather tedious and spent most of my time reading books.

I had one teacher in school that actually taught me. She was a brilliant Lady and I shall never forget her. But alas, only one...

We have to return to teaching thinking skills above the standard test subjects. I think a well rounded grade school is good for numerous subjects. This should be followed up with finishing school's and specialties schools depending on the child's interests and strengths.

reply to post by Doomsday 2029


The problem I think is not the mentor, the problem is the kids.

Or rather the problem is the mentor making laws that give the kid the power over his education.

Kids in America have laws that protect their childish lack of will toward learning. This has lead to perfectly good teachers being unable to teach.

If you put a little girl who spent half her life in china working in a sweatshop in an American school she would most definitely end up with a full scholarship to MIT. I would bet money on it.

Yet a home grown girl raised in sunny San Diego form a upper middle class family will end up smoking pot and calling Love Line asking doctor Fill (or what ever his mane is) If anal sex is bad for her by the time she gets into high school.

Why is there a big difference between the two? Is this the teachers fault? the parents fault?

Or is it the spoiled brats fault?

If you want to improve education in America start putting a little of the burden on the kids. Their future depends on it.

[edit on 13-11-2009 by Izarith]

I agree that some specisalisation is important in high school, but the lowest age children should specialize is 15 years of age (9th - 10th grade?), I dont think they or their parents can make an informed decision earlier.

My suggestion to improve US educational system is simple: make it more demanding. It is known worldwide as quite easy and altough I dont have first-hand experience, my friend studied there (12th grade) for one year and found it primitive.

Exception to this are american unversities, which are really good, I think.

The problem with "No Child Left Behind" is that no child moves ahead.

Years ago in the 1970's, I was administered an IQ after much arm twisting by the elementary school, the PTO and friends of the family. Finally Mom and Dad relented. The initial result was Mentally Retarded. That is until the administrator found out that I really had not had any exposure to multiplication and division due to two years of combination classes (2nd-3rd grade and 3rd-4th grade) and being in the upper grade both years.

After that, the score was incalculable because I was able to struggle through multiplication based on the admin's weak definition. His exact words was that the test results were well within the genius level, possibly above 200, however the results of the test were not to be revealed to me until graduation from high school for fear that I would use that information to manipulate other students and probably teachers as well.

The results were shared with the rest of the teachers. I even had one teacher specifically tell me that I was not as smart as I thought I was while receiving a standard punishment of breaking one rules at recess.

For a child, it is important that the illusion is kept that the teachers are the smartest people in the world. The reality is, that very few teachers are above average intelligence. Once a child learns the truth, maturity level prevents the child from accepting the teacher as an authority.

But the real problem with the educational system is that it is a business. Lesson plans rarely exceed the information required to pass standardized tests that really only evaluate the performance of the school to mould the information to the children. Real education does not begin until undergraduate work in college. The level and style of that education depends largely on the school. And true exploration does not begin until graduate level work.

Sure, education could and should be reformed. Hit the basics of the 3 R's K-3. 4-8 could be all what is taught currently in high school. High schools would specialize in specifics much like undergraduate studies. And reserve colleges and universities for in depth study in fields that require them. But that would require major reform in how teachers are selected and evaluated and a huge change in public perception of education.