An Idea for Improved Public Education

[Ariux]

I don't believe that there is a thing in the world that anyone can do to keep a child from learning, especially a bright student. That cream will rise to the top one way or another.

Putting a bright kid in a class of slow learners will retard his learning.

The opposite is true, in my opinion, for the poor learners. Some just don't have the smarts to succeed at any level beyond 5th grade. Some do not even try to do the work and are disruptive and take up space and tax dollars. Yet we insist on keeping them in an academic environment until age 18?

In that regard, drop-outs are smarter than the people who want to keep them in school

Why does an auto mechanic or plumber need to take two years of algebra?

Until recently, only one course in math was required for a high school diploma (and that didn't have to be algebra). In recent times, we've been trying to compensate for lack of quality with quantity.

2. government: will piss and moan because there are not enough of this demographic or that demograhic in the college prep course, so standards will have to be lowered.

Government is the big problem with public schools. Government schools focus on social engineering and indoctrination, and they put education second. An example of social engineering is pushing everyone to college. Or, your example, being more worried about demographics than fairness to individuals.

What is a good teacher anyway? Who decides this?

I'm against merit pay. It's a solution to something that's not really a problem, and it can create problems of its own. What's a good teacher? What about a principal who directs disruptive students to a particular teacher, hurting her merit pay - either out of maliciousness or because he thinks she can help them the most?

 

[Ariux]

Most of the better teachers I work with came from other fields with degrees in something other than education. One of our math teachers was an actual rocket scientist for the Navy Department.

Yet, I expect every math teacher you had was reasonable competent in math. The only thing the rocket-science teacher added was tangental trivia from the field.

 

[Unkotare]

Putting a bright kid in a class of slow learners will retard his learning.

That's why bright kids always hated you.

 

[Unkotare]

Until recently, only one course in math was required for a high school diploma (and that didn't have to be algebra).

In what trailer park?

 

[Rinashan12]

My school was unable to provide us advanced students with calculus courses due to the fact that they spent so much time and money preparing the other students for the standardized testsmagine what the school could do with the millions being allocated to sex education.

 

[Unkotare]

My school was unable to provide us advanced students with calculus courses due to the fact that they spent so much time and money preparing the other students for the standardized testsmagine what the school could do with the millions being allocated to sex education.

Um, they could have taught you English?

 

[blimpo]

Kids who fall behind become Democrats.

Those that have rich parents and problems with cocaine become Republicans (or pain pills like Rusky).

There, now there is a comment on here as stupid as yours.