Samson
Póg Mo Thóin
I like your idea but you know as well as I that the primary purpose of schools is no longer to educate. Its about free meals and keeping kids off the streets. I agree 100 percent that for kids who are not college bound, the curriculum is completely useless. But logic has no place in public education. Next year our school is going with all college prep classes. No more special ed or general tracks. Kids who can't tell time will be put in trig and physics classes. Kids who can barely read or write English will be required to take two years of a foreign language. And in 4-5 years, and millions for new programs, they'll say "oops"
Yes this is why I refer to "the insanity."
Public school see their mission more and more as college prep-schools. The theory is that the more they shove college-prep down the throats of an ever growing number of kids, then a certain proportion will actually succeed. Typical Beaurocracy, one-size-fits-all mentality.
Eventually, what will happen is the kids that are REALLY ready for college will begin graduating early, or taking college courses concurrently with their "sentences" to public school.
What pisses me off is that the trades are no longer taught at high schools. What use is college if you're gifted at the trades ? A carpenter can make more than most college graduates and many other trades are the same. I know when I went to high school, they had a plumbing trade class that had the student take his requirements, math, reading etc, and the other half of the day he was taught plumbing. I know many people who rose from poverty to the middle class because of those classes. Now they don't exist.
Yes this is my point precisely: In addition to being a "melting pot" for a democracy made of such a wide variety of social/ethnic/racial/religious origins, vocational studies are really the true mission of the American school systems. The notion of public college preparation has always been ridiculous, and always will be.
But, how does a politician gain office telling parents the truth about the fruit of their loins? No, our system rewards the liar: Tell parents that "EVERY CHILD CAN SUCCEED" = EVERY CHILD CAN GO TO COLLEGE. They will believe it because they WANT to believe it, regardless of how little sense it may make.