Egad this is tiring. So in the interest of not wasting time on those who live in America but seem to think in outer space, please allow me to re-post the following replies and link to original debates. PS I know many many teachers and it sure ain't their problem, and this goes for private schools too where the American kids are just as spacey as their parents.
Post #12
http://www.usmessageboard.com/education-and-history/108215-education-then-and-now.html
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When you make a joke on a noble profession expect an answer.
You miss the point with your constant attempts to pin the blame on others. Sorry reality is so tough for you, but face it this is America when home schooling and Christian schools are praised for reasons that contradict the very purpose of education.
Again this is America, when was the last time you saw any ad or information on TV praising education or the people who work hard at it? When was the last time you saw teachers referred to as professionals. See ? below. Occasionally there are stories on individual people who make a difference but this is bigger than them. Jonathan Kozol is superb.
I have never watched 'Glee' but it appears to me to be about extracurricular activities and not about school. Am I wrong? This is where our values come from or are displayed.
One of our sons taught math in HS and quickly gave it up as most of the children had no interest in the subject and were plainly obnoxious. Math means nothing to a person who can hit a three point shot. Only the advanced classes were a pleasure.
Maybe we need to teach golf, basketball, football, soccer, baseball, and for the 99.5% who won't make a living on any of the above, ditch digging and litter pick ups techniques for the great majority. Oh and whining too, Americans do that well.
The Finland information above demonstrates the whys. Do you think the Fins want to shoot basketballs or kick soccer balls after school or do they study.
In America, vacation and sports activities come before education, ask any teacher. And oddly we are a fat nation, maybe we need to add eating to the curriculum. TV watching would be a biggie too. We can all watch Fox and be sacred and fat and dumb too. Glenn Beck could turn anyone into a retard.
Every American knows a dummy who got rich, why even Gates dropped out of school. These memes, these values are written in our constitution of life. Listen sometime. 'My uncle has a cash store and he makes lots of money, so dats wat I wanna do.'
One teacher asked me to ask the audience here, when was the last time they asked for an 'appointment' with a teacher for a conference concerning their little Joanie (for whatever) or did not just expect the teacher - the professional - to hear their poop on why little Joanie didn't give a fluck about her education or didn't have her homework cause she was too tired. Usually the parents blame the teacher cause little Joanie's grades are sad. Egad, doesn't that sound familiar!
PS I taught too after school more on that maybe later.
A Nation of Morons - TurnOffYourTV.com
Amazon.com: Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling (9780865714489): John Taylor Gatto, Thomas Moore: Books
Dumbest Generation Home
Amazon.com: High-Tech Heretic: Reflections of a Computer Contrarian (9780385489768): Clifford Stoll: Books
Are children getting dumber? Prospect Magazine
Amazon.com: The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30) (9781585426393): Mark Bauerlein: Books
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Refute what? Surveys that find what they are looking for are hardly proof of anything. It isn't personal as I know lots of teachers and all would say the same thing. You assume you know something you don't. It doesn't follow that government is the cause of all things bad and ugly.
Since we discussed this before often, I raised this question with numerous teachers. So for the sake of clarity -
America does not honor, praise, acknowledge, or care about education across a wide spectrum. Find out why that is then get back to us. And while you are at it, figure out why science such as global warming and evolution are still controversial in a presumably intelligent nation.
Asian children do well in the same schools you belittle, so do bright or motivated students. Again why. Maybe because most Americas worship money, sports, image, etc in that order, education comes somewhere down the line possibly just ahead of religion. The youtube above says it pretty clearly.
Re: Finland "Not surprisingly, in a land where literacy and numeracy are considered virtues, teachers are revered. Teenagers ranked teaching at the top of their list of favorite professions in a recent survey. Far more graduates of upper schools in Finland apply for admission to teacher-training institutes than are accepted. The overwhelming majority of those who eventually enter the classroom as a teacher make it a lifelong career, even though they are paid no more than their counterparts in other European countries." Lessons From Finland: The Way to Education Excellence | CommonDreams.org
"At the heart of Finland's stellar reputation is a philosophy completely alien to America. The country of 5.3 million in an area twice the size of Missouri considers education an end in itself - not a means to an end. It's a deeply rooted value that is reflected in the Ministry of Education and in all 432 municipalities. In sharp contrast, Americans view education as a stepping stone to better-paying jobs or to impress others. The distinction explains why we are obsessed with marquee names, and how we structure, operate and fund schools."
http://www.usmessageboard.com/educa...liberals-in-the-classroom-11.html#post1749647
Repost: From 'Notebook, A Quibble,' By Mark Slouka
"I was raised to be ashamed of my ignorance, and to try to do something about it if at all possible. I carry that burden to this day, and have successfully passed it on to my children. I don’t believe I have the right to an opinion about something I know nothing about—constitutional law, for example, or sailing—a notion that puts me sadly out of step with a growing majority of my countrymen, many of whom may be unable to tell you anything at all about Islam, say, or socialism, or climate change, except that they hate it, are against it, don’t believe in it. Worse still (or more amusing, depending on the day) are those who can tell you, and then offer up a stew of New Age blather, right-wing rant, and bloggers’ speculation that’s so divorced from actual, demonstrable fact, that’s so not true, as the kids would say, that the mind goes numb with wonder. “Way I see it is,” a man in the Tulsa Motel 6 swimming pool told me last summer, “if English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it’s good enough for us.”
Quite possibly, this belief in our own opinion, regardless of the facts, may be what separates us from the nations of the world, what makes us unique in GodÂ’s eyes. The average German or Czech, though possibly no less ignorant than his American counterpart, will probably consider the possibility that someone who has spent his life studying something may have an opinion worth considering. Not the American. Although perfectly willing to recognize expertise in basketball, for example, or refrigerator repair, when it comes to the realm of ideas, all folks (and their opinions) are suddenly equal. Thus evolution is a damned lie, global warming a liberal hoax, and Republicans care about people like you."
Article appeared in Notesbook. Harper's Magazine
