Berry
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- Nov 19, 2006
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Part of the problem is that there is no "A" problem.
An underlying problem is that we are an egalitarian society with a school system based on a time when "The masters were educated and the lower classes were kept ignorant."
Instead of having a school system structured along the lines George Washington Carver set out we have a school system dedicated to the concept "Become educated so you can earn more money (note money, not education, equals superiority); become a leader (why not just say "Master" and be done with the charade), and leave the uneducated working class behind.
But there are some very obvious surface problems:There are a lot of problems and there are a lot of solutions.
One of the problems is keeping kids in school who do not want to be there simply because the school gets government money if they are in school and none if they are not. I was one of the kids who did not want to be there. I told a teacher, "I don't want to be here and you don't want me here. Let me go home and we will both be happy." She replied they needed the funding. So my response was, "Then you can earn your money and like it."
My wife tells a story about a kid whose only goal in life was to be a cat skinner like his dad. That is what he grew up to be. Made top money at it too. Why did they make him go through 4 years of high school when he could have been earning good money instead? Because the system didn't care about his life or his money. Only what the school could get in funding.
One really big problem is the school system (not necessarily all the teachers) have no concept of how to motivate children or adults. Their solution is to bully the children into learning what the school wants them to learn at the time the school wants them to learn it.
Souggy ran a video on what motivates people in the workplace. It also motivates kids in a learning environment. School boards should study video games on how to motivate kids instead of condemning them as "pointless pass times." They might learn something -- And it might also solve the problem of so many kids who only want one thing in life -- To escape school.
Another is the schools inability to handle any social problems at all. Whether it is bullying, inappropriate behavior, or lack of interest. They either attempt to bully the students into acting the way they are expected too or they punish everyone for the actions of a few.
An example of that took place here. Some deaf kids were in a school annex. When my daughter was young she went over and helped the teachers there and enjoyed it. A week ago when my grand daughter was asking me about sign language I suggested she go do the same and make friends with some of the deaf kids.
But she says that is no longer allowed because some hearing kids, under the guise of helping, bullied and made fun of the deaf kids.
Were the culprits punished?
They were given a verbal reprimand and the rule was made no hearing kids could go over there at all for any reason.
So who was really punished? As usual -- Not the guilty -- Everyone but.
Social responsibility should be just as much a requirement in school as knowledge of the material. Just because a bully can pass the test, or play sports, is no reason to pass them as having "a high school education." If they can't do their share of the work and help younger children who need assistance then they do not belong in the school system benefiting from it.
And speaking of sports -- Shouldn't the math whiz and the top science major get just as much acclaim and reward as the quarter back and the pitcher? If the school system wants the students to respect school subjects then maybe they should respect those who excel in them.
I could go on, but I think I hit the high points.
Sorry for the rant, but I really believe this country will stand or fall because of its educational system. And I'd really like to see it succeed.
An underlying problem is that we are an egalitarian society with a school system based on a time when "The masters were educated and the lower classes were kept ignorant."
Instead of having a school system structured along the lines George Washington Carver set out we have a school system dedicated to the concept "Become educated so you can earn more money (note money, not education, equals superiority); become a leader (why not just say "Master" and be done with the charade), and leave the uneducated working class behind.
But there are some very obvious surface problems:There are a lot of problems and there are a lot of solutions.
One of the problems is keeping kids in school who do not want to be there simply because the school gets government money if they are in school and none if they are not. I was one of the kids who did not want to be there. I told a teacher, "I don't want to be here and you don't want me here. Let me go home and we will both be happy." She replied they needed the funding. So my response was, "Then you can earn your money and like it."
My wife tells a story about a kid whose only goal in life was to be a cat skinner like his dad. That is what he grew up to be. Made top money at it too. Why did they make him go through 4 years of high school when he could have been earning good money instead? Because the system didn't care about his life or his money. Only what the school could get in funding.
One really big problem is the school system (not necessarily all the teachers) have no concept of how to motivate children or adults. Their solution is to bully the children into learning what the school wants them to learn at the time the school wants them to learn it.
Souggy ran a video on what motivates people in the workplace. It also motivates kids in a learning environment. School boards should study video games on how to motivate kids instead of condemning them as "pointless pass times." They might learn something -- And it might also solve the problem of so many kids who only want one thing in life -- To escape school.
Another is the schools inability to handle any social problems at all. Whether it is bullying, inappropriate behavior, or lack of interest. They either attempt to bully the students into acting the way they are expected too or they punish everyone for the actions of a few.
An example of that took place here. Some deaf kids were in a school annex. When my daughter was young she went over and helped the teachers there and enjoyed it. A week ago when my grand daughter was asking me about sign language I suggested she go do the same and make friends with some of the deaf kids.
But she says that is no longer allowed because some hearing kids, under the guise of helping, bullied and made fun of the deaf kids.
Were the culprits punished?
They were given a verbal reprimand and the rule was made no hearing kids could go over there at all for any reason.
So who was really punished? As usual -- Not the guilty -- Everyone but.
Social responsibility should be just as much a requirement in school as knowledge of the material. Just because a bully can pass the test, or play sports, is no reason to pass them as having "a high school education." If they can't do their share of the work and help younger children who need assistance then they do not belong in the school system benefiting from it.
And speaking of sports -- Shouldn't the math whiz and the top science major get just as much acclaim and reward as the quarter back and the pitcher? If the school system wants the students to respect school subjects then maybe they should respect those who excel in them.
I could go on, but I think I hit the high points.
Sorry for the rant, but I really believe this country will stand or fall because of its educational system. And I'd really like to see it succeed.
I am so glad that we have a black President of the United States of America and we should all be getting along just fine. Now I see it is not going to happen. It is a shame for the high school kids trying to get themselves in trouble by wrecking the cafeteria up or any other properties that belong to the school. 