Are we going easier on our kids?

Question

I see these Asian/European kids already have advantage in math, science and other subjects because they have learnt the stuff back home. It seems really unfair for our kids? any suggestion?

Speaking from my own experience. Should our government modify the school system to match other countries?

Answer 1

Before we change the schools - how about parents expecting good performance from their kids? Not bribe, not whine about the teaching, no rewards, just the kids should work hard and do well just as they breathe and eat. Asian/European kids get a lot more pressure at home to learn than ours do.

Answer 2

My son graduated high school this past May and entered college (GO GATORS!) as a sophmore. That is a helluva lot of college credit earned in a public magnet high school in the inner city.
My 95 pound daughter is a high school freshman taking
Algebra 2 Honors (same inner city magnet). Next year she will take 2 college level courses as a sophmore.
Aside from my bragging, my real point is that they are taking advantage of NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND.
Governor Jeb Bush did a wonderful job of changing education as we knew it. China, Japan, India? These kids are ready!

Answer 3

What is different about Asian/European kids is the parents of the kids there don't have to work two jobs to support them. Parents in America don't have the time, energy or the will to work with their children when academics are concerned.

People in America blame teachers...where the blame should fall is on the society that makes it impossible for a family of four to be able to afford a house and reliable transportation without both parents working...what's with that? The parents in America aren't spending enough time with their kids academically...Sure we have soccer moms and sports moms of all kinds but our kids are getting the backing they need academically from their homes.

Believe me...they children in Europe and Asia are getting taught the three R's at home as well as in school. I know in Japan, parents are required by law to donated so many hours a week to their children's schools. If parents here were as involved with their children's education as the parents overseas are, we would see a drastic change in student behavior and academic skills of our students.

The other thing that is true in Europe and Asia, is that education isn't automatically free...grades have to be earned in order to qualify for higher education. Children in other countries are only required to go to 6th or 8th grade...high school has to be earned with academic success. Kids can go to work earlier in other countries. I think it would be good if kids could be emancipated at puberty...if you don't make the grade, you don't have to go to school after 12 or 13...go get a job, support yourself.

The child labor laws are a lot less rigid overseas than here and kids have a big sense of responsibility. If you don't want to get a job at 13, you'd better start studying as hard as you can...no such thing as a free ride.

Free, required education after 13 with no parental support? It really isn't working well is it? We're falling behind in academics and the more we insist on education, the less educated we become as a nation.

Should we modify our school system...YES. But I would go a step further and say we should modify our society.

Answer 4

Nope, they should modify it to where the children learn now, as much as the kids that went to school in the 1800-1900's did.....

And quit dumbing down the future generations.

Answer 5

***And to the person who posted earlier, there HAS been evidence showing that there is an extreme lack of interest in math/science, and therefore, kids are not retaining it as well. Research has ALSO shown that the information you retain the most is that which you are most interested in. Why do you think we all know so much about Hollywood!? lol...***


The American education system is in dire need of modification!! I think one of the big reasons it is suffering so much is because we keep taking money away from it. Statewide AND nationally. Bush was nice enough to give us college students higher interest rates on our student loans, while eliminating a government loan (I think the Perkins) altogether. In my state, over $5 billion was cut from higher education alone....that doesn't even include K-12. If the money is not there, we will not be able to provide our students with proper technology, books, a good teaching staff, etc... We are digging ourselves into a bigger hole by demanding more tax returns. Look at Sweden...(I am pretty sure it was this country)....they give like 80% of their income to the government, and their country is flourishing! Their healthcare is affordable...their college is affordable.

As for the lack of learning in math and science, I don't necessarily think that is due to our education system. What more could they really do to promote it? I just think the interest isn't there like it used to be. America is an extremely creative country. A lot of people like to have jobs where they can utilize their creativity and ideas, such as being a music agent, a wedding planner, an advertising exec, and so on. Two of my cousins majored in accounting, and they both hate it now because it is boring and repetitive.

Some states, like the one I live in, are going to start paying for the first 2 years of college if the student chooses a math or science career. While I think that is kind of unfair in some aspects (some of us are bad at math or science), I think it will pull a lot of the overflow in 'arts' careers and place them back into the more scientific careers.

As for math/science in K-12, I think:

a) our school years should be a year long. There is no reason for children to have a 3 month break. They forget what they learned and it messes up the parent's schedule because now, they have kids at home 24/7 for 3 months straight w/o a babysitter.

b) We need to stress QUALITY over QUANTITY. What I think is happening is that teachers are so paranoid about making sure they are teaching everything they are supposed to, that they are skimming over subjects. They will discuss it, test it, and then move on. Which leads me to my next comment...

c) TESTING! Americans are obsessed with every kind of testing there is, because we falsely believe that if a child answers a question correctly, that means they know it. FALSE!! Multiple choice gives a child a 25% chance if they don't know it...True/False gives them a 50% chance. The only TRUE way to test if someone has retained information is to talk with them about it face to face (ex. "So, Bobby, what do you think about the Black Civil Rights movement? Do you agree more with Martin Luther King's peaceful way to gain rights, or Malcolm X's more direct...and why do you think that?") or to have them express their thoughts on the issue in a paper or essay. I guess I am thinking more in English/Social Studies/etc... kind of terms, but even with math and science, testing is WAY overdone. At least if you talk to someone one on one, you can tell if they know what they are talking about. If you ask about the oceans of the world, and they start talking about the Sahara Desert, you know that they are on the wrong track. And if this happens, then the teacher can REDIRECT the student!!! Instead of saying, nope you're wrong...you fail, we need to say "Let me help you." We are so quick to cast children as "bad" students if they don't do well for testing. But in all actuality, there are SOOO many reasons why a student cannot retain information. Part of it can be biological (bad transfer of information from short to long-term memory), performance issues (the student may freeze up during testing and develop anxiety), problems with health or at home may prevent the student from being able to concentrate, etc... I am 100% for the abolishment of paper/pencil testing and the creation of new forms of it.

If only the government would listen to us meek, little citizens...

Answer 6

yeah, i think so. and i think these things should be taught at home in addition to at school. we can't rely on the public school system to teach our kids to read and write.

Answer 7

We do not teach our kids discipline or work ethic. We worry too much about feelings.

Time to use private school vouchers. The government schools are a failure.