Scary failures in education system!?

Question

Isn't it scary how inadequate education seems to be for the youth today? The youth are posting question on Yahoo! that are spelled so poorly and so poorly formulated, especially minority youths, that I am very concerned about their futures, their abilities to have good careers and to have happy lives. Basic spelling and grammar and literacy are lacking and I'm not talking about the regular IMing shortcuts that the youth are doing to communicate.

Have you noticed these failures in basic education and what are your thoughts and concerns about this scary lack of basic skills!

Answer 1

Hi...

I agree with you 100 %. I am a preschool teacher. I think the role and job of a teacher has changed over the last past 10 years. We are no longer a teacher..but sometimes a parent..it seems. We are no longer teaching..but it seems we are discipling more..or sometimes the lack of...What do we do in the classroom..these days? I seem to take care of sick children (because parents must go to work....) I feel like a nurse more then a teacher...I also feel like the disciplinarian as well. We are no longer able to give "time outs" but rather conflict resolution. I think it works..but it also takes at least 10 mintues per child.

I often wonder about our system....what use to be taught in first grade is now being taught in kindergarten...and what was in kindergarten is now in preschool. When can kids be kids? Is it really necessary to have a lot of assessment tests/screenings in preschool...Why can't we focus more on social and self help skills instead of pre reading skills. I think a lot of the basics are being skipped..because we are told that they are unimportant...but I think those are the foundations of learning...If a child knows how to take care of themselves and the classroom materials..don't you think that they will do their homework and have good self esteem and learning values...Once they start to love learning..I feel it can be addictive...

Ok..I am rattling on...

I am not fond of the new writing system...write what it sounds like. Don't re-event the wheel...the nuns had us memorize words and their spelling..write the ones we got wrong 10x and then take a re-test..it seemed to work. Consequences was to copy the dictionary..lol...consequences were about learning..

I think that there is so much for the kids to learn with testing...that language/grammar falls through the cracks. Pretty Sad! I can almost see the new president of the USA...not knowing the correct spelling..and not knowing how to look up a word in the dictionary...

Wonderful thought proviking question...I wish there were more on here like that....

If I could I would give your question 10 stars..but here is 1!

Answer 2

I wonder if adults would have been saying the same thing 20 years ago if forums like Answers were around then.

I recently brought some students to be tested for learning disabilities because their spelling was soooo sooooo poor. I was told that they basically won't qualify for any services if their spelling isn't interfering with their reading ability. With things like spell and grammar check, there is a far less importance on it being correct the first time around. So there ya have it- it's not considered an important skill to have anymore.

As for the inadequacies of public education...they fall on everyone, not just teachers. If you knew the types of parents and home lives some of our students have, you'd be surprised that they function as well as they do. Stupidity is a cultural phenomenon that keeps getting worse and worse because everyone accepts everyone "as they are." There are no more high expectations- only excuses for why the lowered expectations aren't being met.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, I have noticed the posting of questions on Yahoo Answers board and many others. I think that the reason they fail to write well is because too much emphasis is being placed on just teaching the subjects for the state standards of learning tests. For example, the teachers in the state of Virginia spend an enormous amount of time covering the types of questoins on the SOL tests. That leaves very little time for real teaching on writing, grammar, spelling etc. It is scarey, in fact, I have taken upon myself to teach my own children how to spell, read, write, math, history etc.

Plus there is another problem affecting the ability to teach in our classrooms. The pure fact that too many non-english speaking children are entering our classrooms and they are not learning at the same level as the english speaking children. For example, in my daughters First grade class, 90% of the students are hispanic and are very under educated. They don't know the alphabet, colors, shapes, days of the week..... Now the teacher has to slow down or spend extra time teaching those kids while the others who know all of the information are sitting their bored to death. I think that the school system here should create special schools for the non-english speaking students and teach them at a lower level so they might be able to catch up some day. That would enable all of the other students who are learning at or above the grade level to continue at their rate and progress and a better pace.

Answer 4

I come from Ireland and I think the American educational system is shockingly bad. I see the kinds of things 9 and 10 year olds are studying in this country. I was doing much more advanced and rigorous work at that age.

I see several problems:
- Multiple Choice and True/False Tests - these test memorization skills, rather than knowledge and understanding
- Lack of Rigorous National Testing - most countries have rigorous national exams that kids have to take to graduate. These exams test multiple subjects, not just math and English, which is commonly done in America. Too many American kids learn enough to just pass a class and then they simply forget what they have learned. A rigorous exam gives kids something to work towards and forces them to really understand and retain what they have learned.
- Less Classroom Time - American kids spend approximately one month less in school each year than their counterparts in Western Europe.
- Fear of Putting Pressure on Children - I started school at 4. I had to learn to read and write in both English and Irish. And I started learning basic math concepts. Too many people in America see education as a childhood destroying experience. Real learning is put off as long as possible. As a result of this kind of thinking, kids in this country start to read and write much later than their peers in other nations. Americans never really catch up. 12th graders in America study the kinds of things that 15 to 16 years old study in Ireland.

Even though I started real academic work at the age of 4, I really enjoyed school for the first few years. I learned a lot without any pressure or standardized testing. I think testing little kids will do far more harm than good. But teaching them to read and write and do basic math when they still have that natural little kid curiousity and desire to learn makes sense. It won't damage them or destroy their childhoods.

I think the answer is a rigorous national curriculum, classroom tests that actually test knowledge and understanding, and a rigorous national exam. Kids should really start learning to read and write at 4. A few weeks more in the classroom each year would help too.

Answer 5

When I began my teaching career in 1965, parents were concerned about their child's school progress. If their child's grades were not average, or above, the parents would be asking why. Teachers and parents communicated; problems were addressed, solutions were presented. Methods of achieving a child's success were developed.

Today, parents accuse the schools; administrators, teachers, secretaries, security guards, cafeteria cooks, anyone they can, of conspiring against their "sweet little child".

Until parents "step up" and acknowledge that their child is "not beyond reproach", public education in America will continue to deteriorate.

Thanks to Laura Bush and her bedroom plea to George to push the "No Child Left Behind Act", the public school system has been inundated with a myriad of testing from pre-kindergarten through highschool: Testing that has nothing to do with actual learning, only pre-taught facts that teachers know are on the tests! Teachers are "teaching to the test". Creativity is not allowed.

Answer 6

As America becomes an increasingly materialistic self-absorbed society, that society enjoys targeting its savior--the public school system.

Since everyone has been a student in a school system, then everyone believes they know all about the school systems.

Since every student in America's public school system has had as many as 30-50 teachers in front of them, then every educated American feels they know all about teaching.

Certainly, then the school system stinks!

So when were the glory days of American education:


1. 1840-1920s Eighth grade education at best for most Americans. Many still one room schoolhouses with the teacher having completed high school, teaching grades k-8 with a handful of textbooks used year after after. Teachers spanked kids in front of others, then kids got spanked at home for misbehavior.

2. 1920-1950s High school education at best for most Americans. The immense drop out rate wasn't a concern because kids got factory/construction jobs that paid well enough. Many teachers are certified after taking 3-4 additional college classes--just case you need something to fall back on. Principals spanked kids, then kids got spanked at home.

3. 1960-Present Society will tell you that you can't get a good job without a college education, which most can't afford. The drop out rate remains the same; yet, politicans refuse to change the school year that is still based the planting and harvesting of farm crops. Parents sue schools for giving kids homework--thus kids can't spell. Spanking, or any discipline, does not happen at school--parents will sue--or at home--parents too busy.

Society doesn't want to fund education--build schools, buy textbooks, and pay teachers a decent salary; but society complains that we have too many prisions and Johnny can't spell.

I think the poor spellers are the least of our problems.

Good Luck....

Answer 7

Of course, in comparison to other nations, the American educational system seems outdated and backward.

However, you must also take into consideration that many of my peers and fellow "teenagers" use internet lingo when writing anything on line so that "standard" English becomes:
yo i g2g eat with fam brb in few

This does not indicate a lack of intelligence or even a lack of command of the English language. Rather, it is a convenient, "cool" and efficient way of speaking online. I highly doubt these teens SPEAK like they write in chat forums and such.

Answer 8

Sadly, most teachers care less about the basics in mathematics, language arts, history, and science than they care about socialism, political correctness, the pro-gay agenda, and a globalist, anti-American propaganda indoctrination. It is not the fault of the youth. Many parents look at school as a big babysitter, and never get involved in their child's education. If they did, the schools would have to start teaching the important things again.