Is producing semiliterate individuals the main goal of the American educational system?

Question

MOST IMPORTANTLY: WHAT CAN BE DONE IN ORDER TO ERADICATE THIS PHENOMENON?

If you read the questions or the answers posted by the American teenagers (and not only by them), you'll notice that almost none of them knows the difference between "their", "they're", "there" or between "you're" and "your", or between "it's" and "its", or... I could keep going like that, but I am sure that you have already noticed as many "language atrocities" as I have.

For Carolyn: the way you wrote your answer (without a comma between the first word and the rest of your complex sentence) almost makes it the opposite of what you were trying to say. And, if the goal af the educational system is what you say, then I pity the students in the schools in the USA. They are treated like dogs who are trained to do some tricks. Passing a standardized exam is one of the tricks, I guess.

I agree with the ones who say that it is the teachers who don't do their job. Yes, indeed, but who hired them, I wonder?

Answer 1

I think semi literate would be an improvement for most.
And yes, the misuse of the words you show, make me flinch every time I see them, which unfortunately is regularly. So I flinch a lot. ;-)
And to your main question, I think it is mainly about the teachers paycheck. Too many of them got into teaching by default, since after getting their liberal arts degree they found that this was the only job they could qualify for.
As a student I found out myself, what a difference a good teacher could make. I was failing math with a lousy teacher. The next year we got a teacher worthy of the name, and I ended up at the head of the class. I have loved math ever since.
Now when I hear or read of some student hating a subject and doing lousily at it, my first thought always is, I wonder how incompetent the teacher is.
The same was true with English (in Salzburg, Austria) in which I was failing. Once I came to the American continent I taught myself English out of comic books. Took about 1,200 before I could read any book.

Answer 2

Math and English should be the two most important subjects taught in a school, but kids are being taught so many useless things too. I can remember going to a French class when I was in high school. Why on earth is that a subject any high school student should be able to learn about? This is America. It's hard enough to learn English. It's not necessary for students to learn French too. How much time do high school students spend learning English? I hope they are spending more than one hour learning about the English language every day. How do you solve this problem? You spend more time teaching students how to read and write. That's how you solve the problem. Obviously, teachers have not been doing that. The problem is caused by students too. Anyone that doesn't enjoy reading will usually have a difficult time mastering the English language.

Answer 3

No the main goal of education now is for the student to be able to pass a series of standardized tests that are supposed to indicate whether or not they are at grade level.

Answer 4

Eradicate unrestricted capitalism. The fact is that the ruling class of this nation only wants people to buy things and be just smart enough to perform their menial tasks for them. An educated public is dangerous to mindless consumerism (who with a brain would pay hundreds of dollars for a pair of sneakers?) and their hold on power (Paris Hilton is allowed to breath in defiance of all basic human decency).

Most people have been trained to believe what they are told. Say something enough times and they assume it to be so.

Answer 5

huh??? in case you neglected the memo, that's u . s . a .. very last time I checked, the Conservatives had no longer been "granted" administration of all faculties contained in the rustic. Neither have the "liberals'.

Answer 6

I've noticed all the bad grammar. Just because children go to school doesn't mean they are going to learn. It can't be blamed on the education system itself. The responsibility lies within them, just as much as it does their parent(s).

Answer 7

Some of the words you point out are commonly misspelled or misused words. If they're commonly misspelled or misused, it must be an epidemic. I do see your point.