If you are disappointed in public education in the U.S., how do you suggest it be improved?

Question

I know many people are really disappointed with public education these days, depending on their location. We would certainly love to see it improve drastically. What is the root of the problem? How could it be realistically transformed to better meet needs and expectations for the future of our nation?

I think I would lean toward pinpointing the problem on the decline of morality and parenting skills in our nation, resulting in the decline of standards, values, and quality in the classroom. Then, the onset of state-mandated testing further complicated matters. Agree? Disagree? Other insight? Suggestions?

Ideally, should a teacher really be responsible for having to discipline his/her students? Once in a while, I understand, but it shouldn't have to be 50% of the job, right?

Answer 1

Several suggestions.

1. Get rid of the "one size fits all" classroom! Face it, some kids are smarter, some are more motivated. Some are better at mechanics, some are better at math. That is reality, deal with it.

Develop levels of secondary school to prepare kids for different careers -- university, vocational, etc.

2. Quit making the school a baby sitter. Put the responsibility on the parents where it belongs! There should be consequences for truancy, bad behavior, etc.

3. Go to trimesters with more holidays in between (and teacher in-services) and a shorter summer vacation.

Answer 2

while I agree that a lot of the issue does have to do with parenting, I don't know what you mean about morals (I think I do, but then again, I would only be assuming). I believe that parents need to have respect for our teachers being the "teacher" in our child's life to help them through the spots where parents cannot teach, but I also believe the same for teachers.

I think (in some areas, at least), teachers need to be more properly suited for their area of study and selected on a more careful note by administration. Not all teachers are suited to teach in all schools or in all areas of study. I also think, the teachers need better resources as provided by the community, the administration and the local governments. I believe that nationally mandated tests etc are set up to pigeon hole students and give them the direction that they (the government) would like them to go in. I believe that our expectations should be higher of children, but we need to respect our children as such, children, and stop putting the pressure on them to be beuatiful by 13, billionaires by 20, and retired by 40. Resumes should take a lifetime to build, not a teen's lifetime.

We need to teach our children to be forgiving and accepting while still demanding the best from one another and giving their best to one another.

I think that teachers are tired of policing their students, but at the same time, the teachers need to realize that you/they are the "police" in the lives of these children and what you do and or say can hold true to them for a lifetime. What you teach them is equally as, if not at times moreso, important as what a parent teaches.

Many people are so disappointed, but we still allow tests to hold back certain students, while others leave high school without basic skills to get them by. We need to realize that not each student is the same, and cannot be taught by the same methods and that no student should be singled out as slow or dumb (or worse) as being a child is hard enough. I think there might be ways to instruct teachers to teach different types of children within the same classroom, without pointing them out as a troubled child...

Most of all, teachers and parents need to work together for the benefit of the children. Neither is an 8 hour a day job....

Answer 3

Literacy right from the start (pre-K) should receive most emphasis.

Nothing else matters if kids read poorly.

A child's interested attitude toward reading should be protected so that he continues to want to read for fun at home even after age 9.

In other words, during the pre-K, K and 1st grade years, the emphasis is on teaching each child to read and there should be a couple of teachers in the classroom in the pre-K, K and 1st grades to assure that every student gets 1 on 1 time to facilitate learning to read. The kids having difficulty could be identified in Kindergarten and action taken to correct his problem.

Reading should be advertised as the FUN activity that it is. It is of course educational, too, but kids should be flooded with statements about how much fun reading is (and it is too).

Answer 4

i definetly agree. the real issue lies with the parents. now, thats not to say that they are not teachers out there that are bad, but i have seen some damn good teachers and some really awful parents.

it is the parents responsibility to discipline the child, take care of the child's well being, and above all set a moral example for that child. why teachers get blamed for the way a child acts, i will never understand. parent's need to wake up and stop being so selfish and learn to be a parent and not shirk the full responsibility of teaching a child on the educator.

Answer 5

Inflexibility is a huge problem, IMO. Teachers have to teach in certain ways and they can't teach in creative, interesting ways. Creative teachers are bound by tests they have to teach to. I'm not exactly sure how to deal with the fact that there have to be standards of learning, but I do think that teaching to the tests has made teaching a lot less creative and less interesting for the kids and the teachers alike.

Also, teachers should have training in how to speak to young people as if they are as valuable as the teacher is and in how to maintain order without just being plain old mean. I have kids in public school and too often I see teachers talking to students with such disrespect. Kids learn from examples set by their teachers and parents, so if we talk to them that way we shouldn't be surprised if they talk that way back to us.

Last but not least learning should be taught in appied techniques... IOW, kids should be provided with ways to USE the academic skills they are learning so that they understand why math (for example) is important.

Answer 6

You should complain to the principal if this is personally happening to you, but you could also meet with some of the other parents of the school that feel the same way and come up with ideas with them, then discuss with your lawyer or school district councilman.

Answer 7

I agree with your statements. Public education should not replace parenting although good citizenship could be taught. We should allow for school vouchers and stop dumping money into schools hoping to replace parents.

Answer 8

more teachers and less students in a class so you can get more one on one time with the students and less testing state testing kills these kids i mean with regents and madated finals and midterms its awful they are so stressed out and the entire curriculum is preparing for these awful tests

Answer 9

Tougher standards
No social promotions
Better pay for teachers and better qualifications
Stronger disciplinary methods

Answer 10

get rid of the federal department of education as it is an illegal department and return the education to the states and local school boards