What do you think is wrong with our education system?

Question

It's hard to go off statistics without hearing what the problems are, if any. Do you have children in school K-12? What is your experience with the education system? Please list the state you live and what you think they could do to improve, or why you think it's just fine.

Answer 1

California.
Problems: Low per-pupil funding (#48 out of 50 was the last I heard); lots of English Language Learners have trouble with the academic learning; lots of home problems interfere with gaining education (gangs, poverty, mental illness, substance abuse, poor role models in family, chaos in family life); poor transportation to school; no one at home to read to kids or talk English to kids; continuing institutionalized racism in the schools.

1) Increase per-pupil funding.
2) Have preschool education, maybe in homes of poular, loving neighborhood ladies who everyone likes! (no abuse), where the kids get bilingual exposure to English, get read to, get healthy snacks, get healthy physical play, & develop good pre-school habits, even from age 1-2, with their Moms. Pay for it with state money.
3) Have mandatory kindergarten.
4) Allow grade skipping for bright children & high achievers.
5) Offer lots of arts education...music, visual arts, singing, playing instruments, and P.E., for well rounded, healthy kids.
6) Offer lots of language in early grades..oral language, songs, plays, skits, for both cultural sharing & helping to read later on.
7) Have ungraded classrooms, where students of various ages blend freely, according to skill levels, without shame.
(Just like in community college, a 20-year-old and a 50-year-old can learn Pre-Algebra).
8) Welcome parents and grandparents in classrooms, to share experiences, read to kids, help with tutoring and assignments. Let them lead study halls, according to US discipline rules.

I have 3 kids who graduated from public school plus 1 got a GED.

Answer 2

I graduated from a high school in Maryland in 2005.

1. The standards are not only to low but the school system cant even agree on where to set them. When I started high school the passing grade was 60. When I graduated it was 70. Now, my brother has informed me that it may go back to 60 very soon.

2. Parents dont care and there is not much teachers can do to change that. In fact, I worked at a school on my last winter break and most of the time the parent would side with the child and "gang up" on the teacher.

3. Funding. Some states like Maryland do not fund all school's equally. I was lucky enough to attend a city school that has a very strong alumni network, that donates millions of dollars to the school every year, but the other city schools are in horrible condition. They dont have adaquate supplies and the inside of them are just depressing, as they have not been remodled in decades. Most of the schools are using 5 year old or older text books. They dont have updated computers. The school I worked at was still using widows 98.

4. The school system does not properly test students to determine their intelligence level. The fact is there are students who learn slower then others and students who learn faster then others. Putting all those kids in the same class, instead of in classes that can suit their learning needs causes major problems. Like you have little Billy sitting there trying to figure out what 2 times 2 is and he cant add or subtract. And then you have little Johnathan sitting there distracting everyone else because he already knows all his times tables and he is ready to move on to divison.

5. More and more teachers are begining to take the easy way out. And they are not making students try hard. I guess its because they have to be able to say they taught students certain things with in a certain time period.

6. The biggest problem of all- People just want to see a passing grade. Thats the students, teachers, parents, school administrators, and politicians. They dont really care if the student truely understands it or if they will even remember it next year. They just want the students to pass.

I wish I knew how to improve it but I dont. I guess the first step would be to find out what the problems are because based on some of the aswers you have recieved, some people dont even realize that the school system is screwed up.

Answer 3

I live in urban southeast Florida, and
our schools are below national averages on the whole.
But I think those analyses are not accurate.
Like, why should schools in ghetto areas and rough districts with lots of WILD kids blame primarily the teachers for the kids' failure to learn? Schools down here often see 50 or 60 students in a classroom built for 30. There are shortages of books, chairs, security, computers. things are vandalized, and Schools are trying to educate everybody, not just the sweet, polite smart kids with some sort of family support and a head start in reading from home. It's very hard to get a kid kicked out of a public school, not unitl some serious blood is shed. Quite simply, some segments of our society are so undisciplined, defiant, uncooperative, and violent, even as kids, AND the schools' and teachers' hands are tied as to what disciplinary measures we can take. In my district a prinicpal is rewarded for keeping the number of suspensions low. In whose interest is that?
Then since these schools' test scores are low, the state comes in with their "remediation", which means about 10 more tests per year, all kinds of data data data, forms, forms, forms, so teachers don't have time to teach, and creative teachers' creativity is stifled, because they now have to follow the state program and teach to the test.
Good teachers leave, and often have to be replaced by some kind of ogres that just barely squeaked by the teacher exam.
Also, it's not right to hold ESL students' scores against a schools "grade". However, many ESL students do better than some native speakers who've been here all their lives. My guess is that there's not a book in their homes and not a moment of silence to read.

Answer 4

Calif...the problem or the confusion I see in the education system here in my opinion is the number of ELS classes that take up a large portion of the districts budget, my son (he's 13) has been frustrated by the fact that the teacher hasn't the time to explain fully any questions that come up during a assignment. they have combined ESL into his English and civics class.my frustration is explaining the problem while attending a conference with the other parents since they don't understand English

Answer 5

NC- I'm a high school student, and personally, i've noticed way too many teachers concentrating on test scores instead of whether students actually learn in the classroom. Not to mention that the schools who need the most monetary help aren't recieving it because they fail to meet the teaching requirements,and that is caused by the lack of money-it's a catch-22.

Answer 6

There is nothing wrong with the public (or private for that matter) education system in my district. 100% of the high school seniors graduate and 99% go on to college. I guess the parents know the value of sacrifice by helping their kids with their studies instead of hanging out on the street or in bars at night.

Answer 7

Too much bureaucracy. We give the school systems a ton of money but very little filters down to the class room. Between that and the teachers' unions our education system is in a lot of trouble.

Answer 8

We need to quit trying to get young people to learn `everything about everything' in early grade school, and focus more on what each individuals talents are, while they still have that natural curiosity about life. There needs to be more `guidance' and evaluation, to help kids find a working plan for themselves going forward. Let's face it, most parents aren't successful enough to help their kids with this stuff. Look at any successful person. Why are they successful? Because they had a plan, and are really good at one thing, and they are doing what they love for a living. Kids are easily bored with stuff they don't care about, that is the main reason for poor performance in school.

Answer 9

people are more concerned with the building infrastructure and landscaping instead of Little Timmy's ability to read and write at college level. then they turn around and blame Timmy.

By the time a child reaches the age of 9, they should have mastered the Times table, be able to tell time on a clock, know how to count money and tell the difference between 3 cups and 4 gallons!

Answer 10

1st off ya have parents that pay so lil attention to what their kids are involved in, then there is the teachers union that protects inept teachers,there are good teachers that care but they are hardly praised or rewarded for their efforts,... and to finish,putting it simply,schools are government run,jeeeez,think now,..really,how much does government actually run properly or efficently..... the push for school vouchers kinda lost a few years back,... would have given parents at least a lil help with options concerning their childrens education.... won't bother mentioning why it failed,hopefully ya already know ....but here are clues (BIG government,keep tax dollars,unions,VOTES !!!),duh,no brainer there...

Answer 11

I think it is fine,. How do you teach kids that are spoiled rotten, have no respect for any one, have no fear of being disciplined and know their parents are going to raise hell with the system because their poor little angels are getting picked on, no matter what kind of trouble they cause? They couldn't pay me enough to put up with the kids and parents. I admire the ones that can.