What can be done for the next generation to bring up their education to that of other countries?

Question

logic
reason
civics

Not so much memorizing and regurgitating

Answer 1

Interesting question and one I've thought about a lot since I'm working on a Masters degree in the field of education. Keep in mind my answer is an opinion based on observations and what we know to work based on student development and human development theories.
I believe the problem right now is that we're teaching to the test. We're showing our children how to memorize and regurgitate but not how to think and reason. We need to go back to the basics and make sure we're setting up a good foundation early on in our childrens' minds so they can absorb, understand and reason through the knowledge to be gained during their later years of education. Reading for example, vocabulary is important for reading but putting that vocabulary to use by actually reading increasingly coplex works is more important still. Being able to reason through what has been read as well as develop new ideas based on the information gained should be the ultimate goal.
We also need to develop an incentive system for teachers that is /not/ based on their student's grades. A grade based system simply encourages teachers to teach to the minimum common denominator. Instead of making sure each student is getting all the information they need the tendency is to try and make sure each student can pass with what information they got. Different students learn at different rates and in different ways. We need to develop an incentives system that encourages teachers to use a variety of teaching styles in the classroom, take the time to be sure their students have the basics down pat and spend more time with the students that need extra attention to help them gain /all/ the information they should have not just to pass tests with what information, lacking as it might be, they managed to get.
The other part of the equation has been mentioned over and over already. Find a way to get parents and teachers working together, not in opposition. Teachers, for the most part, are honest, hard-working people that have gone into the field they are in because they want to make a positive difference in a child's life (definitely not for the money). Parents need to start backing-up their children's teachers instead of blindly supporting their children. Like another member said, "Children need parents, not best friends."
Whole books can be written about this subject but I hope this short answer will provide food for though.

Answer 2

First, understand the success of a lot of foreign schools is they still have concepts of discipline, which we've abandoned in the US

Next there is a basical family respect rate which we don't have in the US, instead we have a lot of spoiled brats.

If you look at the statistics in, say, California, you find the most outstanding students are Asains and Middle Easterners.

They leave whites, hispanics and blacks in the dust.

These people have strong family units where the Father rules absolutely and the Mother is revered abstolutely.

The kids of these kids may not do as well, because their family units will not be as strong as someone fresh off the boat.

The fact of the matter is the existing system works well for this group of 10% students.

It is the 90% we are failing to address.

The concept of magnet schools is a good one.

The only thing I can see is to get the students together along with some parents and have all prospective teachers audition for them and then let them pick them by majority vote.

Maybe if students had teachers they liked or saw value in they'd learn.

You do know all the fictional success stories are about radical characters. Rennesance men. The Danny Divitos, Robin Williams and Sidney Portier types.

They guys who throw the books into the trash can and start telling it like it is.

They're the ones that put on funny hats, tell jokes and stories and make you remember history or rules of grammar because they connect it to something you want to remember.

Answer 3

I would have to agree with you on the whole "Not so much memorizing and regurgitating". Our country primarily is a concerned with preparing for the test, and learning how to test. The United States has a problem when it comes to education. I personally do not agree with the no child left behind. Why slow down the whole class, we need to bring that student to the point where he or she is supposed to be and not slow down the whole class. We live in a society of meritocracy. We have a great deal of activity but accomplish so little work. More activity does not mean more work as was in the Greek societies.

Answer 4

The best thing that could be done in the US is get rid of the Department of Education at the federal level and remove the power of teacher's unions to block firing of unqualified teachers. This would have an immediate and powerful impact in that school districts would no longer have to pay high wages to incompetent teachers (who are now paid full pay but not allowed near a classroom) and stop the proliferation of idiotic programs from the federal level to "enhance the educational experience". It would also allow the schools to return to teaching and not working as de facto social service organizations.

Answer 5

What more can you say than the first answer.

American children (most) have no respect for adults, whether it be their teachers, the police, their neighbors strangers in a store/park or their parents.

The more we coddle kids and give them no expectations, of what real life is, you get your feelings hurt, you have to work harder if you want to get ahead, there are winners/losers in the world, we have got to MAKE parents be a part of their child's educaton. They have to quit blowing off conferences and blaming the teacher when their child misbehaves. (I wish I had the daiily school planner one of the kids at my daycare had. They were sent home daily for the parents to check and so the parents/teachers could communicate. If you could read the crap the father wrote in it to the teacher almost daily you would be appalled. His disrespect to the teacher was terrible.)

1. School uniforms (you are there to learn not be a fashion statement so who cares what you are wearing. Maybe students can earn casual Fridays with attendance or good grades (here is where we coddle the kids after all just because you arent an A student doesnt mean you arent trying by being there everyday)

2. Same sex classes. If boys werent showing off for each other in front of the girls...... and the girls werent afraid of looking foolish in front of the boys.........

Answer 6

In the USA?

Stop suing teachers if your child does not progress to the next grade level because they did not study to pass the exam.

Forbid the cell phones and text messages in school.

Standardize the social and financial status of all students by requiring them to wear clean & pressed uniforms like all the other countries do.

Require students to be prompt and responsible.

Require students to respect their teachers.
For example, students must "wai" to teachers in Thailand.
A wai is folding the hands in a prayerful gesture.
The hands are then placed below the chin and is a sign of respect and submissiveness to the teacher.
The boys must bow and the girls must curtsy.
The little girl in the red pants is giving her teacher a wai in the middle picture at the bottom of this page... http://www.sriwittayapaknam.ac.th/arrival.html

If a teacher is walking down the hall, all the students must stop and stand still until the teacher passes. They lower their eyes and say, good morning Khun Krue (good morning Miss Teacher).

The pupils clean the classroom after school, not the janitor.

http://www.sriwittayapaknam.ac.th/schoolday.html

What is the alternative in the USA?
The student walks into class wearing baggy pants that hang around the waist. Their underwear is showing.
They yak and make noise with no respect for the teacher or the classroom.
They say, "Yo! Wa sup Nigġa?", instead of "good-morning teacher".

Have parents take responsibility for their own children. They should discipline and teach their children respect, honor, and courtesy. A teacher is not a baby sitter or social worker.

The families and students of those other countries will always listen to the teacher, honor them, be eager to learn and grateful for an education.
The parents are involved in a common effort with the teacher. They do not sue educators or the school board.
Their children achieve much higher exam scores and excel in their studies.
The students are happy, healthy, and well adjusted members of the community. They do not cut themselves or shoot up schools and kill other students with semi-automatic weapons.

Examples? China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Bangladesh, African nations, Islamic states.... the list goes on.


Shall I go on???

.

Answer 7

What really needs to be done is change the attitudes of America's students. As a high school teacher, I can tell you that apathy is rampant (spoiled kids?), and kids today do not value education and hard work. Discipline is in the toilet for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that parents no longer stress the importance of students BEHAVING in class. This makes it nearly impossible for the students who do actually care to learn.

Answer 8

I think we need to look at this from several angles...one has been talked about by many here...the discipline and respect issue...I totally agree...I also think that more logic, reasoning and civics would be great....However, I also want to point out that the US does compare if not beat must other countries in their education...First, realize that not every student in other countries goes to school..or follows the same "track" as other students. In some countries students are selected to go on a college track and others are put on a trade track...those countries only test the students on the college track...so, to honestly compare the US to those countries means looking at only a certain percentage of our students to start with. In many countries the poorer children are off working...and only the ones who can afford an education are in school...again this completely changes their statistical basis...Also, many countries to not test their special ed students, their students from other countries, etc..etc...etc...I think that we need to stop comparing apples and oranges...realize that our top 20% of our students in the US can and will compete with the top 20% from every country...Yes, there are many things that can be worked on in our educational system, in our communities, in our parenting techniques, and in our kids...However, there are many things that we are doing that truly work....

Answer 9

We need to look at education more positively. We put athletes, celebrities, doctors, lawyers, writers, etc. on pedestals. We look at the almighty dollar as the way of saving us all. We hold the people who make the most money in higher esteem than teachers. These people would be nowhere if it weren't for teachers.

Parents need to teach their own children discipline and respect before the children step into a classroom. Most of our school problems are from parents who want to be their children's "best friend" instead of a parent. You can be his/her best friend when he/she is 25. Children, teenagers and young adults need PARENTS!

Parents also need to respect the opinions and advice of the teachers in regards to the children's education. I am not telling you how to raise your child, nor do I want to raise your child. But I do see a side of your child in my classroom, in the hallways, in the cafeteria, etc. that you do not see. I respect what the parents do and say; I expect the same from them.

The students themselves also need to take responsibility. Stop cheating, stop whining, stop complaining and just learn what you are being taught. You have wonderful, caring, supportive teachers out there. Take advantage of them!

We need to take a great deal of emphasis off of test scores. We base everything a child does on a particular test: ACT, SAT, whatever initials you have for your own state testing. Every student does not fit cleanly into a little box. Every person in society does not fit cleanly into a little box. That doesn't mean that these people are not intelligent or without potential.

And yes, we need to teach logic, reason, ethics, thinking, problem solving, etc. But if we had a little help from our communities and our nation, those things would be a great deal easier to teach and to learn.

Answer 10

All teachers agree that we want to improve in all areas. I feel we should be number one in all areas. We do however teach ALL students, as some other countries test their lower scoring kids out of the system early. Your question relies on perceived reality as an assumption.

Civics:

Boe, Shin (2004, see link)

"no nation scored significantly higher in civics"

"we conclude that US Students have performed above average in comparison with industrialized nations instead of poorly as widely perceived"

misconception reasons as per Boe and Shin:

Inadequate information
unreasonable expectation that the US should be first in the world (I don't know of a teacher who does not believe this)
biased reporting
misleading comparisons of a large multi-state nation with small homogenous nations.

Often when people want to criticize schools they dismiss the real research that guides education policy. good luck!