The dumbing down of America. Do you think this is true in regards to education?

Question

Davencusa's post is the perfect testament to what this question is all about!

Answer 1

I'm not exactly sure what you mean.. But I think the U.S. education is where it is because it is a privileged country.. You don't really need to be educated to live a successfull life here. It also doesn't help when politicians bash our education system and turn it into a political talking point while doing nothing to fix the problem.. Seems they don't want people to go to the "liberal" colleges in the U.S. Maybe that is what the "dumbing down of America" is...

Answer 2

When my daughter was in second grade, she was told by her teacher that it didn't matter if she spelled words correctly, as long as they SOUNDED right. This method infuriated me. Now, here she is a sophomore in high school, and still has difficulties spelling, and really doesn't care, and still feels it doesn't matter. I'm a stickler for correct spelling, and make her correct any errors I see, no matter where she's made them. It's no different than telling a child that even though 2 + 2 does not equal 5, it's ok, because it's almost right. Teach them the right way the first time around. Teach them the basics instead of all these fru-fru courses. My sixth-grader is learning Spanish, but I'd much rather he concentrated more on English! If they're not doing grade-level work, keep them back a year. Parents upset by that? Get them a tutor so they don't stay back AGAIN. We need educated, literate people, not those who barely squeaked by, or those whose teachers padded their grades just to pass them, or so they could play sports. Education outranks everything else, sports included.

Answer 3

Absolutely I do. Even the grading system is an insult to the brighter kids. Its all about the nonsense that we are all equal. Yes we are all equal under the law in terms of justice. But we are all different in terms of abilities. Not all can grasp reading at the same level. Not all can interact in science projects, not all can fix engines, not all can build a house and not all can do house electrical. Each according to his or her abilities. But the education system is also flooded with liberal ideology. Its about teaching rights and not enough history. Its about teaching sexuality and less to do with civics. Its about teaching a false history and that white America is responsible for all the woes of the world and less to teaching about all the contributions that white America has done for the betterment of mankind on a global scale. Today's education lives in the past to blame white America first. And more so if you are a white male.
I can get away with saying all of this because I am a minority. But I am not a stupid minority. I see things and I have seen things take a turn for the worst.

Answer 4

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND

Any other teachers out there frustrated by "criterion scores?" I used to teach in a school where the majority had some sort of criterion. That meant that a bunch of kids would have to receive an "A" for getting a 40%! So some kid can have straight A's all the way through school and have no clue. None. I have seen high school graduates who could not read or write at a third grade level.

And if they can throw a ball? Who needs literacy to get into college when there's always football!

When I was in high school, I remember getting my tests back so I could see where I needed to improve. If a "regular" kid has an 85%, isn't it fair to let him or her see mistakes and keep the test to study for the midterm? That doen't work if you cannot show actual grades in the interest of self esteem.

Answer 5

I must say that there are an awful lot of myths circulating about present-day schools. Self-esteem training disappeared twenty years ago. So did approximate answers for math problems. The kids are working like galley slaves: they're doing math in kindergarten, and they've eliminated nap time. The arithmetic problems I've been helping fifth-graders with look the same as the ones I had in 1957.

If you have real concerns about what kids are doing in school, it's always a good idea to go in and have a look.

Answer 6

I think it's been going on for a long time...I remember my daughter coming home from her first day at middle school with a handbook, written by the staff - it was LOADED with spelling errors.
I myself went to a school that was in the far western end of palm beach county, fl...we used to get the teachers they didn't want on the coast. It was pretty sad what passed for education there, yet I managed to not end up completely ignorant. I guess what I'm saying is the bright ones find their way, no matter how dark you think it looks...and the dumb ones get swept along, because you have to do something with them...and I think it's always been that way. That sounds pretty harsh even to me and not very PC but it's my own experience, sorry if I offended anyone.

Answer 7

The wealthier kids can still get an excellent education but the poor kids grow up and cannot make change. This horrible difference in the quality of education scares me for the future of our country.
I saw someone at the Jena 6 protest with a sign that said "Peace" and had, not the peace sign, but the Mercedes Benz logo. What does that tell us?

Answer 8

Our education system is disgraceful. We have teachers that can't teach. We have parents who are not paying attention. The kids are not interested in learning. They're at the mall or having babies or abortions. I read questions from kids looking for homework help for basic stuff I knew in the 4th grade. They can't spell, do basic math, they know very little history and geography knowledge is a joke. We need much higher standards for teachers starting with their education. They should not be certified until they can pass a tougher test than they have been given in the past.

Answer 9

Recently, I asked the question regarding if highschoolers
wrote in cursive or if they printed? And the majority of those
answering said they printed only. Tho some did a connected
version that passed for writing. And there was one, who ad-
mitted she could sign her name. I know our children not only
learned printing, they learned how to write in cursive, or as we
called it in my day, "long hand". I was one of many parents
who assumed, that our children were being taught to the
best of teachers abilities. But am I to assume, that teachers have let penmanship slip by the cirriculum now due to time
factors for other subjects? I remember we spent a half hour
practicing in grade school until about sixth or seventh grade.
It was a calming half hour while we wrote and re wrote to
make our letters more perfected. I learned by the inaptitude
of my sisters born 9 years after me, that they didn't get the
same instruction or that penmanship was no longer on the
cirriculum, as I could not read one's writing, by highschool.
I have discussed matters of education with a UK friend. And
it's apparent to me, that they have more intensive coverage
and knowledge in school than we have over here. There's so much I don't know, having not learned. And I have to google to find out the answers some times. And I thought I'd had a good education. But I chose not to go onto college, even tho I did enroll. But would I have been taught on the same level as our European neighbors? I remember a Canadian once told me he believed he had more knowlege of our American history, than we did. And he gave some examples. I was a bit rusty in remembering dates of historical events, but I did learn them. But I felt challenged by his quizzing method attemps during conversation. And it's no doubt they do get alot of education about our countries' history. I have heard that about England as well.
Learning about corrections of our history since I have been
an adult, I wonder if teachers have made those corrections.
Or do they still teach that Columbus was the first to discover
America? Luckily there have been reinactments of history
on TV to make us realize there was more to the stories. But
kids seem more lax these days on wanting to know anything
that comes from actual text book learning. I am sure they don't
take an interest when things are shown on TV specials either.
I also would like to take a shot at the Mexican government
now sending ambassadors to our larger school districts with
a Mexican agenda for the subjects they need taught to the
children of illegals, that don't want to learn English. And our
government is allowing this. But it also reminds me that
not long ago, I heard a school school district had been
approached to not include the Holecaust as subject matter.
One more thing to not teach our kids on actual history. I
know our daughter wasn't taught anything about it. And she
doesn't accept it to this day. Even tho, there are still people
who lived through it and have made their statements known.
So there's been an apparent dumbing down of our students
for more years than I want to count. And I don't know why our
government wants our kids stupid and more accepting of
what they are learning. Or allowed to learn. There must be a
long term plan set up, that will see a subservient class of
people who will do as the government dictates. That makes
sense to me.

Answer 10

Think it's true? Are you kidding? There is no doubt in my mind. I own a company, and I hire occasionally...(I have, fortunately, a very stable staff of people I regard as family, when they are in need, they have!). You would not believe the number of HS grads that cannot divide by 10 without a calculator! You would not believe the spelling on a job application! (I am terrible at spelling, but at least I keep the misspelled words to the reversal of i and e....always have. When 50% polled on streets cannot identify the US on a world map, we have problems. When kids type in txt msgng mnnrs, no matter what they are typing (if they can type, but strangely, most kids can type because they use a computer to play games on), we are in trouble. And this is how deep the trouble is in my mind. Only about 5% of HS grads actually have learned what they could ...meager as that might be. When learning in school makes you an outcast in that society, we have real problems! Think about this...within just one generation, those who run companies, those who are in office will come from only 5% of the total population. !!!!!! That is very, very limiting as to choice! If I had to guess, I suspect that no more than 50% of HS grads can be hired by anyone...you have to be able to make change to work at Mcdonalds! This leave but one field to go into...drug dealing! Now, there are only so many drug users in the states, high as that might be (no pun intended), but...that leaves a serious number of people who can afford the drug very small..so who are all these drugs going to be sold to? No one! Now we are back to ground zero..5% of the population supporting 95% of the people...I don't think so! And don't go blaming the teachers! They have been telling us this for years and years. Yet parents shove their kids off to school, think their responsibility has ended, and teachers are baby sitters in real danger of losing their lives every day they work! We pay our teachers a pittance for a salary, so we get, by and large, only those in teaching who cannot make it in a high paying field. I am NOT insulting the good teachers who are dedicated...those teachers fall by the wayside as they see there dedication wasted, their love for teaching abased by those who have no interest in learning anything. I could go on and on, and I fear I have....so I will stop here with my sign off, LOVE and peace, goldwing