I want to protest public schools

OK, I did not mean for it to sound like I am propagating conspiracy theories here, I assure you that is not my intention. You are completely correct when you say that the very first public schools were created by the puritans, and I am sure it was done with the best of intentions. What I was talking about were they PS as we know them today - however probably shouldn't have even brought it up; that is not at all what this thread is about! I seem to have a chip on my shoulder about this lately, and I'm sorry if I let that come out in my posts.

Lets talk about making a difference and getting things to change, not sit around and complain!

peace.

 

Kate, you might want to check out John Taylor Gatto's writings. He has written several books including Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling (1992); The Exhausted School (1993); A Different Kind of Teacher (2000); and The Underground History Of American Education (2001) Among many other distinctions, he was named New York City teacher of the year and New York State Teacher of the Year.

Check out this link: http://http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/historytour/history1.htm

I don't want to spend the next 4 generations trying to fix something that was broken from the start. In my opinion, the govt. has never done a good job of educating the general public. There are many alternative ways to spend the education budget that would better serve all of the country's children insted of just the middle and upper class families.

If any of this peeked your interest here is another link you can check out:http://http://www.holtgws.com/whatisunschoolin.html

Sorry if I hijacked this thread. It is an interesting topic, and it's been tossed around, without any real changes to the Government public schools, for at least 30 years now. In the 70's many of us simply got fed up fighting the system and dropped out. We have raised a bunch of kids that have never been in the system. These kids (many who are now adults raising the next generation) are proving to be better able to think outside the box than their "schooled" peers.

Radical living produces radical thinkers.

Peace,
~m

 

Exactly! the one way to make a difference is if we get as many people as we can to write letters to the people in United States Congress.

The first thing wrong about public schools today is that most do not have the same sports facilities for girls as they have for men and most do not encourage girls into sport.

The second thing is the bullying which leaves a total mark on a person's life if it is severe enough... almost all kids in United states and United kingdom suffer from bullying sometime in their teenage lives... this makes a kid not live up to his standards , not reach the goals and not have any focus in school... some kids do poorly in school because they bunk schools because of the fear of bullies. These things will not help kids into becoming good citizens.. they will create more psychological problems in the child if he doesn't already have it.. so we should stop this...

How do we protest gender inequality in sport? - I will post a website here from which you can send an e-mail to the "senator near you" .

How do we protest stupid bullying? - we will also have to send e-mails and letters to the assemblyman from near you!

If everyone sends e-mails to them then they will have to take action to improve these two things in schools... if they improve these two things , then its a start.

 

hey mt, your "what is unschooling" link didn't work for me!

jedi, you are so optomistic! I don't think letters are going to make much of a difference, but you never know. I suppose it doesn't hurt to try, and maybe these two things will start to change. Send good vibes with them, I think that changes more than anything else!

peace.

 

ok my opionion dont "offically" count because im in public school right now, but i can tell you what it is like in a way...

where i am... the kids have given up. school officals are our enemy. Constantly notes are being passed aroung depicting ways to set the principal on fire. we know our value... we have less importance than money or image. All they care about is their money and good reputation. we feel like we have the value of dogshit so we've given up. we go there and learn nothing. heck... im learning algebra and i can memorize formulas for 48 hours so i can pass a test... but guess what. not only do i not remember but I CANNOT ADD!!! seriously. i need a calculator for 14 + 17. i cant multiply or divide. We've been filled up with so much worhtless junk i cant do any of the basic skills i may actually need in the real world.

school is not the real world. it is a sick waste of my life. They take themselves so seriously they dont let us grow up, and make our own mistakes, and be kids. As a result, you get a depressed, suicidal, fucked-up, wussy generatin whom i would never trust with the future of our planet. I know first-hand that the future will be hell. WELCOME TO THE HAPPY PLACE.

as for a plan of improvmant after that whiney adolescant rant... well thats difficult. I say we return schools to the way they used to be, and not take them so seriously anymore.

oh yeah... state standard tests. Im told if my school does well on these they get $$$$$.... but nobody will confirm that. anyway, if i dont get a 3 or 4 (scale of 1-4) i have to take an extra class in high school. If i dont pass in high school... i dont graduate. it didnt used to be this way. when i question a teacher on the new practice they wont tell me. I say CONSPIRICY!!! hahaha

wow that was my longest post ever so ill shut my little mouth up now.

 

Aye lover/young, I used to be in your situation. Deppressing indeed, but all things must pass. Take it from a public school veteran (just graduated last week) you just have to carry your head high and not let them get you down. In the end, I'm sure most of it doesn't matter, but please try to take it seriously on some level--the better you put up with it the greater your freedom will be when go forth into the "real world". I slacked off in junior high (which doesn't count for shit as long as you don't flunk a grade) but I did get my act together for high school, and although I hated it, I don't regret it. Thanks to my 3.9 gpa, I am able to go to school in San Francisco this fall. If I had slacked off, I would still have to be living in this godforsaken town until I worked enough hours at McDonalds to save up for busfare..but even then I probably would have ended up homeless or just miserable.

What you said about your school earning more money when the kids do well is true--it's the same in tx, and pretty much anywhere else. As long as you don't go to school with the expectation that they love you, you should be okay. That is another benefit to keeping your grades up (not to sound like your parents or anything)--if you make the grades, some colleges literally pay you to go to their school. In college, since you pay tuition, most of the faculty really does care about you. The hardest part is suffering through the public school part.

Another piece of advice: I graduated high school in only 3 years. I'm not a genius, I just took two years of summer school--the summer after 8th and the summer after 9th--and that's it. I'm not sure how your school works, but I HIGHLY reccammend looking into it. Summer schools a joke in my district--it's only half a day and most of the other kids are there cause they failed, so the teachers make it extremely easy. And no matter what they tell you, it DOESN'T look bad on a college application. I don't regret it for a moment.

-Kate

 

I agree on some stuff you said, but you're in junior high and you declare school is a waste of time already?

You: school is not the real world. it is a sick waste of my life. They take themselves so seriously they dont let us grow up, and make our own mistakes, and be kids. As a result, you get a depressed, suicidal, fucked-up, wussy generatin whom i would never trust with the future of our planet. I know first-hand that the future will be hell. WELCOME TO THE HAPPY PLACE.

It's school! It's school for a reason. You're not there to have fun, you're not there to be kids, you're there to learn as much as you can despite the fact that you learn little.

You're thirteen what the fuck do you know about life? It sounds to me like someone is failing school and is automatically declaring school as a waste of time. Well, I don't know your situation, and I don't know you, but it sounds like you've given up because you're failing clear and simple.

You: as for a plan of improvmant after that whiney adolescant rant... well thats difficult. I say we return schools to the way they used to be, and not take them so seriously anymore.

Hmm, if you ask me, your post was the only one that seemed to rant on and on and was posted by a thirteen year old. You're an adolescent, genius! Whose post are you talking about? Because everyone has seemed to make good points so far.

You: oh yeah... state standard tests. Im told if my school does well on these they get $$$$$.... but nobody will confirm that

You didn't discover gold! Everyone knows that the schools get money if kids do well on these tests, that's what's so fucked up, that they rush through these and never really prepare us to take these.

You: anyway, if i dont get a 3 or 4 (scale of 1-4) i have to take an extra class in high school. If i dont pass in high school... i dont graduate. it didnt used to be this way. when i question a teacher on the new practice they wont tell me. I say CONSPIRICY!!! hahaha

It didn't used to be this way, it was worse. I'm against social promotion, because you're promoting kids to grades that they're not prepared for, do you want to be a kid who can't add or an adult who can't add when their kids ask? Tell yourself that.

You don't have to ask teachers, it's all over the news. Schools are ending social promotion. You want to pass? You want to graduate? Take that extra class, take that summer school, and thank god you were offered the opportunity to advance to the next grade!

Screw the summer fun and go to school and be better than everyone! Because while it looks stupid now to work for being promoted, in the future when you don't have to go on food stamps or welfare, you'll look back and be happy that you worked so hard. Nothing comes free in this life, no one is going to give a shit about you or anyone out there. You have to work for things.

You: wow that was my longest post ever so ill shut my little mouth up now.

Yes, thank you.

 

Wow, T.M., where's the love?

l/yp, you said

As for me, I'm glad that you have realized this. I think it shows maturity that you can look past what has been handed to you and see that there is more out there. However, there is little to nothing you can do about it now (unless, of course, your parents would consider homeschooling/unschooling you.) I think it is good advice to try to finish as soon as possible. Good luck to you!

peace.

 

He says the school won't let him be kids. Boo hoo, that's what recess and lunch is for. You want to have fun don't go to school, you want to work for a better life, go to school.

I got plenty of love in me, I'm just giving my honest opinion.

 

I for one, think it's a crime that children have their childhood striped from them, but then are expected to "just be kids" and are not taken seriously until they are in their 30's! I guess that's a whole other issue, but I'm feeling the kid's pain here! I mean, would you, TM, want to be in school right now? I know I sure as hell wouldn't!


peace.

 

Stripped of their childhood?! Ha ha! Please tell me you're joking.

You know who's stripped of their childhood? Kids who have to work in factories producing sneakers for ten cents an hour.

It's school! It's not an internment camp! You go there to get an education, it school work, home work, it's called work for a reason.

I agree the school system is crappy, but whether you're a liberal, democrat, republican, or conservative to get anywhere in this country you have to have an education! Simple as that.

It's not fun, it's not entertaining, but it's necessary.

And yeah I'm going back to school, I plan on going back very soon for my Bachelor's to become a journalist. It won't be fun, but it's what I have to do to get where I want to go.

If you ever have, or if you have kids you're going to keep them from going to school because it strips them of their childhood? Come on! That's just laughable.

Let's have a nation of children who had a great childhood but don't have a diploma and can't read and write. That's better.

 

Well ok, maybe "striped of their childhood" is a bit dramatic. But I do think it takes up a whole lot of time doing busy work and not learning very much at all. There are a lot of kids out there who graduate and don't have and skills - that is the crime! There certainly is a better why to educate! I had a childhood, a beautiful, and granted everyone else has too, but I never had to go to school. I learned everything I needed to know (and whole lot more because I was interested in some pretty weird stuff,) without being forced, without sacrificing anything, without busy work, without the unnatural separation from family and normal life! I was taken seriously by my parents, and by other adults when they took the time to see that I was a mature person with something to say that was worth hearing. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I didn't have to waste my time with the school system, so I was able to learn all of those same things in much less time, and I was able to learn about real life too!

Now, unschooling certainly isn't for everyone, but I think it's a shame that so much of our young people's time is wasted.

Something needs to change!

peace.

 

Well, maybe it worked for you and that's great, but for some people it's necessary.

This person who wrote about their hatred for school sounds like they're failing so they bash the school because of it.

Sometimes it's the students faults as much as it is the school system's fault.

 

Well, I don't know this particular situation, so I can't pass judgment here, but a lot of the time it is the student's fault that they are just not working, and just not caring. It's not like things are made easy for them, though. I mean, learning should be wonderful, and enjoyable, it's a beautiful process which is best done with someone who loves you and has an invested interest in you, not someone who is paid yo get you to pass a test.


Oh yeah, and college and public school are two completely different things, imho. College is a choice and you are working towards your chosen profession. If only ps was more like that....

peace.

 

Oh, and I agree that for some, possibly even most, public schools are necessary. That is why things need to be changed. We can't all just boycott it!

 

oh wow i just got done typing and i lost it... well here goes again...

TM thanks for the honesty, Strawberry fields thanks for the tips. And lunar forest i think you made some good points.

first the "whiney rant" i mentioned... i was indeed talking about myself. look man, i know im only 13 ive never seen the real world, i just know what i know and try to share it. i will admit my own ignorance and hope you can see that the youth can have good ideas too... although wisdom from older generations helps. i know what i say is immature and limited and after reviewing my post i do sound quite lazy and annoying so your assumptions definitly make sense.

im not failing at all... i am in "gifted" classes, i got straight As last year and made high honors (3.8 GPA) this year... so this is NOT just a problem for failing children. yes , i guess you might be right, i could be just lazy and want to party. if this is true, which it very well may be, i would love to be able to say i was alone. but im not.

i apologize for the state standard thing... i just learned about it. We dont really get told much and we only know what they tell us.

the problem is that i can do so well grade-wise and i still cant add. im aware im not learning... none of us are learning a thing. we know how to pass a test... wow good for us. We pass these tests and people think well, i guess they are learning, but we cant read or write or add. we can give you the pythagorien theorem a day after the test (we forget it after a week) but we cant read and write. im talking not just me but as a whole the reading/writing/basic math (like adding, multiplying) is extremely poor and these are the things we actually need. i hope im not sounding like an ass again here...

as for the letting kids be kids... well personally... i spent my childhood despretley trying to be the perfect student, perfect child and i missed out. I wish i could get those years back but of couse this wishing is a waste of time . i want to have fun as a teenager. i dont want to look back and say "hey look I went to school and hated it, but did it anyway and worked my ass off to learn things I never used." i understand your points... no im not saying we should be people who cant read/write/add etc... but that is what we will become if we keep memorizing for 48 hrs just to pass a test and then never think of the skill again. the problem is the school dont care... and also WE dont care. how do you make the children care? you cant. at least i cant think of a way (help anybody?) it would be great to actually find a solution here.

please someone give some more direction on this (thanks those of you who have) and understand it is painful to be young and have the bad habit of making a jackass out of yourself.

 

heres a solution, why not take the money being spent on the war in iraq and use it to educate our country better? teachers are really underpaid nowadays and deserve more money for the shit they put up with every day. which would make you prouder of your country, being the greatest military super power on earth, or the smartest country on earth? with more money for schools there would be more teachers, less crowded classrooms, resulting in less kids failing.

and getting rid of rascist teachers is kind of controversial, its a personal choice to be rascist, and you have to respect peoples views, but if the teacher is making rascist remarks or being unfair to other people based on race then they should be fired.

 

I guess if anyone is against public schools then they will just home-school their own children. Then they won't have to worry about racist teachers, school bullies or anything they don't like in public schools. Move to AZ, its one of the easiest states to homeschool in.

 

In 15 years China will be both.

 

Lol - maxpower, I was thinking the same thing!