What do you think of the US education system?

What do you think of the US education system?

What's your experience with it? Are you a parent, a teacher, a staff member, an advocate, a product of the system, etc?

What changes would you like to see made, and how do you think those changes need to come about?

Any other thoughts?

 

I believe it doesn't speak to the actual abilities of students. I feel as though some students are left behind because their specific interests and passions in learning aren't nurtured properly.

 

It would be more properly called the US indoctrination system.

 

The US has an education system!?!?

 

The more I observe that which passes for spelling here and on Yahoo and elsewhere,I'd say it needs improvement. I suppose "they're" still teaching Columbus discovered--blah-blah.

Why is it that when I went to school,paper,pencils,and all other supplies needed to complete given projects were free? Of course,I may as well ask why gasoline was 18 cents a gallon.

 

From what I have read the USES is ranked fairly highly. I'm sure there are inconsistencies, and improvements that could be made. Like the UK, some say it isn't teaching children the skills they need for the future - in the ever changing world in which we live. I wish it was like in the movies (not the temp' teacher turns a class into lifelong learners etc kinda movies)

more like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGEQM5-yuOU"]Some kind of wonderful (1987) movie trailer - YouTube

 

Say a kid goes junior high school and passes every subject other than math. I feel as though instead of trying to adjust the math class he or she is in and jacking them around to various 'special needs' classes, just tell them they can stop taking it. Give them re-enforcement in the subjects they ARE doing well in, and nourish their strengths.

It feels like a bad idea and a good idea at the same time. Not sure why.

 

I think education should focus more on teaching kids how to think, not what to think.

 

training for the state correctional institution..

 

It seems like the only parties held accountable are the schools and the teachers. The students and their parents have no accountability. If a student fails to achieve, it has nothing to do with the parent not feeding the kid or the student not doing his homework: the student's failure is the teacher's fault. That seems to be the prevailing attitude, and it's a problem.

 

it is what you make of it

 

Instead of being taught to think and research, you are taught to memorize and regurgitate. After Friday's test, forget all that and memorize some new shit... Rinse and repeat. Of course it does indoctrinate you very well for that brainless factory job.

 

I'm a junior in highschool right now and recently I've really been seeing the point of the song "Little Boxes". It seems that certain classes (like english and history, not math and science) are made just to form the students mind into the mold of what the school system and future employers want them to be. For example in my honors english class we spend the semester writing papers, for theses papers all the students research the same or at least very similar topics where everyone comes up with the same information and with this information we write papers all in the exact same format, making all the papers basically identical. And then we are graded on how well we made all of the researched information fit the format and if you stray from the format you fail the paper. They don't promote creativity and individuality, they try to make us into identical thinkers that would be fit to serve our superiors at school and work for the rest our life. Even when we read novels in english and we are asked to interpret them, the teacher sometimes tells us our interpretation is wrong if it doesn't fit what she knows of the book. And in history classes they only ever teach about the wars, and even though they point out some of America's faults in the wars like war crimes such as My Lai, they are always very positive about war itself. They don't promote the students to think for themselves and figure out with their own thoughts whether it is bad, they just tell us to think and the only things they encourage us to debate on are not really relevent to today. Also I live in the only state where PE is manditory all four years of highschool and the only point I see to this, is to teach the students to follow orders. Because why else would there be a class where the only thing to it is a teacher yelling at you to run in circles.

Sorry that kind of turned into a rant.

 

^ This.

And in math and science they usually teach us stuff that's completely irrelevant to our interests, and we usually forget whatever we've learned as soon as we stop testing on it anyway. Plus, I can't say I've ever meant an adult that's said knowing how to back-track an algebra problem has had any impact on his life after graduation, nah mean?

And having to have an art, health, and phys ed credit to graduate is nonsense. Like we're not going to make it on our own in the tough, unforgiving adult wasteland unless we know how to practice abstinence and blend water colours.

 

The problem with the American education system is that it wants its students to be well rounded. Frankly, that's an absurd way to educate when not everyone has an interest in the type of higher maths or sciences that will only aid those interested in certain future careers.

 

Learn by rote. A-B-C-D-etc. 6- 8s are 48,etc. Worked out pretty well. We did it over and over. Burned it in my brain. Then I learned something REALLY important.

Taking a test -4th grade: Question said='All cats can retract their claws. Therefore Cheetahs can retract their claws'. I did a lot of reading,even at that age and I knew that question required - WRONG- as an answer. That's what I put and the teacher said I was wrong. She was ,of course wrong and never corrected herself even tho I asked her to research it.

Now THAT was a very important lesson to learn and I never forgot it.

I have no idea what it's like today. I hear it's failing in many respects,but the zombie treadmills are still humming along ,so I suppose it is serving its intended purpose.

 

I already responded to this thread a while back but I wanted to add something.

I don't really agree with a lot about the US education system, but I was able to get a lot out of it. My family encouraged me to think outside of the box and do my own research.

Schools are to blame but so are parents who don't make it their responsibility to teach their children as well.

 

that's really only wrong if it was a science test. it sounds more like a logic/reasoning type question, where the point isn't necessarily to recite facts but rather to come to a conclusion based on the given premise.

maybe a more thorough answer could have been "the premise is wrong but the logic is sound." unless of course it actually was a science/memorization test.

 

I'm a product of the system. I fell through the cracks and having asperger's doesn't help.

 

Yeah ,but a wrong "fact' shouldn't show it's lying little face! It was just wrong,no matter.