US educational system?

[hempplaya]

Well I think school is great and its not the schools fault kids are fucking stupid its the fact that kids rarely ever take it seriously. All they care about is their popularity. Thank god I started cyber school when I was in 11th grade. Best thing ever. I couldn't stand the stupidity and weakness of my peers. With online schooling I got to take all of my advanced classes...so awsome...And now that im in college (PITT) I do all my classes online also. I'm becoming a history teacher. I think public schooling is in shambles though, parents should be able to choose whatever school they want instead of what they HAVE to go to.

exactly, although i took advanced classes in high school and didn't have to deal with the idiots that were there just to goof off and be the class clowns. the college atmosphere is a hell of a lot more mature than what was in high school, although there are still the attention needers. but for the most part it is way better than high school. as for our education system in general, i think it sucks. here in texas we have that dumb ass Robin Hood Act or whatever where a certain percentage of the TAXES MY PARENTS PAY go to the poor schools in south texas where there's a huge portion of minorities (mainly children of illegals) going to those schools recieving my parent's as well as everyone elses in the district.

Honestly if the state wants to do something to get the schools in Texas on a more level budget with all the others they should pool all the tax dollars into one pot and divide it among all the districts/schools EVENLY!!! This way they won't be taking the hard earned tax dollars parents pay and their child not even getting the benefits of it. The state shouldn't penalize those districts that happen to be in more affluent areas and get more money than those in the poor parts of the state that recieve virtually no tax dollars because the illegals don't pay taxes. It's fucking annoying/frustrating when you think about this. This is one of the many reasons i'm sick of governor Perry and can't wait till he's outta Austin

Reb how was that cyber school thing, i know someone who opted to do that rather than continue on in the public school system and they really enjoyed it.

(wow i love my randomly capitalizing words and not capitalizing great education system we got here )

[birdgirl73]

That so-called Robinhood legislation you spoke of makes a lot of people unhappy in Texas, Hemplaya. I dislike Perry, too. But that legislation wasn't a product of his governance. It was signed into law in 1993 when Ann Richards was at the helm. There've been tons of challenges to its constitutionality, and the legislature can't seem to find a way to agree on another option. The courts are now going to have to step in and help, but so far we still have Robinhood.

Redlocks, maybe sometime you'll get a chance to teach in both types of schools so you can see why a teacher would feel lucky to teach in a more affluent district. If the realities of socioeconomics and their correlation with IQ trouble you, I consider that a good thing. Those are unfortunate--but well-known--realities. Feel free to research that fact. Here's hoping you'll put your energies and frustrations into affecting change in both education and socioeconomics someday.

[passitplz]

if the kid really wants to get a good education then he/she can. high schools offer more than enough challenging courses for any student to take.(im in high school) anyways basically the problem is the student being unmotivated. they'll take the easiest classes and try to get by the easiest way. in the end tho life will be hard as fuck for them

[thcbongman]

The biggest problem of schools in America is the failure to create programs to learn a specific trade, apprenticeship programs. In countries such as Germany and Switzerland, each student are embarks on certain educational paths depending on their motivation with opportunities to change it at certain points in time. The problem is the education system in America provides on middle ground. It's not singular path everyone has to take, and you either pass or fail. If you aren't good at learning in typical fashion, there's other opportunities to get the knowledge you need to operate in this world.

[birdgirl73]

You're very right about that fact, THCBongman! We do have a single-path system here. That's one of the things I'd change if I were Queen for a Day: the fact that we not only spend too much time focusing on standardized test scores and not enough on actual learning--and that we don't have enough alternatives for kids whose learning styles are different or who don't fit the college-bound mold and would be better suited by learning a trade.

[hempplaya]

That so-called Robinhood legislation you spoke of makes a lot of people unhappy in Texas, Hemplaya. I dislike Perry, too. But that legislation wasn't a product of his governance. It was signed into law in 1993 when Ann Richards was at the helm. There've been tons of challenges to its constitutionality, and the legislature can't seem to find a way to agree on another option. The courts are now going to have to step in and help, but so far we still have Robinhood.

Ah it just a few years back really started to become a big issue in the schools I attended so I thought he was the one who brought it in, thanks for the info. And yeah none of the teachers like it, the principal at my high school hates it and said it is unfair that our tax dollars are not even going to our schools.

As much as I would like to see the courts come in and do something about it I really find it hard to think they will. Yes it would be a great way of winning over votes for re-elections but I feel that many with out children in the school system here really don't care.

[Purple Banana]

The biggest problem of schools in America is the failure to create programs to learn a specific trade, apprenticeship programs.

I went to a technical high school- we had trades for EVERYTHING:
Agri-business and Animal Science
Floral Design
Landscape Architecture and Grounds Maintenance
Auto Diagnostics and Systems Repair
Refinishing and Collision Repair
Brick and Block Masonry
Carpentry
Electricity
Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
Plumbing
Licensed Cosmetology
Food Preparation and Management
Nursing Assistant
Certified Welding
Drafting and Computer Aided Design
Electronic Circuitry
Machining and Computer Aided Manufacturing
Printing and Graphic Communication

I have worked as a nursing assistant for 3 years. I'm not going into the nursing field, and a good 25-30% of students who also decided not to go into their respected fields. Nothing wrong with that. But it gave me the ability to get REAL life experience, to show what was expected of me in the workforce- that kids can't be immature and irresponsible, or you'd get your ass canned.

I know now how to relate to people, and treat them with respect, while maintaining a better salary than my non-technical high school counterparts did; as an added bonus, more colleges are willing to accept technical high school students more readily than others, because we HAVE that experience.

There are bad teachers- they simply don't know how to relate the information to the student while keeping them at least mildly interested. I've heard lectures given about the anatomical structure of a fingernail that has kept me very interested. However, that is NOT a valid reason for a student to do poorly in school, if the lecture is uninteresting. There are tutoring programs readily available for free. They just need the effort.

[SamsonSimpson]

here is the biggest flaw i see in the florida schools.

the schools that pass the standardized testing (F-CAT) recieve ass loads of money while the schools that fail recieve nothing but poor grades. i attend at lake brantley which is deffinetly an upperclass school. im not saying everyone is in the "upperclass" but this school is ridiculously rich already and every year we get more money for passing F-CAT. now look at neighboring orange county where most of the high schools are failing the F-CAT. these schools do not recieve anything but a failing grade.

whoever is in charge of these florida schools is a jackass for not seeing a problem here. man oh man

[Skwirl07]

Yeah it's all about what you choose to do with it. I mean sure the educational system in the United States isn't as great as in other countries, but if you work at it you can get just as much out of it...

In the United States we have the opportunity to learn as much as we want and study whatever we want. I believe this says it all. Whether or not we choose to take advantage of this at the rate other countries do is another question entirely.

[40oz]

Yeah it's all about what you choose to do with it. I mean sure the educational system in the United States isn't as great as in other countries, but if you work at it you can get just as much out of it...

In the United States we have the opportunity to learn as much as we want and study whatever we want. I believe this says it all. Whether or not we choose to take advantage of this at the rate other countries do is another question entirely.

Yea but the key to getting kids a good education is good teachers along the way that can motivate them to want to open their minds to learning.