Fixing Education

[Creed of Heresy]

Well given how resources for education keep being cut in the name of "reducing the deficit" [immediately followed by another extension of tax cuts for upper brackets, thus rendering the entire fucking argument moot], modernizing the education system by designing it around personality and playing to strengths and mitigating weaknesses isn't gonna happen. We can barely afford to keep most schools for the majority of children running to any sufficient degree, let alone what resources would be needed to fix this shit.

[Minimalist]

Could it all be a plot to privatize education so that rich mother fuckers can suck money out of the system.....as they have done with health care?

[gilbertc06]

Could it all be a plot to privatize education so that rich mother fuckers can suck money out of the system.....as they have done with health care?

The system is already setup to produce kids that will work well within a capitalist society in one way or another.

[bladevalant546]

So basically we are in for Dark Age number 2....

[Zazzy]

I was a high school teacher for over 10 years, and the system is so broken it's hard to see how to fix it. All of the things people have brought up here are valid. I think the problem boils down to societal views and expectations of teachers. Society pays lip service to teachers the same way it does to soldiers (thanks for your service, but that's all you get). It's not a valued profession, and part of that is because we aren't doing anything to attract and keep our best and brightest- so there are many teachers who mean well, but just aren't all that smart (sorry, fellow teachers, but we all know it's true).

And parental expectations of teachers are bizarre. Teachers cannot parent, teach, mentor, and monitor 150+ students very well. It's just overwhelming how much you're supposed to do: teach a subject in the Goldilocks zone to avoid too many failures but maintain rigor, grade mountains of writing, teach self-esteem and impulse control and critical thinking, deal with behavior problems and all the personal problems of their students, plan stimulating lessons that are student centered but still somehow teach to a test, tutor after school, do all of this on a shoestring budget and for crap pay, all with endless kindness and patience and being a model of adult behavior, dealing with parents who are miffed that you aren't accomplishing all this perfectly with their kid... and then you hear that "teachers have it easy."

Oh- and all of this while being on stage, being stimulating and entertaining for 6 hours a day, to the most judgmental audience in the world.

And teachers CAN have it easy by just not doing most of that and showing movies most days and not giving homework and turning a blind eye to bullying, etc. MANY teachers just give up and cruise along because it's just too life-draining to accomplish all the above with little to no support.

How do we fix that? By fixing our views and expectations as a society. How does that happen? I have no idea, because just like no one really wants to hear about what soldiers go through, nobody wants to hear about what teachers go through. Thanks for your service and have a nice day.

[bladevalant546]

I was a high school teacher for over 10 years, and the system is so broken it's hard to see how to fix it. All of the things people have brought up here are valid. I think the problem boils down to societal views and expectations of teachers. Society pays lip service to teachers the same way it does to soldiers (thanks for your service, but that's all you get). It's not a valued profession, and part of that is because we aren't doing anything to attract and keep our best and brightest- so there are many teachers who mean well, but just aren't all that smart (sorry, fellow teachers, but we all know it's true).

And parental expectations of teachers are bizarre. Teachers cannot parent, teach, mentor, and monitor 150+ students very well. It's just overwhelming how much you're supposed to do: teach a subject in the Goldilocks zone to avoid too many failures but maintain rigor, grade mountains of writing, teach self-esteem and impulse control and critical thinking, deal with behavior problems and all the personal problems of their students, plan stimulating lessons that are student centered but still somehow teach to a test, tutor after school, do all of this on a shoestring budget and for crap pay, all with endless kindness and patience and being a model of adult behavior, dealing with parents who are miffed that you aren't accomplishing all this perfectly with their kid... and then you hear that "teachers have it easy."

And teachers CAN have it easy by just not doing most of that and showing movies most days and not giving homework and turning a blind eye to bullying, etc. MANY teachers just give up and cruise along because it's just too life-draining to accomplish all the above with little to no support.

How do we fix that? By fixing our views and expectations as a society. How does that happen? I have no idea, because just like no one really wants to hear about what soldiers go through, nobody wants to hear about what teachers go through. Thanks for your service and have a nice day.

You only confirmed one of the many facets of the issues we are facing with in our educational system. No many levels of corruption, we cannot help but see correlation with the fact this could be by design. Sometimes in It you will see computer frakked up beyond reason because of a stupid thing, but sometimes the frakked up mess is to organized and direct that you have to assume malicious intent.

[Psykhronic]

A huge travesty in America is definitely how we treat teachers and the idea of becoming a teacher. We act as though the last thing anyone wants as a white collar job is to be a teacher ('if nothing else, teach' and similar popular phrases exist). As a society, we should value the role of teaching.

Of course, tying education funds to property tax is not helping. Nor is relying on standardized tests. Nor treating everyone as if they learn the same. We also cannot keep expecting everyone to go to college and thus encouraging the business model education has become. Vocational training, schools, and jobs are needed.

[bladevalant546]

I agree witht he poster above...I finding out the corruption is so deep it will literatly take a cultural revolution to change anything. Profit first menality, materialism, and narcissism alone will need to be abolished before. Man the solution seems impossible in my opinion.

[Minimalist]

Thanks for the testimony from the trenches, Zazz.

It's like watching a slow-speed train wreck.

[Davidthegoliath]

The first start would be to take the education of your children seriously and from an early age. Too many parents use public school as a day care or leave 100% of the responsibility of teaching their children to the teachers. I hated being held back by the rest of my class and having no support from my parents growing up. I decided to home school my children and I'm very passionate about them learning to the best of their abilities. I'd rather live poor as a stay at home parent to ensure my children's education than to send them to a school where I know the standards are sub par. Saving for your children's college fund is questionable investment when their basic education is also questionable.