https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/03/us/us-students-international-test-scores.html

Some blame smart phones, common core, dumbing down of education and the sheer vast diversity of identities/race/culture/income.

I think that Americans realize that half of this so called education shit is useless in the job market and real life. We don't see the real life application, so why waste time teaching or studying for it! Education is shifting. I find myself teaching my child things that will improve her future like finance, business, taxes, home ownership vs. reading in-depth Shakespearean prose or the function of a parallelogram.


From the article;

"The disappointing results from the exam, the Program for International Student Assessment, were announced on Tuesday and follow those from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, an American test that recently showed that two-thirds of children were not proficient readers.

Over all, American 15-year-olds who took the PISA test scored slightly above students from peer nations in reading but below the middle of the pack in math."

The top performers in reading were four provinces of China — Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Also outperforming the United States were Singapore, Macau, Hong Kong, Estonia, Canada, Finland and Ireland. The United Kingdom, Japan and Australia performed similarly to the United States.

Rise & Shine
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Heart & Mind

but let me chill.....


"Get ready....for your blessing....."
"Bury me by my Grand-Grand and when you can come follow me"

I do agree that America is so big and so diverse depending on where you live, income, and identity.

I don't think teaching Foreign Language will hurt American students but I wonder if it will impact how we think about certain subjects (math/science) which are not as applicable in the everyday as languages and the arts.

I think schools overemphasize Language Arts and don't spend enough time on STEM and how it functions in our lives

Rise & Shine
Thrive & Grind
Heart & Mind

i don't know if y'all have raised kids or are teachers..

but either way, how are you generalizing about what is or isn't a focus in "schools" as if it there aren't millions of them?

like where are y'all getting this info?

d

But the sentiment remains based on things I’ve seen and am seeing. The American public school system is crazy imbalanced. But yes, one huge issue for me has been an imbalance in which subjects are being adequately structured and presented in our local school system.

There is the schools for high tax bracket people which are well funded and supplemented by tutors, test preps, etc. and I bet those kids scores are as high as any where else in the world.

And there are the schools for the poor kids that have to function as day care, part social work offices and generally warehouses where kids there are just trying to make it through the day.

I've come to believe you can't fix those schools with just money alone. They really need a wholistic investment in jobs for the parents and a host of support services just to get the kids ready to learn.



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"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

>I've come to believe you can't fix those schools with just
>money alone. They really need a wholistic investment in jobs
>for the parents and a host of support services just to get the
>kids ready to learn.

Those things cost money. Unless your understanding of "money" here is just taking a briefcase full of cash and leaving it in the principal's office, what you're describing is a need to properly fund schools - particularly initiatives that prepare kids for the school day. When people say they want to fund schools properly they're not disagreeing with you.

______________________________

"Walleye, a lot of things are going to go wrong in your life that technically aren't your fault. Always remember that this doesn't make you any less of an idiot"

--Walleye's Dad

I’m in Charlotte and the school system is huge. It’s the whole county in one system. The problem is the size of the school system.

****************
TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*

Trick question of course they don’t.

Common core is fine it’s just a set of standards.

Students need more in depth shakespeare and math not less.

Fix education by fixing poverty and inequality, everything else is band aids.

.
*****
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5P6zdlPJ34&feature=related
^^^ever walked the streets of...

I think the symbolic Shakespeare topics should be electives. I hated studying Shakespeare and still think my literary skills were hampered by being forced to study white British authors.

I am happy that American schools are evolving.

As far as math, I notice that schools wait too long to introduce math fundamentals. Kids can memorize basic arithmetic as early as Prek 4. Yet my kid's teacher is still reviewing basic counting (smacks forehead). I have opted to put her in STEM camps to compensate.

Rise & Shine
Thrive & Grind
Heart & Mind

More literature in general I would say. The humanities are as important as sciences in my opinion. There is room to teach and learn about the human condition and about finances, taxes, etc which is mainly basic arithmetic.

There are many issues in Public schools and thus with teachers in the classrooms. We dearly need more teachers, more facilities, more teacher aides/assistants at many schools.

.
*****
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5P6zdlPJ34&feature=related
^^^ever walked the streets of...

Dont believe it needs to be taught to everyone. I think the goal should be to get every kid into reading, which means meet them where they are and find material relevant to them. If it takes a Donald Goines novel to get them into reading, teach Dopefiend (and also discuss what's wrong with the novel).
**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

>Dont believe it needs to be taught to everyone. I think the
>goal should be to get every kid into reading, which means meet
>them where they are and find material relevant to them. If it
>takes a Donald Goines novel to get them into reading, teach
>Dopefiend (and also discuss what's wrong with the novel).
>**********
>"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then
>they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson
>
>"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

Agree.

.
*****
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5P6zdlPJ34&feature=related
^^^ever walked the streets of...

>Some blame smart phones, common core, dumbing down of
>education and the sheer vast diversity of
>identities/race/culture/income.

so diversity, technology, and standardization.

they blame everything but the lack of funding for education. its no coincidence that the states with the lowest levels of education are also the reddest and invest the least in education.

pretty logical direct correlation.

and the only people who blame common core for underperformance are people engaged in a campaign to eliminate common educational testing standards so they can operate even lower performing charter schools with no level of quantifiable accountability.

---

>they blame everything but the lack of funding for education.
>its no coincidence that the states with the lowest levels of
>education are also the reddest and invest the least in
>education.

My wife works in education research and, like, everybody knows how to make schools better: fund them properly. There are countries that are exceptional at finding innovative ways to get the most out of their money - if I recall correctly, Singapore is usually named as a particularly ambitious innovator when it comes to education. But the United States has the ability to both throw money at education *and* be smart about how to do it and we just... pass.

Except for wealthy, white areas. Those public schools are typically as good as anywhere else in the world.

______________________________

"Walleye, a lot of things are going to go wrong in your life that technically aren't your fault. Always remember that this doesn't make you any less of an idiot"

--Walleye's Dad

I agree with many of the less big Federally mandated rules and think local decisions about educational curriculums are better for black people.

Most high performing black educational institutions are based in private, Afrocentric, Christian, Muslim or homeschooling philosophies.

As I began to navigate public schools, black children lose out whether they attend an all black school or high performing white school. Our kids must adapt or be exceptional and learning about our cultural heroes or history from an African American lens is watered down by state laws.

Most intelligent, pro-black parents send their kids to private schools, homeschool or take the bait and send their kids to affluent area schools.

So the rest of the low income and middle class black children are left to the whims of the state educators. It isn't about money, more about values and comittment from parents.

Rise & Shine
Thrive & Grind
Heart & Mind

Funding and all that other shit y’all talking about aside (which are valid points), it was an international test.

Living in “the greatest country in the world” means we don’t have to learn about other countries. Other countries have to learn about us.