Whats wrong with Public Education?

Just today my professor gave out some stats on public education. I
cant remember the exact details, but he was referring to a problem with
college freshmen at a large nationaly known University whom are
requiring more tutors, and assistance, and have the lowest test and
academic scores than any generation before. The problem is american
public schools.


Many of you are parents, what do you say are the problems with our
schools? I bet that California is the worst of all in public schools
and I would not reccomend parents send their children to most public
schools in this state. You cant afford private, nor homoschooling? So
what do you do? Perhaps a loan is your last option for such a
situation, and perhaps the best.


Would love to hear what you have to say.


John

wrote in message
oups.com...
Just today my professor gave out some stats on public education.

I'll play along. What class was this data given in? Care to
share the stats?

I cant remember the exact details, but he was referring to a problem with
college freshmen at a large nationaly known University whom are
requiring more tutors, and assistance, and have the lowest test and
academic scores than any generation before.

Okay....

The problem is american public schools.

.... huh? Because something is *supposedly* happening at
one university, the problem is *American public schools*?
If you consider that conclusion to be scientifically sound, then
I'll say that the larger problem is the educational quality in
whatever schools you have attended.

Many of you are parents, what do you say are the problems with our
schools? I bet that California is the worst of all in public schools
and I would not reccomend parents send their children to most public
schools in this state.

You "bet" this? Pretty solid.


P. Tierney

wrote in message
oups.com...
Just today my professor gave out some stats on public education. I
cant remember the exact details, but he was referring to a problem with
college freshmen at a large nationaly known University whom are
requiring more tutors, and assistance, and have the lowest test and
academic scores than any generation before. The problem is american
public schools.

Or maybe more students need remedial help at the University level than ever
before because generations ago, only a very few students went on to higher
education after highschool. Since a larger percentage of students go to
college now, they can't all be the top ranked students. If 1 in 10 went
to university a hundred years ago, the universities could have chosen only
the top 1% of students. If 6 of 10 go to the university now, they aren't
all going to be the top 1%.




Many of you are parents, what do you say are the problems with our
schools? I bet that California is the worst of all in public schools
and I would not reccomend parents send their children to most public
schools in this state. You cant afford private, nor homoschooling? So
what do you do? Perhaps a loan is your last option for such a
situation, and perhaps the best.


Would love to hear what you have to say.


John

On 13 Apr 2005 15:48:09 -0700, wrote:

Would love to hear what you have to say.

I read a lot of categorical conclusions, but saw no solid facts or numbers.
Please post the name of the university you were talking about, and a reference
to an offline journal or magazine, or link to an online one.

I live in California. The schools out here have problems, although not as
many as you'd think to read the newspapers. (And not as many as they should
have; we don't give them enough money for textbooks or to keep the school
buildings up to code.) My three kids go to the local public school. They
seem to be learning how to read. (My oldest daughter has her nose buried in a
book all the time.)

In article ,
"Tracey" wrote:

If 1 in 10 went
to university a hundred years ago, the universities could have chosen only
the top 1% of students. If 6 of 10 go to the university now, they aren't
all going to be the top 1%.

If one in 10 went, they'd have the top TEN percent. Actually, since
some of the top 10% might choose to not go to college, it still wasn't
just the top 10%.

If 6 of 10 go, that's 60%.
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

"dragonlady" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Tracey" wrote:

If 1 in 10 went
to university a hundred years ago, the universities could have chosen
only
the top 1% of students. If 6 of 10 go to the university now, they
aren't
all going to be the top 1%.

If one in 10 went, they'd have the top TEN percent. Actually, since
some of the top 10% might choose to not go to college, it still wasn't
just the top 10%.

If 6 of 10 go, that's 60%.

LOL, I shouldn't post when I am that tired.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Just today my professor gave out some stats on public education. I
cant remember the exact details, but he was referring to a problem with
college freshmen at a large nationaly known University whom are
requiring more tutors, and assistance, and have the lowest test and
academic scores than any generation before. The problem is american
public schools.

Here you have made a huge leap. Being in public education (a teacher) I will
not say that the system is perfect, and the constant increase in beuracratic
'demands' upon the classroom teacher grows from year to year. But there are
also extreme social and technological changes that have taken place in the last
30 that have changed students.

Socially we are now in a society where (in most families) both parents are
working more than a 40 hr work week, many children only see their parents less
than 3 hours a day, and that time is spent watching TV or other 'non social'
activities. Children are not taught discipline, work ethics, motivation, or
even basic social skills. These basic attributes of life are then expected to
be taught by the schools which are given the responsibility but not the rights
needed to do so.

More and more we (I) see children on heavy medication for ADD, ADHD, depression
and extreme emotional disorders, this too is a sign of the trama that they are
going through at the family level. Education is not their primary concern,
survival is. With many of these children I could not care less about their
'learning', I am, for an hour a day, their parent/counselor/friend. I
encourage, discipline and try to aferm thier value and human beings. This won't
show up in their test scores but it will show up in their lives.

With the technological changes we also see children who only know lives through
their computer, TV or movies. Their reference to reality is based on these
'experiences'. Much time now is taken to unteach things that they saw in the
movies that they believe is true. Museums, art galleries, theater, BOOKS,
outdoors, nat'l parks are all foreign concepts to them.

Many of you are parents, what do you say are the problems with our
schools? I bet that California is the worst of all in public schools
and I would not reccomend parents send their children to most public
schools in this state. You cant afford private, nor homoschooling? So
what do you do? Perhaps a loan is your last option for such a
situation, and perhaps the best.

As a teacher in Calif, I did send my children to a private elementary school,
first and foremost for the Christian values that the school taught. (honesty,
integrity, compassion, love, kindness, etc.) and second for the educational
value. In this case because the state had mandated 'whole language' be taught
in all of the elementary schools and, after reading the actual studies that the
reports were based upon, saw how harmful it would be, so I found a school that
taught phonics and proper reading skills (see bureaucracy above). BUT I also
reinforced reading skills at home, books are a part of my life so they became a
part of my children's lives. I turn off the TV to spend time grading papers so
my children would do the same (work ethics - discipline).

No, to say, "it's all the school's fault' is just to find the easy answer to an
extremely complex and important issue.

God Bless,
JCB