Quote:
Originally Posted by Thunderball
We wouldn't have all these alternative schools and emphasis on high achievement, early career tracks and self-serving extra cirricular activities if they weren't so necessary nowadays. Public schools are becoming more and more overcrowded, and the prevailing wisdom is that the quality must be decreasing as a result. Whether it actually is going down is anyone's guess.
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If someone were to believe that the quality of public education was decreasing (I wouldn't know, I've only been part of the 'delivery' side for 2.5 years) I would point them in a few directions:
1. Pandering to parents and giving in to their wishes above all in every single aspect of the process of educating their child.
OK, I understand that no-one knows your kid better than you do, blah-blah, but let's face it. I'm the teacher. I've gone to University to learn how to do what I do, I'm pretty good at it, I care about what is in the best interests of your child, and whether you want to admit it, I am doing the best I can. A problem is that everyone went to school and has these ideas about it that they think they are as good at it as I am or that they know just as much about it as I do. You don't. I'm sorry. I have to ask permission from parents before I keep their kids after school. Seriously, what is up with that? In the words of Bill Cosby, come on people.
2. Schools don't REALLY fail kids any more.
You heard me right. I think maybe three kids failed (actually held back) in my school last year. In order for a kid to fail a grade, their parents have to agree with it. Shockingly enough, parents seem to think it's more important for their kids to carry on with their social group than actually understand the material they are learning in school. Why? The kid will get over it. A kid is not likely to 'get over' the fact that they don't know how to multiply two numbers together, and no matter what you think, every subject you learn in school is important, whether it's the actual CONTENT learned or the SKILLS. Why are parents given this power to tell a school that they can't decide what happens to their child relating to their schoolwork? Not only is this very concept absurd, it sets up so many kids for failure later in life. Getting a 'failing' grade doesn't matter - why would it? There is no 'failing' any more. A 20% (sorry, 30% per my school's 'minimum grade policy') is the same as a 60% or 75% now. It doesn't matter. Your academic average is 23% (sorry, 30%)? Off to the next grade, who cares if you can't read? What does that teach kids?
3. Students aren't streamed anymore (unless given a parents' permission of course).
My classes are a mishmash of students of so many different ability levels that it's scandalous. I have 35 kids in an 8th grade Science class. Some of them can't read alongside kids who need further extension of the work we do and everything (and I mean everything) in between. How are people not outraged that I have more than one kid in an 8th grade class who can't read? How exactly am I supposed to teach that? I get an Education Assistant SOMETIMES ... but when there are 5 kids she works with ... I still have 30. And she can only work with one at a time. Of course quality of education is going to go down. How could it not? I mean, heaven forbid we embarass poor Johnny or Jenny by putting them in a lower-level class where at least they can learn the things they need to - or - gasp - suggest a program at another school that might be more suited to them, but hey, we've got to ask Mom and Dad first, and they'd rather not embarass the poor kid or - the horror - remove them from their peer group.
4. The money that does go into the educational system is wasted a large amount of the time.
I went to an all-day session about the new Social Studies 9 curriculum coming in next year (replacing the one we currently use - which came in place in 1989 - not a typo). There were 35 of us there, which means there were 35 substitute teachers in schools at a cost of $200 per substitute ... $7000 right there. The two women who 'taught' it probably cost $600 for the day, on top of the lunch and other materials ... the lesson cost us all $8000. At least. And it could have all been done over e-mail. This happens far more than you think. Seven of those sessions easily makes up the salary of one full-time starting teacher.