Stupid in America

Watched this a while back and just kind of laughed at it. My school isn’t as bad as the examples shown in the video but it is funny to see the way that things are elsewhere.

I like the bit where they talk to foreign kids, and they sound off on how their system works and how ours is absolutely ridiculous.

Standards and expectations.

I haven’t watched the full clip yet (I can only stomach so much 20/20 at one sitting – even when the topic is so important), but the problem isn’t ONLY money (though money applied correctly CAN in fact solve just about any problem it’s important to know that a near infinite supply of money NOT applied correctly might accomplish NOTHING).

All the schools need to do is not let students move forward who are not ready to move forward. THAT’S IT! It really is that simple.

Many kids put in the minimum effort required to move on. Expect and require more of them and they’ll meet those new expectations.

SOME teachers are bad .. but you’ll notice that the US does fine in the international comparisons in early grades. It’s in LATER grades that the differences start to show up. Imagine the frustrations of a teacher who is faced with a classroom in which a third of the students aren’t really ready to be there. Now, imagine how blissful it would be if EVERY STUDENT was really PREPARED to be in the grade they are in. Imagine how much easier it would be for the teachers to succeed with the students they have. When a student in a high school science class can’t read well enough to process the information being presented in the book, lab manual, and lectures .. and when that same student is unable to handle calculations involving fractions .. is it really the fault of the science teacher that this student does not succeed in the science class?

When kids are held back there will likely be anger from kids and their parents (who believe their kids when they say things like “but, mom, I worked my butt off in that class and I just don’t get it” and who don’t understand that the problem is that even if the kid works his or her butt off trying to learn science .. the problem is with READING and basic MATH skills).

The solution is simple. And it will cost money .. not because we need new high tech methods, but because not everyone will get through grades 1-12 in 12 years. Some will take longer than that .. they will be held back one or more times .. so there will be more students in school (that’s where the added cost comes from).

I believe that MOST of the problem will be solved quickly (within 5 years of getting serious about not promoting students who are not ready) because I believe that MOST of the problem is with the laziness of kids who simply do the minimum that is expected. We have let these kids dictate what “average” and “adequate” mean. By definition, they have control over what is average. They do NOT have control over what is adequate. We must set standards and require our students to reach those standards. Then we must MAINTAIN those standards.

Hmm, yes I remember this point you keep making, Carl.

So how about this:

1. No more social promotion to the next grades.
2. Moving to a more capitalistic approach to schools like in Europe, where good schools get more money and resources and sub-standard schools die off.

I think if we combine this with a new look at discipline and control within the classroom we’ll be able to make some major change.

” 1. No more social promotion to the next grades.”

I agree.

“2. Moving to a more capitalistic approach to schools like in Europe, where good schools get more money and resources and sub-standard schools die off.”

Define “good schools.”

Explain how this idea would work in a rural region of the country (most of the country by area) that does not have multiple school options .. or that might have ONLY substandard schools.

I guarantee that in Europe they do NOT have the same expectations of their students that we have here. We need to expect more of our students and hold them to these expectations (or don’t send them forward).

“I think if we combine this with a new look at discipline and control within the classroom we’ll be able to make some major change.”

Discipline is important, but teachers are frustrated at the school administrations telling them not to bother them with discipline problems (teachers are told that maintaining discipline is part of their jobs, but they are not given the authority to do what they need to do to maintain the discipline — like send the students from the class or fail them). Students are in over their heads (and know it) because they aren’t prepared for their current grade. So, they act out.

Let’s just try:

” 1. No more social promotion to the next grades.”

My girlfriend is a high school teacher and she easily works over 80 hours a week. Easily.

Teaching requires a great deal more work than showing up and teaching a couple classes for 50 minutes. Each 50 minute class requires about 1 hour of lesson planning, running to Kinkos to copy assignments, then up to another hour following the class to grade papers. If you have 5 classes per day that’s 12.5 hours per day for a 5 class day, assuming you don’t have 5 identical classes. In addition to that you must spend one period supervising lunch during the workday. So, she leaves at 6:30 AM, gets home at 5:00, eats dinner, then grades 5 classes worth of papers until 10PM, then does it again the next day. On top of that she also has to squeeze in parent-teacher conferences, assisting with school events, etc… etc… I would never do that job. She makes 40k a year in the Philly job market, you can work at a carpet store for that income.

You want schools to be better? Kick out the bad kids. Have a 3 strikes and you are out rule. The job is already hard enough without the jerks. Throw in a couple bad kids in a class and you have no shot. Then on top of that the government and parents blame the teachers.

What a thankless job, we are lucky anyone teaches at all.

Most foreign countries do not guarantee an education for all citizens, so their schools are filled with the best and brightest, no special education, no low income, no kids from bad upbringings. Our schools have children of all different intelligence levels and backgrounds. You can’t compare the US school system with that of other countries. If you were to take all kids in a specific age group from the US and one of those other countries, the US kids will likely be more educated because they will ALL have been educated to some level, versus just a percentage of that same demographic in another country.