What would you do to fix the educational system in America?

1. 86

   billybucposted 12 years ago

   What would you do to fix the educational system in America?
   
   This assumes, of course, that the system needs fixing.  What would you change about it? What would you terminate? Perhaps we need to look first at what is wrong before answering the question.

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2. 60

   bruzzbuzzposted 12 years ago

   The first thing I would do to fix a broken educational system in America is to abolish the Department of Education. States and local school boards have historically been better able to run their schools. All the feds want to do is rate schools on tests that really do not tell us anything about a kid's ability to learn. Schools have sole out to No Child Left Behind and will only teach to the tests that are being given in a school year, For instance, in Texas you will find that many schools will not teach much social studies and science in the 3rd grades because it is not tested during that year. Writing is tested in the 4th grade so the students receive a great deal of instruction in writing until the test is over and then something else is taught. This is the fault of the feds. Good question.

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3. 61

   MickSposted 12 years ago

   Which country in America are you refering to, Mexico, Canada, or the USA, one of the off shore islands, or one of the South American countries. America isn't a country, it's a vast continent split into north and south sections.
   It is said that Canada has the finest education system, nothing to change there I supose.  I've not heard much about the education syatem in all the other American countries, although I understand that in the USA you only need to be good at sports to get into a colege or university.  Perhaps that would be a good starting point for change.

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4. 86

   billybucposted 12 years ago

   My apologies to MickS who is absolutely correct about America...so let's change the question to the United States.

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5. 80

   NayNay2124posted 12 years ago

   To fix the educational system in the United States we need to invest more money and training into our teachers. This would enable us to obtain quality teachers who will provide our children with the level of education needed to compete globally. We also need to get parents more involved with the education of their children.

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6. 0

   Old Empresarioposted 12 years ago

   MickS has a point: Texas high schools at least are nothing more than training grounds for future college athletes. To fix the educational system, we need more teachers and better pay for those teachers. Schools need to stop listening to parents who want them to deny science to their children. There needs to be a greater emphasis on the humanities. That's just the beginning. The whole structure needs to evolve.

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7. 61

   keithlipkeposted 12 years ago

   Pull it from the federal Government...give it to the states and districts.

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8. 84

   Deborah-Dianeposted 12 years ago

   I work in the school system.  I think that we cannot fix the school system until we fix the parents!  Although parents in many school districts today can check their children's assignments and grades daily, many parents pay absolutely no attention when their children have missing assignments and failing grades. Kids are not getting enough sleep at home, so they fall asleep during the day in school.  They are fed high sugar meals, so they complain of belly aches and have trouble sitting still.  Teachers have complained to me that they cannot assign the long papers and book reports that they did just a decade ago, because as many as one-fourth of the kids simply will not do large assignments, and the teachers are criticized when they fail that many students.  When parents take their jobs seriously, the schools will "magically" improve, too!

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9. 60

   kingmaxlerposted 12 years ago

   It is true that change starts in the home, but there are so many overwhelmed parents and dysfunctional families. We cannot fix them all. We do need to within the system itself and it is possible. Teachers are key. Teachers need more positive incentives including a pay raise. Teachers need to be held accountable. Teachers need to be supported by the community, the principals and other school administrators. Take out the teachers that cannot teach. That would be first and foremost.

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10. 93

    Faceless39posted 12 years ago

    Scrap it and start over, Without Government intrusion, without government re-written textbooks, without government indoctrination, brainwashing, etc.

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11. 78

    cloverleaffarmposted 12 years ago

    Oh, I believe the system needs fixing, and it has for a long time.
    I agree with Deborah-Diane, that part of it is the parents, but that is not the big part to the puzzle. The teachers and the school system have much to do with it. They all have these "fancy new ideas" that will make our kids better. Better than  what. All I see coming out of schools is kids who don't read, because they were taught phonics, kids who can't do math, because they were just pushed along, and kids who have no sense of the real world...because it might have hurt their self esteem? Give me a break.
    Years ago, when my son was in second grade, his teacher put his work up on the bulletin board with a gold star. I was horrified. The paper had way to many mistakes to have a gold star. She told me "We don't want to hurt their self esteem". I told her to take it down, that is was not a real life lesson. He was not going to get a gold star for making big mistakes in life.
    And this I fought for years in the school.
    Let's get the schools back to real life.
    They need to get back to the basics of the three R's, and teach the children how to strive for that gold star. Teach them how to study, and reach for the stars...not just give them one so it doesn't hurt their feelings.
    Oh, and for those parents that are very actively involved as I was...listen to them. I'm pretty sure they know their own kid better than the teacher.
    If I was to have kids now, I would definitely home school them, or put them in a private school.

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