Should schools be more competitive when it comes to classroom learning?

1. 75

   guy6336posted 13 years ago

   Should schools be more competitive when it comes to classroom learning?
   
   With, "No Child Left Behind," education has more of a give everyone a chance philosophy.  Should school push for more competition amongst students to see if that pushes students to strive and work harder than they normally do?  Should we make it more like it is in the, "Real World?"  What do you think?

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2. 75

   TIMETRAVELER2posted 13 years ago

   Competition or lack thereof is not the problem in today's schools.  No Child Left Behind is an unrealistic program that sounds good but does not work in real life.  Teachers tend to give all children the best opportunities available, but standardized testing and ridiculous programs like No Child Left Behind tie their hands.
   
   Do you really think that in a class of 35 students with IQs that range from a low of 80 to a high of 140 that all children can learn equally even when they are given the same opportunities to learn?  It's impossible and any teacher will tell you so.

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3. 75

   guy6336posted 13 years ago

   Good point, TimeTraveler2.  I totally agree with you.  It is rough when you have all students thrown together like a bowl of stew.  Just like the items in the pot, meat and potatoes are not ready at the same time and do not cook at the same rate.  Just like the kids in class do not learn at the same time and do not always get things as fast as the others.  You have to adjust what you are doing.  "No Child Left Behind," is a totally unrealistic program.  Anyone who doesn't see it as such is crazy.  I do feel that the standardized testing has become an out of control frieght train that everyone is using as the total assessment of each and every student and teacher.  There are just a lot of wrongs in education right now.
   
   Saying that, the quesion was do you feel that education could benefit from more competition?  Reward those students who excel at a high level, or pit them in an academic competition.  Rewarding a school with some kind of award if the students score higher than any other school in the county.  I know money is tight in education right now, but something has to be done to motivate these students.  It is getting increasingly worse in the classroom.  Reward, and see if the others will follow.  I am not saying give them a trophy, but find something that you know we motivate them.  Make it something that you know they will really want, and make it a competition.  Anyone have any ideas?  It is just like sports.  If you want to be a champion, you have to put in the time.    Do you feel that those things would make student strive to be better students, more driven, or strive to achieve a better grasp of curriculum?
   
   People are motivated to succeed by being reward for what they do.  Not just getting through something, but succeeding at something.  If you are running a business, do you want someone who just gets through a sale?  No, you want someone who makes a sale and strives to be the best not just keep their job.  That is the problem with education.  No one puts a huge value on striving to be the best.  There are too many people and parents that are satisfied with their children just getting through.  I see that as a problem and it doesn't prepare them for what life is going to be like in the real world.

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4. 73

   SidKempposted 13 years ago

   Each of us - and each child - is a unique gift to the world. I went to a high school that challenged and inspired each of us to do *our own* best. There was no competition between students - and students had a phenomenal success rate, no matter what their IQ.

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