What steps do you think we should take to improve our education system?

1. 81

   Genna Eastposted 8 years ago

   What steps do you think we should take to improve our education system?
   
   I'd like to see more courses in our high schools that embrace the arts and the humanities, and performance-based assessments as opposed to "teaching to the test." 
   
   

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2. 93

   lisavollrathposted 8 years ago

   I had an arts education, and wandered into the business world. More than one boss commented on the fact that I was the most creative thinker they'd met. While people in business school were learning what to think, I was learning how to think.
   
   I think education should focus on how to think creatively, rather than cramming for standardized tests.

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      Genna Eastposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I did as well, Lisa.  Thank you for your answer.  They should be teaching students how to think, and creativity is a must. :-)

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3. 83

   peachpurpleposted 8 years ago

   teachers try to understand students ability to absorb knowledge and giving more tuition to slow to catch students. Otherwise, students idle and become hopeless

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      Genna Eastposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for that answer, peachy.

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4. 81

   dashingscorpioposted 8 years ago

   I believe the biggest challenge is getting parents to invest more time on their children's educational progress. I know parents who have no idea how well their child is doing until report cards come out. I've also known others who didn't know when report cards came out. Quite a few parents are "hands off" when it comes to education. 
   They're not having the child show them or tell them what was covered, overlooking their assignments, meeting with the teachers to discuss progress or lack thereof. Teachers complain about lack of parental input. In some instances parents and teachers are at odds.
   Lastly a lot of parents do a bad job of selling the benefits of education to their children. For example if a child indicates they want to be a doctor you might look into having them join the Medical Explorers Club or meet with some doctors.
   In other words you have to "feed their dreams" until they take on a life of their own. Children have to see their going to school is "leading them to something" in order to keep them motivated.

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      Genna Eastposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Well said!  My Dad was a research biologist, and he was appalled when he looked at my son's biology text book; he said the school was teaching science that was outdated by 10 years.  Involvement in our children's education is key.

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5. 61

   dianetrotterposted 8 years ago

   People should not have children they cannot afford to have or the maturity to raise responsibly.  Babies are not toys to be played with but human beings to grow up and contribute to society.  Many kids start school behind because they were not nurtured as babies and toddlers.  There is a sermon that goes along with this.

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      Genna Eastposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      So true!  Education begins in the home; and this is part of the nurturing that provides children with a foundation in life.  Schools can't and shouldn't do it all.

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      dianetrotterposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Geanna!  I wish we could get it through the heads of the perpetrators.

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6. 97

   chef-de-jourposted 8 years ago

   I think there is too much emphasis on the tick box methodology these days. Here in the UK we're leaning too much towards cramming facts and figures into the heads of pupils so they pass exams and keep the inspectors happy. The pressure is on to be more sensitive to learning styles and not outcomes;getting the balance is tricky.
   
   But perhaps this system forgets to nurture the minds of pupils - there's just no room, time or space to work on children's inner strengths when they are young! Curriculum should rule but there should also be time and space for creative/free thinking classes. Perhaps the arts is part of the answer here, but also philosophy could have a role alongside.
   
   Teachers here are always complaining about stress, classroom aggression and paperwork and 'league table mentality', and many are reluctant to commit to the profession. This is a worry. I can't help thinking that discipline has been lacking in the last few decades;teachers are afraid to lay down rules and red lines and many pupils take advantage.

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      Genna Eastposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for taking the time to answer, Andrew.  :-)And I agree with you...science, technology and math have taken the lead over the arts and the humanities.  Memorization versus the ability to think quantitatively or creatively  is taking its toll.

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7. 90

   cam8510posted 8 years ago

   I've written one hub on this topic, and it was based on my late wife's experiences as an eighth grade science teacher.  My conclusion describes the hard way, but I believe the right and necessary way, to improve education anywhere in the world. 
   
   My premise is that true teachers, great teachers, are not entirely made by university teaching schools but are gifted with this special talent by nature.  A great teacher has three qualities.
   
   1.  A great teacher is passionate about the subject(s) they teach.  Proof of this is revealed in the fact that they continue to pursue knowledge in that particular area outside the classroom, in their private lives.
   
   2.  A great teacher has a great deal of  knowledge about the subject(s) they teach.  I have witnessed teachers attempting to teach material they have no knowledge of.  They try to wing it and teach from the textbook, but students can see through this facade very easily and quickly.
   
   3.  Great teachers have the ability to communicate, with passion and deep knowledge, the information of their particular specialty.  They are able to make the information relevant to nearly any age group. 
   
   Can our universities teach passion? Can they teach prospective teachers to love their subject so much that they pursue knowledge of it outside of the classroom when they aren't being paid?
   
   Key elements to being a great teacher cannot be taught.  These special people must be found since they can't be created.  They are out there and many don't even know that they, at their very core, are great teachers.
   
   There needs to be a strategy by universities, school systems, school boards and state governments to identify these people early, preferably while they are still in high school.  Then they should be challenged to pursue teaching as a career.  Some people might discover their innate ability to teach long after high school and these people should be assisted in making their ways to the classroom.
   
   I am in favor of higher pay for teachers, but higher pay alone will only attract people looking for higher pay.  There is already a glut of people in the teaching profession who hate what they do, but continue to teach because it is the only way they have prepared themselves to make a living. 
   
   Great teachers are primarily discovered and then are further enabled to fulfill this vital role in society.

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      Genna Eastposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      What a thoughtful answer.  And I agree in that great teachers should be recognized and encouraged.

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   James A Watkinsposted 8 years ago

   The schools should be privatized to get the federal government and the unions out of them. Before the Feds stepped in, and before the unions were granted the power to close schools to non-union members, in the 1960s we had by far the best schools in the world. Unions are by nature Leftist so no wonder public school teachers are 80% Leftists now. What with the internet and free enterprise, education can be far better if people have a real choice about what and how they want their children to learn.

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