The Education System Is Making Kids Stupid

Discussion in 'Education & Learning' started by Martin Alonzo, Nov 2, 2019.

  1. Ed Marsh

    Ed Marsh Very Well-Known Member
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    Good evening to all-

    Mr. Elohim- with all due respect to you, could you please define or explain what "losing the cures of all diseases" and "promoting more disease in all of the students" means? that is very confusing to me.
    And if you would be so kind, could you please tell us what sort of trade children should learn which would be more productive and beneficial to the kids and the country than public school?

    I don't see many "trades" that ten year olds should be doing.

    good evening to all- Ed
     
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  2. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Perhaps that's because we get to see what's happening in our local schools and aren't dependent on deceptive experts to tell us what's going on. You're reminding me a lot of Baghdad Bob, who saw only victory for Saddam Hussein's Iraq in the face of obvious disaster, or perhaps the US media, who reported about leftist protests being "mostly peaceful" as buildings could be seen burning in the background.
     
    #182
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  3. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    -Parents objected to the teaching of "Critical Race Theory" to their children
    -The National School Boards Association (NSBA) had been having meetings with the Biden White House because such "conservative parents" are their mutual enemy
    -In an effort to shut down the voices of their mutual enemy, a letter was sent from the NSBA to the White House asking that such parents being investigated as "domestic terrorists" under The Patriot Act because they would not back down in school board meetings
    -The Department of Justice agreed to (and did) investigate those parents
    -There is some sense that the NSBA and the White House worked together to orchestrate the whole thing, and that the White House may have actually drafted the letter for the NSBA to send
    -The subtext is that there was a Facebook group that tried to collect data on parents who targeted the leftist school agenda. The state Attorney General and school board members were participants
    -The other subtext is there was a boy using the girl's facilities in this county because he "Identified As," and he raped a little girl. The board did not prosecute or warn parents, they just quietly moved him to another school where he raped another little girl. The parents of the first school were told to not talk about it, and that the boy had been sentenced to learning at home with an ankle bracelet...not transferred where he would rape again. The outraged father of the second victim exploded in a school board meeting and had charges brought against him.

    None of the above are being done because state law demands it.
     
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  4. Ed Marsh

    Ed Marsh Very Well-Known Member
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    Good evening to all-
    Mr. Anderson- With all due respect, I am not like anyone you know previously.

    And while you say you are not dependent on "experts", might I be so bold as to ask who you do depend on for information? For myself, I depend on myself to write about things I know and have experienced. If I don't know about a topic, I don't offer any comment until I do. And again, if you feel the public schools are so bad, why don't you do something about it? Most schools welcome senior volunteers who are trained and made ready for their duties. Your experience, knowledge, patience and example would be a good thing for many kids to see and know.

    It's easy to moan and complain about something, but it's hard- and much more fulfilling to actually try to do something to make things better.

    good night to all- Ed
     
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  5. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    While your personal opinions and observations are welcome, they don't trump those of others who are seeing something entirely different, and they certainly don't explain why, if our schools are truly utopian, the results don't support that.
     
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  6. Ed Marsh

    Ed Marsh Very Well-Known Member
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    Good evening to all-
    Mr. Brunner-
    I would like to offer a few comments.

    First, "Critical Race Theory" is a BS made-up ain't no such thing term for something that does not exist in public schools. this is a boogie-man scare tactic used by persons to distract attention and cause nothing but trouble. I know of no school which teachers "critical race theory". It is not real.
    Next, parents have every right to express their opinions on curricula, activities, and anything else which comes in the public school operation. Parents do not have the right to disrupt school board meetings, and they do not have the right to force their opinions on school board operations.
    Next, whatever the White House and the NSBA do or do not do have absolutely nothing to do with the day to day operation of any particular public school. These associations and politicians are just people with an agenda who are trying to get TV air time.- just as the people who are making false claims about "critical race theory" are trying to get air time and exposure.
    Next, every child in school- boy, girl, whatever- should have equal rights, protections, and restrictions. I can not comment on the final point you make- I know nothing about it. The schools have enough to do trying to get everything done that needs to be done. It is not the school's job to determine student gender. IF this occurrence happened, and again I have no knowledge of such occurrence, then I would say the situation was handled badly.
    But "exploding" in a board meeting is never a productive action.

    If you look hard enough, you can find examples of actions you don't like or approve of- it's a big country with a lot of different people in it. But I would caution anyone and everyone to be very cautious about accepting "information" from sources that might be trying to sell you something.

    good night to all- Ed
    .
     
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  7. Ed Marsh

    Ed Marsh Very Well-Known Member
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    Good evening to all-

    Mr. Anderson- If you have read what I have written and think that I believe our schools are utopian, then I really don't know what to say to you. I know too much about schools, teachers, parents, kids- to think the schools are perfect. Schools are a human institution, and that means mistakes will be made, Things won't happen that should happen. Things that should not happen will happen. Schools are not and never were perfect.
    But, schools offer for most kids the best opportunity for their best life to come. Most teachers work hard to help kids learn. Again, the schools are not perfect because they are human.

    And if you find the public school so bad and so harmful, then why not keep your kids or grandkids at home and teach them yourself? Perhaps you can do a better job than those teachers.

    And I do appreciate you declaring my personal opinions are welcome. I never expressed that my opinions were worth more than anyone else's opinion. I just base my opinion on what I have seen and experienced in the classroom and as a parent myself. I don't base my opinion on the misleading "information" presented by certain media folks who have vested interest in creating discord to make life more difficult for others.

    good night to all- Ed
     
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  8. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    It’s a given that I haven’t been in a classroom for many years but I do know that 32 million (or so) adults are functionally illiterate.
    I have looked all over the internet and a lot of the information says the U.S. has one of the finest school “systems” in the world but then when I read the student stats on reading and reading comprehension in particular, it’s all downhill.

    When I was the educational director at the Seattle rescue mission, we had a program called the International Learning System (ILS) installed on 18 (if I remember correctly) computer stations.
    The Los Angeles rescue mission and the Los Angeles Gospel rescue missions along with around 100 other missions had the same program.
    Although the whole program hit all the bases, the starting program was chiefly used to help students from 18 years old + with literacy problems and aid in their advancement so they could learn enough to go onto other programs to help them achieve a high school equivalency or even complete their SAT’s.

    I interviewed and tested hundreds of reading impaired homeless men and women and all of them but 2 came out of a public school and at some point, had to drop out because their ability to read was so impaired that they couldn’t possibly pass any other class.

    Note: I wrote that the Seattle ministry had 18 stations. Each person only had 3 hours a day on a station and all the stations were busy from 0900 to 2100 hrs. 6 days a week.
    The thing is, every mission with the program reported the same type of daily activity whether they had 10 stations or 30.

    Now, I realize that most teachers probably like to teach are well equipped to teach but there’s a definite flaw in the system when so many students aren’t ready to even go to a vocational school because they can’t read.
    I saw the continual achievements the ILS students made in such a short period of time so no one can tell me that it’s all because Johnny doesn’t want to or worse, can’t learn. As a second thought, maybe some of those students couldn’t function under a certain setting?
    Perhaps the now adult Johnny wants to get off the streets or maybe it hit home that a better job or career can be had or whatever the motivation might be, I’ve seen illiterates come out of public schools and into missions and leave those missions as career minded people.
     
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  9. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    A rose by any other name…….Try the 1619 or as some have listed it, the 1620 project.

    If it doesn’t exist then why have 35 states banned the teaching of it?
    I’m sorry sir, but your information is blatantly incorrect.
     
    #189
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  10. Ralf Mannheim

    Ralf Mannheim Well-Known Member
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    Critical race theory is taught in law schools and refers to advantages and disadvantages of legal policies based on race, e.g., affirmative action allows more minorities to study but also leads to reverse racism. I've no idea why this is taught in pre-tertiary school; they're probably promoting something else.

    About the characteristics of educational systems, I recall one study (from Pearson?) that looked at them in various countries, and noted that what works varies across them.

    For example, some of the top countries (i.e., those with systems that don't make their kids stupid) are Finland and Singapore. Both have opposing systems: the first focuses on programs designed for each group of students and emphasizes what Jesuits would call cura personalis while the latter is based on rote and teamwork.

    Why, then, do both have generally bright kids even with differing systems? It's probably because both are also cultural "powerhouses," with large amounts spent on museums, libraries, theater, classical music, etc. Finns, for example, have to study music for many years, and learn to play at least one traditional and one Western instrument; they are also encouraged to listen to different types of music worldwide. Singapore, meanwhile, promotes that very old idea of Confucian self-cultivation learned from the Analects and other books.

    In short, what helps in stopping kids from being stupid isn't just having the right type of education system in place but also having adults around them--including their own parents--who practice what they preach.
     
    #190
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  11. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    The earth is flat, and there's no such thing as viruses. It's all a hoax.

    I did homeschool the last child I raised, and he did very well. I wish I had homeschooled my son, but I adopted him when I was in my 20s and didn't know that was an option. It was California, so it might not have been. Homeschooling him might have been easier than after-schooling him. Homeschooled children generally do have an advantage over those who are condemned to failing government schools.

    It's not that much of a chore, really. I was the program chairman of the second largest program on campus when I was at Texas State Technical College, and I chaired the same program for a satellite college at the same time. I had more than 300 students in my program each quarter, and this was an area where a large percentage of the population didn't speak English as a first language. I was there for its evolution from a technical institute to a college, so I was tasked with writing the curriculum for each of the courses in my program.

    I was teaching at one campus from 8 am to 12 pm Monday through Friday, and from 1 pm to 5 pm at the other campus, after a forty-minute drive between campuses. I had a class from 6 pm to 10 pm at one campus on Mondays and Wednesdays, and at the other campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays, plus I had Saturday skills and practical classes from 8 am to 5 pm on Saturdays. Although I had other instructors on Saturdays, I shuffled between the two campuses.

    Then, of course, I was responsible for all of the paperwork, doing promotional interviews with local radio stations, and occasionally testifying as an expert witness in malpractice cases. Okay, I didn't have to do that last part, but I enjoyed it and it did serve to promote the program.

    So yeah, homeschooling a child is not so very difficult.

    I know it's hard for you to grasp, but there are other people here who know what they're talking about and have had experiences that at least equal your own. The average person with a brain could do as well as the average public school teacher, and it's not all the fault of the teachers. They are working in a system that doesn't want them to succeed.

    I understand, quite well, that your experiences differ from what others have seen, but that doesn't mean that everyone else is wrong. The fact that the educational system in the United States is not producing educated graduates suggests that negative experiences are the norm.
     
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    Last edited: Jul 28, 2022
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  12. Ed Marsh

    Ed Marsh Very Well-Known Member
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    Good early morning to all-

    I'm on my way to the creek for some fishing today, but I wanted to stop by and see what is being said.

    Mr. Mannheim- If you will permit it, i would like to stand up and shout "AMEN!" to your comments. this is absolutely the most accurate appraisal of different cultures/educationsl systems I've ever read. It is MORE than the schools. it is much more than the schools who have a part in the education of kids. Blaming the schools for students failure/behavior is uust blowing smoke and not seeing the total ;picture.

    There are, I find, some very perceptive people on this forum. good day to all- Ed
     
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  13. Silvia Benoit

    Silvia Benoit Veteran Member
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    Ed Marsh,

    Gee, Ed..."" I guess" I needed you to tell me most problems start with a bad home education. Have a great time, Ed. Ciao.
     
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  14. Ed Marsh

    Ed Marsh Very Well-Known Member
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    Good afternoon to all-
    Silvia- No, I don't think that my saying that most kids' problems start at home is a revelation- because you were there in the trenches and saw the effects of bad- and good, I hope- home life on kids. But many folks have little or no experience or knowledge of how the public schools have to deal with a stupendously wide range of student abilities, backgrounds, and motivations and how this affects kids and the schools they attend.
    Our public schools are no more than mirrors of the communities they serve, and as teachers, we can't do a thing about where our students come from.

    And teachers have literally nothing to do with school policy and procedures. We're just the foot soldiers who are issued orders and are expected to carry them out. School boards and school administrations make the rules, and if there is a problem in school policy, that's where the correction lies.

    And yes, I had a good time- didn't catch many fish, but got to see some nice big ships along with a cute little four-foot long 'gator and some not so pleasant snakes. Oh, and we got a couple dozen blue crabs to steam up for supper- now, that's a good thing, I do believe.

    you all be safe and keep well- Ed
     
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  15. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Teachers can't, but teachers' unions could stop supporting illegal immigration. They won't, of course, because their interests are in the global progressive leftist movement rather than on education.
     
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