Education and politics

[ditchdj]

Anyone here think that we should keep the Federal Government out of our schools????

[AFPheonix]

No, but I think we definitely need to go to a statewide funding model rather than district-by-district, so that we can even the playing field between poorer districts and richer ones.

I also think we need to give bonuses to teachers willing to go to more difficult schools.
We need to streamline the beauracracy inherent in school administration, so more money is freed up for stuff like arts and PE.

No Child Left Behind needs to get scrapped. Testing on pretty much only 2 parameters does not lead to well rounded students.

[rahmota]

No I dont think the federal government should be kept out of the school system.

Yes I'll agree that no child left behind has been a failure as all it does is encourage teaching to the test.

And I'll definately agree about the funding issues. With each district using different funding issues, methods and having different funding levels it does not promote an equal education system.

What we need the feds invovled for is to set certain standards that way kids in ohio get the same level of education as kids in new york or california.

[ditchdj]

Working in the school system, I still have yet to hear ONE educator tell me what's great about NCLB. And anyone that does think it's really great should thoroughly read this law. First off, how is applying a "One Size Fits All" set of rules to every single school system in the country make things better??? And with no funding???

[Giggle Goose]

One of the reasons I actually got out of teaching was because when I volunteered in a high school social studies class, all the poor kids did was prepare for some dumb test that was going to determine their future and the fate of their school!!!!! It's really depressing to me that we can't allow children to imagine and be creative. I love working with young people, but the stupid tests of the NCLB just create way too much stress; and it kind of took the "magic" out of teaching for me. I have so much respect for the teachers who do put up with it.

[Rapscallion]

Politicians make mistakes, but that's no reason to keep the government out of schools. As long as they government is not trying to train children to believe that it's political values are better than those of its opponents, and that they try to better the lives of all, then it's vital that the school system is overseen by the government. They make mistakes, but that can correct them - or an election can correct them...

Preparing for a test? What age are we talking about, Giggle Goose? If you're talking about children aged about five, then I'd agree. If you're talking about the age of twelve or so, when education starts to get serious (or at least it does over here), then I would prefer it if the children were taught things that were going to prepare them for life.

NCLB - that's a fine ambition, but the problem is a matter of how it's applied. Do you hold an entire class back to let one child catch up? That's an extreme, but we had something similar over here.

For generations, pupils were streamed into two or three groups and taught at different levels according to their ability. This was on a subject-by-subject basis. The equality police came in and said this should not happen any more, and effectively held people back in subjects where they excelled. Someone who was great in English would be held back by a mathematician who was lost, whereas they would return the favour to a physicist... etc

Rapscallion

[rahmota]

Over here teaching to the est generally means teaching only those items that wil be seen on the standardized tests and nothing more. Including how to study or think or the methods one could use to find the results to a questions/experiment. And people wonder why people can't think anymore.

[AFPheonix]

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...568480,00.html

Interesting article on this very topic in last week's TIME mag.

[Kelly Lynne]

No, but I think we definitely need to go to a statewide funding model rather than district-by-district, so that we can even the playing field between poorer districts and richer ones.

I'm so happy to hear someone else say that. Unfortunately, because people tend to be selfish, it's not likely to happen. Those in the wealthier districts will put up a fight about "their" money being taken to educate some other kids...

No Child Left Behind needs to get scrapped. Testing on pretty much only 2 parameters does not lead to well rounded students.

Also true!

[Banrion]

Thankfully, I got out before NCLB, but funding really isn't the fundamental issue. It is each child's home learning and motivation. I went to a high school that was half upper middle class, and half living well below the poverty line. No funding differences as it was the same school.

The poorer students in general were not brought up by their parents to value education, were not instilled with the motivation to succeed, and no matter how hard anyone tried to teach them, they didn't care and weren't going to do the work necessary to advance. They were too busy goofing off and causing disruptions. I think this comes from the fact that their parents were not highly educated, and these kids have given up on life.

The better off kids tended to be from educated families, and there was alot of encouragement from home to excel in classes. These kids had the motivation and self-initiave to succed. They are more willing to challenge themselves with more difficult classes and to do the work.

Of course there were exceptions to both groups. These are my observations. Just for a bit of perspective, I was in a very competetive class. There were 365 kids in my class. The valedictorian had a 102.5 average. I graduated with a 98.9 and was number 53 in my class. There were 142 kids that graduated with an average in the 70's. My school 70 was minimum to pass a course. Classes were weighted based on difficulty. Base line was a straight 1:1 on your weighted average students were not penalized for taking lower level remedial courses, still 1:1. College level courses were weighted at 1.02, Honors level at 1.04 and Advanced Placement for college credit at 1.06. The level of class you take for each requirement was ultimately selected by the student, with counciling with a guidance counselor. I frequently took Honors or Advanced placement classes and accepted low 90's when I could have taken a college level class and gotten perfect 100's while being bored out of my mind.