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  • Divided Schooling

    Comments from a few other post had me thinking of a topic that I'm certain no-one will ever really agree on.
    Divided Schooling.
    This being, separate schools for different types of kids.

    To start off with, I feel the need to point out that the current system of schooling present in all Western societies is based on the schooling system used in England. It was originally made specifically for white young males from a relatively wealthy background. Women, poorer males, and people of other ethnicities were not considered to need to be educated. Only the future head of the households and those meant to help rule the country were expected to be educated. So the syllabus was originally created to educate these people, all of whom grew up with the same sort of background and had the same general way of processing information.

    Bringing it to today.

    We now live in a broad multicultural society. Not everyone processes information the same way that these white boys could (auditory and visually).

    The different ways people can learn:
    -Auditory
    -Visually (written)
    -Visually (diagrams)
    -Trail-and-Error
    -Habit (repetition)
    -Learning by doing
    Some people need a more one-on-one approach with their learning to fully understand, while others can just pick things up straight away from one explanation.

    Many schools have recognized that some students need a different approach in their learning. These can be people with learning disabilities (dyslexia), mental disabilities (down syndrome), and neurobehavioral disorders (ADHD).
    Other schools have recognized the needs of people of other ethnicities to have different methods utilized during schooling.
    Sometimes schools are specially built and run to see to the need of these groups of students.

    In Australia there are many schools that were built specifically to teach Aboriginal children with all of the teachers being Aboriginal also. Since the introduction of these schools, their grade point average has improved significantly. They use different techniques and teaching methods than the 'normal' schools, as well as different encouragement and reward programs (in one school the children are not allowed to go to the local pool unless they have been to school that day).

    Are these separate schools beneficial or detrimental to children today?
    If we are opposed to them, is it because of valid concerns to their learning, or because we simply see them as racist, as segregation, or as getting rid of those children who don't perform well in 'normal' schools.
    Or are we being inherently racist by expecting all children to be able to learn in the same way that these rich white boys did centuries ago?
    "Having a Christian threaten me with hell is like having a hippy threaten to punch me in my aura."
    Josh Thomas

  • #2
    Actually this is interesting because Portland is going through something like this. Not based on race, background etc but on learning styles. Not all upper middle class males learn visually and auditorily.

    There are charter schools as they call them that cater to kids wishing to learn in ways that are better for them.

    The biggest protest I have heard is that they take money from the "real" schools. Of course also present is the forever asked and never answered question of how do you quantify education.

    Personally I think the thing needing asking is what is the point of education for the longest time the answer was go to college graduate get a job and do what your told.

    My generation is more interested in what makes them happy and less about what they are expected to do. Thus some of us take time off after school and dont' go to college right away.

    This means that things like highschool to college stats don't always work. Unless they will record that I did go to college when I finally graduate.

    Education really is hard to quantify unless you in my mind look at does it teach people how to critically think?

    Personally the annual state exams from when I was a kid were good because that was the primary foucs was could I think out things and do so intelligently rather than could I regurgitate facts and figures.

    I personally would like to see schools focused on how they teach rather than whom.
    Jack Faire
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    • #3
      I think you mean prejudiced instead of racist.

      We've had this separation in our educational system for a long time and it's worked.

      Honors and Advanced Placement classes for the smarter kids.
      Remedial classes for the dumber kids.
      ESL classes for those that have English as a Second Language.
      Special Education classes for those with disabilities.

      While there might be some schools specifically designed to handle people that would ordinarily drop out instead of graduate, or have some sort of disability, there are many schools that combine them into one institution.

      There's no need to further segregate the student base anymore than they might already be. There's no real advantage to it. The disadvantage in it comes with funding. It costs a hell of a lot more to operate a second school than it does to pay additional teachers.

      CH
      Some People Are Alive Only Because It's Illegal To Kill Them.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by crashhelmet View Post
        Honors and Advanced Placement classes for the smarter kids.
        Remedial classes for the dumber kids.
        ESL classes for those that have English as a Second Language.
        Special Education classes for those with disabilities.CH
        The only problem with this I ever saw was remedial classes were never labeled as such. If a college is looking at you who took a regular classes and got a healthy mix of As and Bs versus a student in remedial classes that got As they would give the Remedial student a better offer of college than you.

        Also specialty schools would do well to partner with colleges that also teach in similar ways. Maybe steer students towards collegiate environments that they would perform well in.

        The goal of education should not be to make kids lose but rather to help students find their proper path in life.

        To this end we have alternative schools like Skills Center (a local school sponsered in joint by all local districts to send students more interested in a vocational education rather than preperation for college.)
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        • #5
          I gotta think that creating seperate schools for different learning styles might be financisly more than some districts could bear.

          Not to mention the problems with the parents' knee-jerk OMG SEGREGATION attitudes.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Fryk View Post
            I gotta think that creating seperate schools for different learning styles might be financisly more than some districts could bear.

            Not to mention the problems with the parents' knee-jerk OMG SEGREGATION attitudes.
            The charter schools tend to provide most of the funding themselves but the districts vote to close them anyway. In our area funding is based on number of students in a school. If a school has less students it is allocated less money.

            They don't care that the kids aren't getting an education in their school they care that they aren't getting the money for the kids.
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            • #7
              Originally posted by jackfaire View Post
              The only problem with this I ever saw was remedial classes were never labeled as such. If a college is looking at you who took a regular classes and got a healthy mix of As and Bs versus a student in remedial classes that got As they would give the Remedial student a better offer of college than you.

              Also specialty schools would do well to partner with colleges that also teach in similar ways. Maybe steer students towards collegiate environments that they would perform well in.

              The goal of education should not be to make kids lose but rather to help students find their proper path in life.

              To this end we have alternative schools like Skills Center (a local school sponsered in joint by all local districts to send students more interested in a vocational education rather than preperation for college.)

              I thought most colleges looked at classes that were taken. I would expect them to be ble to tell the differance in education of somebody who took high level math and science and the kids who took wood shop or home ec every year. Plus dont most advance tracks have the kids taking AP classes anyways? That would obviously show a differance.

              While the need for differant learning techniques is important most rural school systems have a hard enough time operating one school and can't afford more.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Red Panda View Post
                While the need for differant learning techniques is important most rural school systems have a hard enough time operating one school and can't afford more.
                Yeah, rural areas always get left out of these conversations. No private school would establish itself in an area like the one I grew up in because it wouldn't be profitable. My school is actually consolidated across 3 small towns. Another school can't be supported, and the citizens are usually so poor that private schooling isn't an option anyway.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by crashhelmet View Post
                  We've had this separation in our educational system for a long time and it's worked.

                  Honors and Advanced Placement classes for the smarter kids.
                  Remedial classes for the dumber kids.
                  ESL classes for those that have English as a Second Language.
                  Special Education classes for those with disabilities.

                  It doesn't always work_I'm a visual learner-show me what to do and I can do it-my Honors/AP teachers just handed me a book and said do this work-the rest of the kids did fine-I was failing-does that mean I'm stupid because I learn differently? I ended up getting help from the special education teachers and passing with an A thank you.

                  Mind you I started in the remedial classes until they figured out I was a visual learner-the Honors/AP teachers were told this-they didn't want to alter the way they taught, it was "too much trouble for just one student"

                  because I wasn't considered "special needs"(GPA of 3.8-honor roll, national honor society) the special education teachers weren't getting paid to help me with my physics, AP english, and AP chemistry classes-I was taking resources away from kids who did actually need the help. Someone on the school board actually did ask-"why is an honors student getting help in the special education room?"
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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Red Panda View Post
                    I thought most colleges looked at classes that were taken.
                    Yes they do but they don't know that the Freshman English class I got a B in studied Shakespeare, Twain etc. while the other Freshman English class studied the dewey decimal system.

                    All the colleges see is that Student A and Student B both took a class labeled as Freshman English they don't know that the content was vastly different and that student A did a five page report on Twain while Student B did a pop quiz on where sci fi is located.

                    Student A gets a B that he worked hard for Student B gets an A that was handed to him on a silver platter.

                    My school labeled the advanced classes but they didn't label remedial ones so if It was something like English then you couldnt' tell.
                    Last edited by jackfaire; 05-17-2010, 09:03 PM.
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