How to Improve the School System

[Greenday]

Inner city and rural kids get the bad end of the stick when it comes to funds.

In NJ, the kids in the poor city go to the schools with crap tons of funding. And despite all that extra funding, grades never improved.

[Seifer]

They're unable to because they have 15-30 students per class. Class lasts, probably, 45-55 minutes. 5-6 classes per day. That's not much time to teach a lesson 15-30 different ways to suit each student's learning style.

Elementary teachers have the kids all damn day and they still aren't able to teach to each individual child's interest. Educators can't wave a wand and have every child in the room learn the material. If you get more than 1 or 2 students in a class of 20 who need even an hour of extra help a day, you're fucked. It's just not going to happen.

People get pissed at teachers and instantly blame them for everything, when in reality they're working with what little the state will give them. I'd love for every teacher to have at least one paraprofessional in the classroom to give extra help to students, but with the millions in budget cuts, that's not possible.

I guess most states would rather build more roads or give political figures yearly bonuses than educate the masses.

And I agree that athletic programs do not all need to be competitive.

It's imperative that we keep a few competitive programs, though. I mean real competitive sports - the ones where someone wins and someone loses. None of this "everyone gets a trophy!" crap. I've met a couple young children who desperately need to lose a few games so they can finally accept that you just can't win all the time.

(Seriously, I had a kid fight with me because the other team scored a point. His argument? "That's not fair! That point didn't count! Let's start over!")

[bara]

In NJ, the kids in the poor city go to the schools with crap tons of funding. And despite all that extra funding, grades never improved.

But what are the funds being used for?

My local district had been trying renew a maintenance levy that had been kept alive for 6 years. However since we still had issues with boilers breaking, pipes busting, roofs leaking, doors rusting shut, and quite a few other things that were never being fixed it got voted down.

Eventually they managed to get a levy together to pay for a new highschool. Honestly, we needed a new building. The asbestos made me sneeze. I graduated before they started construction and had served three years in the Army before they finished.

[Greenday]

But what are the funds being used for?

I don't know but clearly they aren't using the money well so maybe it should go to schools who will use it to make education better for students.

[SongsOfDragons]

From the point of view of a Brit, there's two things that I think are silly with US schools....

1. Sports teams being tied to a school, rather than to a town. It gives me the impression that the players are all children rather than actual professionals.

2. Having to take lots of unrelated classes just because. A year of calculus or algebra? Why is this necessary for one who just wants to take an English course? Why is it just calculus and not covering other, potentially more useful mathematics? And this is happening in university level? Why must they force you into unrelated classes as if they haven't finished giving you your general education before you left compulsory schooling?

I have been choosing my subjects since I was 14 - I selected my GCSE subjects so I got a broad education, the core of English, Science and Maths but with my choice of others. A-Level was even more select; I did no maths or science at all from age 16. And in university my modules were able to focus in-depth within the subjects I had paid to do.

[daleduke17]

Oh dead God yes. I got stuck with two of these winners. Nice guys, great coaches, horrible teachers.

My school (and some around here) must have been different. They hired good teachers that just so happened to be good coaches as well. The baseball coach is (of all things) the social sciences teacher. The PE teachers are also coaches. I think it is the fact that the district I live in is so small they have to be really frugal.

[bex1218]

2. Having to take lots of unrelated classes just because. A year of calculus or algebra? Why is this necessary for one who just wants to take an English course? Why is it just calculus and not covering other, potentially more useful mathematics? And this is happening in university level? Why must they force you into unrelated classes as if they haven't finished giving you your general education before you left compulsory schooling?

I don't seem to get that when going to college (or as some people say, university). You pay all this money to go through what you did for 12+ years just to get a damn degree in something that is far from what you are going for. Its fine if someone doesn't know what they want to do, but a lot of people already know what they want to do for a living. I do not need to learn how to write an essay just to make a logo for a company (I want to be in the computer graphics business). Waste of money.

[HYHYBT]

From the point of view of a Brit, there's two things that I think are silly with US schools....

1. Sports teams being tied to a school, rather than to a town. It gives me the impression that the players are all children rather than actual professionals.

School sports teams are composed of students of that school. It gives the impression that they're not professionals because they're NOT professionals. This is true from when the programs start (around 10-12 years old, I think, though it varies by area and sport) on through college level.

Which brings me to a couple points in the OP I wanted to address. Here, we have a good local school system. More local than usual; despite being a town of only about 5,000 (total population, not school-age) we have our own school district and like it that way. One reason it has remained good enough to keep is community involvement... and a big way of keeping the community interested is sporting events. It may *seem* like football and basketball don't do anything for anybody, and they might not for some schools, but it's been a benefit to ours because it keeps those paying for it all caring.

And the other thing is about buildings. We got a new high school recently. The old one was typical 1950's ugly. The new one is decidedly not. Compared to the total cost of the building, some of what makes the difference doesn't cost that much... and, like the sports teams, it gives those paying for it something they can see directly every time they drive by that they've gotten for their money; especially important when the SPLOST to pay for it has to be voted on every couple of years. The rest... well, on a project like that, there are many things listed to be included or cut based on how close to budget the building runs. And the price of materials happened to drop right before bidding, so it got all the bells and whistles with some left over for a reserve. The catch (and a strong point of relevance) is that this is *separate money* from the regular school budget. It *cannot* be used for anything else (teacher pay, books, etc.)

And I wish they HAD got a new scoreboard for the football field. Not a fancy one, necessarily; just whatever's currently available that actually WORKS. The current one's been there since at least 1980.

[AdminAssistant]

I do not need to learn how to write an essay just to make a logo for a company (I want to be in the computer graphics business). Waste of money.

Oh this crap again. So you're never going to need to communicate in a written form, ever? Nonsense. If anything, kids need *more* writing classes, because the papers that I grade are horrible, even from the reasonably bright students. It's a skill, much like public speaking, that everyone needs to have. Yes, public speaking is a skill that everyone needs to have. I find it completely ridiculous that stage fright is the #1 most common fear; more people fear public speaking than death.

[tropicsgoddess]

1. Pay the teachers more. (The average person would be SHOCKED to see how long an average teacher spends at the school. Contrary to popular belief, it is NOT an 8 - 3 pm job.)

2. STOP TEACHING TO FUCKING STANDARDIZED TESTS. How about teaching what's important and then possibly spending time teaching about what interests the students? Maybe if the classroom topics were more interesting students might not have this mindset of "SCHOOL SUCKS AND IS TOTALLY USELESS!"

I agree completely. It's sickening how much more the superintendent and administrators get paid more than the teachers. The over emphasizing of standardized testing is ridiculous. School is supposed to educate children and prepare them for the real world, not teach them how to fill out a fucking scan-tron sheet.


Aside from that I say to do away with the shitty teachers (as in the lazy apathetic ones) and make healthier lunches instead of that institutionalized bullshit they feed. Another improvement is to have better technology. More new computers and educational tools for the teachers to use for their students.

[Andara Bledin]

1. Sports teams being tied to a school, rather than to a town. It gives me the impression that the players are all children rather than actual professionals.

Teams tied to schools are made up of students - they specifically aren't professionals.

2. Having to take lots of unrelated classes just because.

I've always thought this was pretty stupid.

I have been choosing my subjects since I was 14 - I selected my GCSE subjects so I got a broad education, the core of English, Science and Maths but with my choice of others. A-Level was even more select; I did no maths or science at all from age 16. And in university my modules were able to focus in-depth within the subjects I had paid to do.

There are electives from 13/14 on. A lot of students, however, choose to take the same ones as their friends, or the "easy" ones, and in some cases where they have enough credits, they'll choose no class at all for one or more periods.

That's also usually the point where we get alternate language classes, although, honestly, that's far too late in development for it to really stick.

The baseball coach is (of all things) the social sciences teacher. The PE teachers are also coaches. I think it is the fact that the district I live in is so small they have to be really frugal.

Our baseball coach was a pretty awesome English teacher. He really knew his stuff in both fields.

Our other sports coaches, however... not so much. >_<

Oh this crap again. So you're never going to need to communicate in a written form, ever?

Then they need to teach letter-writing and how to get your point across without it turning into an essay, not endless essays for the sake of writing essays.

^-.-^

[Greenday]

There are electives from 13/14 on. A lot of students, however, choose to take the same ones as their friends, or the "easy" ones, and in some cases where they have enough credits, they'll choose no class at all for one or more periods.

That's also usually the point where we get alternate language classes, although, honestly, that's far too late in development for it to really stick.

Haha, "electives". With all the required classes, there's barely room for electives. 4 years of English, 3 years of math, 3 years of science, 2 years of a second language, 4 years of Gym/Health, 1 semester art, 1 semester computers, 1 semester woodshop, etc. etc. If you take study hall, you are basically SOL.

The only good thing about my schooling from 1st -8th grade was that they started teaching us Spanish in the 1st grade. I haven't had a Spanish class since sophomore year of high school but I still know a fair amount.

2. Having to take lots of unrelated classes just because. A year of calculus or algebra? Why is this necessary for one who just wants to take an English course? Why is it just calculus and not covering other, potentially more useful mathematics? And this is happening in university level? Why must they force you into unrelated classes as if they haven't finished giving you your general education before you left compulsory schooling?

This one slightly confuses me. Specifically the bold part. This doesn't happen anywhere in the US that I know of. Everywhere you start with algebra, the most basic math and move up from there. And everyone uses algebra in life so it's kind of necessary. In fact, everyone I know who had taken calculus had already been forced to take algebra, geometry, and trigonometry.

[crashhelmet]

I used to be a high school teacher but gave it up so that I could afford petty & trivial things like "food" and "rent."

Teachers themselves need to be paid more to start. Once you get 10 years under your belt the money starts looking great, but starting off at what equates to minimum wage with the amount of hours put in is ridiculous.

Cutting athletics is a huge mistake. Like college sports, most schools get the extra funding they need from their athletic programs. It makes up for what the state cuts out of their budget every year.

Standardized tests should be should be just that. 1 single test that anyone at that grade level should be able to pass. The only classes that should ever be taught to prepare a student for them is a remedial class. All others should be taught to prepare the students for the future, whether it be college, military, or "the real world." I was placed in Honors and AP classes because of how my test scores were on the standardized tests, like the CTBS Test.

I agree that the student organizations should have more involvement in the maintenance of the school, like DaleDuke pointed out about the flowers and FFA. Let the art students paint murals and design the overall look of the campus. Let FFA handle the landscaping and work with the art students in the design and layout of the trees and such. Get the students involved and build up the pride they have in their school in more ways than just sports.

As for coaches being teachers, what you fail to realize is that these coaches still have to meet the requirements to be teachers. Some of them, like me, were hired as teachers first and then as coaches. They need to have the degrees and pass the tests.

Back to curriculum, There should be a set core of classes, like English & History/Social Studies, classes that are required, but particulars left up to the student, like math and science, and then electives. If a student is interested in music, or drama, or more science classes, let them take them. Find that balance of what's required along with what they enjoy.

[crashhelmet]

Haha, "electives". With all the required classes, there's barely room for electives. 4 years of English, 3 years of math, 3 years of science, 2 years of a second language, 4 years of Gym/Health, 1 semester art, 1 semester computers, 1 semester woodshop, etc. etc. If you take study hall, you are basically SOL.

Were the computers and shop classes required in High school? Those were requirements in jr high / middle school for me, but electives in HS.

This one slightly confuses me. Specifically the bold part. This doesn't happen anywhere in the US that I know of. Everywhere you start with algebra, the most basic math and move up from there. And everyone uses algebra in life so it's kind of necessary. In fact, everyone I know who had taken calculus had already been forced to take algebra, geometry, and trigonometry.

The standard flow is Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2 with an introduction to Trigonometry and Analytical Geometry and then full blown Trig and Analyt in your senior year if you decided to take math again.

However, your standarized test scores alter that. You could end up in pre-algebra, then algebra, then geometry or you can test out of algebra and start in Geometry giving you trig and analyt in your junior year and Calc in your senior year, if you wanted it.

[bex1218]

My main beef is with essays, not basic writing skills. Or maybe how I was brought into the world of endless nonsense. Some people have fantastic writing skills and could make the best essay ever. And the teachers here want everyone to reach that mark without actually teaching them how to do it. And then they pile it on. Oh and you had less than an hour to finish it.

Now, the best essays I ever did were in college. We had to do it in MLA format. My teacher took the time to teach us what she wanted in the essay. We only spent 3 hours in the class a week and had the whole week to write the essay she wanted us to do. I had enough resources to get my point across and not sound like I didn't know what I was writing.

But of course that all has left me cause I only use basic writing skills, which is mostly on the internet. I may not have the best grammar, but I sure as hell am not writing essays everyday. They need to change how they do English courses in high school. Focus less on how many essays you can make the student do and actually teach them how to write a proper essay.

Now on speaking skills-
I need a class on it. Having the job I have now, I am so much better at talking to people. I just get bad anxiety levels when theres more than 10 people in my area. My drama class in HS helped a little, too.