What is wrong with public education? RESPONSIBILITY!

1. Irresponsibility because it’s public – Anything public is generally disrespected and ill kept (bathrooms, water fountains, parks)
2. Irresponsibility because it’s free – If you don’t have to work for it, it has little value
3. Irresponsibility because it’s harder to fail than to pass – Teachers are encouraged to give extra credit and assignments that make it easy for children to pass after doing next to nothing for most of the grading period.
4. Irresponsibility because it doesn’t include parent responsibility – Children who could be good students are not encouraged in the home.
5. Irresponsibility because it’s hard to excel in a class where the teacher isn’t in charge. Teachers should be paid not by experience but by how orderly they maintain their classroom. Disciplined thinking minds come from orderly and disciplined classrooms.

What are the answer?
Public and free – only for students who maintain a “C” average or better and are NOT behaviour problems in the classroom.
Ditch the “No Child Left Behind” rules. Students that simply don’t want to learn should be sent home after two quarters. They will be placed on probation after the first quarter and moved to the pay program after the second quarter of below “C” averages.
Students that fall below the “C” average two quarters will be reassigned to pay school.
Students that fall below the “C” average will not be qualified for social programs, welfare, or government aid. (This will encourage parental involvement)
Students who need meds for hyperactivity may not attend if they haven’t been given their meds that morning. Parents who repeatedly send such children will have the child moved to the pay program.
Non English speaking students will be given two quarters to learn English before the rule applies to them.
Teachers who can’t keep order in their rooms will team teach with a mentor who has good classroom control. If the teacher can’t learn these techniques after two quarters, they will be moved and serve as an aid in the paid program until she can demonstrate better classroom control.
Students with challenges will be handled individually.
Students that improve their grades and show good behaviour for two semesters will be returned to the free program.

What are the benefits?
Classes that are orderly
Students who learn and are challenged
Huge savings that can be used to provide better education for the students that want to learn.
Teachers that can enjoy the profession again
Pay schools will have the money needed to provide extra personal, equipment, and services
Hopefully pay school students will have better support from the families.

Learning isn’t valuable because it’s free and easy. The above suggestions would make it valuable, challenging, and profitable.

I agree with the idea that responsibility is key and that paying for a service means people would be more likely to engage; which I think is one reason private schools do so well. However I’m not sure how practical your solution would be when it comes to those below a certain income.

For example if a child falls out of your free system but can’t pay for a private education; how could they get back into education?

Also what about those who just aren’t very academic? They may be in the minority but some people just can’t keep a C average through no fault of their own.

More going on than meets the eye. I found out in 1992 that uk uses electronic mind control in schools, and they used it to absolutely wreck my life there on purpose, and drive me out.

So who knows what really is going on and who is using this stuff, and how its destroying kids lifes at school for no reason.

reply to post by shapeshiftress

Great post. I'd take it a step farther and completely stop trying to dictate education altogether.

Of course, this requires us to relinquish our desires to meddle in everyone else's life, tell them how to raise their kids, tell them what they can and can't teach them. It requires having true respect for diversity, rather than simply paying lip service to it whist trying to make everyone think alike.

A fully privatized school system free of all political fetters would be one of the best things that ever happened to us. But even the mere idea strikes fear into most people's hearts, fears of all sorts beginning with "what about..." and "what if...". And we realize most of these fears disappear when we truly relinquish our desire to control the thoughts and behaviors of others, when we unlearn our obsession with competitive material success (one of the hidden assumptions behind the absurd drive for "equality" in our society... both this and the gung-ho competitive liberty advocates operate on that exact same assumption).

Overall, great post. S & F. Just not a fan of the listing of specific ways things would improve under your "plan", or of plans at all. Who says we should all value any of those things? What if someone doesn't?


[edit on 18-6-2010 by NewlyAwakened]

Thanks for the good replies so far.
NewlyAwakened
I do favor private education, but the biggest problem I see in classrooms is that students value NOT learning. It's cool to be disruptive and rebellious. I admit not all students are like this, but if you have a classroom with several of these students, you have a real challange on your hands.
Generally schools have a communication system with parents. Students carry an agenda or have web links to the school and teachers. In general, the worse students have parents who never communicate.

Mike_A
I understand your concern that poor families might be impacted more. I think that is where parental involvement is crucial. Most teachers are willing to work with a child that is trying. When parents jump on board, the difference can be signifigant. I only want a "C" average. If a child is great in math and terrible in science, it will average out.
And there is the issue of priority too. Most kids, even in middle school, carry cell phones, some are fairly pricey ones. Some of those kids are the free lunch program...
I had a child who struggled, I worked full time, I had to come home and make time to work with him every evening.
Children who come from chaotic families start behind. I'm not sure that economic level is the most important factor.
Teachers need to establish good classroom procedures and be consistent at enforcing them. Children must learn to pay attention and follow simple instructions.
What about the children who don't make a "C" average and mom can't afford to send them to a pay school? Perhaps we should have a equivialency test like the GED for each year. And parents can teach the child at home. There are textbooks and virtual school progams already in place.
Older children might be able to do vocational trainingor apprenticeships, if they are willing to work.

Some of the ideas could work, others can't. There are classes with more gang members in them than a small jail. And they couldn't care less about getting an education. The teachers cope by not teaching them anything hard. Baby work with a lot of false praise. This keeps the high schools from having nightmare dropout rates. You think 50% dropout for blacks is bad? If they made the work as difficult as it is in whiter schools, it would be a 80% dropout rate. When a student sees more value in being in a gang, having a gun more than books, do you think they'll care more if they're made to pay for their education. They won't pay. What education does a gang member need? How to shoot a Gun 101? Advanced drive by shootings? Beginner stealing and advanced classes in how to avoid the police? Intermediate Raping and Mugging courses?

How do you make students who are proud of killing rival gang members into students who aspire to educate themselves to hold an office job somewhere? It is silly. Won't work. I wish it could work. It would change millions of tax burdens into tax payers.

How many billions have been thrown into urban schools without results? In how many different schools in how many different cities? In how many different nations? The same results should tell people something.

Originally posted by ATS_RL
There are classes with more gang members in them than a small jail. And they couldn't care less about getting an education. The teachers cope by not teaching them anything hard. Baby work with a lot of false praise. This keeps the high schools from having nightmare dropout rates. You think 50% dropout for blacks is bad? If they made the work as difficult as it is in whiter schools, it would be a 80% dropout rate.

I know this sound really bad but, BYE! Why should a teacher spend all that money to become a babysitter? Give the ones who want to learn a good education.

How do you make students who are proud of killing rival gang members into students who aspire to educate themselves to hold an office job somewhere?

You can't. So why put them on the welfare rolls. Why should people who had the good sense to learn have to pay for those who didn't?

How many billions have been thrown into urban schools without results? In how many different schools in how many different cities? In how many different nations? The same results should tell people something.

Yes, stop! Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Why should kids want to learn? If they get an HD TV, WII, IPod, and welfare, why do you need to learn anything?? Send them to Boot Camp, where A. you do the work, or B. you get NO privileges, just bread and water.

reply to post by andy1033


I can somewhat relate to this. I just graduated this year and after graduating i feel so much better than when I was in school. While in school i would feel run down and tired and just had a bad attitude and did'nt feel like socializing. Maybe i sound crazy to people that haven't experienced this but even one of my friends said that during school he just felt sick and run down but after getting out he was just fine?