White House petition to reform schooling system

I couldn't figure out which forum was appropriate for this topic so if this isn't exactly where this belongs I'm sorry, I'm sure a mod can move it or something nbd

##snipped## is a petition that I wrote up myself on whitehouse.gov asking Obama to reform our compulsory educational system.

In my view its extremely redundant, unnecessary, and even psychologically harmful in some cases (I cite the statistic that 1 out of 12 teens attempt suicide) to gather 40 million young adults and demand they all learn the same thing in the same way in the same amount of time.
In an age of extreme economical and political crisis what we need most is a generation of unique and innovative minds that are optimistic and ready to faces the challenges of the 21st century and overcome the issues we face now. 40 million adults armed with geometry and us history aren't about to take down the old structures and erect something new to bring us into a glorious age, not only for america, but for the whole world. We need to teach students to follow their abilities and interests, we need unique and creative expression, art, science, philosophy. We need students to be positively reinforced to reach their true potential and make something out of the gifts inside of them.
Throughout highschool I saw many, many creative people who had a lot of potential that were reprimanded for trying to do something different, what we need now is something different. The future is coming and we can't escape it or try to hide from it, instead we need to embrace and to reform with it.

If a student wants to be a musician teach them how, offer them music theory, music classes, show them different instruments, teach them about electronic music, how to work a studio, teach them about PR, show them the path to achieve their dreams.
If a student wants to be a philosopher offer them thought provoking material, ask them questions about morality, humanity, and fate, show them works of the great philosophers of the past and ask them what they think.
If a student wants to go into quantum mechanics teach them what they need to know.
There is no age limit to learning new things, children time and time again have proven that "hard to grasp" concepts can be easily learned if we simply TEACH them. We limit our youth, and as a result our youth are very limited. Adolescence should be a time of joy and self-discovery, where one finds ones own abilities and interests, and is encouraged to follow them and make something special in this world.

I believe that with enough attention to this issue change is something that is very obtainable. By staying quiet and doing what we are told we consent to the reality of our existence. This is something that could potentially change the future of the United States and as such, the World.

reply to post by Celestica


I admire that you are looking for a solution for our problems. However, ask yourself, "Who created these problems in the first place?".

See where I am going? The same people you are petitioning too, are the ones who advocated the dumbing down of our educational system!

It is time for Americans to point the finger at the main cancer that is eating away at our country before we can fix the side effects of the disease!

Take your passion and go for it at the local and state level! As most of us know already, it is the Federal government that is the problem. Clean up the stink locally, then we can go state wide and get rid of the main cesspool we call Washington DC

demonrats have controlled education for several decades.

and now your asking them to fix it?
LOL

no we don't need to teach children music, or art, or 18th century lesbian poetry.

they do need to know how to read, write, add, subtract, multiply, and divide.

and teaching the constitution wouldn't hurt.

reply to post by bjax9er


The petition is aimed at secondary compulsory education, that means grades 6 and up. Of course everyone needs to know basic reading, language, math, but trigonometry should not be a mandatory skill that everyone is forced to take. Chinese History isn't all that important either. If someone wants to learn these things then by all means let them, but dont expect them to. Many European schools actually function in a similar way that I have suggested and they have amazing grades, test scores, and attendance to match

Read the "Dumbing Down of America" which is quite accurate, they went from teaching the individual to a cookie cutter practice that the Russians perfected so they could produce factory workers,starting in the 50s.

You can pursue anything that you want if you know how to read and write. You need to be able to do math for some areas of interest.

It is not possible to give kids open access to any area they wish to study before they have the tools to actually study.

I think that in primary school, the emphasis should be on developing the skills to read write and do math. In junior high, there should be the same emphasis but the students should be grouped by ability.

At the end of junior high school, students should take a test. If they pass, they would be able to take the college bound material. If they can't pass the test, there should be trade school options available for them so that when they graduate from high school they can start working. It is useless to place a marginal student in college prep classes when they will not be successful.

reply to post by Wildbob77


Colleges don't teach based on merit alone though, you take a placement test and they teach you depending on the level you are already at. My mother is in college taking pre-algebra right now.

reply to post by Celestica


If you want to enact change, please read up on who Charlotte Iserbyte is and what she has to say.

Two ways to get the change you want: by checkbook or by gun point.

Where is the petition? What does it mean for the average joe with kids? Any links?

I also applaud your concern but respectfully disagree. Federal interference and extortion in the education system has done nothing but harm students. It's not their responsibility by the Constitution and it shouldn't be.

I also disagree that young children should be encouraged toward a single vocational path. My idea of a sound primary education is basic skills learned well while their minds are developing. They need to be exposed to all of the basic areas in order to be able to find out what direction they may take. They have their entire life to specialize. Many people change careers several times throughout their life.

The problem with your thinking is that down the line there will be no trades. Machines will do it all, including building and fixing themselves. If you don't have college skills you will be unemployable for the most part. That's the future and why our school system is the way it is.

Originally posted by sligtlyskeptical
The problem with your thinking is that down the line there will be no trades. Machines will do it all, including building and fixing themselves. If you don't have college skills you will be unemployable for the most part. That's the future and why our school system is the way it is.

Our school system teaches you what to think, not how to think. It teaches rote memorization, not abstract thought and problem solving.

For whatever reason it is being done, it is bad. If that is the price of mechanization, then screw mechanization. The individual MUST remain the individual. Otherwise, we are attempting to be something other than human. Like a monkey in a suit.