Improving Education?

Shepherd Book asks: "Not long ago there was a spirited discussion, in the usual Slashdot style, about education, touched off by an article about the value of homework. Even more recently, there was a discussion about the value of grammar. This inspires the following Ask Slashdot question: What, in your opinion, would make primary and secondary education as good as possible? I have no experience of education outside the US, but I can say confidently that public education in my country sucks. And it may always suck. However, what can we do to make it suck less?" "For the purpose of this question, the following are givens:

1. I know that there is a strong libertarian faction in this community, who might like to see public education disappear. Let's assume, though, that that isn't going to happen any time soon, and that there will be a public school system for the foreseeable future.

2. Similarly, many Slashdot readers are brilliant people who have educated themselves to a large extent. Let's further accept that most people are not capable of doing this, or at any rate need help reaching that sort of educational self-sufficiency.

Thanks in advance, folks."

Comments

Fuck you

[crimethinker]

don't homeschool (no parent can possibly become an expert on a multitude of topics, not to mention the social isolation of homeschooling)

The whole reason my wife and I chose to homeschool validates the rest of your list. In California, the government schools suck badly.

• Foreign language is not required, especially if English is not your first language. That's right, just condemn the kids to spend their lives mowing lawns and cleaning hotel rooms.
• Technology is seen as the end-all-be-all. Laptops and internet access will somehow make Johnny be able to read. He'll be able to read, all right, in fact, his R3AD1NG W1LL R0X0R.
• The schools are strict ("zero tolerance" for things like bringing a paring knife to cut an apple, or playing cops and robbers with finger-pointing like guns on the playground), but completely unfair when it comes to things like enforcing "no bullying" rules. Remember, snitches are bitches who deserve to get stitches.
• Basics? What are those? We're busy building this child's esteem, thankyouverymuch. If we insist that Johnny learns to read, his esteem will be damaged and OMG THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
• Most teachers don't give a damn, because the union protects them. The few that do care are cut off at the knees by administrators that don't care. My sister was one of those. "Miss *** said she saw you making gang signs in class. Did you make gang signs?" "No." "OK, go back to class." [under breath] "I'm gonna get you, Miss ***."

As for social isolation, have you ever spoken with any homeschoolers? There are numerous homeschool groups that meet regularly for activities, and of course don't forget just walking down the street to a friend's house.

Finally, almost any parent is capable of mastering enough information to provide their child with an education that is at least as good as the government schools provide. We're not talking about being a college professor, here, either, just teaching them to read, math concepts, history, and so on. Many companies provide curriculum and guides for the parents, so that, despite Mom and Dad's occasional thin spots, the kids still get an education.

You, sir, need to stop telling other perfectly competent people how to raise their children. I'll put my kids back in the government schools when they stop letting Johnny Football Hero get away with murder, and when they stop telling my kids to not answer any questions in class because they're making the stupid kids feel bad.

-paul

Re:Dr. Hans Mark's response:

[EnronHaliburton2004]

Roll back women's lib.

Go ahead and try. Anyone who tries to 'roll back rights' is a fucking fascist and a traitor.

What exactly gives Dr. Mark the authority to deprive the rights of any citizens?

Somehow I don't think a NASA Interim Head and Aerospace Engineering professor is exactly an expert on social issues. Perhaps he should stick with building better widgets.

Re:MBCook's Magic Formula

[Shotgun]

Congratulations! This is the most inconsistent babble I've read on /. in quite a while. I could go on for a while, but let's concentrate on

"Don't tell the teachers what is on the test or when it is...Pay teachers based on their students progress."

So how would you feel if your manager said, "Write me a program. I'll pay you according to how well it fulfills my needs," then walks away, refusing to give you any more information? Let's see if you think any better than your sister's friends.

Re:Maybe get physical?

[ifwm]

"And stop calling people you don't know stupid. "

Stop lying and saying patently STUPID things, and you won't have to have your stupidity pointed out.

Moreover, I refuted your attempts at points, while you failed to address ONE of mine. Does that mean you concede that I am correct, or are you just embarrassed that you fucked up?

I don't tell electricians how to do their jobs, because I'm not an electrician. Yet morons like you think because you took a psych class as an elective that you have valuable insight.

Re:the bell curve has a left lobe

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

She cannot read a map. Period.

Welcome to the female gender.
There are two things that women, as a group, can't do:

1) Read a map (which is why they feel no shame about stopping at the nearest gas station and asking for directions).
2) Drive in reverse, even for short distances.

Sure, there are women who can do these things - my mom, for example. But, damn was she a bad role model - since she could do those things, I used to think all women could do them (or at least as well as all men can).

I can't count how many silly fights I got into with girlfriends while driving - I'd hand them a map and ask them to navigate and none of them would do it, and none would say flat out that they couldn't do it either. Holy shit, something like that can really ruin your day. Took my a few girls and a lot of fights to figure out how that bit of female brain chemistry works.

So, what's my point? Nothing much really besides a sexist, but surprisingly commonplace, story.

Re:Tear em all down

[jmorris42]

> What would more quickly deny the Rule of Law is if everybody started
> sending their kids to

Ok, I'm going to make this simple. Two visions to pick from.

1. We the People, while having a few crackpots, are generally an enlightened people capable of self government. In this vision we let a few cranks do stupid things, thereby preserving OUR right to someday be the crank doing something most 'right thinking people' think is a little daft. It is called Freedom, it's a Good Thing(tm).

2. We are the small, mean, hate filled things the Democratic Party teaches that we are, that but for the Grace of their enlightened leadership we would have fallen into abject depravity and perhaps even cannibalism itself in the more rural of the red states. In which case it's fucking pointless. If we really are that sort of a People then we aren't fit for self government and need to just abandon this Republic/Democracy bull and let Kerry or Justice O'Conner put on the damned crown they so long to wear.

> There has to be a minimal standard of critical thinking and
> reasoning taught to all members of any nation

But where is it written on stone tablets that the government has any business setting these minimal standards? Especially the Federal one? Unwritten custom could probably be enough. After all, if a majority of We The People ever started believing that reason and critical thinking weren't important, do you really think some pinhead writing a regulation in Washington would help?

But of course that isn't what they love to do, they love to micromanage, decide whether we spend a week of class time to math or writing essays about Earth Day and poems to Gaia.