Is the public school system in the United states fundamentally broken?

I remember the weathermen from when I was a kid. Do you think that sort of militancy is on the uprise? I get the impression of apathy. No one seems to care about schools and education much anymore.

 

I see in my area, South Eastern Wisconsin / North third of Illinois, an explosion of the violent racial clashes associated with Weather & Panther SOP's has been seen rise over the past 5 years.

Not too much in the way of violent action from most if the University Based Weather types, but huge recruitment/mobilization expansion, & vast expansion of Liberal policies within the University System.

Which actually follows the SDS/Weather SOP to a T.

 

That sounds ominous.

 

I should add that within say a good 50 mile zone of the Universities, the municipalities, up to the county level, had up until the last 2 cycles, been represented by less than moderate Democrats.... A few Blue Dogs, (moderates) but they were already leaning GOP for lever pulling.

 

Well, since you identified yourself as being on a local school board for 6 years, you should know:

What school textbook called the civil war the "war of Northern Aggression?"

Did your local schools teach creationism?

How would a nation wide standard for textbooks improve education?

 

As far as student behavior goes, I'm unclear what concrete policy can be applied to "force parents to become more involved in the day-to-day education of their kids." How exactly would you do that?

 

I don't know but, even if they could, you can bet that parents would be made to provide only approved curriculum. OR ELSE!!!

 

1. I doubt if any textbook called the civil war the war of Northern Aggression.
2. Local schools do not teach creationism as policy anywhere in the country. I'm sure there are classrooms that do, but that's a different matter and is done without administration knowing about it.

 

It seemed unlikely, but VietVet mentioned it so from his school board position, he should know right?

 

Me?

We force kids into school by threatening parents with legal sanctions.
I can see similar actions taken to "encourage" parental participation. There are many avenues the participation could take but the participation itself must be mandatory.

This really is no different than other sanctions we use to encourage proper behavior. People should not drink and drive. Sanction.

Overall the idea is to force ownership of the child's education back onto the parent where it belongs.

 

I read about those 2 things in Texas textbooks.

Teacher-recommended standardized texts would ease transfer from school-to-school as people move - People do move a lot.
Teacher-recommended as opposed to school-board recommended ought to better focus on the subject matter.

 

So you evaded the entire question. If you really know how to force parents to participate in school and to enforce discipline of their children, I would like to know what it is and how the government is going to enforce it.

 

So you had no answers.

Either you never were on the school board, or worse, you were on the school board and have no idea what you're talking about.

 

Or, you are just a troll.

 

I'm going to keep this simple.

1. 10% of students who are adequately intelligent to do well in school and go to college and have adequate support so good for them.

2. 10% of students will work their butts off and are reasonably intelligent and will do well in school and go to college with or without adequate support so give them a shot maybe vocational education at a high level or college preparation.

3. 40% of students are average and/or don't care much about school but can learn enough to get by and get a job, either in school or in trade education, this group needs strong vocational options in secondary school and tracking through lower grades.

4. Disabled students fall into various groups and need sensible options based on their abilities and talents which could be at many levels.

5. Some students will be pointless to deal with they won't make it and will apprentice in crime and might or might not do well, drop out and get crappy jobs if they work at all or are too disabled to benefit enough to enter the work force in any good capacity for so bluntly why waste time on them past 8th grade? Give them a diploma, maybe a year of job skills training if they are motivated and drop them from the system. This might be 20% of students or more in a district.

 

As much as I like this idea in some ways due to all of the crappy parents out there can you spell out what kinds of "legal sanctions" should happen to the parents that don't take ownership of the child's education?

I get the feeling that this system has a let's have the government take a bunch of kids away from there parents and take care of them vibe to it.

 

No, I didn't.

I explained that we now use laws to force parents to send their kids to school. Similar laws could be used to force parents into participation.

If you'd like to discuss the landscape of such a program, what parents would do, carrots and sticks, I'm willing. Otherwise you're just better off to remain quiet.

 

How about expulsion as a "stick?"

When a kid is expelled the parent is still required to get them to school albeit, a different school. Otherwise...

Even force the parent to home school.

The idea is to get the parents out of the concept that the school is a free babysitter and back in touch with the concept that education is a partnership.

 

With plenty of experience in this, at the K12 as well as collegiate level, one thing is clear:
Teachers' unions are often far more interested in what is best for the teachers, rather than what is best for the students.
If teachers' union were to re-focus with that in mind, it would address many of the issues in education we see today.

 

Well I think the inability to define how exactly this would be enforced might mean it's a more difficult proposition than you imagine, otherwise some school districts would be doing it already.

 

I'm demonstrating that school reform is a lot more difficult than simple bromides, otherwise it would be happening already. You merely provided an apt example.

 

Oh I'm willing. Please give me the breakdown of your plan.

 

I think opening up the discussion is worthy.

But then, why discuss the possibilities of improving the performance of an entity you're sworn to hate and destroy, right?

 

OK, to start, parents must serve one day per month in their child's classroom as an aide.

First failure is a warning. Second is expulsion.

Discuss away.

 

There is part of me that likes a more expel happy system, but I think with our culture now mostly having both parents working full time or one parent killing themselves working that school sadly has become a babysitter.

I think home schooling is a great idea, but forcing parent's into it isn't going to yield good results. Also this system would appear to many as punishing the poor and minority's in the US. I mean with all the complaining NC got for having a voter ID law that was killed by a federal court because all voter ID laws must be racist, I don't think your system will pass though a legal framework that thinks like that.