Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! It's interesting to look at, but does raise some questions.. namely: what is wrong with Americans? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Source and article: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19125653.700?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=mg19125653.700
I think it's because the US, in general, "believes" that everyone is entitled to their opinion and that every viewpoint is to be treated with respect and that everyone is correct. And the majority of people are religious. I believe in evolution John doesn't. We are both correct. Wtf? This is another good reason for me to leave the US.
When I see the US down there, I just think of that cartoon sound effect demonstrating an extremely stupid sounding laugh... You know the one that goes like "hoi hoi" ? Well it sounded funny in my head anyway.
You're expecting too much? http://www.bdtonline.com/columns/local_story_221165653.html Among fourth graders, U.S. students rank high on the International Test of Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Despite this head start, by eighth grade, American adolescents have slipped to the midpoint on the TIMSS; by age 17, their scores trail all but those in a few developing countries.
I don't know how the US education system is designed. What is the structure of teaching here? How are students assessed? How are teachers assessed?
From the supplemental material: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Conclusion: Christians suck.
Here are some clues? http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-08-16-illiteracy_x.htm ...nearly one-third of all U.S. school children have serious literacy deficits. If you think this is just a problem of poor children, think again. Among first-year college students, one-quarter require remediation for literacy deficiencies. Actually, poor children do quite well regarding literacy — as long as they don't live in the USA. As former U.S. Education secretary Rod Paige frequently pointed out, all of the generally impoverished English-speaking nations of the Caribbean have higher literacy rates than the USA's. Similarly, studies among poor children in Africa show levels of English literacy that would be the envy of any U.S. city. The Knowledge Deficit by E. D. Hirsch — provides an equally persuasive analysis of the educational weakness of the USA. Blending both intellectual history and cognitive psychology, Hirsch unmasks the faddishness, incoherence and hostility to research-based practice that characterizes most of the U.S. reading establishment. Anybody who doubts Hirsch's devastating critique should look at the recently released report of the National Council on Teacher Quality, "What Education Schools Aren't Teaching About Reading — and What Elementary Teachers Aren't Learning." This study examines 72 schools across the nation and measures them against the extent to which they teach the five common tenets of reading research (phonemic awareness, phonics, guided oral fluency, vocabulary building and reading comprehension). The result: 31% use none of those tenets, and only 15% employ all. These figures help explain the assertion of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development that 85% of U.S. reading teachers were never properly trained. And, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/08/national/main548400.shtml Ill-mannered pupils, demoralized teachers, uninvolved parents and bureaucracy in public schools are greater worries for Americans than the standards and accountability that occupy policy makers, a new study says. Only 9 percent of surveyed Americans said the students they see in public are respectful toward adults. High school students were asked about the frequency of serious fights in schools, and 40 percent said they occurred once a month or more; 56 percent said they hardly ever happened; 4 percent had no opinion. Only 15 percent of teachers said teacher morale is good in their high school. Teachers said their views are generally ignored by decision-makers, with 70 percent feeling left out of the loop in their district's decision-making process. According to the report, 73 percent of employers and 81 percent of professors said public school graduates have fair or poor writing skills. Teachers said lack of parental involvement is a serious problem, with 78 percent of teachers saying too many parents don't know what's going on with their child's education. Only 19 percent said parental involvement is strong in their high school.
Well. One thing that could be seen as slightly positive. We're also the highest in "I don't know". The 'absolutely true' answers are to be watched out for. In some cases. Scientific skepticism and all that. Unfortunately. Not in this case...
Sam, do you have any idea how many grades my kids went through studying basic arithmetic? And the agonizing details of "english" that no one even remembers or cares about? Not to mention "social studies" whatever the hell that is. Thousands upon thousands of hours of babysitting is what it amounts to. My three year old granddaughter has a better vocabulary than some elementary school kids, just from listening. It's frankly appalling. We've gotten so far from the original intention of mandatory public education that it's almost funny. We were supposed to be teaching our kids how to become informed citizens so that they could make informed decisions about the leaders they would be voting for. And also to produce technologically savvy people so we could maintain our edge in the modern world. No need to tell you how all of this is working out.
Poorly. Cram factoids down kid's throats until they're driven to apathy. Standardized tests as benchmarks for how much funding the schools will get for "succeeding" at them How many kids they get to pass the standardized test. Fucking appalling.
Why isn't education given more importance? I'm really surprised. PS You have a granddaughter? Awesome.
Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Evidence that our Education system is not as bad as theirs. We teach our students to think critically.
