The USA is no place to raise a child.

Discussion in 'Free Thoughts' started by TimeTraveler, May 2, 2009.

  1. TimeTraveler Immortalist Registered Senior Member

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    Only most Americans aren't brains or fruitpickers. Most Americans just don't have the drive to do what needs to be done for America to become #1 again.
    I grew up poor, with a single parent, and I still went to college. A lot of Americans born into far better situations than mine choose not to go to college, or they drop out of college. And yes there are many options, they can enlist and the government helps to a certain degree but the problem is that on top of not wanting to get educated, most Americans appear to be cowards as well. This combination does not help America become #1 again.


    The military can make us #1 again but then we need to bring back the draft and actually WIN the wars we start. The economy can make us #1 again but we'd have to actually make getting a masters degree and or phd far more common.
     
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  3. darksidZz Valued Senior Member

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    The trouble is USA lacks class, places worth living with style are Italy, Poland, Japan, etc. not here
     
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  5. Mrs.Lucysnow Valued Senior Member

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    Timetraveler:Most Americans just don't have the drive to do what needs to be done for America to become #1 again.

    I absolutely agree with this but would go further. I would say that Americans no longer know what it means to be an American, they have lost touch with the basic values that built the nation and no longer know what a huge responsibility is placed on a member of a free democratic society. They have fallen to apathy
     
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  7. Tnerb Banned Banned

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    The usa supports itself. There's tons of people out there who respect it as a group of states and a free country where politics and organization and crime are being discussed all the time. It may seem like a foolish country but it is actually beaming with potential.

    Land of the free, home of the beautiful. It's just a nice place to be. Most other countries are anti american because they dislike having the ability to pick a state, and choose choices. I don't like that aspect of the USA but I do like how people who don't know jack about it criticize it to death.
     
  8. Mrs.Lucysnow Valued Senior Member

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    Well if I understood what you were saying I'd probably disagree with you.

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  9. Tnerb Banned Banned

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    Anywhere to live is fine but you must understand why.
     
  10. madanthonywayne Morning in America Registered Senior Member

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    So long as you stay out inner cities, our schools are fine. The school my oldest son just graduated from has a 95% graduation rate and over 90% of its students pass the standardized state test, and it's a public school. The private school my younger children are now attending has a 99% graduation rate and about 99% of its students pass the state test.
     
  11. Norsefire Salam Shalom Salom Registered Senior Member

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    Although I am very much against much of what the US gov't is doing at the moment, it is still the best option available, unfortunately.

    Test scores are not necessarily an indicator of intelligence.

    I don't necessarily disagree, however the US population is certainly better, in my opinion, than the socialist scum of Europe that seems to be the majority.

    The gov't does not belong in schooling in the first place.

    That's correct. And furthermore it isn't the governments job to do anything in this field. When they do get involved, it becomes a horribly inefficient bureacracy and nothing more than indoctrination.

    Through welfare, you're right.

    Privatizing education is the way to go, to increase competitiveness and quality. And here's the deal: this means school is no longer compulsary. The demand for skilled labor will still stay the same, and then the people will voluntarily choose to go and want to get into good schools

    Drugs should not be illegal in the first place, and criminalizing them leads to many problems and social issues.

    Most of the people in prison do not deserve to be in there.

    I agree that there needs to be reform.

    Reduce gov't and let the people freely interact.

    Eliminate the welfare state and we'll have progress.
     
  12. TimeTraveler Immortalist Registered Senior Member

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    Go ahead, blame the blacks and jews, just like the Germans did. Most of the people who are uneducated are white, and most of the schools in the USA aren't "inner city" schools. Face it, most of the schools suck whether they are inner city or rural. In fact the farmboy who lives in the rural neighborhood has problems of his own, he might not be able to access high speed internet, because we aren't #1 in that either.

    If what you say were true, explain why the middle class Americans who don't go to inner city schools, and even upper class Americans who go to the best highschools, do so poorly in math and science? Are you saying South Korea doesn't have ghettos? Are you saying theres no inner city in Europe?

    It's always easier to find a scapegoat and make excuses for yourself than to change.
     
  13. TimeTraveler Immortalist Registered Senior Member

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    Ok we agree. There is a problem.

    I never said test scores have anything to do with intelligence. This is why I compared graduation rates, not test scores. We graduate less students, and have less college graduates. Actually our grading system is harder and less forgiving than the European grading system.

    Whats better about us? I don't think we are innately better simply because we come from American genetic stock. Thats borderline...
    Thats fine, but can the government fund non profits and give vouchers? I'm not an advocate of government controlled education or standardized testing. I'd be fine with the church, or non profits paying for education. I do not want corporations paying for education however because this will allow people to simply pay for good grades and it will allow the rich and stupid to get a free pass.

    The government has a job but should not directly influence it. I don't want national education, I'd rather we nationalized the banks to be honest.
    Welfare isnt the issue. You are playing politics here.

    It's not a good solution. Private education in the current form will lead to rich people buying degrees and good grades.
    I agree. But drugs should be regulated. Children should not drink coffee or smoke.
    I agree.

    It's difficult. We can't really reduce government but we should. We do however need to focus on high tech education software. I think private schools would work best if they are homeschool with the education taking place over the internet, like University of Phoenix. Beyond this I think we should have private schools and much smaller public schools.
     
  14. Aerika Registered Senior Member

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    Actually, the surveys do in fact suggest they are better.


    .

    All of the schools mentioned offer academic scholarships and grants. Harvard is very difficult to obtain admissions but the other schools have many students that are not from elite families. Educational opportunities are availiable to all social classes in America, though honestly, many students seem uninterested and do poorly.



    Top 10 Universities Worldwide
    1. Harvard, US
    2. Stanford, US
    3. Cambridge UK England
    4. University of California, Berkeley, US
    5. Massachusetts Inst Tech, US
    6. California Inst Tech, US
    7. Princeton, US
    8. Oxford UK England
    9. Columbia, US
    10. Chicago, US

    http://www.learn4good.com/top10/universities.htm
     
  15. CutsieMarie89 Zen Registered Senior Member

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    Home schooling was the worst idea since non sliced bread. There are so many valuable experiences that you miss out on (socially and academically) when you rarely interact with your peers and teachers/professors. That's why I love my college so much, meeting people from all over the world from different religions and class backgrounds. Learning from professors who are acclaimed experts in their fields and working with them on their research. Something I would have never gotten to experience to do enrolled exclusively at the University of Phoenix.
     
  16. Japarican Registered Senior Member

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    Well...that is a bit offensive. It's not fair to generalize. I'm American and damn proud to be one. I don't make assumptions about the work ethic in other countries or question a foreigner's intelligence.
     
  17. Syzygys As a mother, I am telling you Valued Senior Member

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    So many ignorants on this thread, you don't deserve the right to talk about education!!!

    1. The finishing % in HS doesn't say anything about the education level of the school system. On average an American kid is at least 1 year BEHIND in knowledge compared to a same age European schoolkid.

    2. You guys talk of HSs, then bring up top notch colleges. First, it is apples and oranges because different level of education, second, just because America has the top notch universities, the average level of education still can be very low.

    3. As an answer to the OP, true, unless it is a private school, the AVERAGE American school is not a place to raise your kid, if you have the choice to pick....
     
  18. Aerika Registered Senior Member

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    Post a little rhetoric, a insult, and your opinion is supposed to prove what exactly?
     
  19. stateofmind seeker of lies Valued Senior Member

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    I thought it was interesting that South Korea had the highest graduation percentage. I recently saw a documentary on the BBC about South Korea's "lost generation." Apparently South Korea's government wanted to update its country and now South Korea is the most technological country in the world. There's a whole generation of kids that do little more than play video games on the computer and console. South Korea was the first country to recognize gaming addiction as a psychological illness. They're now rethinking their approach to education and tech-ization and considering giving up on this lost generation and starting anew.

    It's clearly not all about graduation percentage.
     
  20. madanthonywayne Morning in America Registered Senior Member

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    First of all, are there many Jews in the inner cities? Secondly, I don't blame the students (except for the gang bangers), I blame the teachers unions and the Democratic party that treats our schools as a guaranteed job program for incompetent teachers rather than a place to educate children.
     
  21. Aerika Registered Senior Member

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    105
    Our society loves to do surveys and compile data. There are many schools in America that are under-funded that still manage to graduate students that go onto the next level. There are also well-funded schools that have students that play World of Warcraft a bit too much and think it's cool to be disruptive in class.

    Every student in America has the opportunity to obtain a quality education. Some do, some don't, it's really that simple. There are literally thousands of colleges spread across America offering scholarships, aid and student loans. It's lame to blame the teachers and schools for a student's failure to obtain an education in a country that has free libraries.

    Some students have an economical edge, but there are far too many examples of underprivileged children excelling in life to ignore the obvious. A quality education starts at home.
     
  22. CutsieMarie89 Zen Registered Senior Member

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    3,485
    I disagree, it's rarely the teachers fault either. It's the school board, pushing the test, because low test scores means less money. So the kids learn the test and nothing else. I remember my younger brother's teachers when he was in elementary school, saying they hated pushing the kids on to new subjects when they didn't really understand the previous chapter in the textbook, but it is not the teachers' call to make. They have to move fast to cover all of the material that the school board wants them to cover before STAR and CAT6 testing here at least here in California. You think they would get a hint when almost the whole class is taking remedial lessons after school. I mean even at the college level the professors are free to do what they wish in their classroom. Like changing the syllabus at will to match the class' needs. Grade school teachers aren't at liberty to do that, (at a public school).
     
  23. Syzygys As a mother, I am telling you Valued Senior Member

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    Just the facts my dear, just the facts.

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