Vocational stuff is fine but education isn't simply work training, it's life training. It's a lack of education (life training) that plays a significant role in why there are people calling 911 when McDonalds runs out of chicken nuggets or why people can't find the US on a map or can't balance a checkbook or don't understand that credit card usages are basically loans or that payday express isn't preferable to a bank account, etc.
To those who think this is dumbing down society, think again. If students are motivated, they will have learned the necessary material to succeed in college and are mentally ready. If you think the stuff taught in the first year of college is too hard for a 15-year old, then there is a problem cause Eng. Comp. is just writing you should have mastered already, College Alg. really doesn't require much prior math, History and Government are just memorization. Any motivated 15-year old can pass these classes with ease. The students who have their minds else where can start working or learn a trade. I'm not saying this is bad, but it's better than wasting time in high school if college is not their goal. Why do I think kids this generation mature faster than previous generations? Social media. They know how to have fun from chatting with peers all over the country. An outgoing 15-year old today looks like an 18-year old 20 years ago. About learning a foreign lnguage, how much does anyone remember what they learned? That's right, very little. And it's not hard to learn a foreign language if needed. As for athletics, they could go to college for that.
The current system was originally designed to get kids used to: 1. Spending 8 hours a day in a place they didn't want to be 2. Working in a disciplinary system based on their lower position in a totally asymmetrical power relationship 3. Receiving little immediate reward except for acknowledgement from the authorities for following the rules and fulfilling requirements 4. Having their "merits" (under code words like "intelligence" or "achievement") judged according to their ability to adopt and justify those rules and ways of life that perpetuate the status quo. Seems pretty successful to me.
1. If they don't get this by 10th grade, they won't by 12th. 2. Same as above. Do you think two more yrears, when they can drive, sneak into clubs, that they'll suddenly learn to respect teachers? 3. This will actually discourage them from ateending classes when they realize the world outside. 4. Again, 10th grade is good enough.
HELL NAW!! They need MORE EDUCATION not less This sounds like some bull**** WORK AROUND Sh** is failing .. . rather than correct it let's make a WORK AROUND that makes it look like it is working ooooo not we have raised graduation rates by 75%!!!! oooooooo More Americans have Diplomas than anytime in history !!!! ooooooooo This stat based idea of 'success' is complete and total bull**** NO! Others have touched on the maturity issue . . . . Rocket River HORRIBLE IDEA
The quality of education sucks because people like to point the finger at other things rather than take responsibility for themselves and their family.
Sad huh? Yet there are some who enter college having to take basic math (like middle school math) because they are not ready for algebra. So what math did they learn in high school? Basically nothing. So does it make sense if they have to repeat what they should have learned in high school, in college?
The US public education system is ****ed. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zDZFcDGpL4U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Here's where you are showing some lack of basic understanding of why we even have an educational system. Sex, employment, socializing and driving a car have nothing to do with going to school. These are things that should be taught by the parents. Learning to read, write, do math, science, etc etc is why we should to school. This is a good point. However, most schools these days have programs where the students can take classes at the local junior college to earn college credits for the subjects taken. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be pushed as the better alternative. I agree 90%. You might have some late bloomers who discover a passion for something taught at a higher level in HS that decide to go on to college. But not enough to argue your point. Good idea. A. Better to allow students to test out classes that bore them. B. How about allow electives to be taken at the local junior college? Kill two birds with one stone. C. Lit is there to increase reading skills and culture refinement. But I agree, two years is a bit much. Better to make the second year (two semesters) an elective, and again, available at the college level. I think you're on the right track. One of the cornerstone 'American Dreams' is that your kid, every kid, goes to college. It's just not that important to a vast majority of careers. Not only that, college costs are out of control, loans are automatic and kids are going into serious debt before their lives have even begun. I think the German system of school is pretty ideal. After fourth grade, the kids are split into different tracks: "After the fourth grade, most German children move into one of three educational tracks: the general secondary school ("Hauptschule," grades 5-10), the intermediate secondary school ("Realschule," grades 5-10) and the academic high school ("Gymnasium", grades 5-12 or 13). Teachers identify which school a child should attend. Currently, students who finish at either of the two lower-level schools typically go into vocational training or apprenticeships. A small number may also continue through the final grades at the academic high school, at the end of which they can earn the diploma necessary to attend a university." With this system, you can decide early on if you want to go to college, and public school preps you for it appropriately. Conversely, if you want to work in a trade such as electrician or carpenter, public school prepares you for that as well and allows you to enter the workforce at an earlier age, as the OP is proposing. I've given this subject a lot of thought and done some research for personal reasons. I hated school (was bored) and now I have a young son who is in public school. We considered home-schooling him but contrary to my first statement the big draw of public school was the socialization aspect, which although a by-product, is important to everyone. We do our part with good communication and helping him identify what he's dealt with socializing as right or wrong. I also dismiss college for everyone partly based on personal experience; I went not knowing what to do and it was a total waste of my time. I later finished but honestly it doesn't have much to do with my current job in IT as most of the people I work with don't have a degree and are perfectly capable of doing great work. A college degree is important in moving up the chain as higher ups see it as a mark of commitment and discipline, but in many fields it has little to nothing to do with your actual work. Hope that all helps.
More education for those who WANT them. This country caters too much to the low achieving crowd. A high school diploma is so easy to get, it wouldn't make any difference if it is obtained at 17 or 15. But for the ones who want to study, they could get their degree sooner, contribute sooner to the economy and society, all the while saving spending that could go toward scholarship and teachers.
I'm for it. Anything to shake it up. Education hasn't changed at all in a zillion years, there's no way the way we do it is the right way. Impossible.
