What are your thought regarding reforming the educational system?

[ForrestBlack]

I kinda think that we should extend the school day such that it lets out at 5:00pm or maybe like 5:30pm, rather than early afternoon. Both parents tend to be working these days and I'm not convinced that having all that unsupervised free time is really doing the youth of today quite enough good. Clearly we are not turning out the most educated kids anymore, so I think that something must be done to expose them to more education that they are currently getting. I also kind of feel that they rely on a bit too much homework, expecting kids to either learn the material on their own or have parents involved enough to help them, which isn't always the best solution. Kids could spend more time actually in school being taught the subjects and getting clarifications on subject matter. That would help more of the children actually learn things. I feel that more time in classes would make it more obvious which kids could handle more advanced tracks and such as well.

What are your thoughts on improving the state of education? I know some of you from overseas have some valuable input and experience to add as well and I'd love to hear it.

[Sawyer_Alexie]

Holding the kiddies until 4:30ish wouldn' be a bad idea, but it would also help if we had more teachers who could do more than read straight from a book. I mean, I've had several teachers who just plain kicked ass, and I've also had several teachers who couldn't teach if their lives depended on it.

[Pull~My~Hair]

I would think it would be a good idea if there were more activities at school...Something that they could be exposed to to broaden their horizons a bit more...

[Morning Glory]

eh. I dunno, I have mixed feelings on the whole thing. education is important, but I always studied things on my own and I didn't learn anything I didn't allready know after my second year in highschool. public schools pretty much just exist to brainwash progaganda (american history/government, demonstrating that social class will dictate who you are for the rest of your life, teach you how to take orders, etc.) and to produce efficiant workers, not self-sufficiant people.

[ForrestBlack]

eh. I dunno, I have mixed feelings on the whole thing. education is important, but I always studied things on my own and I didn't learn anything I didn't allready know after my second year in highschool. public schools pretty much just exist to brainwash progaganda (american history/government, demonstrating that social class will dictate who you are for the rest of your life, teach you how to take orders, etc.) and to produce efficiant workers, not self-sufficiant people.

See, I think that just means they were going too slow. With more exposure and more tracks for advanced students, I think you might have gotten more out of it.

[ForrestBlack]

I also think that if teachers worked a normal full workday with the students, they might get more respect and make a more normal wage. Perhaps a diffent sort of worker could be the one that corrects tests and such, but instructors should instruct, and I don't just mean tell the kids what chapter to read at home and what paper to write at home and what test to study for at home, etc. Clearly, far too few students can to be trusted with self administering their own education. I think if teaching were seen as more of a real full time job, they could better justify expecting an executive level wage.

[suicidal_tendencies]

i so wish school was extended. im stuck taking 2 yrs of classes for a 1 yr course, because they cut the days in half.

[Tequila Zaire]

I kinda think that we should extend the school day such that it lets out at 5:00pm or maybe like 5:30pm, rather than early afternoon. Both parents tend to be working these days and I'm not convinced that having all that unsupervised free time is really doing the youth of today quite enough good.

I'd be all for the holding students over that long provided that the classes past say 3pm are not normal classes but ones where the student can have some downtime to do things they enjoy. This way it can be a hybrid of an after school activity mixed with learning skills for a job they want to do after they graduate. These can range from traditional (and their is a huge need for non traditional) sports, art related classes, automotive, computers, assorted techcnology, etc.

The problem has always been too much homework killing the time students need to actually develop interests IN the subjects they study. Homework should not be these marathon 4 hour + busy work. It should be a light load that stirs interest not resentment.

However all this leaves out an important reality that faces public school kids. Most have siblings and important responsibilities after school. For every wannabe thug and gangbanging teen you have 14 to 18 year olds who have to take jobs to help the family, take care of siblings till parents get home from work, take care of the houshold like chores, and in some cases more extreme responsibilites like taking care of their OWN kids. Not all kids can handle or should have to handle such schedules of an 8am to 6pm school schedule...it's too much for elementary kids and while teens could handle it the High School realities could make it an even MORE intense living hell. Adults can barely handle such a schedule and at least they are putting in such hours for tangible more immediate reasons...getting your average teen to pull those kind of hours would be very difficult in the current climate of how teachers behave, how classes are taught, and how schools are set up.

It's an idea that has kicked around for some time but the need for trade schools is greater and would be much more beneficial if from the age of 16 on you can opt out of traditional High Schools for a trade school or military service (a bit like joining a military school if you will).

Too much was cut from modern schools to save money and in the end all that was saved is a dead and dying system in bad need of reform...but at least the ideas are there. Though the school system was screwed when I was in High School and I've yet to see it get any better...only more prison like security and similar mentality.

[BrightStar]

Why do they say the methods from before, like in previous decades were wrong, if the people from then were apparently smarter than they are today?

I mean in general, not on particular subjects.



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[Cafe_Post_Mortem]

I spent 12 years in publick schools and no one taught me how to balance a checking acount. No one taught me how credit works, no one taught me how to change the oil in my car or even when I should do it

Public schools don't just need more time with kids, they need to review what they teach kids. The point of publick schools seems to be either to get kids into college, or to baby sit them until they get ejected into the world. When going to college is more important than learing, more time is not really going to help.

I think a ground up overhaul with emphasis on what the kids need to survive is important. What good is trigonometry if you can't balnce your checkbook? Seriously.

As far as the time goes, arranging classes to fit a more college like schedule seems more useful than the current plan. I remember teachers running out of time in a 50 min class each day. I think breaking classes up into 2-3 hour classes every other day like college did would be more helpfull. As far as just making the days longer, the 7 hour day for the students is at least an 8 hour day for the teachers. You stretch it out to 9 hours and teachers are gonna burn out quick.