I saw this graphic on Facebook today. I've seen it before, but today for some reason it struck a nerve.
The only correction I'd make is about the time frame. This change has happened since I was a kid, and I'm not 60 yet!
What's happened here? I know there are many factors, but our schools are struggling, our kids are losing, and our nation has lost a lot of ground as a thought leader in the world. Have we so over-reinvented the educational processes that we've lost sight of the basic goal of an education? Which, in my humble opinion, is to to teach a child to think, to reason, and learn. If they can do that, they can do anything. Now we are so zeroed in on facts and figures we are only teaching test-taking and only testing memorization skills in standardized tests that make no sense.
Has family participation in education so declined that a teacher working a 10-12 hour day (yeah, 2-4 hours a day outside of school hours) is the only source of education these kids will get? When mom and dad are both working, there is no family time, and the TV and Internet are nanny, babysitter, and educational tool, the student loses. I learned my fundamental lessons at home before school began, and was responsible at home for work completion before I got to school to turn it in. Not any more. Helicopter parents have turned this around, over-protecting their children to the point where the kid can do no wrong, and it must be the teacher's fault if little Johny isn't making all A's.
Have we so politicized the process that the classroom is just a ping pong ball to be bounced around for political points? We should allow educators to take over education, and keep politicians out of the mix. If history is to be revised, it should be due to the discovery of new factual information that changes the understanding of a thing or event, not to support any political party's goals or particular desire for how things should have been. Give kids the truth and let them decide what they think about it - it might not be good for your party but it will be good for the country.
Have we put so low a value on education that there just isn't enough money to provide the needed classroom space and teacher to student ratio to provide effective teaching? I had some horrible teachers as a child, back when anyone could be a teacher, but I also had some wonderful mentors. Now, there are standards and requirements and curricula and refresher trainings and evaluations and it seems like there are more teachers than ever who don't know what they are doing, don't care, or just can't do it. I tried to find a good, current chart of world academic standing but there are so many and they are so varied I could find a consistent report, so here is a study result from 2013:
" According to the report, The Learning Curve, developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the
United States ranks seventeenth out of forty countries ranked in overall educational performance.
Finland ranks first. The top ten countries in educational performance are:
Or shud we blame the inet? U no how peeps abbrev evrythng n 2 lazy 2 do it rite. :(
Yes, I know I'm over-simplifying the problem. And I know and respect many wonderful, dynamic, motivated, amazing teachers! I wouldn't be the professional, somewhat accomplished person I am without the wonderful teachers who made sure I got it. Thank you forever to all of them!
It used to be a good thing to be smart. It let us put men on the moon, create the internet, and gave us amazing tools like cell phones and the iPad - all revolutionary events that have changed the world. God gave each of us a brain and talents - we shouldn't ignore those precious gifts, we should do everything we can to help our children maximize them. It's the smart thing to do!
What's happened here? I know there are many factors, but our schools are struggling, our kids are losing, and our nation has lost a lot of ground as a thought leader in the world. Have we so over-reinvented the educational processes that we've lost sight of the basic goal of an education? Which, in my humble opinion, is to to teach a child to think, to reason, and learn. If they can do that, they can do anything. Now we are so zeroed in on facts and figures we are only teaching test-taking and only testing memorization skills in standardized tests that make no sense.
Has family participation in education so declined that a teacher working a 10-12 hour day (yeah, 2-4 hours a day outside of school hours) is the only source of education these kids will get? When mom and dad are both working, there is no family time, and the TV and Internet are nanny, babysitter, and educational tool, the student loses. I learned my fundamental lessons at home before school began, and was responsible at home for work completion before I got to school to turn it in. Not any more. Helicopter parents have turned this around, over-protecting their children to the point where the kid can do no wrong, and it must be the teacher's fault if little Johny isn't making all A's.
Have we so politicized the process that the classroom is just a ping pong ball to be bounced around for political points? We should allow educators to take over education, and keep politicians out of the mix. If history is to be revised, it should be due to the discovery of new factual information that changes the understanding of a thing or event, not to support any political party's goals or particular desire for how things should have been. Give kids the truth and let them decide what they think about it - it might not be good for your party but it will be good for the country.
Have we put so low a value on education that there just isn't enough money to provide the needed classroom space and teacher to student ratio to provide effective teaching? I had some horrible teachers as a child, back when anyone could be a teacher, but I also had some wonderful mentors. Now, there are standards and requirements and curricula and refresher trainings and evaluations and it seems like there are more teachers than ever who don't know what they are doing, don't care, or just can't do it. I tried to find a good, current chart of world academic standing but there are so many and they are so varied I could find a consistent report, so here is a study result from 2013:
" According to the report, The Learning Curve, developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the
United States ranks seventeenth out of forty countries ranked in overall educational performance.
Finland ranks first. The top ten countries in educational performance are:
- Finland
- South Korea
- Hong Kong SAR
- Japan
- Singapore
- United Kingdom
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Switzerland
- Canada"
Or shud we blame the inet? U no how peeps abbrev evrythng n 2 lazy 2 do it rite. :(
It used to be a good thing to be smart. It let us put men on the moon, create the internet, and gave us amazing tools like cell phones and the iPad - all revolutionary events that have changed the world. God gave each of us a brain and talents - we shouldn't ignore those precious gifts, we should do everything we can to help our children maximize them. It's the smart thing to do!
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