Grades?! PFFT...Can you work yet?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100313/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_education

Hey, let's not look at if you have an A or an F...Can you work yet? AND let's throw the No CHild Left Behind act away.

 

I read the article, and for the most part, agree with it. Having said that, as a teacher who has taught in both public and private schools, the idea that any public official sitting in Washington or organization behind closed doors can come up with a viable plan for fixing the schools systems is ludicrous. One of the biggest failures of the school systems in general have been the lack of parental involvement on all levels. And that is a cultural matter that can't be easily undone.

 

I agree. First of all, NCLB should be scrapped. When I was in the classroom, I taught special needs. I had a 10yo who was working on counting to three. Guess what? She was expected, under NCLB, to be tested with other "normal" children her age. And I also agree that Washington or any other cannot possibly "fix" our schools. As stated, parental involvement is ESSENTIAL (gee...what does that say for homeschooling?), and the more the government takes over, the less parents will be involved.

 

I don't think a new law or scrapping NCLB will fix the schools. In my opinion the only chance is competition. Attach the money to the chilld and lets schools compete for students. I worked in a poor school in a city in Texas when Bush was governor. The problem for kids in that school went beyond parental involvement. When a child has to focus on surviving there is not much focus left for academics. I even had a young kid pull a knife at another student in my class. The teachers spent their time trying to get kids to pass the yearly test. It was a huge focus! The same year I worked in a affluent public school in the same district and the difference was night and day. The teachers taught and the students learned. There was very little focus on the test. There didn't need to be because the kids were learning.

 

From what I understand, having read the article, the new plan would only be an improvement... not a fix. I agree with what's already been said here: NCLB needs to be scrapped completely. And gov't can't fix schools. I also think competition is key. But our increasing socialist society is not going to embrace the capitalist idea of free-market competition in education.

 

I'm doing a happy dance over here- No more NCLB!!!

I don't know if Obama's new plan would help- chances are it won't because it does boil down to the home life. It is good though that they are looking at the future of the kids. Isn't one of the purposes of an education is to get a job, whether it is after high school or college?

 

I don't understand why the US seems to think our education system needs to compete with the output of foreign schools. Do we really want to go to a system where our 5 year old's future depends on getting into the best kindergarten? and to accomplish acceptance into that school means highly stressful demands on that child from birth? I've seen what kind of culture produces "superior" education by world standards and I don't want any part of it.

If we were really focusing on what education could mean to those of us here in the US (in a self-sustaining country), we would all be happier, more productive members of society. If we opted for a national rather than global view, we wouldn't be allowing foreign comptetion to rule our decisions for our people. Grrrrrrrr.....sorry for the rant.

 

Brooke, I think this view is too simplistic. The simple fact of the matter is that we are living in a global world. The U.S. is not a self-sustaining country. I think the foreign governments that hold most of our national debt would agree with that. The U.S. cannot turn a blind eye to the rest of the world. Interdependence is important on issues such as trade, conservation of natural resources and fighting terrorism. Many job today already require that a person have a basic knowledge of world trade, world cultures and at least one other language. That trend is likely to continue in the future.

 

I didn't mean that it was possible to hold back the tide now that it is set in motion. I was referring to the misguided ideology that brought us to this place. I happen to subscribe to the idea that we were better off as a people before we began to rely on global commerce. We could be self-sustaining with absolutely no problem if we were so inclined.

 

The US should have no need for business with any other country. We should be able to provide for and defend ourselves in pretty much every aspect.
The fact that we don't/can't is a real embarrassment at the least, and our downfall at the worst. A true weakness to be dependent on your enemies.

ok that's is a little off topic, there...
I was watching on Glen Beck, a Chinese girl, winner of an Olympic event in the 08 games. In her interview w/ ? She was asked when she last seen her parents? she wasn't sure, but sometime before she joined the olympic team. Were her parents here today? She said she didn't know. Was she going to take some R&R time now that the stress was over? She didn't know. I guess all of that depended on what the gov had in mind for her?

I don't want my kids to live under a govt that tells them what to read, what to write, and what will be on the news. Whether or not they can practice a religion, own a home, have kids, or own a dog, or anything else.

Our schools do not need to be modeled after China or any other country. If the kids in China are 'smarter' than in the US. That is fine with me. At least our kids aren't paying the price the Chinese kids are paying.
I personally think we would be better to go back to the 'one room schoolhouse' method or similar...

 

I'll just disagree that it would be a good thing to bring back the Monroe Doctrine era. There are wonderful people, places and cultures that exist outside the U.S. I, for one, am glad that we exist within a global community.

We cannot and should not supply all our own needs within our country. Most corporations have factories outside the U.S. because it is much cheaper to produce the products outside our country. Labor is much cheaper in countries such as China, Mexico and Taiwan. I think most Americans would be surprised at how much more we would pay for basic goods if we didn't trade with or operate factories and businesses in other countries.

Peanutsweet, I really don't want to come across as rude here, but do you really see every other nation as an enemy of the U.S.?

 

I can't answer for Peanutsweet, but I definitely do believe that. I agreed completely with Peanutsweet's post. I don't want my children to have to compete with a country that does not value it's people.China clearly does not value family. taht makes them dangerous to our ideas and values.

 

How 'bout we grow and make our own basic goods, get paid a decent wage for our work, use alternate energy sources supplied by wind, water and light, live within our means and be content. Why can't we visit other countries without thinking we need to rely on them?

I, for one, live in an area where all the long-standing jobs have been moved to Mexico and I'm sick and tired of it. Families who have lived here on farms and homesteads for generations are no longer able to sustain themselves and their sons and daughters are forced to move to urban areas to find jobs. Life might seem better if your goals are to accumulate assets through the slave labor of third-world countries, but life is definitely not better when you lose your job, your farm, and your children in a day.

 

Yes, we're part of a global community, but that doesn't mean we are responsible for other countries' decisions. I don't believe in "one world" government. I also don't believe we need to be the world's police force. We need to deal with the US's problems FIRST.

 

I'm all for a world view here. A capitalist society demands trade with countries like China. And hiring people in China or some other part of the world provides jobs to people far more destitute than we are.

A great man of God once said we have no right to love one country over another. Poor guy was booed when he said that. But I agree with him. People are people and we have no right to love our own people more than others.

 

My logic falls in line with "be in the world, but not of it". I can care for an help other countries, but I take great pains not to lie with them. We are collectively known by the nation we call home and fall under it's judgements. There are many who die trying to make it to freedom here. I don't want to compromise it by remaining a debt-burdened slave to the oppressive countries we have climbed into bed with. Even though I can't single-handedly change the course we as a nation are on, I can chose to not align myself with its ideology. Please don't confuse that with being anit-American--quite the contrary. I am proud to be an American. I just want to always remain one as opposed to becoming part of a one-world government.

 

It depends on what you mean by a "world view", Embassy. In college, I had a Christian roommate from Jordan and a Malaysian Moslem roommate at the same time, with Mutalie (Zambian) live across the parking lot, and Abraham (Indian) stopping by on a regular basis. We can't look only at our own borders. But I would very much like to see the United States more independent from world powers.

 

By world view I mean we should see people and not borders. Jobs for the people in Thailand are just as important as jobs for people in the USA. I'm not talking about a government system, but the way I believe a Christian should view the world. The government of China may not be good, but pulling manufacturing out of China will only hurt the people there. It is good for us to be independent, but people in other countries depend on us.

 

Embassy, I agree with you wholeheartedly. I know that some of my viewpoint comes from having lived outside the U.S. as a missionary teacher in Mali, Portugal and South Korea. THere are many, many wonderful Christian people living in other countries of the world. America is a country; Americans are people who have been blessed beyond the rest of the world's wildest dreams. America is not, however, an more special to God than any other nation.

 

I agree with this, but a great deal of what caused this "cultural matter" is a result of the compulsory public school system; it is a problem that perpetuates itself. The public school system tells us all that it is better at educating the masses so drop your child off, but then the child grows up feeling unqualified or unmotivated (take your pick) to be involved in their own child's education.

Oh, and here's a big surprise....

And, for the first time in 45 years, the White House is proposing a $4 billion increase in federal education spending, most of which would go to increase the competition among states for grant money and move away from formula-based funding.

:roll:....more federal tax money thrown at education. (We are just printing and burning money as fast as we can now.) What would help schools the most on the local level is if the federal government stops all funding and the local governments, who answer to their citizens on a far more personal level, have full reign without trying to please Washington.

One other thing, probably the ONLY reason this is being proposed is that it takes the heat off the teachers and this is being pushed by the NEA. You have got to please the largest union in the country or re-election could be difficult.