Good morning to all- I hold the position that the public schools of the US serve the greatest number of people with the greatest range of abilities and interests and with the most benefit to the most people of any public institution yet created. If a child has a special talent and ability, it is more likely to be recognized and developed in the public schools than anywhere else. If a child has special needs, it more likely to be detected and address in our public schools than anywhere else. And if the non-school public feels that some public school products are not the brightest or sharpest people in the world, that's hardly surprising. No other society does more to educate ALL students regardless of their ability, motivation, and support from home as the public schools. If we did as most other countries do and educated the academically brightest kids and let the rest sweat in factories or on the farm, then our public school products would outshine the rest of the world. We have very bright kids in the public schools. We also have less able and sometimes much less motivated kids, too. That's just the nature of our system. And for folks who wonder why our public schools don't produce students like the private "academies" do- well, we do produce students just as bright, just as prepared, and just as capable as any other school system. We just have a lot of other kids who we work with, too. and these "other kids" are the ones that the private academies and schools exclude- for several reasons. So I salute those teachers and other school people who labor in the public schools- they do a job that is very important and which will provide the best people of our future. good day to all- Ed
Some years ago, I was involved with adult students who, for whatever reasons they each had, came out of the public school system functionally illiterate. That is not to say that I seriously believe they were denied qualified teachers but what I do believe is that they were somehow passed by or simply passed without the proper credentials to do so. By “passed by” I mean that when a student is say, motivationally challenged, there is a reason for it but either the instructors were not trained to spot those reasons and / or they were less than motivated to investigate further due to their own lack of training when trying to deal with it. No, I’m not writing about those who are mentally challenged, I’m writing about those who have the capability to achieve excellence but the route to bring that excellence to the surface had remained undiscovered. One gentleman I tested had the best short and long term memory I have ever had the pleasure to experience yet he could barely read and his math skills were horrendous. Simply put, no one looked for the switch but once looked for, found and the lights turned on, this man went on two years later and passed the California SAT’s with the highest score that year. Now, in my estimation, the gentleman I referred to was not only passed by, but was also unqualified to pass but yet, he went from grade to grade and eventually, frustrated and angry, he dropped out. That’s only one story but adult learning centers have been springing up all over the U.S. for the last 20 or with the majority of the most attended centers located in Rescue Missions associated with AGRM. (now called City Gate). Hundreds of full grown adults hit those centers every day (except Sunday) because they do not have the tools to seek a career rather than a “job” with many of them being much, much smarter than they themselves even realized. Do Note: I can not, in any way shape or form, take anything away from the majority of those who teach in our government controlled school system. They have a load and a heavy one generally fraught with more students than they can manage let alone pick and choose which students they need to spend more time than they have. I guess the bottom line here is that whilst we may have the potential to have the greatest system in the world, it, like all great things still needs some work.
"Public school funding in the United States comes from federal, state, and local sources, but because nearly half of those funds come from local property taxes, the system generates large funding differences between wealthy and impoverished communities. Such differences exist among states, among school districts within each state, and even among schools within specific districts." What is your opinion of the way public schools are funded? Do you think money makes a difference?
Good afternoon to all- Nancy- I think the way public schools are funded in the US is nothing short of criminal. I have worked in small, rural schools where everything from teaching staff to basic school supplies- toilet paper, school meals, and textbooks- were minimal to say the very most for them. I have also worked for districts which were located in growing, tourism-benefited areas, and these schools tended to be palaces and were fully staffed- even over-staffed and had every possible educational gimmick and tool because of the high level of local funding provided.. Once again, it comes down to where a kid lives and what the money situation in any particular place is that matters. The rich, even in educational terms- do tend to get richer. And by the way, when the state decided to equalize all schools and the funding they received from the state- that means that the whole state moneys paid for taxes to fund education- was put into one big pot and divided equally, you wouldn't believe the crying and whining- and the growth of private schools to serve the kids whose parents didn't want them to go to school with "those kids" in schools that weren't tip-top anymore. Just like many other things in life, the amount of money spent does make a difference. good day to all- Ed
Today's four-year Liberal Arts college graduate has about the same educational level as a High School graduate in the 1950's. Hal
The education system is a great thing and from grade 1 through 12 is OK but the universities have become politico and also filled with meaningless courses. Like about anything that has the word study in it. I taught an extended education classes for a collage this was great because people taking the course wanted to learn and it did not give them credit on the college degree. Most of the courses were small engine repair, refrigerator repair, potter making, and abnormal psychology. The people attending wanted to learn made teaching very easy.