Educational System Is Failing My Kid & Likely Yours @senseicat
It is time to seriously evaluate our current educational system to figure out what is going drastically wrong and challenge the status quo.
This is a subject that weighs heavily on our lives because I have a son in middle school and certainly, I think than anyone with school aged children will relate to my concerns.
Let me begin by saying that my son is getting straight A's, yet it is not reflective of his actual knowledge.
Yes, we know that schools are overcrowded with 30 plus kids per classroom, of varying academic and behavioral issues all integrated into one cozy room to learn the same recycled material.
At morning drop off, my son thunderstruck me, "Mom, 95% of the kids in school are bad." I was absolutely floored and he kept giving me example after example.
At breakfast, he said that he knows why one girl has been absent for months, she told kids that she was feeling like hurting other children at school and spent time at a mental facility. My son and everyone else is afraid of her.
One science teacher returned a large packet and marked 12 problems incorrect when they were actually correct. When we mentioned this to her, she remarked, "I guess you are teaching your son at a higher level so I will credit you extra credit points if it pleases you."
The math teacher gives each child 100% if they complete their homework regardless if the results are correct. She does not take the time to grade anything except for quizzes. She gave out a major exam and told the kids that she would be proud of them if they received 50% due to the difficulty. This is the test that shows how effective her teaching methods are for her students.
Cell phones were requested by teachers at the beginning of the year so that the kids can conduct "research" in class.
Language arts teacher allows the kids to listen to music on students' cell phones during class time regardless if they actually completed their assignment and makes a habit of not collect weekly assignments half of the time because she does not have to grade it. Subsequently, I have pulled the plug on my son's cell phone service because I see it more as a distraction to his learning.
One school rule that really gets me is where the kids get penalized for going to the restroom during class and they are only give 3 minutes between periods to get from class to class. My son often comes home without drinking any water all day to prevent going to the bathroom!
Every day after school, our kid comes home to complete homework, we check it, he makes corrections, and this goes on for 2-4 hours each evening.
Our kid often comes home without a clue on how to do the math homework assignment at least half the time, because the teacher neglects review examples before the children leave the class. I checked with another excelling student and he confirmed that the teacher is known for handing out the sheets of homework without even going over the material. Perhaps, this method of teaching is via osmosis?
How do our schools continue to allow poor behaved kids to continue to attend school and give chance after chance to known bullies while allowing other kids to suffer at their hands, often in silence?
Many kids choose to suffer in silence due to shame and repercussions and the effects are lifelong.
I have been thinking of the possibility of homeschooling at home and many people including my closest friends say that the reason we send kids to school is to "socialize" them and I find this answer absolutely laughable.
Today is the last day of the 3rd quarter and the kids who were good all year get rewarded to play half the day outside while their peers stay inside. This morning, my son told me that the teacher suggested to the kids who are not allowed to play outside, to stay at home instead of going to school altogether!
Additionally, one of the best academic students and the child who has earned "teacher's pet" for voluntarily taking out the trash every day, etc. is not allowed to go because he got a referral to the Principal for "chewing gum." This is an awesome and responsible kiddo by all measures.
God forbid a minor error by a respectful, smart, and mature student, but let's ensure that bullies continue their education. Trust me, every administrator, teacher, and student knows who these kids are.
Let me end with the stupidity of awards ceremonies. My son historically picks up a barrage of them each quarter and I am okay with the academic ones that the kids actually earn. The school introduced the "scholar" award and the first quarter, it was given to a child who appears to have short term memory as she asks the same question over and over. The second quarter, it was given to a child who does not regularly attend school, but the teacher selected him because he has nice handwriting and shares his class notes with his classmates. I know this child and he regularly misses school because he plays video games until the wee hours.
I have to say that one of the above teachers won the teacher's award for her sensitivity. OMG! How about focusing on actually teaching the material to students eager to learn?
Let me just say that there are plenty of awards that fit other categories and perhaps, they should continue creating more fake awards so that kids and their parents can live in an illusion that scholar must mean something other than being a good student.
Please accept my sincere apologies for ranting @senseicat
The system is broken. Developmentally challenged children don't get special classes. They get mixed into the regular classrooms and cause distraction to those who want to learn. The teachers don't actually teach anymore. The parents are left as the ones that must teach the children. Some parents are so fed up that they will get their child diagnosed with a mild development disorder so that the school is required by law to pass the child even if they don't do their homework or participate. This leads to a greater distraction to children in the classroom. Also what is the deal with teachers getting days off??? They have the entire summer off yet they get all kinds of days off where a substitute must fill in. The substitutes are idiots and play video games instead of actually teaching. I swear, there is a substitute teacher for at least one class per day!
I am glad that you mentioned substitute teachers as we have an extraordinary need to fill these positions due to minimum wage salaries. Kids have told me repeatedly that subs are telling them to just play on their cell phones and even have the audacity to say "do not tell your parents." Essentially, in order to be a sub, you need to have a pulse!
The children are not getting an education. It really boils my blood.
a great addition to the topic!
if we just examine what happens at schools every day, there will be endless prizes for stupidity!
and yes, I have heard the main argument against homeschooling - socialization, just what you have mentioned.
I don't understand why people don't see further than their nose...
why do they think that school can e the only place for a kid to be socialized? Do all kids have a way "home-school-home", and they see other people only at school? and what is the purpose of schools - communication and socialization or education? Kids really go there to chat and spend time with friends more that to study, and it's a problem too.
I think, socialization must be a topic of one more post-)
let's analyze it together?-)
Yes, you are right. generally i see the school now the case is the same almost all the world. in my country Aceh too. in fact, a teacher just enters the room and tells one of the children to write on the board the whole job. and the other disciple wrote thoroughly with no weighted explanation. the teacher only controls his students casually and scares his students to make no noise. I think, this is a selfish method that many teachers in school work on. I am one of the victims of such a method. hopefully many of the parents are aware of this as you care for your child. thanks for sharing.
I appreciate you sharing your personal experience so it seems that it may be a global issue that requires an immediate resolution.
Yes this is right
I upvote the white kitten on your profile picture.
I totally agree that Education is a right! It's just too bad that the world of greedy people are making it a business. I think school will never be enough because more than good school, what the kids need is a good parent.
I totally agree with you! I have written before about this and I will touch the subject again. We must educate our children in a different way and Steemit might give us an insight into how. I will get back to you later, I am happy I ran into you ( well, techically you ran into me :) )
Glad that we connected and looking forward to your comments.
For people who are competent to the field of education will realize that our education until now still experiencing "pain". The world of "sick" education is because education has to make man into a whole person, but the reality is often not so. Often education does not humanize humans. Human personality tends to be reduced with the existing educational system.
The main problem in the world of education, is to produce "robot man". We say so because the education provided is one-sided. Education turns out to sacrifice wholeness, less balance between thinking (cognitive) learning and learning behaviors that feel (affective). So the elements of integration tend to be lost, and what happens is disintegration. Though learning is not just thinking alone. Because when people are learning, then people who are learning it to perform various activities, such as observing, comparing, doubting, likes, spirit, and so on. It is often pointed out that education is often practiced as a series of instructions from teachers to students. Especially with the term that is now often touted as "education that creates ready-made man." And "ready to use" here means generating the necessary personnel in the development and competition of industry and technology.Particular attention to it, will appear that in this case human beings are seen to be the same as materials or components of industry support, which means that educational institutions are expected to become production institutions as producers of materials or components with certain qualities demanded by the market.This reality seems to be greeted with enthusiasm by many educational institutions.
This is a touching post in which I think I should contribute my own view about the galling of education system. I think education is falling at a very high speed.... What actually cause these depends on some factors. Students should be blame in some aspects of them not helping themselves and unseriousless attitude in which some of them embark on. Some students did not even have interest or less interest on a particular course they offered. This makes them to perform woefully in output.
Parents and guildiance also should be blame. Most guildiance of these children find it so much difficult to show their children love which they deserve. Sow children did not have adequate materials which they need on school which makes there education background to be very weak and poor.
Teacher also have their own impact on the children... If teacher fails to deliver well for the children, the output will be definitely faulty.
Thanks for this life inspired piece
Saat dewasa ini banyak sekali anak anak terpengaruhi oleh ilmuteknologi, baik itu medisosial maupun lain nya, disini bahwa kita harus mengawasi anak anak dalam menggunakan hand ohone soluler, karena disitu letak terpengaruh anak tersebut. Maka orang tua dan guru yang paling utama mengawasi anak anak biar anak dapat memikirkan suatu abyek yang dilakukan. Terimakasuh tenanku postinganmu sangat menjadi evaluasi bagi kuta semua.
Education now enforces a curriculum for students to be more expected, without seeing their students' ability to adjust themselves to receive lessons from their teachers. sometimes also a teacher is very focused on the book package dipikinya tampa develop with the ability of existing students. this is the irony of the world of education in the present.
Wow! You are making me really concerned about the future of our country.
There is a lot wrong with our educational system, which I knew before I started reading this post. I just didn't realize that those larger issues had taken shape "on the ground" in the form of teachers who've just stopped caring about teaching.