Stupid in America

xenomouse

Check out this 20/20 special: Stupid in America. It's about the deficiencies in American public schools and possible solutions to the problem. The topics of educational funds, teacher's unions, and school vouchers are discussed in pretty good detail. It shows the Belgium education system as a shining example of how it should be done, and it features a few independent American schools that function incredibly efficiently compared to their public counterparts.

Jason

*Cough*
Did someone say John Stossel is awesome? Oh yeah, it was me.

xenomouse

*Cough* Did someone say John Stossel is awesome? Oh yeah, it was me.Yeah, the show definitely went in a direction I didn't expect when I was first watching it. The changes the show described were so painfully simple and effective - it's hard to believe that they aren't in practice.

Erwin

Everything comes down to the lost of respect of many kids towards their tutors, teachers, instructors, etc. But then again you can't ask for respect, you have to earn it.

xenomouse

I tutored at-risk high school students during my last two years of college, and in most cases, one hour of attention is really all they needed to learn about two weeks worth of material, depending on the subject. One kid thought he was horrible at math and would give up within a minute of looking at a set of homework problems, and I would pick up his pencil, hand it back to him, and tell him, "keep looking at it, you'll get it." After 5 minutes of that, the math problems started clicking in his head, and he caught up on two weeks worth of late homework before the tutoring session was done.



Basically, kids need a minimum amount of attention and encouragement or else they will decide the task at hand is impossible. Eventually, after "programming" them with consistent attention and encouragement, their patience and persistence will grow, and they'll be less dependent on external sources of those behavior modifiers. Of course, developmental disabilities add a bit of complexity to that formula.

Erwin

I forgot to but, did I just heard the superintendent lady "we have to stay the course"?

Neito

Speaking of "Stupid in America"...

42 million American's can't read. And that number is growing, not shrinking.

xenomouse

I forgot to but, did I just heard the superintendent lady "we have to stay the course"?
Oh yeah. As soon as I heard that, I had a unusually strong urge to impeach her. ;)

Omnutia

I'm not sure what passes for programs in america but that is major propaganda. I'm sure it's right but crap is that one sided.

Do not attempt to compete with the South Korean education system. It will only result in fail.

kage_rod

...America education system = fail. Please, someone, tell me why they think an Olympic sized pool will help students? Does it have brain juice in it? I do understand the computers though; I'm of the opinion that schools, if at all possible, should have up-to-date computers; in my eyes, that's necessary for the future after all. Computers are necessary for many professions out there.

Ilmarinen

...America education system = fail. Please, someone, tell me why they think an Olympic sized pool will help students? Does it have brain juice in it? I do understand the computers though; I'm of the opinion that schools, if at all possible, should have up-to-date computers; in my eyes, that's necessary for the future after all. Computers are necessary for many professions out there.

People like to swim. Schools have swim clubs because people like to swim. For these clubs compete with other schools, they need appropriately sized pools.

kage_rod

I..guess... But still.. A little excessive..

Apreche

I..guess... But still.. A little excessive..

You're acting like pools are mutually exclusive with other necessary things. Every town should have a quality pool.

Paulathon

Oh wow, another Stossel piece that is absolute garbage.

rhinocero

I..guess... But still.. A little excessive..You're acting like pools are mutually exclusive with other necessary things. Every town should have a quality pool.


It's not mutually exclusive, but it does take resources.

kage_rod

But doesn't that town -already- have a pool? Both in my old town and here in the city we use the public pools. We -do- have a school with a pool, but it's for special ed students and... um.. you don't want to swim in that one. Ever.

In my opinion, schools and cities should work together to share facilities, like the little town I used to live in. We wanted to go swimming, we got in a bus and went to the pool; we wanted to use the tennis court, we drove to the tennis court. We did have an average sized gym, but that's it. There's no need for anything else.

As for here, in the city I'm currently in, they do the exact same thing. For both inter school and intra school sports days, we pile into numerous school buses and drive to the Leisure center, with the pool, ice arena, and fields. Half the time during school, they're not used; only after school for various after school sports. It just seems a little more cost-efficient, considering how often they use such things, and how many people use it.

bunnikun

In my opinion, schools and cities should work together to share facilities, like the little town I used to live in. We wanted to go swimming, we got in a bus and went to the pool; we wanted to use the tennis court, we drove to the tennis court. We did have an average sized gym, but that's it. There's no need for anything else.

My school doesn't have its own pool. We have to drive half an hour to get to Chesapeake College, and we use the pool there. To be honest, I don't really mind the drive. I don't see why we have to spend thousands building a school pool when we can just drive to one.

kage_rod

Exactly. For the amount that it's usually used...