Solving the education crisis in America

I agree, great post Cherry.

About the original post regarding US ranking. I often wonder about the studies that compare the US to other nations in terms of education. Who are our kids being compaired to?

I think its important to remember that many nations use tracking systems. The kids with academic aptitude take college prep classes, the ones who do better at the trades go into vocational studies. Kids in the US don't get that seperation. National test scores here reflect how the kids who are going to be construction workers do as well as those who will be engineers. If the other nations scores are not an average of all the tracks they use, its not a fair comparison.

[houseelf]

Cherry,

This is late, but your post was very thought provoking and right on target. Recently I have had conversations with several mom-friends whose kids are struggling in kindergarten and first grade (!). The truth of the matter is that kids are expected to have a base before they even arrive in kindergarten and yet we remain the only first world nation that does not offer universal subsidized preschool. This breaks my heart for these poor kids whose first educational experience is fraught with frustration and disappointment.

Unfortunately, I have few answers, but I can easily figure out that there is not equal opportunity in this country and that the current educational system is at a crisis point.

Kelly

Kelly, in Virginia and NC there are preschool programs in the public schools. My son attends one in VA, and a friend teachers one in NC.

Both programs were created for at risk kids, but both accept any student within the school district. That is how my son got in. My son's teacher says that 30 years ago she would have been teaching the same things she teachers today to kindergarteners, in a half-day vs. 3/4 day program.

Funny, we expect our 5 year olds to know what you didn't really learn 'til you were 6 a generation ago, but today's college freshman are taking remedial math courses that didn't exist then.

[PrincessFiona]

Arborea,

That is so true! There is this push to get the kids reading by kindergarten and yet when they enter the public school system there is a push to keep everyone at the same level. I have never understood that. There is a young girl at the Montessori school who is reading at a second grade level and is doing multiplication. She just turned 6 and is entering first grade next year. The teacher was talking to me about how 'great' it was, and I told her that it is great, but that this little girl will be squashed when she enters first grade because there is absolutely no flexibility. She will be required to do the 2+3 exams and to jump through the hoops of first grade and by the time she gets into the upper grades she may not care anymore. I know this because my oldest son went through it.

Honestly, I've grown to literally despise the schools...it is really not healthy. My children are experiencing teasing, my son was not allowed to excel in math and gets a grade taken off regularly for his lackluster ability to draw nice pictures to go along with his text in language arts . My daughter struggled with math for two years and so we hired a tutor to work with her and get her caught up last year. The school would only look at her previous Iowa scores to place her in a math group and despite the fact that she made A+'s on all of her first exams wouldn't move her to the next math group. Now she is back to making B's and not caring at all....She does the minimum required and never brings homework home. My son brings home sometimes 4 hours worth (and he's only in the 4th grade).

Things are excrutiatingly political...from who gets to be a part of certain academic extensions to after school activities. I can't stand it. My lackluster social performance here has affected my children negatively.

sigh...I guess I've just grown cynical and angry.

kris