Why the United States Is Destroying Its Education System

[Cindyz]

This article does not tread lightly, but it needs to be heard!

 

http://www.truth-out.org/why-united-states-destroying-its-education-system/1302418800

[Brilliant]

This article does not tread lightly, but it needs to be heard!

 

http://www.truth-out.org/why-united-states-destroying-its-education-system/1302418800

 

I agree with the basic premise that our education system is bad but otherwise found the article to be absurd. I think it was written by a teachers' union hack. The criticism of charter schools as only out to make money is ridiculous. Yes, they need to meet a budget (more so than traditional public schools). But they are charter schools for the very reason the article decries our school system, because they want to change the way we educate children in our communities. They are far less rule-bound than traditional schools. And if they don't hire union teachers to do it, too bad.

 

The author squarely places the blame for failing public schools on corporate greed. I mean really, why is this statement in an article on education? "The speculators on Wall Street looted the U.S. Treasury." I disagree that corporate greed has caused the dumbing down of our society. How about a little personal and family responsibility?

[lionfamily1999]

I read this pov somewhere else... it seems like it was a book written around the early 1900s. I wish I could remember what book!

[OLG]

We must fear those who cannot think. Unconscious civilizations become totalitarian wastelands.

 

Best quote from the article for me.

 

Resembles John Gato's writings a bit. Also agree that I 'felt' like it was inspired by the teacher's union. Lacks any proposal of constructive solutions.

 

Our education system is a huge institution that will take decades to fix. You cannot turn around a ship this big quickly. This is one of the reasons for homeschooling, imo.

 

Mary

[kitten18]

I agree with the basic premise that our education system is bad but otherwise found the article to be absurd. I think it was written by a teachers' union hack. The criticism of charter schools as only out to make money is ridiculous. Yes, they need to meet a budget (more so than traditional public schools). But they are charter schools for the very reason the article decries our school system, because they want to change the way we educate children in our communities. They are far less rule-bound than traditional schools. And if they don't hire union teachers to do it, too bad.

 

The author squarely places the blame for failing public schools on corporate greed. I mean really, why is this statement in an article on education? "The speculators on Wall Street looted the U.S. Treasury." I disagree that corporate greed has caused the dumbing down of our society. How about a little personal and family responsibility?

:iagree: Ugh.

[Cindyz]

This is my favorite quote from the article:

 

The truly educated become conscious. They become self-aware. They do not lie to themselves. They do not pretend that fraud is moral or that corporate greed is good. They do not claim that the demands of the marketplace can morally justify the hunger of children or denial of medical care to the sick. They do not throw 6 million families from their homes as the cost of doing business. Thought is a dialogue with one’s inner self. Those who think ask questions, questions those in authority do not want asked. They remember who we are, where we come from and where we should go. They remain eternally skeptical and distrustful of power. And they know that this moral independence is the only protection from the radical evil that results from collective unconsciousness. The capacity to think is the only bulwark against any centralized authority that seeks to impose mindless obedience. There is a huge difference, as Socrates understood, between teaching people what to think and teaching them how to think. Those who are endowed with a moral conscience refuse to commit crimes, even those sanctioned by the corporate state, because they do not in the end want to live with criminals—themselves.

 

[twoforjoy]

You can't help but laugh at articles like this when the teachers' union is clearly out to make money at the families' expense. Over a 5% annual salary raise (not even counting the rest of the compensation which is higher) has been given here to teachers each year for the last decade, while families are not getting any where near that much. The poor have been told to move if they can't afford the area, which has seen a doubling of local school tax and school budget in the last 10 years. The money going to a charter school sure could go to the public...and right into the teacher and admin's pockets as usual. Check your district's line item budget and make sure you know where the money really goes.

 

Teachers and admins are NOT raking in the dough.

 

Great article in the NY Times today about the reality of teachers' salaries. The idea that teachers are somehow making money at the expense of average families just can't be supported by the facts.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/opinion/01eggers.html?src=tptw

 

The article touches on one of my major issues with our educational system: we discourage our best students, both passively and actively, from becoming K-12 educators. We passively discourage it because it seems pretty common that, the more "prestigious" an institution of higher learning is, the less likely that school is to have a program that allows students to come out after four years with a teaching certificate. In my experience, many less-selective schools have teacher certification programs that students can complete while doing their undergraduate work; most selective schools, both public and private, have no such program, and so students need to do, at a minimum, one year of grad school (if not 2-3) to obtain a master's degree and certification, at their expense (often costing $10K or more per year). So if you get into and attend a more selective college or university, you are probably going to be less likely to end up with a teaching certificate, even if it's something that interests you. (I saw this happen again and again--and it happened with me--at the undergrad institution I attended, and the institution where I attended grad school. Both required an extra year or two of coursework beyond a BA to get certified. Many students came in intending to be teachers, but when faced with taking out $20-30K in student loans to do so, they decided against it. If it had been an option for them to get certified while doing their undergrad work, they would have.)

 

And, good students are often actively discouraged. I had more than one professor, when I was in college, tell me it would be a waste of my intelligence and interest to go into secondary ed, and they very strongly steered me toward a doctoral program (which could not be a more stupid move, practically, because the job market in academia is abysmal, particularly in the humanities). I know other people this has happened to. Professors see students who are interested in teaching and who seem to have academic promise, and rather than encouraging them to use those skills in a K-12 setting, will encourage them to go into higher ed. K-12 education, particularly K-8 education, is seen as almost a "vo-tech" kind of pursuit and something serious scholars would not even consider.

 

Anyway, I think these are extremely serious issues. In the past, when teaching was one of the very few career paths open to women, you would get extremely bright, motivated, and talented students going into K-12 education. Today, the combination of low salaries (compared to what other college-educated professionals are making), active discouragement, and the expense of obtaining a teaching certificate make teaching a very unattractive option for many talented students. That is a huge shame. I really think that if we could tackle that problem, and make it easier, more desirable, and more affordable for interested, talented students at selective colleges and universities to go into K-12 teaching, we'd see some very positive changes.

[goldberry]

You can't help but laugh at articles like this when the teachers' union is clearly out to make money at the families' expense.

 

Yes, because teachers are all just in it for the money, and just to screw the families. That's why they put up with so much that most of us WOULD NEVER put up with, constant criticism from parents and politicians....because of the money. *sarcasm - just in case it wasn't CLEAR*

[Guest RecumbentHeart]

This is my favorite quote from the article:

 

Quote:

The truly educated become conscious. They become self-aware. They do not lie to themselves. They do not pretend that fraud is moral or that corporate greed is good. They do not claim that the demands of the marketplace can morally justify the hunger of children or denial of medical care to the sick. They do not throw 6 million families from their homes as the cost of doing business. Thought is a dialogue with one’s inner self. Those who think ask questions, questions those in authority do not want asked. They remember who we are, where we come from and where we should go. They remain eternally skeptical and distrustful of power. And they know that this moral independence is the only protection from the radical evil that results from collective unconsciousness. The capacity to think is the only bulwark against any centralized authority that seeks to impose mindless obedience. There is a huge difference, as Socrates understood, between teaching people what to think and teaching them how to think. Those who are endowed with a moral conscience refuse to commit crimes, even those sanctioned by the corporate state, because they do not in the end want to live with criminals—themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

Great quote.

[cathmom]

I just read a fascinating book called "Who's Teaching Your Children?" that outlined a plan to make teaching a truly professional career, and to stop throwing new teachers to the wolves, AND to make sure no child slips through the cracks. I really liked their plan. They thoroughly explained the culture of teaching today, and why the level of teaching has declined (less educated people become teachers mainly, but also lack of training/support/mentoring).

 

It reminds me of Mary Kay. They find it easier to get new recruits than to properly support the ones they have. But that's just makeup. With this we are talking about our whole society!