American Education

[Titanic]

I have to agree that a crucial part of this is down to funding. Whilst extra money can be squandered and spent on pointless projects, like a ultra modern sports centre, if it is spent wisely it can help more then any other single factor. Shrinking class sizes, hiring more teachers (and giving them a decent wage), purchasing smartboards and proper chairs/desks, replacing old buildings and huts with modern buildings designed for learning, increasing the use and effectiveness of online learning, providing specialist help to those who need it and also to the brightest so they are not help back by a class which is much slower. All of these and many more things depend of a good education budget which has not been the case for a long time in the USA.

The USA also suffers from other problems such as large amount of people in poverty, a lack of good role models, large amounts of inner city violence, a gang culture in some ethnic minorities, large numbers of single parents etc... Also, and probably controversially for the USA, I think you need a national curriculum which I think has done great things in the UK, although it has its critics.

I also agree that people learning general knowledge is also very important, those dumb American videos are hilarious when watching them but also show a huge culture of ignorance. Just on this note of education, I have this friend from uni who is from South Korea and he was telling me that he used to be in school from half 7 in the morning up until 6 in the evening. School started at half 8 and ran till 3, but they had breakfast and study groups before school, and after school they would all do their homework and other extra work and a large number of the teachers would be paid to stay on and help the students until late in the evening. In this way the parents never had to worry about missing time from work to pick up or drop off the kids, and the students were in school for that much longer and got direct help from their teachers for their homework and other stuff. A much better system then we currently have in the UK imo, but it would require a large increase in funding to be able to do this.

[Burrito]

@ Titanic- I dunno, that sounds a lot like another step towards socialism to me.

[Titanic]

@ Titanic- I dunno, that sounds a lot like another step towards socialism to me.

Not sure whether this is sarcasm or not, so I'll respond as if it isn't. The public education system is already "socialised" and will be for the rest of our lives. Surely then the best thing we should do about it is to make it the best it can be whilst retaining value for money, rather then leaving it in the dumps as it is in its current form?

[Burrito]

@ Titanic- I dunno, that sounds a lot like another step towards socialism to me.

Not sure whether this is sarcasm or not, so I'll respond as if it isn't. The public education system is already "socialised" and will be for the rest of our lives. Surely then the best thing we should do about it is to make it the best it can be whilst retaining value for money, rather then leaving it in the dumps as it is in its current form?

My point was that forcing those kids to study practically all day long is bullsh*t. They won't be people, they will turn out to be robots.

[Snorri1234]

@ Titanic- I dunno, that sounds a lot like another step towards socialism to me.

Not sure whether this is sarcasm or not, so I'll respond as if it isn't. The public education system is already "socialised" and will be for the rest of our lives. Surely then the best thing we should do about it is to make it the best it can be whilst retaining value for money, rather then leaving it in the dumps as it is in its current form?

My point was that forcing those kids to study practically all day long is bullsh*t. They won't be people, they will turn out to be robots.

Not really but I agree it's not a very good idea. It just won't work culturally. Those korean and japanese kids are actually driven to work hard, it's not the school that forces them it's the entire culture.

[thegreekdog]

Is there any discussion of American universities/graduate schools versus European/Asian versions?

Popular thought seems to indicate that people come to the US to go to college or graduate school. Is this still the case?

[Snorri1234]

Is there any discussion of American universities/graduate schools versus European/Asian versions?

Popular thought seems to indicate that people come to the US to go to college or graduate school. Is this still the case?

Sure. Why are you asking?

[thegreekdog]

Is there any discussion of American universities/graduate schools versus European/Asian versions?

Popular thought seems to indicate that people come to the US to go to college or graduate school. Is this still the case?

Sure. Why are you asking?

I'm just wondering how the hell our high schools are so effed up, but our colleges are awesome.

[Frigidus]

Is there any discussion of American universities/graduate schools versus European/Asian versions?

Popular thought seems to indicate that people come to the US to go to college or graduate school. Is this still the case?

Sure. Why are you asking?

I'm just wondering how the hell our high schools are so effed up, but our colleges are awesome.

Because they exist for different purposes. Our high schools are meant to train students to perform boring, repetitive, thoughtless work. Those that excel despite the miserable conditions go on to higher education, while those that fail get a boring, repetitive, thoughtless job. And that's why America is great.

[Snorri1234]

Is there any discussion of American universities/graduate schools versus European/Asian versions?

Popular thought seems to indicate that people come to the US to go to college or graduate school. Is this still the case?

Sure. Why are you asking?

I'm just wondering how the hell our high schools are so effed up, but our colleges are awesome.

Uhm, most people don't come to the US because the colleges are particularly awesome. They do it for the experience, meeting new faces, learning English and all the other reasons one would have for studying abroad. (Like the different system you have that gives you a broader college-education)

Don't get me wrong, there are some prestigous universities and educations in the US that are the best worldwide, but for most Europeans that's not the reason to go. We've got good universities here too. (And plenty of foreigners who come to study here.)

I mean, you wouldn't conclude that because I know quite a few people who did a year of high-school in the US that the highschools are awesome would you?

[thegreekdog]

I mean, you wouldn't conclude that because I know quite a few people who did a year of high-school in the US that the highschools are awesome would you?

No, because I went to public high school in the United States, so I know that is ridiculous.

[PLAYER57832]

I mean, you wouldn't conclude that because I know quite a few people who did a year of high-school in the US that the highschools are awesome would you?

No, because I went to public high school in the United States, so I know that is ridiculous.

Some high schools are pretty good. The public high school I went to had about a 97% college acceptance rate for high school graduates and a drop out rate lower than 1%. The local high school, though, seems intent on kicking kids out. Any kid with more than 10 absences is automatically excluded from all extra curricular activities, regardless of grades.

[SultanOfSurreal]

Right, because everything that we learn in highschool is relevant. you know, all that math that you will never use outside of school, that life skills class with the flour baby because that is the same as a real baby, that damn art class I have to take to graduate. Oh yeah, I'm going to use all that knowledge for the rest of my life.

I didn't say that it was irrelevant, I said that who their representative is is unimportant to most people. Just the decisions that the representatives collectively make are important.

oh man, of course you're in high school, it explains so much

remember kid, the more you hate fags the cooler you are. hate them enough and the popular kids might finally accept you (but probably not)

[thegreekdog]

The quality of one's public high school is tied almost directly to the per capita income of the families in that school district. I have no data to back this up. The quality of the education one gets in public high school is also directly tied to the amount of work one puts in to one's high school classes and one's intelligence. I have no data to back this up.

[bedub1]

Hey now...American females are very smart. Here is proof:

End Woman's Suffrage

[Burrito]

Right, because everything that we learn in highschool is relevant. you know, all that math that you will never use outside of school, that life skills class with the flour baby because that is the same as a real baby, that damn art class I have to take to graduate. Oh yeah, I'm going to use all that knowledge for the rest of my life.

I didn't say that it was irrelevant, I said that who their representative is is unimportant to most people. Just the decisions that the representatives collectively make are important.

oh man, of course you're in high school, it explains so much

remember kid, the more you hate fags the cooler you are. hate them enough and the popular kids might finally accept you (but probably not)

Well maybe you need to go back to eighth grade so that they can teach you to actually use punctuation, capitalization, and grammar.

[MeDeFe]

Right, because everything that we learn in highschool is relevant. you know, all that math that you will never use outside of school, that life skills class with the flour baby because that is the same as a real baby, that damn art class I have to take to graduate. Oh yeah, I'm going to use all that knowledge for the rest of my life.

I didn't say that it was irrelevant, I said that who their representative is is unimportant to most people. Just the decisions that the representatives collectively make are important.

oh man, of course you're in high school, it explains so much

remember kid, the more you hate fags the cooler you are. hate them enough and the popular kids might finally accept you (but probably not)

Well maybe you need to go back to eighth grade so that they can teach you to actually use punctuation, capitalization, and grammar.

He's a surrealist so he's allowed (or at least his behaviour is tolerated). Besides, his punctuation is highly regular, except for capitalization and periods before a line break it is in compliance with the standards. Still, as a certified Spelling&Grammar Nazi I must view it somewhat disapprovingly.

[owenshooter]

@ Titanic- I dunno, that sounds a lot like another step towards socialism to me.

so, somehow our free education system that everyone is allowed equal access to (socialism in it's purest definition!! equal access to all!!!), is going to take a step closer to SOCIALISM by increasing opportunities to help children learn?!! WHAT?!! turn off fox news and read a book... that is what is wrong with the american education system. kids no longer read and are not taught how to think. they are taught to pass state and federally mandated tests that determine how much funding the schools will received. in texas, P.E. and Art are non-existent unless you are in a private school or in a school where the parents/neighborhood fund it. why? P.E. and Art take away from REAL classroom time and squander hours that could be used drilling for THE TEST... the repercussions? now we have some of the fattest kids in the nation, and you can't truly measure the effect of not having a creative outlet, like art, upon a child. i do know that i personally loved to draw and paint and make ugly ash trays/cups for my parents. when was the last time you saw a guy in the office with a WONKY COFFEE CUP his kid made? take it a step further, civics is also a thing of the past. so now you have people running about not understanding the political process and what other political/economic models exist within the world. enter fox news. SOCIALISM!!! SOCIALISM!!!! COMMUNISM~!!~ COMMUNISM~~~!!! i find it truly amusing that someone within this thread thinks that schools are taking a steps towards socialism... he has no idea what it is, and i doubt he has cracked a book in over a few years...-0

p.s.-thank goodness i went to private schools and university my entire life... and thank goodness i have my kid on the same path... the american education system is rapidly going down the tubes...

[Qwert]

If so many americans dont know where is Korea,and dont even care abouth this,well its very embarasing,because in Korea fight 480000 US soldiers and 36000 KIA. This is big problem of americans,they realy dont care for nobody out of america.
In scool i learn of American history(all importan things-13 colony-revolution-american civil war) and many other things i read,and i know very good geography.America is one of youngest Countries,and history of America is very short(250-350 years),and its much easy to learn only history of america,instead of history of other countries.
Maybe im wrong,?

[Symmetry]

If so many americans dont know where is Korea,and dont even care abouth this,well its very embarasing,because in Korea fight 480000 US soldiers and 36000 KIA. This is big problem of americans,they realy dont care for nobody out of america.
In scool i learn of American history(all importan things-13 colony-revolution-american civil war) and many other things i read,and i know very good geography.America is one of youngest Countries,and history of America is very short(250-350 years),and its much easy to learn only history of america,instead of history of other countries.
Maybe im wrong,?

LOL! This post is just proof of the poor quality of the American education system.

I guess you got confused between North Korea, which is our enemy now, and North Vietnam. Just to let you know- it wasn't called the Korea War- it was called the Vietnam War for a reason!

Can't believe how ignorant Americans are about other countries.

[Titanic]

Is there any discussion of American universities/graduate schools versus European/Asian versions?

Popular thought seems to indicate that people come to the US to go to college or graduate school. Is this still the case?

The best US universities are better then most around the world for a simple reason, funding. Whats the average tuition cost of a private US university now? Tens of thousands a year? In the UK it is £3200 a year, and many other European nations have it for free. I read somewhere that Harvard alone has a higher annual revenue stream then every single university in the UK. With that kind of money you can easily become the best in the world. Also, remember that the majority of the people attending these top universities are either extremely smart students who went through the state school or just students who went through private education (which itself is also extremely good).

There was a recent international university guide (published by The Times), where in the top 100 there were 29 US universities and 33 European universities (or something to that effect), changing the general nature of US universities dominating the top 100. In the top 10 it was the bog standard 4 British, 6 US universities (which seems to be the case every year in every publication).

[Timminz]

If so many americans dont know where is Korea,and dont even care abouth this,well its very embarasing,because in Korea fight 480000 US soldiers and 36000 KIA. This is big problem of americans,they realy dont care for nobody out of america.
In scool i learn of American history(all importan things-13 colony-revolution-american civil war) and many other things i read,and i know very good geography.America is one of youngest Countries,and history of America is very short(250-350 years),and its much easy to learn only history of america,instead of history of other countries.
Maybe im wrong,?

LOL! This post is just proof of the poor quality of the American education system.

I guess you got confused between North Korea, which is our enemy now, and North Vietnam. Just to let you know- it wasn't called the Korea War- it was called the Vietnam War for a reason!

Can't believe how ignorant Americans are about other countries.

You never heard of the Korean War? Also, qwert is not American.

[Burrito]

If so many americans dont know where is Korea,and dont even care abouth this,well its very embarasing,because in Korea fight 480000 US soldiers and 36000 KIA. This is big problem of americans,they realy dont care for nobody out of america.
In scool i learn of American history(all importan things-13 colony-revolution-american civil war) and many other things i read,and i know very good geography.America is one of youngest Countries,and history of America is very short(250-350 years),and its much easy to learn only history of america,instead of history of other countries.
Maybe im wrong,?

LOL! This post is just proof of the poor quality of the American education system.

I guess you got confused between North Korea, which is our enemy now, and North Vietnam. Just to let you know- it wasn't called the Korea War- it was called the Vietnam War for a reason!

Can't believe how ignorant Americans are about other countries.

Absolute fail, Symmetry. There was an entire war fought in Korea in the 1950's that has yet to officially end. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War

Oh yeah, and qwert is from Serbia.

*edit- fastposted

[muy_thaiguy]

If so many americans dont know where is Korea,and dont even care abouth this,well its very embarasing,because in Korea fight 480000 US soldiers and 36000 KIA. This is big problem of americans,they realy dont care for nobody out of america.
In scool i learn of American history(all importan things-13 colony-revolution-american civil war) and many other things i read,and i know very good geography.America is one of youngest Countries,and history of America is very short(250-350 years),and its much easy to learn only history of america,instead of history of other countries.
Maybe im wrong,?

Though we are one of the youngest countries, American History (at least the way I learned it) began with the Conquistadores. Granted, it was lightly touched upon, but that makes the history of the America's from a European/European descent point of view about 600 years. Overall though, it dates back to around the time of Rome (in what we know of South America, where there are permanent structures at least). It is also fairly complex. Especially during the Westward expansion era.

Please forgive me if my spelling and grammar are off, been feeling sick the last few days and right now I have a head ache.

[muy_thaiguy]

If so many americans dont know where is Korea,and dont even care abouth this,well its very embarasing,because in Korea fight 480000 US soldiers and 36000 KIA. This is big problem of americans,they realy dont care for nobody out of america.
In scool i learn of American history(all importan things-13 colony-revolution-american civil war) and many other things i read,and i know very good geography.America is one of youngest Countries,and history of America is very short(250-350 years),and its much easy to learn only history of america,instead of history of other countries.
Maybe im wrong,?

LOL! This post is just proof of the poor quality of the American education system.

I guess you got confused between North Korea, which is our enemy now, and North Vietnam. Just to let you know- it wasn't called the Korea War- it was called the Vietnam War for a reason!

Can't believe how ignorant Americans are about other countries.

Absolute fail, Symmetry. There was an entire war fought in Korea in the 1950's that has yet to officially end. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War

Oh yeah, and qwert is from Serbia.

*edit- fastposted

Well, it's nickname IS the Forgotten War.