The Public School System... - in America or UK, wherever, how would you reconstruct it?

[Wraith]

The simple fact is the school systems in many countries are pretty much indoctrination centers. What they take away from someone in terms of time and effort, tax dollars and paychecks does not outweigh either what they deliver as a service or product, or the damage that is done. Many people have abandoned the public school systems for private schools, home schooling, or California dungeons.

There are three challenges.
1: - Make a curriculum for kids grade 1 through 6.
2: - Make a curriculum for kids grade 7-8 (maybe 9 if you belong to a country that groups those kids in this bracket.)
3: - Make a high school curriculum.

Other nations are doing better than these cesspools. Some deliver better education, some deliver less indoctrination.
What kind of subjects would you have taught that isn't being taught? What would you remove?
Are there are any notable figures you would have help set up class structures?
Can you come up with a superior version of various religious schools, if that's your thing?

What problems could you solve, in discipline of students and teachers as complaints on both sides are many? How would you handle parents?


I know this is a lot of questions, so answer one or as many as you want.


Some examples: -
-- I would have Thomas Sowell do a lot with critical thinking and economics. Walter E. Williams would also be pretty good. As silly as it is, maybe if we can get past the $10 personality tests someone like Jordan B. Peterson would be the school psychologist.
-- Economics is a big thing for me. I think it can help determine whether someone succeeds and fails in life.
-- Also I would add a pair of pastors for the religious thing who aren't charlatans and such. Yadda, yadda.
-- NO DEMOCRAT UNIONS. If there is unfair treatment of employees, it needs to be investigated better. The current the National Education Administration is cancer. They don't give ass about the damage they have done.
-- NO LEFTY TEACHERS OR STAFF, NOT EVEN THE JANITOR. I don't care if it's some libertarian whatever, just as long as those that failed are not allowed to ruin another generation of kids' lives. If you want to have a school run by losers, school voucher time.
-- School vouchers. Because why should you be forced to purchase a failed product or service? When Pizza Hut continually fudged up their service, I stopped going to them. Why must I pay for the pensions of these nogoodniks?
-- NO PENSIONS. Leave that for the private sector.
-- FULL DISCLOSURE OF ALL SCHOOL EMPLOYEE SALARIES. So no more whining when the average guy is making like- $35,000 in a community and a teacher whining about their salary is topping $75,000 (which does happen)
-- DEATH PENALTY FOR ALL SCHOOL STAFF THAT SEXUALLY MOLESTS A CHILD UNDER 13, AND A HEAVY PRISON SENTENCE FOR OTHERS.
-- No feminism, SJWs, anything.
-- Wendy's catering for the cafeteria.

Spoiler

Okay, that one is mostly for me.

-- Standardized tests graded by people off campus to see if the students are actually learning. There has to be a wall of separation to minimize possible cheating.
-- Cell phone / internet blockers in school during class time. You wanna make a call? Use a land line. You want to use internet? Not on your phone, you won't. Pay attention, childrens.
-- No text books written by people with left leaning agendas, and no other texts books with errors. (Difficult, but possible.)

School sucks, how would you personally fix it?


Power Level NOTE: - I had a friend who went through high school and one time wanted me to look at some English work he had completed. I was already way out of school, and he wanted me to take a look at it. He wasn't competent at a 4th grade level, yet they graduated him for years without giving a damn, something that bothers me as this is a rule and not an exception. (I think Mister Metokur, who wanted to be a teacher actually mentioned this in one podcast he did a long time ago.)
The lost potential of people bothers me greatly. It's another form of unnecessary suffering and I wondered what could be done to fix it. I'd love to hear your opinions on things.

And if you think this isn't an issue? Detroit. Chicago. Los Angeles, etc...


EDIT: - Last minute edition, how would you make your school system competitive with places like ol' Nippon?

Spoiler

I'll be running for President in 2024. Vote for me! Vote for change! Vote for Wraith!

 

[ICametoLurk]

I ain't reading all that.

 

[Wallace]

Make parents actually give a shit about their kids' education. That would fix a bunch of problems.

 

[Gooseunderscore]

I failed chemistry twice and still managed to graduate early.

That shouldn't be able to happen.

 

[Dirt McGirt]

There needs to be a major effort through out the entire K-12 system to get kids thinking about what they want to do in their life and put less focus on the whole "if you don't go to a 4 year university you will amount to nothing" shtick.

Also there needs to be mandatory basic Econ classes with price ceilings, floors, etc. so we can have slightly fewer people talk completely out of their asses.

 

[escapegoat]

Make parents actually give a shit about their kids' education. That would fix a bunch of problems.

This is pretty much all of it.

.
Also there needs to be mandatory basic Econ classes with price ceilings, floors, etc. so we can have slightly fewer people talk completely out of their asses.

My school did this, and the people I graduated with are all still morons.

 

[Coconut Gun]

What's the punchline?

 

[Some JERK]

Quit telling every kid that they're college material. They're not, and you're wasting everyone's time by prepping them for a post-secondary education path that they'll likely never take (or succeed at). Teach them how to maintain a reasonable debt:income ratio, how to make sound long term investments, and solid, real-world life planning skills. Critical thinking and logic courses would be nice too.

 

[A Welsh Cake]

I don’t know in general but the high school I went to spent so much on sports and very little on other subjects. Don’t do that. You only need a field and some equipment, not three entire buildings and facilities that go unused.

 

[OhGoy]

ban all blacks

the US IQ would skyrocket without 'em

 

[escapegoat]

I don’t know in general but the high school I went to spent so much on sports and very little on other subjects. Don’t do that. You only need a field and some equipment, not three entire buildings and facilities that go unused.

Jesus Christ, this.

Have you see this?

They blew 60 million bucks on a badly constructed high school stadium.

 

[Trans Fat 41g]

Lol the high school I graduated from not only expanded the building but built a WHOLE FUCKING INDOOR STADIUM. Wasn't the added classroom building enough? Apparently not.

Critical thinking for sure, if you bitch and moan about being bored in class all day this is probably linked to a mismanaged area of critical thinking, a lot of basic assignments that barely add up to a fraction of real world skills don't encourage critical thinking enough but who cares right? We all suck at math again later on in our adult lives so fuck it.

 

[Wallace]

I'm not sure how beneficial teaching critical thinking and economics would be, seeing as how we're talking about teenagers here. They're not exactly masters of sound judgement.

I honestly don't think there is a way to save education without some seriously radical overhaul. It's mostly a prison for teens nowadays.

 

[Slowboat to China]

More practical skills-based classes. Bring back shop class and Home Ec. Building basic skills will give kids the ability to survive on their own once they get kicked out into the real world. That'll stop or at least help reduce a lot of other problems in their tracks--early-onset diabetes from living on shitty instant food, tanking your finances because you don't know how to balance a budget, etc. It's really the kind of thing you ought to be learning from your parents, but a lot of kids don't have parents with the skills or time, so ..

Also, don't put up with students getting violent. Back in Momma Slowboat's schooldays at St. Private School of the Incurably Speddy, we had a special room--yes, lined with rubber--for students who lost their shit and started trying to attack people or throwing furniture. Lock them in the rubber room for thirty minutes where there's nothing to do but hit the padded walls, and they burn themselves out without causing a distraction to the rest of the class.

 

[Wallace]

More practical skills-based classes. Bring back shop class and Home Ec. Building basic skills will give kids the ability to survive on their own once they get kicked out into the real world. That'll stop or at least help reduce a lot of other problems in their tracks--early-onset diabetes from living on shitty instant food, tanking your finances because you don't know how to balance a budget, etc. It's really the kind of thing you ought to be learning from your parents, but a lot of kids don't have parents with the skills or time, so ..

Unfortunately, classes like Home Ec and Shop tend to be more expensive, and won't help kids pass standardized tests. Liberals want top-rate education for their kids, but they're not willing to pay for it, in either money or parental involvement time.

 

[Guy_Incognito]

standardized tests

This was a mistake. Lead to teachers "Teaching to the Test" as a way to game the system rather than have a more comprehensive and holistic learning experience.

I never understood why learning was behaviorally conditioned in children to be absolutely boring. They literally delineate between times of learning and fun with stuff like reading exercises then recess then back to boring ass writing exercises. With all the creativity in vidya games these days, you'd think they'd have better methods in intertwining entertainment and education in order to condition children during their developmental stages to enjoy learning; to release dopamine everytime they pick up a book or learn new math skills. Let's face the facts: entertainment is a HUGE part of being an adult. Might as well accept that and develop kids to expect to learn something while they're being entertained.

Shit, the funnest time I remember in school was playing Oregon Trail and Super Number Munchers on Apple IIs and Macintoshes. That was a hit for everyone and we learned stuff.

 

[Dirt McGirt]

This was a mistake. Lead to teachers "Teaching to the Test" as a way to game the system rather than have a more comprehensive and holistic learning experience.

"Will this be on the test?" is the worst statement that has to be made in classrooms across the US.

 

[Dolphin Lundgren]

Schools should focus a lot more on students learning some kind of trade. Since that helps people go further if they at least have skills. It's a shame so many people in the education field ignore this.

 

[Wallace]

"Will this be on the test?" is the worst statement that has to be made in classrooms across the US.

I always responded to that question with "It is now!"when I was teaching.

Pearson Education got a huge payday from NCLB. If you want to look at the reason why everyone teaches to tests, look there.

 

[Slowboat to China]

Unfortunately, classes like Home Ec and Shop tend to be more expensive, and won't help kids pass standardized tests. Liberals want top-rate education for their kids, but they're not willing to pay for it, in either money or parental involvement time.

I didn't know that about the expense, but sadly, it makes sense. I never saw a life skills class until I was moved to the privately-funded crazy school, where part of the stated goal of the institution was to get the students functional and able to live in the real world. Well-behaved students could also work small jobs around the school (helping put up posters, tidy the classroom, etc.) to earn money, so there was an incentive to be good.

... starting to think we should just reform the American educational system along special education lines.