How to improve American Education in 2021. (1 Viewer)

[Paul]

The most recent PISA results, from 2015, placed the U.S. an unimpressive 38th out of 71 countries in math and 24th in science. Among the 35 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which sponsors the PISA initiative, the U.S. ranked 30th in math and 19th in science.

U.S. students’ academic achievement still lags that of their peers in many other countries

American students continue to rank around the middle of the pack, and behind many other advanced industrial nations, in international assessments of math, science and reading.

www.pewresearch.org

My suggestion is rather simple.

1. Study why immigrants from East Asia, India, and Nigeria do well with American education. Apply that insight to other groups (if possible).
2. Manage public schools as if though they were private schools with uniforms and discipline.
3. Create high end special schools for those that are truly disenfranchised.
4. Create a force of social workers to treat family dysfunction with regards to education.
5. Reduce the curriculum to the simple basics and repeat that on a yearly basis.
6. At about 10th grade divide college bound students away from non-college bound.
7. Provide solid basic education and trade training for non-college bound kids. There is no point in offering free college to these kids.

 

[MT15]

Baltimore has more administrators than actual teachers on the payroll.

This seems …. not correct. There are 10,000 some employees in Baltimore public schools, of which 4,800 are teachers. Now you also have cafeteria workers, custodians, bus drivers, teacher’s aides. Seems to me that it would be impossible for what you just said to be true.

Also, nobody is defending this particular school district, but you are saying stuff that is both absurd and apparently incorrect.

 

[Paul]

This seems …. not correct. There are 10,000 some employees in Baltimore public schools, of which 4,800 are teachers. Now you also have cafeteria workers, custodians, bus drivers, teacher’s aides. Seems to me that it would be impossible for what you just said to be true.

Also, nobody is defending this particular school district, but you are saying stuff that is both absurd and apparently incorrect.

The schools should have more teacher employees than anything else. This anomaly is present in most public school districts.

America’s public schools are bloated with bureaucracy and skinny on results. Nationwide since 1950, the number of public school administrative and non-teaching positions has soared 702 percent while the student population increased just 96 percent. Over that same period, teachers’ numbers also increased — 252 percent — but still far short of administrators and non-teaching personnel (see chart above).


Notably, that hiring trend has been just as prominent over the past two decades. From 1992 to 2009, students’ numbers increased 17 percent whereas administrators and other non-teaching staff rose 46 percent. And during that time, some states actually lost students yet kept hiring more non-teachers.

Of course, those hiring patterns might be warranted if students’ academic gains kept pace. Academic outcomes, however, have not experienced similar growth. Public high school graduation rates peaked around 1970, and government data show reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) fell slightly between 1992 and 2008. Math scores on the NAEP Long-Term Trend were stagnant during the same period.

Chart of the Day: Administrative Bloat in US Public Schools

Originally posted in January, now re-posted….. From Benjamin Scafidi at The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice: America’s public schools are bloated with bureaucracy and skinny on results. Nationwide since 1950, the number of public school administrative and non-teaching positions has...

www.aei.org

 

[samiam5211]

Parents sue Louisiana school, saying son faced 'hell day' bullying. School denies allegations.

Student was victim to "verbal insults, physical assaults and sexual battery" over the past school year during "Hell Day," a lawsuit alleges.

www.usatoday.com

I guess this goes here.

 

[Paul]

Parents sue Louisiana school, saying son faced 'hell day' bullying. School denies allegations.

Student was victim to "verbal insults, physical assaults and sexual battery" over the past school year during "Hell Day," a lawsuit alleges.

www.usatoday.com

I guess this goes here.

One of the many reasons parents send their kids to Catholic schools is because bullying is much less common and not tolerated. Unlike public schools bullies are expulsed from the school

 

[samiam5211]

One of the many reasons parents send their kids to Catholic schools is because bullying is much less common and not tolerated. Unlike public schools bullies are expulsed from the school

Cedar Creek is not a public school. It isn't catholic, but it is almost entirely kids from wealthy 2 parent homes.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Cedar Creek is not a public school. It isn't catholic, but it is almost entirely kids from wealthy 2 parent homes.

Impossible.

I thought I read somewhere kids from wealthy 2 parent homes are the best kids in the world

 

[RobF]

Cedar Creek is not a public school. It isn't catholic, but it is almost entirely kids from wealthy 2 parent homes.

He's also just making more assertions. He hasn't shown that:

1) Bullying isn't as common in Catholic schools as it is in other schools.
2) That Catholic schools don't have the same policies towards bullying as other schools and that this is what accounts for any differences.
3) That bullies are never expelled from public schools (which he can't, because they certainly are).

So yet again, there's no real content there. Assertions, especially wrong ones, aren't arguments. It's closer to propaganda.

 

[SystemShock]

One of the many reasons parents send their kids to Catholic schools is because bullying is much less common and not tolerated. Unlike public schools bullies are expulsed from the school

 

[MT15]

The schools should have more teacher employees than anything else. This anomaly is present in most public school districts.

America’s public schools are bloated with bureaucracy and skinny on results. Nationwide since 1950, the number of public school administrative and non-teaching positions has soared 702 percent while the student population increased just 96 percent. Over that same period, teachers’ numbers also increased — 252 percent — but still far short of administrators and non-teaching personnel (see chart above).


Notably, that hiring trend has been just as prominent over the past two decades. From 1992 to 2009, students’ numbers increased 17 percent whereas administrators and other non-teaching staff rose 46 percent. And during that time, some states actually lost students yet kept hiring more non-teachers.

Of course, those hiring patterns might be warranted if students’ academic gains kept pace. Academic outcomes, however, have not experienced similar growth. Public high school graduation rates peaked around 1970, and government data show reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) fell slightly between 1992 and 2008. Math scores on the NAEP Long-Term Trend were stagnant during the same period.

Chart of the Day: Administrative Bloat in US Public Schools

Originally posted in January, now re-posted….. From Benjamin Scafidi at The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice: America’s public schools are bloated with bureaucracy and skinny on results. Nationwide since 1950, the number of public school administrative and non-teaching positions has...

www.aei.org

So you’re just going to ignore that what you said was false. Cool.

If you need to make false statements to make your point, you should at least be able to acknowledge that you were making stuff up when you get pushback.

How do you know what the schools need? Are classroom aides classified as non-teaching positions? What about librarians? How do they classify an administrator that also teaches a class or two?

 

[Paul]

Impossible.

I thought I read somewhere kids from wealthy 2 parent homes are the best kids in the world

IN America kids from two parent homes perform better academically.

So you’re just going to ignore that what you said was false. Cool.

If you need to make false statements to make your point, you should at least be able to acknowledge that you were making stuff up when you get pushback.

How do you know what the schools need? Are classroom aides classified as non-teaching positions? What about librarians? How do they classify an administrator that also teaches a class or two?

There you go again defending the status quo of poor public education.

 

[wardorican]

Guys, stop playing the R card. This is not about race. This is about perennial substandard education for the poor.

So. Why didn't you address the substance of his post? He did make a solid rational point in the first paragraph.

 

[wardorican]

One of the many reasons parents send their kids to Catholic schools is because bullying is much less common and not tolerated. Unlike public schools bullies are expulsed from the school

Ironically, catholic grade school was the only school I was sort of bullied.

 

[wardorican]

IN America kids from two parent homes perform better academically.

There you go again defending the status quo of poor public education.

Saying your ideas aren't good does not mean the status quo is good.

 

[Paul]

Saying your ideas aren't good does not mean the status quo is good.

You would never guess that by reading the vigorous defense of the bloated public school bureaucrasy.
It would be best to privatize the school system to whomever can produce results with the lowest budget.

 

[insidejob]

This anomaly is present in most public school districts

Then how is it an anomaly?

 

[insidejob]

He's also just making more assertions. He hasn't shown that:

1) Bullying isn't as common in Catholic schools as it is in other schools.
2) That Catholic schools don't have the same policies towards bullying as other schools and that this is what accounts for any differences.
3) That bullies are never expelled from public schools (which he can't, because they certainly are).

So yet again, there's no real content there. Assertions, especially wrong ones, aren't arguments. It's closer to propaganda.

As someone who went to Catholic schools from K-9 and public schools from 9-12, I can tell you that bullying was without a doubt more prevalent in Catholic schools than it was in public schools.

 

[DaveXA]

Ironically, catholic grade school was the only school I was sort of bullied.

Tbh, bullying isn't much different between private and public schools. I dealt with plenty of bullying at both.

I was in public schools from K-5 and 11th and 12th grade. Private schools from 6th through 10th grades.

 

[insidejob]

Tbh, bullying isn't much different between private and public schools. I dealt with plenty of bullying at both.

I was in public schools from K-5 and 11th and 12th grade. Private schools from 6th through 10th grades.

Private or Catholic? There really is a huge difference. At least in New Orleans.