[Insert remove Common Core argument]

Education seems to have decreased and gone to shit because of over-stepping regulation and uniformity across all schools. I'll probably send my kids to private school before sending them to a public school because there is no education going on

i came up through public school in one of the better counties in my state, education wise. i was lucky enough to be placed in honors/ap programs from 4th to 12th grade, and i enjoyed an excellent education with many fantastic, engaging teachers. however, there's a serious issue with the "regular" education in my county. first, there's a distinct lack of work ethic among the student body when it comes to school, like they dont feel incentived to learn, or that they feel that what they're learning isn't applicable to their lives. second, education standards (such as those imposed by No Child Left Behind) mean that courses are taught through strict curriculums, to ensure that students do well on standardized tests (which, in turn, ensures that the schools dont lose funding.) this creates a disturbing rift between what the students feel like they should learn and what the state feels like they have to know. luckily, we have a tech school within driving distance of most of the county schools, so many of the students who arent in accelerated learning programs and understand the problems with the regular education program can get a headstart on their technical degrees/"real world skills."

there are educational alternatives, montessori schools, which seem to be effective and engaging for the students, but its my understanding that montessori/alternative education can be very costly for the parents, which kind of sucks.

To be honest, and I'm not sure if it'd apply to America, but it seems like there are a few fundamentals to a decent education system anywhere you go:

I) A substantial but minimalist curriculum.
II) Which is national.
III) Constantly upgraded.
IV) And administration is largely left to individual schools.

that's reasonable. unfortunately, american public education suffers greatly in the first category; national curriculum standards don't leave much wiggling room for the average student.

Quote from: Kinder Graham on January 08, 2015, 06:16:26 PM

[Insert remove Common Core argument]

As I understand it, I actually think Common Core isn't a half-bad idea.

In theory it's sound. Too bad that in reality it's just No Child Left Behind applied to the curriculum and a one-size-fit-all approach to how teachers can do their job.