Up through 4th grade, American students are above-average when tested against students of other nations. After that, they begin a steady decline to the point where, by the 12th grade, American students are down near the bottom. Something is wrong in American education. Flunked went out and found some teachers who are doing something about it...
This was a well done documentary. More and more of my friends are pulling their kids out of public schools and either putting them in private schools or homeschooling them. In addition to the lack of academic progress, students today are subject to ridiculous "zero tolerance" rules like strip searching them for aspirin.
ReplyDeletePart of the problem lies in the fact that the current US system is based on the 19th century Prussian model. This was designed not to create smart people, but to produce patriotic hard workers that didn't question authority. The Prussian elite attended a totally different system which encouraged creative thinking.
I don't claim to know what the answer is to our education problems. But in the area I live students are very weak in the 3 Rs and apathetic about school in general. There are always exceptions, thank goodness. Drug and alcohol use are another major de-motivator.
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