Education in the U.S., ONE MORE TIME

If ANY MORE fights stop, I'm giving an IP ban to whoever started it, and if you fight back, I may ban YOU, too... ignore any inflammatory comments.

Third time's a charm, I guess. Either way, here was the last non-fighting post:

yeah, I'vs noticed that. It seems that everyone is expecting something different out of me lately.

Yeah, is all this stress really worth the "well-rounded-ness" that we're supposedly getting?

Well, apparently, we don't have ANY real stress... when we grow up, we'll have to do TAXES!!!

Yes...'cause no matter how bad it is now, our lives will ALWAYS get worse. Apparently, it's just as Tom Lehrer put it: We're constantly sliding down the razor blade of life.

I like that quote..

Yeah, I hate when people keep talking about how "Oh, you'll change.".. apparently, turning 18 makes you a porn addict/alcoholic, totally changes your world view on EVERYTHING, and makes you wish you were still in High School.

Yeah...the only thing I'll miss about High School is Mr. Maag. And getting to be on TV with Rich Rosen.

And besides, half the school already is (are?) porn addicts and alcoholics.

I'm just sick of the lies.

The lies?

Yeah...I've noticed a lot of lies floating around through the school. The least being the PN/ADJ thing, and going straight up through the "Oh life's so horrible!!" lies and the "Colleges want all straight A's all the time" lies. They're everywhere...but maybe I'm just seeing them more.

I said I'd quote this here...and, um...here it is.

Yes, grammar, math, and chemistry are pretty much cut-and-dry. But not when the teacher teaches you the wrong stuff, as in the case of Mr. Massara. And besides, let's not forget the Annus Mirabilis, 1905. In one year, with five scientifics papers, the whole of physics was overturned--and all by one man, no less.

Now, I know, there's not gonna be a grammatical Annus Mirabilis, but it's the point behind the thing. If Mr. Massara's true goal is to have us learn, he would either discuss the point until all understood or until he admitted he was wrong. Or until we've overthrown grammar as the world knows it.

So, I guess my point is that we need a major redefining of "learning" and "education." Otherwise, schools aren't serving their purpose.

No more fighting, I'm sorry.

Fo' rizzle?

I'll give you a shot. If you can participate as "Guest" with no fighting for a few posts.. you can have your account back.

Okay, guys...here's a few things to mull over:

Should education be controlled federally or locally?
To what extent should in loco parentis apply?
Should school focus on the group or the individual?
How much school should be required, if any?
Is the purpose of school getting lost in the curricula?
And along with that, what is the purpose of school?
Also, should any of the above be applied differently to our school, than say to an inner-city school?

I'll post my thoughts a little later...but I thought I'd just throw those out there now.

Okay, I'm bored, so I'll just answer a few now.

1.) Should education be controlled federally or locally?

This one really doesn't matter a whole lot to me...but if I'd have to choose, I'd say locally, for two reasons. One, although federalized education has been successful in almost all other developed countries, local control is just more American (from a Constitutional POV). And two, it allows better use of the school's power of in loco parentis...the community's gonna know what they want their kids taught better than Washington will. And speaking of in loco parentis (ILP from now on)...

2.) To what extent should in loco parentis apply?

This one's kind of tough for me, being a student and not a parent, to answer. But I guess for me, ILP only involves the following things:

• the instillment of morals and values (most likely only primary school)
• discipline (without disregard for rights)
• protection during the school day (from what? I don't know)
• there's something else, but it's not coming to mind right now...I'll post it later

Should education be controlled federally or locally?- Federally. We can't have different levels of education for different areas.. we need a standard.

To what extent should in loco parentis apply?- I'm not sure what this is.. isn't this that thing where a teacher is technically your parent while you're in school? I think they should be able to discipline you (for the class's sake), but nothing else, really.


Should school focus on the group or the individual?- For accelerated classes, the person. For integrated classes, the group. Although I think every class should be segregated, like last year's setup.


How much school should be required, if any?- It ain't that hard to get a basic diploma, I support High School Education.


Is the purpose of school getting lost in the curricula?- The purpose of school is to teach us basic skills, and prepare us for jobs. If we get so tied up in test scores and what we HAVE to teach, we lose sight of that goal.


And along with that, what is the purpose of school?- See above.


Also, should any of the above be applied differently to our school, than say to an inner-city school?- Cities have more people, and it's thusly harder to focus individual attention on those who need it.. Mr. Massara talks about having to grade 100 Vocab tests every weekend.. imagine how a teacher in, say, Chicago must feel. I think if we CAN, we need more teachers, maybe even more school buildings in larger areas.

Here's a really good essay about...well, I'm not really sure what it's about. But it's worth the read.

What You'll Wish You'd Known