My Teacher ripped Bush

[LowerCaseRepublican]

The most important part of a high school education should not be to graduate.  That's right, that's what I said.  The whole point of secondary education was supposed to teach you skills that will benefit you at the next level.  For people who aren't going on to college it was supposed to teach you basics for how to handle a job.  Things like how to be on time, how to pay attention and work for 8 hours, and maybe a basic trade or skill depending on what you studied.  Or for the college bound it is supposed to teach people how to study and work on their own, plus basic knowledge in order to build on at the higher education level.

 

Instead with the educational system turning into another unneeded government beaurcracy now the most important things are standardized test scores and graduation rates.  These numbers are worthless IMO.  All they do it narrow the scope of learning to a tighter field of knowledge, encourage cramming, stifle teacher creativity, and discourage anything but what is on the tests.  With the emphasis on graduation rates this puts kids in the classroom that should not be there.  Included in this group are kids who are disicpline problems, and people that will never graduate.  All this does it take away valuable resources to the kids who are going to contribute meaningfully to society.  Yes some people are not meant to graduate high school.  I know it sounds harsh, but in every work force there is entry and basic employment, and people who don't have either the desire or the ability to be educated are the most likely people to fill these roles in society.

I concur that the most important part is not the graduation. But the testing is in place as a "get tough on education" idea in order to justify funding for schools. However, I have to diverge from your analysis when you state that some children shouldn't be there. In studies that I've had to read for my educational psychology class, it is moreso the tracks that the schools set students in that stifle their learning and cause problems. In one particular study, the researchers put a random group of students in a classroom and told the teacher that these kids were the highest scores on the aptitude test and had the best grades. So the teacher went in with that mindset and taught and the childrens' scores increased. After the semester was over, the teacher was notified that these kids were just "normal" and not what he was led to believe. However, the children fed off of his enthusiasm and belief that they could do well, so they did well. I think a lot of problems with students in schools can be attributed to the codifying of test scores = intelligence because how they do on an aptitude test puts them in a track they they will be in for their entire high school career. All kids have the potential to learn a lot and become successful, it's just that many do not receive the opportunity because of a poor educational system focused on tracking and teaching the test.

[witesoxfan]

Politics isn't for a high school classroom, unless it is a current events type of class. 

 

I am going to start my rant now, so anyone who isn't interested skip this part. 

 

The most important part of a high school education should not be to graduate.  That's right, that's what I said.  The whole point of secondary education was supposed to teach you skills that will benefit you at the next level.  For people who aren't going on to college it was supposed to teach you basics for how to handle a job.  Things like how to be on time, how to pay attention and work for 8 hours, and maybe a basic trade or skill depending on what you studied.  Or for the college bound it is supposed to teach people how to study and work on their own, plus basic knowledge in order to build on at the higher education level.

 

Instead with the educational system turning into another unneeded government beaurcracy now the most important things are standardized test scores and graduation rates.  These numbers are worthless IMO.  All they do it narrow the scope of learning to a tighter field of knowledge, encourage cramming, stifle teacher creativity, and discourage anything but what is on the tests.  With the emphasis on graduation rates this puts kids in the classroom that should not be there.  Included in this group are kids who are disicpline problems, and people that will never graduate.  All this does it take away valuable resources to the kids who are going to contribute meaningfully to society.  Yes some people are not meant to graduate high school.  I know it sounds harsh, but in every work force there is entry and basic employment, and people who don't have either the desire or the ability to be educated are the most likely people to fill these roles in society.

 

[/rant]

I agree with your rant.

As do I.

 

I find it incredibly stupid that I am learning how to do things that I will NEVER need in my lifetime....ever. I have a good understanding of the English language and how it works, so I do not see why I need to take 4 years of English in high school, I'm not positive as to why I will end up having to take some science classes that I won't need(though if I want to become a physician, all the science I can take I probably should), and why I need to know how to graph linear equations later on in life, etc. Makes very little sense to me at all.

 

I think the reason Bush has stressed so much on education is probably because he's a dumbf***er himself and he never learned half of the stuff I'm learning and 1549's learning and roman's learning, etc etc etc, and I'm learning this because of him. If he wants to see why education and good grades for today's kids is not important, he needs to look in the mirror.