liberal vs conservative education

[LDB]

When I went to school we were taught phonics, standard math, history and other subjects along with having the pledge and prayer to begin the day. Discipline was enforced. It was a conservative education. We learned to read well and didn't have discipline problems in school to any major extent. It was a conservative education time.

Now we have liberal education, with all sorts of new age programs and modern teaching methods. Students graduate due to social promotions but without true educations. School discipline is horrible. We're in a liberal education time. It's a failure like all other liberal programs.

Dumbo University - HUMAN EVENTS

 

[davekc]

And then they wonder when they graduate why no one will hire them.

 

[layoutshooter]

The DUMBING down of the U.S. is part of the PLAN of the "PuppetMaster" to take over the country. It is FAR easier to rule and control an idiot than it is to control an educated person. The Soviets were EXPERTS at the idea of "Applied Mediocrity" Educate them JUST enough to allow them to work in the sweat shops but NOT enough to THINK for themselves.

 

[FIS53]

This means that sending your kids to the right schools now matters more than it did before. My nephew applied for a job recently and they read his resume and the last educational institution listed was one they don't hire people from (due to the poor performance and knowledge of students from there). He pointed out the previous institution he had attended and the prof teaching his major and this they liked. Yeah he finally got the job but almost lost out because of the one college.
Rob

 

[jimby82]

I work in education (not as an educator) and I am just amazed at what passes for "teaching" these days. Educators have over the years developed involved, complicated methods and strategies for teaching every subject out there. Unfortunately, that almost invariably refuse to attack the problem head on.

Several years back when my kids were in middle school, they would become frustrated with the many different ways they were being taught to "estimate" in math. There was rounding to the appropriate place value, rounding up, truncation, front-end estimation, and rounding to compatible numbers. This was covered in 3rd, 4th and again in 5th grade and it actually takes up quite a bit of the math curriculum.

Here is an example from aaamath.com-

Estimating a difference by rounding​

A quick way to estimate the difference between two numbers is to round each number and then subtract the rounded numbers. This probably won't be the exact answer but it may be close enough for some purposes.
How to Estimate a difference by rounding.

• Round each term that will be subtracted
• Subtract the rounded numbers

An estimate can sometimes be improved. If the sum of 645 - 450 were estimated, we would round 645 to 600 and 450 to 500. The estimate would be 600 - 500 or 100. One number was rounded down and the other was rounded up. The number 645 was rounded down by 45 and 450 was rounded up by 50. Adding 45 + 50 gives 95, which rounds to 100. Therefore, a better estimate would be 200. The actual difference is 195.
How to Improve the Estimate.

• Round each term that will be subtracted
• Subtract the rounded numbers
• If one is rounded down and the other up see if the amount of rounding is more than 50. If it is add 100 to or subtract 100 from the estimate.
• If both numbers are rounded down or both are rounded up a closer estimate will not be produced by this method.

Did you get all that? (And this is just using one of the methods. Remember, the kids have to learn several different ways of doing this!) Wouldn't it have been much simpler to just have taught the kids how to subtract? My question was always, do they ever teach the kids how to arrive at the actual answer, or was getting "close enough" ok!

 

[greg334]

So?

This problem has been here for years, I grew up in a system that took all those ideas and used them to see what fits. The feds and state paid for the 'teachers' to train in these new techniques and it gave them a boost in pay which was the only thing that they gave a cr*p about.

You name it, I had it from outcome education to new math to let's be touchy feely and sing in class - what a nightmare. Most of the students didn't know what happen or understood it, they went along for the ride and graduated to go to community college and nothing more. The really smart ones were taught by their parents to ignore the tripe in schools and set goals - those are the ones who succeeded.

The biggest obstetrical to fixing the problem has been the unions, I have no clue why anyone would allow a civil servant to have a union let alone not fight to get rid of the union and all those who they represent. It puts the burden on the student and only the student by having to live with a sub-standard (globally speaking) education for the rest of their lives. When some private schools have students who can compete with the middle rank European or Asian student, the average public school kid here who is at the top of their class may be lucky to compete with the lower educated student from Europe or Asia. The teacher can be the most caring, great teacher in the world, but by having that protection and being told what to teach, they have become the problem because they go along with the status quo.

I like how the French handles education, it is the best system so far - the money follows the student. Not the archaic halfa** backwards system we have where we have to go to a speicifc school, their schools are not setup to have failures but to teach and if the parent doesn't like what is being taught, they can go somewhere else and the state pays for it because the money is there. The problem with a system like this is there would be competition, there would be the attitude that if you don't live up to a level of preformance, both teacher and student, then you are out of that school. It will allow competition to happen> And for those who think public education is a right, I don't see U of M or Ohio State or any other public school just accepting anyone - they only allow a select few to attend their school which is public and tax payer funded.

 

[jimby82]

I would certainly agree that a big part of the problem are the unions. (We do not have one where I work, if we did, I would be elsewhere.)

There is a mentality within the educational community that only they have the "right answers". This filters down from the professors at the institutions of higher learning and is reinforced by the unions. "I'm a teacher! How dare you question me! I know what is best for your child!"

I'm amused (and saddened) with first year teachers right out of college, with no experience with children of their own. They think they know it all. Boy are they in for a surprise.

Another BIG problem is the disintegration of the family. Parents (not teachers) should be providing moral and ethical education at home. That has not been happening for some time now. We are just beginning to see some of the repercussions of this. Sadly, I do not see any real hope of a reversal anytime soon.

 

[chefdennis]

all you have to do is take a look at the time when they outlawed "spanking" a kid in school....the libs decided that it was a bad thing and then they needed to fix the system and offer free lunches and then they needed to start grading in a "curve" because the "inner city" kids have a different culture and they were not exposed to the same things the suburban kids were...then we had oakland ca and their "Ebonics".....yeap, typical liberal fix it all for everyone because everyone is ENTITLED......