Give a brief description of the education system in your country (perhaps its failings and successes) and list any changes you would wish to make if you had the power to.

Sometimes I lay on the kitchen floor and pretend to be a crumb.

I would make politics lessons compulsory at secondary schools in the UK. I believe everyone should learn which politicians stand for what and why it's so important to vote. I don't know why certain lessons are valued over the importance of understanding the society in which you live.

In the U.S. it is broken down into public and private education. Public schools being "standard" in the sense that it is funded by taxpayer money and children within that particular tax area would attend that school. Private schools being ones that parents pay tuition to send their child to (essentially those schools are businesses). Also, I suppose home schooling can be considered private.

The reason why I'm mentioning the difference is because I've heard that the definition of public vs. private is essentially reversed in other countries, so I just want to clarify what I'm referring to.

Many people tend to look down upon public education (even though it makes up the majority of schools), but I had a great experience with it.

 

 

Public Schools

• Basics: There is elementary school (grades 1-5), middle school (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12). There are multiple elementary and middle schools, and eventually everyone gets funneled into the single high school.
  
• Advantages: Low cost (just whatever you pay via your property taxes). Kids get exposure to plenty of other kids, i.e., learning social skills. All-encompassing education, extra curricular activities, yadda yadda.
  
• Disadvantages: On the flip side of low cost, some programs/elective classes may be cut because of lowered property values and/or population decrease. Typically, any such cuts are in music, phys-ed... anything deemed "non-essential". Employees are unionized, which from an economics standpoint is not ideal. Awesome teachers don't get paid enough, bad teachers get paid too much.
  

Private Schools

• Basics: Structure can sometimes be like public, but often I think it's all grades under one roof.
  
• Advantages: Most private schools have smaller class sizes (more attention given to each student). What public schools might label as "non-essential" courses, private schools would consider absolutely essential. Private schools get funds based whatever parents are willing to pay for tuition for their children to attend the school, so typically they can provide anything and everything for their students.
  
• Disadvantages: EXPENSIVE; and parents still end up paying taxes to fund whatever public school district umbrella they belong to. On an individual basis, students won't stand out as much when applying to college, because most of them end up being on a similar level. The gap between valedictorian and the lower-performing students at a private school is much smaller than at public schools.
  

 

There have been many "reforms" adopted in recent years in an effort to improve public education, but there seems to be pitfalls in anything that's implemented. "No Child Left Behind" has yielded unintended consequences. Because schools are feeling more pressure to have student performance increase each year (due to standardized testing), they focus more on the standard content and in turn cut electives. Teachers especially feel this pressure, and some have resorted to "fixing" student results before officially submitting tests.

 

If I could change anything in regard to public schools, it would be to remove the union component for teachers. They get paid what they deserve; great ones get more, bad ones less (or get fired), and kids end up winning in the end.

Ugh, way too complicated for me to explain. If any French manages to do that here, bravo!

France has one of the most complicated education system on uh Earth I guess. We have way too many different kinds of diplomas for instance.

 

Our system has some advantages I guess (education is generally pretty cheap therefore more accessible, the fact that there are many different diplomas means you always have a chance to get a diploma in something) but also many deep weaknesses. Unfortunately no one ever manages to even start solving this problem, as any attempt of reform is frozen by the unions (i'm not saying that a trade union is essentially bad, but in the French education system they've become abusive and problematic) and the people from the regional education authorities.

let someone else explain Belgian school system

it would take me way to long to think over it and then writing in English :wreck:

I think private schools should be gotten rid of because I really don't see how it's fair that someone should receive a better education based on how much their family earns.

 

In the UK we have GCSE's which are mostly pretty easy so long as you are good at memorising facts then boom you hit A-Levels and all the exams are really hard because you need to understand things really well and the exam boards ask some stuff which half the time you have no clue what they are asking so you give a vague answer and they want something really specific which is really obscure and ugghhh they annoy me.

 

Basically the way we are taught it's such a huge jump up from previous exams that most kids drop out and it's really stressful and I feel like more should be done earlier so people are better at coping with A-Levels. Another thing that annoys me is how politicians claim they are 'too easy' when they were given some exams they mostly failed and that despite what all the specialists have said against it they still want to make them harder.

I think private schools should be gotten rid of because I really don't see how it's fair that someone should receive a better education based on how much their family earns.

 

In the UK we have GCSE's which are mostly pretty easy so long as you are good at memorising facts then boom you hit A-Levels and all the exams are really hard because you need to understand things really well and the exam boards ask some stuff which half the time you have no clue what they are asking so you give a vague answer and they want something really specific which is really obscure and ugghhh they annoy me.

 

Basically the way we are taught it's such a huge jump up from previous exams that most kids drop out and it's really stressful and I feel like more should be done earlier so people are better at coping with A-Levels. Another thing that annoys me is how politicians claim they are 'too easy' when they were given some exams they mostly failed and that despite what all the specialists have said against it they still want to make them harder.

 

This is the best summary possible.

 

I think the stuff about memorising facts is especially true. My sister's three years younger than me and when she asks me about a school topic, 95% of the time, I can't remember. She could ask me about a book I studied in English at GCSE and I just wouldn't remember the themes, and I've just finished English at uni.

 

I agree with you about private schools too; I think there's a massive difference between elite and elitist, and if every school was given access to the facilities, teachers and even pupils that private schools have, learning would improve.

 

So whilst I think our schools are actually in good condition when you compare them to other sectors of our society (but give Gove time), there is a lot of work to be done to improve them.

WE DON'T NEED NO EDUCATION.

WE DON'T NEED NO EDUCATION.

 

^But that was the, point of the lyr- OH NEVERMIND

It seems to me that schools are just teaching to the test. What I mean is we're getting information thrown at us so that we know it by late April early May for state wide tests.Especially in my school district they only care about the score you get, not if you understand the material that's being taught.

NumbersGirl summed it up very well, I started jotting off on some random things from my experience since I'm in an American high school right now, I live in Los Angeles btw.

 

1) Many of my classrooms are a little like this now

 

 

 

 

Personally it has no effect on me because I do well in school and the teacher still teaches like they used to, but I worry for the people who get distracted in class and need help. The classes for the brightest kids in schools are the ones that have the lowest teacher-student ratios, which is an absolute joke, the kids that need the help the most are not gonna get this help because they're in clusterfuck classes of 40-50 students.

 

2) Food doesn't really have much to do with the education but I'm gonna mention it. I've heard that in less populated areas of the U.S. there are schools that are serving food that is actually cooked in the cafeterias. It would be cool if we had that. I'm really not a picky eater at all, the food can range from decent to truly inedible. A lot of my peers who eat the school food just avoid the shit food and keep the milk and piece of fruit, or just go hungry for the rest of the day. It's something that really upsets me because these kids go hungry every day, then again it's avoidable, bring a fucking sandwich to school. So I'm not sure what to say. I bring a sandwich every day just in case the food is very very bad, if it isn't I give my sandwich to one of these people.

 

3) I'm pretty sure my state's high school exit exam will make GCSE's look like rocket science.

:bomb:

 

More examples to prove I didn't just pick the easiest one: http://lang.dailybulletin.com/socal/beyondabc/test/math_test_04.pdf

 

4) Sorry, a lot of negativity. One of the things I like about the American schooling system is that if you can work hard, and you're in the know about how the system works and how to use it to your advantage, you can get really really far. Here's an example:

 

There's a law here (I think it's a nationwide law but I could be wrong) that students in kindergarten-12th grade can attend a community college part time, for free. Basically you can get some college done for free while you're still in high school, like our AP classes but much less difficult. (AP, btw, are like the highest-level classes you can take in high school, very rigorous, but you get college credit if you pass a tough exam)

 

Now, when I was in middle school (I was around 12), I started taking these classes for fun, eventually I began to take it seriously and one by one took all the requirements needed to transfer from a community college to a 4-year university. I had a counselor guide me along the way and the plan was to graduate high school early by taking an exit exam and get a 4-year degree by the age of 18 or so. We had very little money, but the fact that community college transfers are top priority when universities admit students, plus my very young age and good grades pretty much guaranteed that I was gonna get plenty of financial aid.

 

Unfortunately, it ended up not being right for me for different reasons I will not dwell into. Still, I've heard of a few kids here and there doing the same thing. It was a hell of a good experience and I'm still doing it, but with a completely different major and a slower pace.

 

Because schools are feeling more pressure to have student performance increase each year (due to standardized testing), they focus more on the standard content and in turn cut electives. Teachers especially feel this pressure, and some have resorted to "fixing" student results before officially submitting tests.

 

It seems to me that schools are just teaching to the test. What I mean is we're getting information thrown at us so that we know it by late April early May for state wide tests.Especially in my school district they only care about the score you get, not if you understand the material that's being taught.

6) :nod: I can definitely vouch for this. I'm at the end of my school year and we must've had around 6 or 7 big tests mandated by the district throughout the whole year. Some are taken a lot more seriously others, but it's a looong experience, and I'd bet the class time spent prepping for all these tests and actually doing them would take a big chunk of the time we should be spending learning.

 

However, right now they're starting to make changes to the way they teach in schools, it's called common core standards. I don't know much about it and I might graduate high school by the time it's in effect but I know it's something about basing education around thinking at a higher level and being a good communicator and problem solver, stuff like that that employers need nowadays. So for testing, instead of cramming stuff and bubbling in things on a multiple choice exam you'd do something like work collaboratively with students in projects. I think it sounds promising.

 

Overall my school experience has been good but nobody hands you anything so you have to work for it. There are people in my classes who don't 'get' anything but most don't even bother to ask for help or get tutoring or something so I'm not quite sure what to say. I hope this new type of teaching that's coming will be of some help to these students so that they can think at a bit higher level at school but I'm not that optimistic.

dee why do you write so much i mean like i dont even know how to read because of my SHIT schools like yall talk about the system and technical stuff but let me just give you a summary of my school life so far

 

1. kindergarden um like a year who cares i was friends with a ginger in mexico it was weird nobody liked me but i learned how to read already because i was just smart
   
2. elementary was dumb because the only thing i learned was pi and i got shit grades on test but always passed with 8-10 so wtf
   
3. middle school? bye didnt learn shit except for like maybe algebra but i dont remember basically yeah i dont remember anything
   
4. also english i had to learn basic english so thats why i dont type with "bigger" words because all i know is basic english but i dont know spanish that well either so WHAT UP
   
5. i go to high school just to be there i dont do anything except draw or something i havent had classes all year and these teachers dont even care anymore and i FKCICNG hate school but i came walking so i might as well come for a reason
   

5. A

I'm homeschooled...

 

Edit: No, this video is a better example.

 

Stupid iPod won't let me embed it.

 

Home schooling is weird.

Thank you. :|

I once watched a documentary on TV about homeschooling, and the kids all had long hair. :| That's all I remember :|

Laurel, do you have long hair?

Thank you. :|

 

That doesn't mean you are.

I mean the whole concept and the potential social isolation it can cause.

Sex education should be improved dramatically in some schools.

 

http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/15/man-reportedly-tries-to-have-sex-with-hornets-nest-and-dies-3760129/

I once watched a documentary on TV about homeschooling, and the kids all had long hair. :| That's all I remember :|

Hahaha!

Laurel, do you have long hair?

Um...no. It's not even shoulder length. :P

That doesn't mean you are.

I mean the whole concept and the potential social isolation it can cause.

I guess with homeschooling, you can have an education that's a bit more tailored to your skills and abilities. :shrug:

I have lots of friends, and I think most homeschooled people get stereotyped into the anti-social, awkward kids, but most of the homeshooler a I know are not like that...though I was in a unique situation with a close-knit community, where people who were a bit odd were just as popular as the "cool" people...

Sex education should be improved dramatically in some schools.

 

http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/15/man-reportedly-tries-to-have-sex-with-hornets-nest-and-dies-3760129/

 

Yes this should definitely be improved

The link was not what I was expecting though...

I guess with homeschooling, you can have an education that's a bit more tailored to your skills and abilities. :shrug:

I have lots of friends, and I think most homeschooled people get stereotyped into the anti-social, awkward kids, but most of the homeshooler a I know are not like that...though I was in a unique situation with a close-knit community, where people who were a bit odd were just as popular as the "cool" people...

 

What kind of community do you live in, if you don't mind me asking?