My impression of the US school system (based on the schools I attended, the ones I've researched, & the ones my kids have gone to) is that you pretty much get out of it what you put into it.

There are schools with bad teachers who pretty much kill kids' desire to learn; there are schools with crappy administrations that don't support the kids & teachers & make everyones' lives difficult; there are schools with either not enough funding or they're not spending it well so they don't have enough textbooks etc. but I really think schools with those problems are in the minority, by a LOT.

If students are willing to put in a little extra effort, they can take advanced or AP or courses that are a grade level higher (in HS, for sure, & sometimes in jr. high or even elementary school); if those aren't offered then there are correspondence courses (which do cost $$ but for most people not an impossible amount, and I say this as someone whose income is WAY below average). Kids can also work ahead independently, and chances are they will be able to find someone (teacher, community member, etc.) to help & support their interest IF they make the effort.

If a student feels his/her education is substandard, then there are things he/she can do about it, but it does take some effort & initiative.

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"[English] not only borrows words from other languages; it has on occasion chased other languages down dark alley-ways, clubbed them unconscious and rifled their pockets for new vocabulary."
-James Nicoll, can.general, March 21, 1992

Nuff said. It's not a question about whether or not schools are bad, it's whether or not people care enough to get the most out of their education. Too many people are quick to find a scapegoat on whom to blame their stupidity.

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i would say no based on my past experience. but i guess it depends which state you're from and what kind of school you go to. before moving to PA, i lived in NY and i think schools in NY seemed to be better than the ones in PA. At least that's what i believe since you have to take regents and the teachers i've known were pretty good. When i moved to PA...boy, was my first year horrible...some teachers just don't seem to care and kids always fool around and disrupt the class. i wasn't able to learn anything or even pay attention. that's when i began taking advanced classes and AP courses. i think it was a better way to promote myself and learn things at a faster pace. the regular classes were way far behind. maybe back then i should've transferred to a magnet program or something. then again..it all depends where you're from...and i really hope they can better improve the system.

If your talking about the system being adequate for producing violent, illiterate, racist and small minded dumbasses, I'd say the system's fine. It's not so good for producing doctors, scholars and teachers though.

The people who succeed after graduating from public school are people who succeed in spite of the system, not because of it. Then again, I could be wrong. For all I know, most people are born assholes and public school is just the dumping ground for their kids.

I'd have to say that that's not true. The thing is, the school system is very decentralized, so you have some very good public schools, and some really bad ones as well. And yes, it has produced plenty of doctors, scholars, and teachers. Basically, it says that education at the university level is one of the best in the world (why do you think so many foreign students are trying to go to the US?).

The key to doing well is personal responsibility. If you take advantageof the system to do well, then it's adequate. It's not one that forces students to study constantly and work. It's one that rewards those who work hard and take initiative and screws those who choose to be lazy, which is how American culture works. If there's anything wrong with that, then I don't know what's right.

haahahahahahahahahaaahhh. I don't think anyone has said better than you. That's it. That's how it is.


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Sarcasm just doesn't work over the internet.

Can't argue about the quality of the colleges. The only things generally complained about are the prices and the scheduling.

My main gripe is with the public school portion of the system. Most are rigid/boring at the best of times and downright dangerous at the worst. You know something's wrong when over one in four kids can't make it through the system. Giving public school a free pass ain't gonna solve it.

Truer words have never been spoken

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Livin just to keep from dyin

It's a joke. Sure Xeronia has a point, but it doesn't sound so romantic when you know that's not how the powers that be intended it to work.

Is any system that let's me forgo college math classes because I knew high-school level geometry a system that's working? What about a system that repeatedly lowers the already low standards for students? I was asked on an aptitude test, in 10th grade, what 47+54 equaled. It told me to check my answer with a calculator.

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I am not prostrate. I am looking at the sky on the other side of Earth.

You should totally Join Vagrant Scans. No experience necessary.

You should also totally read this cool blog.

my parents put me in private school even though they both went to public school.. which basically sums up their opinion. =P and despite the fact that it has more work than a public school, I'm very happy where I am. (:

I always imagined private school to be somewhat sheltered. I cannot imagine private school properly exposing you to the blistering hurricane of retarded that is the real world. If I didn't have public school as a buffer and transition into the real world, I probably would have committed suicide.

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I am not prostrate. I am looking at the sky on the other side of Earth.

You should totally Join Vagrant Scans. No experience necessary.

You should also totally read this cool blog.

I dont know. I used to go to a very interesting private school. There was no dress code (save what was reasonable to not permit students to wear) and we even were allowed to call our teachers by their first names. And in terms of getting a practical education from the student population at the private school I went to, I would say that was good enough was well.

I have to say it really depends a lot on the private school that you go to if its going to be more sheltered or not.




And either way...I still really think the only flaw in the US education system is keeping in the kids who honestly dont want to learn. And we also need to get rid of the No Child Left Behind Act...because its just stupid.

I imagine the point of holding the kids who don't want to learn in school was to keep them off the streets during the day. If they could, a lot of people would rather keep them locked up until after their parents got home.

In terms of sheltering, I've always felt that the whole point of school is to provide shelter for kids to learn. In the wilderness you should have guides and partners to help you survive. In school, you should have teachers and classmates to help you learn. If you make a mistake, the people can pick you up. Sadly, in the public schools I lived near, they're more likely to step on you instead.

I guess that can be true, but I wasn't really implying that it was sheltered in the way that you have to wear uniforms and call teachers by formal names. Public schools expose you to the full gamut of people you're gonna have to live with for the rest of your life in a way that private schools simply can't manage.

When was the last time you mispronounced "Niger River" and had to talk your way out of being kicked out of an American History class because a black kid got butthurt over it? Or when a kid threatened to bring a 9mm to class and kill you, and then turned you in saying you threatened to beat him up and you were unable to convince the principal that you were the one being threatened because the kid was scrawnier then you? When was the last time you were almost assaulted for calling somebody a fag, or had to sign a harassment agreement form for implicitly implying a person was fat, or got in trouble for talking to somebody who had a learning disability?

This is the kind of stuff I can't imagine learning in a private school. I learned that the world isn't full of roses, regardless of how much people say otherwise

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I am not prostrate. I am looking at the sky on the other side of Earth.

You should totally Join Vagrant Scans. No experience necessary.

You should also totally read this cool blog.

regular public K-12 education is only adequate if you plan to work @ Mickey D's

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What's yours is mine, and what's mine is STILL mine!!