3 ms·

I think the biggest problem with attempts to "revolutionize" US education is that nobody has identified an actual problem it has. US public schools actually get

I think the biggest problem with attempts to "revolutionize" US education is that nobody has identified an actual problem it has. US public schools actually get pretty damn good results by worldwide standards.

teslabox 10y ago
> US public schools actually get pretty damn good results by worldwide standards. This is in spite of the system, instead of because of it. Some people were going to do well regardless - because they were well-nourished as children, grew up in stable homes, etc. Most the rest are good worker-bees, or good candidates for filling the prisons (a make-work program). > I think the biggest problem with attempts to "revolutionize" US education is that nobody has identified an actual problem it has. I think John Gatto [1] pointed out that "Nothing of value to the individual happens by force" - maybe the quote is in one of his books. Gatto's essay on retiring, "I Quit, I Think" [2], precisely describes professional teachers' dilemma. [1] http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/ http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/ [2] https://web.archive.org/web/20100309061700/http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/prologue2.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20100309061700/http://www.johnta...
- cgag 10y ago
  One interesting thing I saw recently was that it might be the case that students in "better" education systems might also be doing well because they were going to do well regardless. From a semi-recent slatestar link thread[0] (Tyler Cowen is Marginal Revolution): "Tyler Cowen makes the case that Denmark’s institutions aren’t that great because Danes in the US do better than Danes in Denmark, suggesting Denmark is a successful country mostly because of Danish culture (Cowen didn’t mention genes, but should have)." [0]:https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-08-16/denmark-s-nice-yes-but-danes-live-better-in-u-s https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-08-16/denmark-s...
Broken_Hippo 10y ago
The point is that we could do it better. We could have a better environment for both students and teachers. Technology has helped in the past, after all. Computers for test-grading, for example, from scan-trons back in the 1980's to software that can give a math test and automatically score them. Overhead projectors, smartboards, and so on. None of these are absolutely necessary, but helpful. Problems? It is pretty easy to spot problems: The scores inside the us are vastly different in different areas, for example. Stress levels both for students and teachers. Funding is poor in places. Then there is this kid speaking about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnsejGj4JSg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnsejGj4JSg
nixos 10y ago
I find it interesting that the US produces world class universities (Caltech, MIT, Stanford), and the proof is that (good) international students are dying to get in, while elementary schools average around 25th in the world
- bandrami 10y ago
  25th in the world is in the top 12%, which is fine with me. Sure, we could make improvements (particularly by ending the idiocy of funding schools at the local level), but this notion that the system is somehow broken is just absurd.
- st3v3r 10y ago
  Those institutions have money. Elementary schools may or may not have money, depending on whether they're in a rich neighborhood or not.

teslabox 10y ago

> US public schools actually get pretty damn good results by worldwide standards. This is in spite of the system, instead of because of it. Some people were going to do well regardless - because they were well-nourished as children, grew up in stable homes, etc. Most the rest are good worker-bees, or good candidates for filling the prisons (a make-work program). > I think the biggest problem with attempts to "revolutionize" US education is that nobody has identified an actual problem it has. I think John Gatto [1] pointed out that "Nothing of value to the individual happens by force" - maybe the quote is in one of his books. Gatto's essay on retiring, "I Quit, I Think" [2], precisely describes professional teachers' dilemma. [1] http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/ http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/ [2] https://web.archive.org/web/20100309061700/http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/prologue2.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20100309061700/http://www.johnta...

cgag 10y ago
One interesting thing I saw recently was that it might be the case that students in "better" education systems might also be doing well because they were going to do well regardless. From a semi-recent slatestar link thread[0] (Tyler Cowen is Marginal Revolution): "Tyler Cowen makes the case that Denmark’s institutions aren’t that great because Danes in the US do better than Danes in Denmark, suggesting Denmark is a successful country mostly because of Danish culture (Cowen didn’t mention genes, but should have)." [0]:https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-08-16/denmark-s-nice-yes-but-danes-live-better-in-u-s https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-08-16/denmark-s...

Broken_Hippo 10y ago

The point is that we could do it better. We could have a better environment for both students and teachers. Technology has helped in the past, after all. Computers for test-grading, for example, from scan-trons back in the 1980's to software that can give a math test and automatically score them. Overhead projectors, smartboards, and so on. None of these are absolutely necessary, but helpful. Problems? It is pretty easy to spot problems: The scores inside the us are vastly different in different areas, for example. Stress levels both for students and teachers. Funding is poor in places. Then there is this kid speaking about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnsejGj4JSg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnsejGj4JSg

nixos 10y ago

I find it interesting that the US produces world class universities (Caltech, MIT, Stanford), and the proof is that (good) international students are dying to get in, while elementary schools average around 25th in the world

bandrami 10y ago
25th in the world is in the top 12%, which is fine with me. Sure, we could make improvements (particularly by ending the idiocy of funding schools at the local level), but this notion that the system is somehow broken is just absurd.
st3v3r 10y ago
Those institutions have money. Elementary schools may or may not have money, depending on whether they're in a rich neighborhood or not.