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I personally think that K-12 education is a disaster driven by dogmatism. I think the only reason K-12 education works at all is because of the incredible effor

I personally think that K-12 education is a disaster driven by dogmatism. I think the only reason K-12 education works at all is because of the incredible effort individual teachers put forth. I think we may both be right in a sense. My view is based on my schooling experiences: I have dysgraphia, which made the traditional methods of K-12 education literally torturous for me. Despite a formal diagnosis and a IEP, I had to constantly fight with teachers and school administrators to get accommodations. I went to a small school for college, and I graduated on time despite being one of the most academically rigorous institutions in the country. College was definitely a struggle for me, but I felt that the professors were on my side, and had a holistic view of student success. This experience might be different if you went to a research institution, where classes were taught by TAs. The only reason K12 wasn't a complete disaster for me is because my parents were immensely supportive, and because I realized that a learning disability didn't make me worse than other people. I get angry every time I think back to the other kids who were in special education with me, who were treated like problems by teachers and administrators because they interfered with the K12 machinery. They internalized all of this hatred towards themselves and hated themselves because of it. The focus on test scores, graduation rates, and college attendance in K12 education is a disaster that hurts the most vulnerable children in our school system. I listen to my friends who are teachers, and they all know who these children are, but they don't have the time or the resources to help them. Enforcing accountability through grades and test scores ensures that these students will be left behind, because their energy is better spent making sure 10 other students score 5 percentage points higher on the next standardized test.

germinalphrase 10y ago
Thank you for your comment. I completely agree with what you're saying about misaligned standards/incentives in k12 education and how that can, and does, create really rough experiences for students. Some of the best educational environments I have had the opportunity to work inside of have been small classroom alternative programs. The kids brought with them massively diverse challenges/needs - but the environments lacked the same "benchmark" cultural pressures that regiment standard classrooms. Teachers had the time and opportunity to figure out what each kid needs AND the time and opportunity to build learning experiences around those needs. In a standard classroom, the teacher will often completely understand the former but remain logistically/circumstantially unable to provide the latter. We will never have the number of classrooms that can provide that level of support because it would explode the budget of schools. It's probably part of the answer, though.

germinalphrase 10y ago

Thank you for your comment. I completely agree with what you're saying about misaligned standards/incentives in k12 education and how that can, and does, create really rough experiences for students. Some of the best educational environments I have had the opportunity to work inside of have been small classroom alternative programs. The kids brought with them massively diverse challenges/needs - but the environments lacked the same "benchmark" cultural pressures that regiment standard classrooms. Teachers had the time and opportunity to figure out what each kid needs AND the time and opportunity to build learning experiences around those needs. In a standard classroom, the teacher will often completely understand the former but remain logistically/circumstantially unable to provide the latter. We will never have the number of classrooms that can provide that level of support because it would explode the budget of schools. It's probably part of the answer, though.