4 ms·

Assuming we all agree that kids need education and to learn necessary skills what do you suggest? Here in Sweden the school system is not perfect but it does o

by 2rsf 4y ago

Assuming we all agree that kids need education and to learn necessary skills what do you suggest? Here in Sweden the school system is not perfect but it does offer a "slow start" for young kids, kindergarten class at the school building and the first few years without exams or homework.

quacked 4y ago
Regrettably, none of my answers work in a modern western-style economy. However, if I am forced to keep everything else the same--taxes, healthcare, student loans, etc.--here are a few things that could help: - slow start like you mentioned (also was done in famously education-forward Soviet Russia) - allow schools to expel children - increase availability and desirability of night school or other free public school for adults - mandate school and district administrators to have experience teaching - ban homework and introduce periods of time during school when work is expected - remove all art and sports from school and reform them as independent free clubs to be participated in after or before school (unfortunately impossible in poorer districts) - increase teacher salary - more separation of students by skill level (tons of research showing that kids learn better when they're placed in small groups at a similar skill level, also easily observed anecdotally.) This should also be accomplished by mixing ages. - ban grades, introduce final exams in specific subjects at the end of school that can be retaken indefinitely (perhaps once per year). If you want to go to college, perform on these tests If we're looking at societal changes that would allow us to really move away from the school model, we also need: - more public transportation to enable kids to go to schools other than the ones they live next to - widespread reforms in prison and sentencing that makes it safer and less life-ending - industry must return to western countries to allow low- and medium-skilled people important labor jobs - healthcare reform so it's not tied to employment - better cultural stewardship, small business startup loans, and continental rail so young talented people aren't as incentivized to leave their smaller cities and towns Ultimately, a strong society that could move safely away from the school model needs an economy with many opportunities for short-duration (6-24 months) employment, lots of vacation time, and the ability for one parent to stay at home a large fraction of the year.
- mlyle 4y ago
  > - allow schools to expel children Certainly public schools need to be able to remove disruptive students from the mainline process. > - mandate school and district administrators to have experience teaching The overwhelming majority already do. It's a problem of misaligned incentives, though. > - ban homework and introduce periods of time during school when work is expected Homework should totally go away for elementary (I mean, other than a token project to ask someone questions once in awhile, etc) and be minimal for early middle school. At some point, though, you do need to put in some additional unsupervised work. > - remove all art and sports from school and reform them as independent free clubs to be participated in after or before school (unfortunately impossible in poorer districts) Actually, in poorer/urban districts, you're more likely to have providers like YMCA or charity sports leagues, around. It's the rich districts who are spending a whole lot of resources on nice extracurriculars for their students that are going to have trouble with this. > - increase teacher salary Yup. > - more separation of students by skill level (tons of research showing that kids learn better when they're placed in small groups at a similar skill level, also easily observed anecdotally.) This should also be accomplished by mixing ages. There's limits to this. Tracking math, etc, is useful. You might be able to do it with writing. But it may not make so much sense with literature or history classes, in that there is an actual body of knowledge to convey (of course, you can have honors classes if your student population is big enough). Also, I think you underestimate the amount of social power that comes with age. You can't throw together my 6th grader with 9th graders that are equivalently strong in math and expect a whole lot of useful educational strategies to still work. > - ban grades, introduce final exams in specific subjects at the end of school that can be retaken indefinitely (perhaps once per year). If you want to go to college, perform on these tests I think we need to de-emphasize grades, but grades are an important motivator and more immediate measure of performance. A lot of my courses are "easy A's" in the sense that most students get an A even though I cover rather challenging material and expect a lot: I get most students over the humps. But-- I still rely upon to some extent: - Being able to give assignment grades that are much lower so that students know they must improve - Students being motivated to improve so that their summative grade will be good, even when they're feeling a bit down about the course or their recent performance. > - industry must return to western countries to allow low- and medium-skilled people important labor jobs Comparative advantage is important.

by 2rsf 4y ago

quacked 4y ago

Regrettably, none of my answers work in a modern western-style economy. However, if I am forced to keep everything else the same--taxes, healthcare, student loans, etc.--here are a few things that could help: - slow start like you mentioned (also was done in famously education-forward Soviet Russia) - allow schools to expel children - increase availability and desirability of night school or other free public school for adults - mandate school and district administrators to have experience teaching - ban homework and introduce periods of time during school when work is expected - remove all art and sports from school and reform them as independent free clubs to be participated in after or before school (unfortunately impossible in poorer districts) - increase teacher salary - more separation of students by skill level (tons of research showing that kids learn better when they're placed in small groups at a similar skill level, also easily observed anecdotally.) This should also be accomplished by mixing ages. - ban grades, introduce final exams in specific subjects at the end of school that can be retaken indefinitely (perhaps once per year). If you want to go to college, perform on these tests If we're looking at societal changes that would allow us to really move away from the school model, we also need: - more public transportation to enable kids to go to schools other than the ones they live next to - widespread reforms in prison and sentencing that makes it safer and less life-ending - industry must return to western countries to allow low- and medium-skilled people important labor jobs - healthcare reform so it's not tied to employment - better cultural stewardship, small business startup loans, and continental rail so young talented people aren't as incentivized to leave their smaller cities and towns Ultimately, a strong society that could move safely away from the school model needs an economy with many opportunities for short-duration (6-24 months) employment, lots of vacation time, and the ability for one parent to stay at home a large fraction of the year.

mlyle 4y ago
> - allow schools to expel children Certainly public schools need to be able to remove disruptive students from the mainline process. > - mandate school and district administrators to have experience teaching The overwhelming majority already do. It's a problem of misaligned incentives, though. > - ban homework and introduce periods of time during school when work is expected Homework should totally go away for elementary (I mean, other than a token project to ask someone questions once in awhile, etc) and be minimal for early middle school. At some point, though, you do need to put in some additional unsupervised work. > - remove all art and sports from school and reform them as independent free clubs to be participated in after or before school (unfortunately impossible in poorer districts) Actually, in poorer/urban districts, you're more likely to have providers like YMCA or charity sports leagues, around. It's the rich districts who are spending a whole lot of resources on nice extracurriculars for their students that are going to have trouble with this. > - increase teacher salary Yup. > - more separation of students by skill level (tons of research showing that kids learn better when they're placed in small groups at a similar skill level, also easily observed anecdotally.) This should also be accomplished by mixing ages. There's limits to this. Tracking math, etc, is useful. You might be able to do it with writing. But it may not make so much sense with literature or history classes, in that there is an actual body of knowledge to convey (of course, you can have honors classes if your student population is big enough). Also, I think you underestimate the amount of social power that comes with age. You can't throw together my 6th grader with 9th graders that are equivalently strong in math and expect a whole lot of useful educational strategies to still work. > - ban grades, introduce final exams in specific subjects at the end of school that can be retaken indefinitely (perhaps once per year). If you want to go to college, perform on these tests I think we need to de-emphasize grades, but grades are an important motivator and more immediate measure of performance. A lot of my courses are "easy A's" in the sense that most students get an A even though I cover rather challenging material and expect a lot: I get most students over the humps. But-- I still rely upon to some extent: - Being able to give assignment grades that are much lower so that students know they must improve - Students being motivated to improve so that their summative grade will be good, even when they're feeling a bit down about the course or their recent performance. > - industry must return to western countries to allow low- and medium-skilled people important labor jobs Comparative advantage is important.