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Over here in Indonesia, most of the more prestigious schools follow the Singapore model. Kids do end up studying a lot, but on the whole it doesn't seem more t

Over here in Indonesia, most of the more prestigious schools follow the Singapore model. Kids do end up studying a lot, but on the whole it doesn't seem more than I did as a kid (in rural America). They tend to be pretty well-rounded, teach three languages (English, Bahasa, and Mandarin), and follow roughly the math courses I remember as a child though perhaps a year advanced by 4th grade. In the US, schools seem to be succumming to two very serious trends. The first, and most basic, is in the school attempting to replace rather than support the family as the basic unit of education. You can't do this though. Education begins and ends at home, and what schools offer is largely a supplement for the home. This leads directly to the second problem which is the worship of innovation. I get told by friends in the US about how math classes are teaching Fibonacci parlor tricks for multiplication (like lattice multiplication, which I know enough math to understand but only because I know a lot more math than the average parent). This joins the high tech toys in the idea that gadgets and trinkets can teach our youth but parents cannot. The innovation focus further devalues the home as the center of learning, and it leads to a highly institutional, almost assembly-line view of learning. In the end, I don't see how American higher education can survive another generation without some major adjustments to our public school system (and probably society as a whole, to be honest).

kiba 13y ago
The innovation focus further devalues the home as the center of learning, and it leads to a highly institutional, almost assembly-line view of learning. I thought the whole world is about assembly-line learning rather than self initiated learning.
- Ygg2 13y ago
  Only the worst kind is assembly line learning.
joshuaheard 13y ago
"Education begins and ends at home, and what schools offer is largely a supplement for the home." I think it is the opposite. I pay the school to teach my kid. I don't expect to have them come home and require me to finish the job. Can you imagine if you went to a restaurant and they said, we prepared the food, but you must cook it. I work every day with my child on her homework, but it is not to teach her what she learned at school, it is to supplement her teaching with things you won't learn in the classroom.
- einhverfr 13y ago
  But before your kid ever goes to school, there are habits regarding learning that are picked up. These begin at home. For kids of below-school-age this is the place where most learning takes place. The question is whether learning is something that is to be compartmentalized off into school work, or whether it is something we weave into every aspect of life. If the former, one will never become very smart or very skilled. If the latter, then all school offers is an opportunity to learn, something that kids take advantage of based on habits acquired at home.
- tekalon 13y ago
  You're supplementing her book learning, but she is observing you to learn life skills and how to think. It's your job to teach her financial skills, how to cook, give her the best example you can no how to have relationships with other people. Encourage her to play with other kids but also how to communicate with adults. Teach her how to be responsible and mature. There is more to education than book learning (ABCs and 123s). You are supplementing her book learning while the school is supplementing her life skills learning. Also- Papa Murphy's pizza. They make the pizza, but you take it home and cook it. Tastes better than delivery.
- akulbe 13y ago
  What if their values don't coincide with yours? What if they're teaching your kid evolution and you're a creationist? (or vice versa) What if they're teaching your kid something that is just flat out inaccurate? How do you know? My point is that perhaps you're placing complete faith in someone else, with little/no accountability from you or your spouse to make sure that the education your children are getting is both quality and accurate. In my opinion, even though you have delegated the role of education to the school system... final responsibility for the outcome still rests with us (the parents).
boothead 13y ago
Is that in the international schools or local? We are thinking of moving our family back to Indo and one concern is the education... Actually compared to the likely quality in the UK we probably have nothing to worry about!
- einhverfr 13y ago
  These are the "national plus" schools, so technically neither international nor local but somewhere in between. >Actually compared to the likely quality in the UK we probably have nothing to worry about! Funnily enough the most elite schools try to follow the UK curriculum but there is not a consensus that this is the best education around.
akulbe 13y ago
I cannot even begin to say how much I agree with this. For once, someone who puts the priority of education where it truly belongs... AT HOME. This isn't to say that education outside of the home has no place. It's just that it is something to be delegated, and shared. However, I would posit that what happens often (at least in American society) in terms of attitude... is parents drop their kids off at the school's doorstep and assume that it is the schools's responsibility to educate them, and give them character training. In my opinion, this is nothing less than an abdication of your responsibility as parents.

kiba 13y ago

The innovation focus further devalues the home as the center of learning, and it leads to a highly institutional, almost assembly-line view of learning. I thought the whole world is about assembly-line learning rather than self initiated learning.

Ygg2 13y ago
Only the worst kind is assembly line learning.

joshuaheard 13y ago

"Education begins and ends at home, and what schools offer is largely a supplement for the home." I think it is the opposite. I pay the school to teach my kid. I don't expect to have them come home and require me to finish the job. Can you imagine if you went to a restaurant and they said, we prepared the food, but you must cook it. I work every day with my child on her homework, but it is not to teach her what she learned at school, it is to supplement her teaching with things you won't learn in the classroom.

einhverfr 13y ago
But before your kid ever goes to school, there are habits regarding learning that are picked up. These begin at home. For kids of below-school-age this is the place where most learning takes place. The question is whether learning is something that is to be compartmentalized off into school work, or whether it is something we weave into every aspect of life. If the former, one will never become very smart or very skilled. If the latter, then all school offers is an opportunity to learn, something that kids take advantage of based on habits acquired at home.
tekalon 13y ago
You're supplementing her book learning, but she is observing you to learn life skills and how to think. It's your job to teach her financial skills, how to cook, give her the best example you can no how to have relationships with other people. Encourage her to play with other kids but also how to communicate with adults. Teach her how to be responsible and mature. There is more to education than book learning (ABCs and 123s). You are supplementing her book learning while the school is supplementing her life skills learning. Also- Papa Murphy's pizza. They make the pizza, but you take it home and cook it. Tastes better than delivery.
akulbe 13y ago
What if their values don't coincide with yours? What if they're teaching your kid evolution and you're a creationist? (or vice versa) What if they're teaching your kid something that is just flat out inaccurate? How do you know? My point is that perhaps you're placing complete faith in someone else, with little/no accountability from you or your spouse to make sure that the education your children are getting is both quality and accurate. In my opinion, even though you have delegated the role of education to the school system... final responsibility for the outcome still rests with us (the parents).

boothead 13y ago

Is that in the international schools or local? We are thinking of moving our family back to Indo and one concern is the education... Actually compared to the likely quality in the UK we probably have nothing to worry about!

einhverfr 13y ago
These are the "national plus" schools, so technically neither international nor local but somewhere in between. >Actually compared to the likely quality in the UK we probably have nothing to worry about! Funnily enough the most elite schools try to follow the UK curriculum but there is not a consensus that this is the best education around.

akulbe 13y ago

I cannot even begin to say how much I agree with this. For once, someone who puts the priority of education where it truly belongs... AT HOME. This isn't to say that education outside of the home has no place. It's just that it is something to be delegated, and shared. However, I would posit that what happens often (at least in American society) in terms of attitude... is parents drop their kids off at the school's doorstep and assume that it is the schools's responsibility to educate them, and give them character training. In my opinion, this is nothing less than an abdication of your responsibility as parents.