I'm a student. A high school student. I've seen the way the current education system works, and I'll be perfectly blunt, it's pretty bad. I'm going to do my best to be diplomatic about this, but there are times when I have to be extremely blunt to get my point across. As always, if you disagree or think of a better solution to a problem I mention, you are more than welcome to leave it (politely) in the comments.
I for one don't like teachers who don't care about what they're doing, or who think memorizing words is a good way to learn a subject. That just isn't right.
Standardized Tests: I can see why there might be an appeal to standardized testing; you don't get rewarded on a class where the teacher gives you a sticker and a 100% for copying a paragraph from a book and penalized in a class where the teacher actually makes you work and truly learn. But school systems have taken this too far. Tests
that are just there so they can do something is not okay at all. Tests that don't actually affect us - or our grades - are useless and a waste of teaching and learning time. If it were me deciding how all of this worked, I would instead have a curriculum that lead up to the final exam that WAS standardized, but not have any standardized tests until then. Any tests given in the meantime would be created my the teachers, but would be looked over my some kind of review board before they were given.
Teacher Salary: I think part of the reason teachers get so lazy in their jobs is that they don't feel they are being paid enough to do a better job. I know that teacher funding comes from the state government and nobody likes paying taxes, especially not when they don't have a child in public schools, but can we please try to remember that the kids in public school will someday be running the world? Do you really want a load of uneducated stupid people running the world you'll live in as an elderly citizen? What if we took some money from the people who were actually running the government - if I remember correctly, the North Carolina state governor makes over $130K per year. The Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General, and Lieutenant Governor all make over $120K per year. The Chief Justice makes over $140K. The Associate Justices make over $135K. The average North Carolina public school teacher salary in the 2008-2009 school year was $48,648. When you think about how important these very teachers will be, how these teachers will impact the world in even just five years, you have to see that they deserve more than just $48 grand. Do you want your country to be viewed as the one that was taught faulty, even false information, and is now trying to run the world, believing that the sun goes around the Earth? I know I wouldn't.
Anyways, the school system is pretty sucky and there is nothing we can really do about it until people stop being so greedy with their money. Just to sum it all up.
I for one don't like teachers who don't care about what they're doing, or who think memorizing words is a good way to learn a subject. That just isn't right.
Standardized Tests: I can see why there might be an appeal to standardized testing; you don't get rewarded on a class where the teacher gives you a sticker and a 100% for copying a paragraph from a book and penalized in a class where the teacher actually makes you work and truly learn. But school systems have taken this too far. Tests that are just there so they can do something is not okay at all. Tests that don't actually affect us - or our grades - are useless and a waste of teaching and learning time. If it were me deciding how all of this worked, I would instead have a curriculum that lead up to the final exam that WAS standardized, but not have any standardized tests until then. Any tests given in the meantime would be created my the teachers, but would be looked over my some kind of review board before they were given.
Teacher Salary: I think part of the reason teachers get so lazy in their jobs is that they don't feel they are being paid enough to do a better job. I know that teacher funding comes from the state government and nobody likes paying taxes, especially not when they don't have a child in public schools, but can we please try to remember that the kids in public school will someday be running the world? Do you really want a load of uneducated stupid people running the world you'll live in as an elderly citizen? What if we took some money from the people who were actually running the government - if I remember correctly, the North Carolina state governor makes over $130K per year. The Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General, and Lieutenant Governor all make over $120K per year. The Chief Justice makes over $140K. The Associate Justices make over $135K. The average North Carolina public school teacher salary in the 2008-2009 school year was $48,648. When you think about how important these very teachers will be, how these teachers will impact the world in even just five years, you have to see that they deserve more than just $48 grand. Do you want your country to be viewed as the one that was taught faulty, even false information, and is now trying to run the world, believing that the sun goes around the Earth? I know I wouldn't.Anyways, the school system is pretty sucky and there is nothing we can really do about it until people stop being so greedy with their money. Just to sum it all up.
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