On Apr 10, 2013, at 12:07 AM, Boris Liberman <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 4/9/2013 9:30 PM, Larry Colen wrote: >> Because, simply put, the problem isn't the schools. The problem is at >> home. Children who come from families that put a high priority on >> education do well in school. If kids see their parents reading in >> their free time, they will consider reading a viable leisure time >> activity. If they see their parents watching TV, getting drunk etc. >> that's what they will consider normal. > Very true. But unfortunately many of today's parents won't provide that kind of home environment, and if we merely dismiss their children as uneducable we sustain that model. There are places where the schools have to take over and do a better job. Detroit, for example. > I cannot possibly agree more here... The value of education does not depend > on the way the teachers are paid or system is organized. Obviously some > schools are better some are less so. Some teachers are more interesting and > some others are more boring. The point is - what is the interest of the > pupil. If he or she want to learn - they'll learn. If their parents can > afford - it will be private extra-curriculum tuition. If not - it will be > something else. Mind you - I have some very concrete examples around me, > although obviously in my country, not USA. > > It all stems from the family position on the matter. > >> We live in a culture where people who excel at stick and ball games >> are worshipped as heros, where kids who speak properly, and do well >> in science and math are teased and taunted as socially awkward nerds >> and geeks. And, then we wonder why are schools are failing us. > > Very similar here as well... > >> Complaining about school performance in our culture, is like >> complaining that you can't get decent photos because Pentax doesn't >> make a full frame body, when you haven't even learned the basics well >> enough to get the best performance out of the cameras they do make. >> >> See, I can drag this topic, kicking and screaming back to the topic >> of photography. >> >> The reason that kids in charter schools do better is simply because >> they have parents that care enough about their education to put them >> in what they perceive as better schools. That's partly true, and the charter school provides a better environment for learning. >> Those kids would still do >> better than their peers in public schools. The biggest effect of >> charter schools, vouchers etc. is to separate the kids who have >> parents that care about their education from the ones who don't. Charter schools also tend to be staffed with teachers who care more about education than their paycheck and benefits. The solution isn't perfect, but it helps ensure that at least part of the population will be educated. > > Hmmm... If you have such a system it is pure gold because it ensures that at > least part of your population will get reasonably good education. > > Just my cents... > > Boris > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
