Our Schools Are Like Factories
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Sir Ken Robinson, an Englishman who has earned a knighthood for his efforts, is an international consultant on education. I confess I had never heard of him until an 11-minute YouTube video (youtube.com/watch?v=z DZFcDGp L4U) came to my attention a few days ago.
Mr. Robinson now lives in Los Angeles and has some very strong opinions about education, with a current emphasis on American education. This video is food for serious thought.
His basic premise is that our traditional methods of education are destroying the potential and creativity of most of our children. He goes on to explain that the concept of tax-supported public education was developed during, and made possible by, a time of rapid industrialization and economic growth beginning in the West in the 19th century.
Its purpose, articulated or not, was to provide citizens capable of functioning successfully in the social and economic environment of the time.
It also employed the methods of the time. Schools were, and are, in a very real sense, educational factories. Students are processed in batches, otherwise known as grades, and are offered identical curricula and graded by identical standards. There is obviously some variation between school districts and more variety offered at higher grade levels, but within that structure little individual attention is provided.
Mr. Robinson believes that kids should learn at their own best pace and be encouraged in their individual interests, all with a fair degree of intensity.
One of his key points is that in a culture where children are bombarded ceaselessly by multiple electronic inputs, they are quite simply bored by sitting in rows of chairs looking at a blackboard and listening to someone talk. It is a 19th century model in an era of 21st century communications.
It is very easy to agree with the premise of this video as you watch it, and, unfortunately, the results of our educational system do not provide many countervailing arguments.
A current example of Mr. Robinson's ideas being pushed to the outer limits is the author of "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom," by Amy Chua.
By her own admission, Ms. Chua, a Harvard law professor of Asian heritage, drove her two daughters endlessly through home study, music lessons, dance lessons and other activities to the virtual exclusion of any social life. It is her contention that this sort of parenting is typical in Asian cultures, and she makes no apology for it. It must be said that her daughters, now 15 and 18, seem to be well-adjusted and smart as hell.
Where does all of this leave us? We are going to hear a lot in the months and years ahead about improving American education. It seems unlikely that many Americans are ready to follow Ms. Chua's extreme path, and Mr. Robinson, for all his insights into our problems, is short on solutions, at least in the video.
It is no accident that most of our early presidents, known as the Virginia dynasty, were exceptional. They were educated in a way that Mr. Robinson would approve of - by tutors providing individual attention. This was possible because their families were wealthy, and they grew up in relative isolation on plantations where attention was focused on them.
This sort of education produced brilliant men - and a smaller number of brilliant women - for millennia around the world. The problem is that it left a large majority of the population illiterate and was very costly. We are not going back there.
We are in the midst of a fiscal crisis, and it is doubtful that we can find much, if any, more money to spend educating our children. We have a huge investment already in physical facilities designed to process kids in the negative way Mr. Robinson describes. Entrenched teachers' unions are under fire for rules that effectively lower the quality of classroom instruction. A lot of parents are disengaged from their children's education, or even from their children altogether.
We are not alone in facing this problem. Countries around the world are dealing with similar issues. How do you prepare millions of children to succeed in a society becoming exponentially more complex?
Like it or not, Ms. Chua is on the right track, even if she has exceeded the current speed limit. Institutions, no matter how well managed, will always be institutional. Exceptionalism begins at home.
Fred Wolferman lives in Southern Pines. Contact him by e-mail at fwolferman@sbcglobal.net.
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Comments
Gabanga 1 year, 3 months ago
To Sir with Love:Before criticizing our form of education,(which certainly has its problems and pitfalls),you should take a very close look at the British system advocated by our honored peer.Obviously he has not read and/or is familiar with Patrick Whelen's careful and analytical study(published in Britain) CORRUPTION OF THE CURRICULUM( Civitas,1907) and other critical works and essays dealing with British education, in which the authors and educators lament the fact of 11-14 students and above are forced follow a Burger King"Have it Your Way" curriculum comprised of "life skills" courses such as cooking instead of chemistry and motrgages instead of trigonometry to name a few of many,resulting in the "learners" contempt for any real content material and embracing the "me first" culture.Reading HOLES instead of Edmund Burke would be detrimental to the "immediate relevance" promoted by above peer and his British advocates.Our educational system already contains a big dose of individual and independent thinking,it's a matter of balance between the latter and the regular curriculum that may be an issue.So,Rule Britannia Education in the US,definitely not!
SH59 1 year, 3 months ago
Sir Robinson speaks about the American education system, you should check out his TED lectures on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE5...
Darkwing 1 year, 3 months ago
I certainly have made more use of cooking than chemistry, and learned about mortgages the hard way. Most kids aren't going to use much trig in real life, unlike me. Navigation uses a fair amount of it. But then, most kids don't even remember their high school trig when they get into navigation or other fields that use, and have to be taught from scratch how to do it anyway.
I got individual attention in elementary school, and resented being institutionally educated in junior high and high school, so we homeschooled my daughter til last year. We only stopped because she qualified to get into a private school. We certainly weren't sending her to the ghetto of public education. I think Sir Ken is thinking more clearly than the NEA.
Darkwing 1 year, 3 months ago
Are you sure you're old enough to have had a career already? You write like a 20-something trying to 'zing' other posters.
Yes, public education sucks. It's also not very relevant to real-life. Kids don't learn how to balance their bank account, they don't learn how to shop well, and they don't know what potential employers look for. But they can work word problems about trains leaving the station that still don't prepare them for work. I say this as a navigation specialist, one of the few people who actually use any of that stuff.
Betty Crocker isn't cooking, that's just puffing up self-esteem. Diabetes and obesity are caused by poor diet, and poor cooking habits, due to ignorance.
pinehurstmom 1 year, 3 months ago
I completely agree and have seen the same issue with homeschooled children. Homeschooling is not the answer and neither are private schools. Yes, private schools do not have the behavior issues of public schools which are required to educate all of the children who attend, but parents are fooling themselves if they think that their children are getting a better education at private schools where the teachers do not even have to be certified. We have some amazing teachers in Moore County Public Schools who work hard to meet the needs of the different students in their classes. Their classrooms are alive with activity and learning. The days of staring at a blackboard are gone!
Darkwing 1 year, 3 months ago
Homeschooling IS the best answer when the parents are committed to doing it right. Most public schools have expensive administrations, certified teachers whose hands are tied, and curricula that have little to do with reality. Private schools have to perform to stay in business, and so tend to be far better, although some religious schools stay in operation due to church backing and the fact that the parents evaluate performance on doctrinal compliance rather than academic ability.
wdd101st 1 year, 3 months ago
So I guess you would be against a valture system that would allow parents to pick the school their child can attend, private or public. It is amazing that so many lower economic parents want their kids in private school, because they have seen the failure of public schools in their own life.
Darkwing 1 year, 3 months ago
It's actually not that expensive. Homeschool co-ops and online resources, umbrella schools and the like all make it easier and cheaper.
What you say about home-schooling is true in some cases. I've seen them also, which is why we went to a great deal of effort to ensure it did not happen to our daughter. We were active in the homeschooling communities everywhere we went, and found that the children being mis-served by homeschooling to be around 10-15% most places, as high as 25% in others. But even the ones with an inadequate education were often as well taught as their public school counterparts.
GoldenDreams 1 year, 3 months ago
I am an elementary teacher and a former secondary teacher. All I can say is our educational system is horrible and getting worse. I actually became dually certified and wanted to teach younger children in the hope of gaining some of that excitement back that's possible when working with little kids. Most schools now have reading programs that teachers have to follow religiously. The school will tell you they individualize them by reading level but it's the same old format over and over. Very often it's the same for math, with a pacing guide that you must follow and move on, whether the class is ready or not. Here's the worst part that many parents don't know about: endless hours of assessment that the state requires, testing each child individually. The state gets their information and the schools get their money. But what are the kids doing? Busy work or being taught by an assistant, if you are lucky enough to have one. Education today is sadly lacking.
wdd101st 1 year, 3 months ago
Thank you for speaking the truth. Too many liberal teachers and administrators refuse to see the forest for the trees. There are problems with our school systems and one of those is the inability to fire bad teacher and reward the good ones. I know several good teachers that have retired and been asked to return. They not only receive their retirement pay but a new salary as well. Not all teacher and administrators are bad, but there are too many that are.
Ross 1 year, 3 months ago
LOL - and I am certain NO conservative teachers are to blame for the state of our schools...........
Your silly post makes me glad I am a liberal :)
statelady 1 year, 3 months ago
I know what the schools spend the most money on--copy paper and ink!! My daughter probably does between 6 -10 copy sheets a day not including the two she has for homework every night and she is in first grade!!! The chances of her being creative is not there!!! Like GoldenDreams said-teachers are made to follow reading programs, do ongoing assessments so they give the kids these copy sheets to keep them busy. I do not fault the teachers at all!! I agree with the statement that education today is sadly lacking. The big wigs who make these requirements of the teachers need to get the teachers involved to see what the teachers NEED to open up the minds of our children-and that does not include COPY SHEETS!!
SH59 1 year, 3 months ago
Curiosity and independent thinking is just not encouraged in our society and especially not in school. You know those kids who sit at the back of the class who often become trouble makers? Well they're the ones who were curious at one time and were even excited to learn but were constantly made to be quiet because that wasn't important to what the teacher was lecturing about. They eventually realized there was nothing worth caring about in school. The one thing children do learn very quickly is to remember what the teacher wants them to repeat for their tests.
SH59 1 year, 3 months ago
Creativity is the corner stone of innovation and growth of our society but where is that encouraged in our school programs? I have seen children participate in the Odyssey of the Mind challenges as an after school program where children must be curious and creative and are allowed to explore and execute their own ideas. Parents are not allowed to participate in any aspect of the challenge, only facilitate their thinking by asking questions to help them think about what they want. Those same children came away from the experience as independent thinkers and became leaders in their classes and in their lives as they grew up. It's a shame teachers only care about the right answer and not the learning process.
SH59 1 year, 3 months ago
Not every student has to go to college but I wish our education system had alternative choices for those who wanted to learn a trade instead.
gardengirl 1 year, 3 months ago
ENOUGH!!!! Are any of you public school teachers except GoldenDreams? I thought not just from the ignorant, baseless comments. Get yourselves into the schools and witness the innovative, effective methods that teachers employ so that your children are actually offered the opportunity to think for themselves. Your children are not exposed to enough outside experiences because you are not affording them the opportunities - just leave it to the schools, they'll take care of that. Well, I'm here to tell you that if parents would actually raise their children - yes, that does mean that you, the parent, MUST teach your child along with the schools' teachers. It is the sole responsibility of parents to educate their children. STOP blaming everyone and everything else for the neglectfulness of the parents. How many times have you been in your child's school? attended PTA meetings? chaperoned a field trip? tutored other children? shared your talents with other children? read to other children? stayed abreast of the current methods of teaching, instructing and facilitating the educational process? You're not going to get one ounce of pity from me if you don't immerse yourself in the schools of your community. Get involved, help the system with productive methods rather than just moaning and groaning about how ineffective it is. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, FOR PETE'S SAKE!!!!!
runorbike 1 year, 3 months ago
Well said....
Darkwing 1 year, 3 months ago
Enough yourself. If we actually had schools that work, I'd have put my daughter in them. When I went, discipline was too limited, and it's even more so now. Conversely, classes are taught assembly-line style, and I know that didn't work for me. I had individual attention from 3rd-6th grade, and then was told to fit within their program thereafter. I spent 6 years ignoring the teacher, doing no homework, acing the test, and reading my own books in class. If the teacher bothered me, I corrected their grammar, the math problem, or whatever the example was of their topic, and went back to my book. I was also able to point out that I had scored 12-9 or high school graduate on the standardized testing since 4th grade, so they didn't have much to teach me.
In later years, I found that the LAUSD had paid the superintendent's CHAUFFEUR $100,000/year in the 80s, that the local school district allowed therir comptroller to keep $70,000 he embezzled AND recommended him as superintendent in another state, that that same distyrict claimed to have no money for raises at the same time they spent $54,000 on 3 days of meetings at a fancy resort (I worked there and saw the bills). I pay taxes for public education; it receives no further support from me. It is corrupt, venal, ineffective, and emasculated. It's unionized, which simply exacerbates the problem. I see no way to fix it within the current system.
wdd101st 1 year, 3 months ago
Well from your tone it is evident that you are neither a teacher or the family of a military member. Many of the younger, lower ranking military are paid so low that they could and do qualify for welfare. No teacher leaves their house every morning thinking that this could be the day that I die. Soldiers in combat areas know that thought 24/7 and so do their family members. The military is looking at ways to save money and spend smarter, unlike our politicians that just want to bring money to their districts or states. Teachers have lots of benefits because they are all forced to join unions. How many times have unions held strikes and students sat at home. Oh and just one small point I know many have heard before; " Thank a teacher if you can read this. Thank a veteran that you are reading it in English."
pinehurstmom 1 year, 3 months ago
no unions for North Carolina teachers-you must be from the north!
Darkwing 1 year, 3 months ago
I'm from out west, not up north. Maybe you have no LOCAL union, but there is a national one.
pinehurstmom 1 year, 3 months ago
Your comments are way off! Teachers do not spend time worrying about shuffling kids from place to place, they worry about how to meet the needs of the diverse populations in their classrooms. I know many people who love teaching middle school and they do not report major problems with the issues you describe. Of course they exist because that is part of LIFE!! You need to learn to make good choices and handle adversity, not hide at home with mommy and stick your head in the sand! Also, how could you possibly have the nerve to complain about what we pay the men and women in our military? They are risking their lives to keep us safe and they deserve everything they get.
jcinaberdeen 1 year, 3 months ago
Huge pensions?! That's a riot! Only the top earners in the military earn a pension big enough to fully retire on. Trust me- my husband will be job searching once he 'retires' from the military.
"Add it up as they keep taking from the education budget..." Yeah, that's what my husband does- runs around and takes, takes, takes from 'you'. Let's see- we pay taxes too babe. Of all the comments I have read on this website- this ranks up there as one of the most ignorant! Speaking of education- why don't you get to googlin' and learn a little bit more about our military before you set fingers to keyboard next time. While you're at it, why don't you purchase yourself a one-way ticket to one of the several countries he's been deployed to.
You're seriously misguided if you think our military are the ones who are responsible for any and all problems in the public school system. Mark my words- any time you read in any paper things like "Budget shortfall, State set to cut school spending", etc. it will very quickly be followed by what they'd planned all along...a vote on allowing tax increases to cover those proposed cuts. Happens every...single...time. (That and they'll take money away from the education lottery funds to cover their butts as well.) Behind closed doors they snicker every time they 'scare' us with the "We're gonna have to cut school budgets" knowing full-well we will ante-up in response!
Darkwing 1 year, 3 months ago
Interesting contrast. Sorry, but public school was added as a federal budget item long after the military, and we need the military more. You do want to have a country to get that education in, and there are non-governmental alternatives to receive it. Beyond that, I would not characterize my last 17 years as very lucrative. It may seem to you like a 'huge benefit'. It isn't. Military medicine is scary, everything has bureaucratic hurdles, and the take-home is a lot less than it looks like.
Further, our schools receive far more than enough money to do their jobs. It gets eaten up by over-administration, fraud, waste, and abuse. Fix that, and the schools would be awash in money, even with a smaller budget.
Tommy 1 year, 3 months ago
So many good points goldendreams, gardengirl, noshedidnt. I would hate to be a teacher in a classroom with some of the kids my kids had to go to school with. That has to go back to the parents and all of us putting up with giving them consequences. I hear about the horridness of the teacher unions, what happens when they get too power hungry, and the harm possible when the system can't get rid of bad teachers. But I also know hearing from the kids and from the teachers actually on the front lines that the worst problem with teaching or learning in our schools is the distraction of really bad kids. Maybe the best help we can give our schools is to, as parents, help the teachers to teach our own kids and to band together with teachers in shaping up misbehaving kids and their parents.
goodchinesemother 1 year, 3 months ago
My husband's occupation required us to move from one country to another every three years. As a result, my daughter completed 13 years of formal pre-university schooling in four different international schools.
She is most definitely not home-schooled, but as one of the few constant factors in her life, I play a large role in her learning.
I came to think of the school as a box. It could be a very fancy box with smart boards and laptops, or an utterly plain one with the old-fashioned blackboard and white chalk. In the end, it was what she did within the box that distinguished her from everyone else.
As a parent whose child is academically very successful, I would like to think that I encouraged learning instead of relentlessly pushing for excellence. There is a very fine line between encouraging and pushing though, and finding the balance is one thing a parent has to learn by really knowing his/her child, and that comes about by listening and watching.
Education does not happen only within the four walls of a school. It should continue in the home as well.
www.thegoodchinesemother.wordpress.com
jcinaberdeen 1 year, 3 months ago
Excellent post goodchinesemother!! I will bet in one month's time I have spent more individual time helping my children with their homework, helping them study, etc. than my parents did my entire time in school! I work outside the home on top of that, but am fortunate that I have enough time (most of the time) in the day to help them out after school. I really feel for the full-time single parents (as I consider myself a part-time single parent whenever my husband is deployed). They truly have a challege every day in keeping up with their kids' education.
I think our country is in a quandry right now because we're trying to play 'catch up' and unfortunately our teachers and our students sometimes suffer for it. I found out rather quickly, starting even in kindergarten with my son, that our generation of parents were going to have to be a lot more pro-active than in previous years/generations of parents. With the EOG testing and "No Child Left Behind" program, schools are pressed to prove themselves. Unfortunately teachers are sometimes required to shove the information at the students at a break-neck rate. All we can do as parents is try to back them as much as possible, keep a keen eye on what our children are doing, where their weaknesses/strengths are and pray to God that what we do at home with them and what they learn at school is enough to carry them through life with and provide a good, solid foundation to send them on their way one day.
pinehurstmom 1 year, 3 months ago
Those choices you speak of are compliments of our military who have risked it all to give you that freedom that you seem to enjoy so much. You enjoy the benefits of living in this country, but then complain about having to pay for it. By the way, we are not a military family-I am just smart enough to recognize and appreciate what the military does for us and I am happy to pay them for that service. They deserve so much more!
jcinaberdeen 1 year, 3 months ago
I am not a stay-at-home Mom. I work my butt off too to help have what we have. (And with all that 'wealth' that we have, since you seem to imply all military are so indeed wealthy, we still can't afford private schools-nowhere near it.) Honey, you really do live a sheltered life if you think I should bend down and kiss your feet because 'you' pay for our house. (That is seriously one of the most absurd things I have ever heard in my life!) Have you forgotten how many people's salaries are paid by taxpayers? (And apparently I need to remind you again that my husband and I are both taxpayers as well.) Policemen and women, mayors, DMV workers, firemen, and so forth. Let me ask you, should your house catch fire and a fireman comes to your rescue- will the first thing out of your mouth be "You're welcome! I pay your salary so you're so very welcome for your paycheck!!"? I think not...at least I would HOPE not, but by your pompous statements on here, you might just say that!!!
What is your hang-up with the military? Why do you have such a chip on your shoulder about them/us? You mention we had/he had the choice to join the military- yes he did. I am not complaining in the least bit- why are YOU complaining about the benefits we do receive? Where are these animosities arising from?
peacemaker 1 year, 3 months ago
A BIG thank you goes out to those of you who are so supportive of the teachers here in Moore County. As a MC teacher myself I must say that it is hard to teach in todays economy, student MIS-behavior on the rise and lack of parent support. That being said - I DO NOT know of one of my fellow teachers who do not put student learning first. We have been required to do more with less resources. We do it because we love our students. We are not given pay raises and we accept it because we love our students. We are parents, police officers, judges, nurses, counselors and YES teachers in our classroom everyday. Is it hard?? Of course, but most things worth doing usually are. It is not a perfect system but it is rewarding and most of our students have been given every opportunity to be successful. All of this negativity is unproductive. You are entitled to your choices and uninformed opinions......unfortunately, they rarely help the situation. If you really want to make a difference, volunteer in the classrooms across Moore County. Most teachers would love the extra help.
jcinaberdeen 1 year, 3 months ago
Peacemaker-...thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for doing what you do!!! I am serious. I can't say thanks enough to teachers who care. I really can't. Thank you again!
wrich49 1 year, 3 months ago
I work in the pubic school system so I know something about what goes on there. What do I see as the strongest impediment to quality learning? Bad behavior and the time teachers must spend circumventing and controlling it. What happens when you are a teacher with several incorrigible children in your class? You must stop teaching or innovating or giving other kids a chance for creativity and innovation and deal with the disruptions. You cannot simply send the offender to the office and have them dealt with by administration. You must first fill out paperwork about the behavior and document it. Then you must come up with a plan for the child to help modify their behavior. Then you must call their parents, who are often unavailable or unwilling to talk to you or help you do anything about it. Administrators are available to help with this process but do not initiate it nor are they responsible for seeing it through. The teacher is. So while the teacher is doing all of the above, little "Johnny" or little "Sue" has taken the class hostage. I am not talking about minor infractions that all children commit from time to time. Those are handled immediately and with competence; the behavior I'm talking about is ongoing and not easily amended by anyone much less one teacher with anywhere from 18-28 students in a classroom. I have some ideas about what needs to be done in these situations, but will not go into that here. Suffice it to say that I think that teachers should not be involved in long drawn out negotiations with children who have no intention of changing their behavior. By the way, I'm not a teacher.
jcinaberdeen 1 year, 3 months ago
Our kids were in a local summer program. One day when I went to pick them up I was standing next to a parent picking up her child. The person working there was explaining that, yet again, her child was bullying someone and that the child (as witnessed by several people) had punched another child HARD in the face. The worker said the other child's parent had to come get them and actually take them to the doctor! Guess what the other parent was doing while being informed of all of this? TEXTING on her phone and saying "Yeah, uh huh" every once in a while. If this were my child I would have been shocked and so upset with him/her!!!
This is why some kids wind up causing such problems as you mentioned- some parents just don't care!!! No child is perfect- no parent is, but you have to show the EFFORT to head off any problems you see happening right before your eyes.
Again- my hats off to teachers...I couldn't do it. It takes someone who feels it in their soul to become and stay a teacher and be good at it.
HillTopper 1 year, 3 months ago
Speaking of resources, budget cuts ... anyone see the TV commercial about the NC Educational Lottery and the cafeteria that was built in Mt. Airy, NC with money generated by the lottery? The building was spectacular. Probably could have built a satisfactory solution for what they spent on the design fee alone. Looked to me to be an enormous waste of money. Total overkill. They just needed a place to accomodate 175 students spread over 3 lunch periods. It was the dumbest commercial to generate support for the lottery that could have been produced. They need to fire their ad agency today! Stupid, stupid idea. But, it show plain and simple just how much money is wasted! Just one example out of hundreds. Cutting teacher jobs, etc and then flat out just throwing money away.
jcinaberdeen 1 year, 3 months ago
Hilltopper- I completely agree with you. There are so many instances of government waste, but they start with the schools because they know this will push taxpayers to vote in another tax increase. As far as the lottery- they're doing exactly what they said they wouldn't do-taking some of the monies to cover budget shortfalls that have nothing to do with education. Opponents of the NC lottery were saying this would happen- and unfortunately, they've proved them right.
I haven't seen that TV commercial- I will have to look it up.
pinehurstmom 1 year, 3 months ago
Of course the men and women in our military know the risk, but they are the ones willing to take that risk to protect you and your way of life. Your comments are ignorant and insulting to the military.
JCINABERDEEN-please ignore the ignorance of a few. Most of us appreciate the sacrifices your family makes and we think you deserve every benefit you get and more! THANK YOU!
peacemaker 1 year, 3 months ago
@ JCINABERDEEN - I agree with pinehurstmom - Thank you!
jcinaberdeen 1 year, 3 months ago
Noshedidnt- I am no longer going to respond to your diatribe. I have learned my lesson and found out I should have clicked on your profile to look at your comments on other topics. I see you pretty much blame anything and everything from bullying in schools to the photo id for voters to the current chaos in Egypt on the military or you have something negative to say about the military in all of those subjects when the military has nothing to even do with them.
Anyways- to the OP- sorry to divert from your topic!!!
HillTopper 1 year, 3 months ago
The administration is scared of lawsuits! Plain and simple. Gotta have something for the 123,456,789 lawyers in the USA to do.
publiccitizen 1 year, 3 months ago
Ken Robinson does an excellent job of painting a good picture of the current state of America's schools, but before we go bashing our own educational system, lets remember that educational systems often reflect the government system under which they operate. Hence we are a democratic nation therefore our schools are too. The right to a free and public education was not listed in the Bill of Rights. We made a determination to do that as a country and so far it has served us well. Be careful in comparing our test data to other countries. We are not selective about who we choose to educate because we educate all. Other countries do not do this nor do they face the cultural and academic diversity that is present in our classrooms. The opportunity for a somewhat free education differs from system to system and school to school but still the opportunity is there for all.Whether we take advantage of that or not is a choice made by us as learners.
Ken Robinson does state that schools are in dire need of a shift but perhaps more than anything that is an indicator of our society and not a failing education system. Personally I find it odd that we measure our educational prowess as a country on the generation that is less than 18 years of age. My grandfather once told me he learned something new everyday. "Lifelong Learning" what a concept. All primary and secondary schools do is lay the foundation for us to learn and create throughout the rest of our lives. Work ethic, determination, and creativity are some of the pillars that founded this country. Did anyone create a new element while sitting in chemistry class in high school? While our schools need change and adjustments in curriculum it is difficult to tell what those changes are and also how to fiscally support them. Each day there are new jobs with evolving skill sets being created through technology that even the most knowledgabale educator is unaware. Our schools are trying to do the impossible on a meager budget and even less public support. Perhaps our criticism should be placed in consolidated efforts to place and maintain current technology for our teachers and students and to also change the structure of our schools to fits the developmental levels of the students. I havent met many teachers across this state who do not want to teach or make a difference with thier students, sometimes their resources and training are limited.