We still do, in many ways. That's why they've been able to withstand William Bennet to "no child left behind" to Moms of Liberty somewhat intact.
Now it's time for the US to learn from Other nations re education. No more navel gazing. For better or for worse, we don't need a reboot, we need a rebuild.
We still do, in many ways. That's why they've been able to withstand William Bennet to "no child left behind" to Moms of Liberty somewhat intact.
Now it's time for the US to learn from Other nations re education. No more navel gazing. For better or for worse, we don't need a reboot, we need a rebuild.
Somewhat intact, but riddled with wounds from the institutions that they depend on for support. My parents were not educated, but they made sure that all eight of us knew the value of an education. We did and we are.
At the K-12 level, kick out all standardized testing and put all decisions in the hands of the actual teachers. Humanities could occupy central place in addition to all courses.
Teachers themselves alone decide books and other materials to use -- no public officials, no admin, no bureaucrats, no corporate reps for any giant corporate textbook packagers.
In higher ed, key personal literacy, so students continuously write essays, improving skills for quoting others and their personal concerns, in the room, across campus, and in other departments with analogously apt issues (quoting directly, indirectly students as well as instructors).
An article in Mpls Star Tribune Sunday interviews Tim Walz' former Mankato students. He made learning fun and showed compassion for downtrodden students such as the gays. He taught social studies and geography encouraging students to read up on current events something the whole country needs more of now.
The Finns got the best public schools in the world, cameron, when they
1) kicked out the standardized testing, and
2) made it a rule to look for and hire only the best teachers graduating from college. And then they gave all power to the best. Not heaps of money. Just the respect that everyone has for that intangible thing we call the best.
I'm now reading the Anthony Doerr novel, "All the Light We Cannot See." It's amazing for the many, many, splendid, marvelous intangibles -- so many odd details, surprises, wonders in people, in life.
Our vulgar (the billionaires and cult hungry) want to systematize everything. Put numbers on all. Make life linear only, mechanical, replicable, interchangeable, boxed, packaged.
The best teachers see things in people, in life, such as Tim Walz's students knew he saw in them. Such as Anthony Doerr or any decent novelist creates.
Your idea in a country of 350 million people is nonsensical sorry. The variation in teachers for the number of students that need education is huge and there is no way a system which leaves it all up to the teachers will ever work. There needs to be some level of standards that teachers must adhere to or in a few years you will ask me back here complaining about how students are being screwed based on which teacher is assigned to them. Some teachers will be great, others okay, others awful. It will never work and pointing to a Scandinavian country with a population less than California is not a good example to use.
". . . some level of standards that teachers must adhere to."
Come on, Jon, you really dismiss all teachers as incapable of standards themselves?
What? You need J. D. Vance or the orange felon to dictate standards to them? Clarence? A bunch of high finance whiz kids also working for Putin? The cretins of standardized testing who imagine no life other than the numbered, mechanical, and packaged? The algorithm ghouls of social media selling only most crass sensationalism?
Really, Jon, by your own total dismissal of teachers don't you underline the bottom line to which most schools have already sunk?
Not at all. My point, if you actually bothered to read what I wrote, is that a country of 350,000,000 people has different issues that a tiny country like Finland with 6,000,000 (which is 1/8 the size of just California). There are almost 4 million public school TEACHERS in the US, which is 2/3 the number of PEOPLE in Finland. You can't just say "oh, let them all do whatever they want" you would have chaos and a hell of a lot WORSE education outcomes than we already have. We need training and retraining and ongoing support for all teachers in this country, but we can't just let them all decide to do whatever they want. The variations would be immense and if you are SERIOUS, you need to go get some learning about issues regarding scope and size.
Scale, Jon, has nothing at all to do with quality.
I've heard this so many times: Finland is so small and homogeneous. So what?
We're talking -- or should be talking -- about hiring quality. Then respecting them. Not interfering all the time with right-wing book banners, cultists, mass murder weaponry enthusiasts, billionaire standardized testing profiteers, and religious nuts.
Sure, America's varied. So, local principals or whoever vets the hiring of the best can also honor regional proclivities.
But hire the best, and leave them to work out the best as they see best.
But you still feel like you need to be interfering?
Phil-and connecting classrooms with communities through service learning would really help us to build. The schools now are set up to serve employers who want to maintain an uninformed and docile workforce motivated only by salary levels.
We still do, in many ways. That's why they've been able to withstand William Bennet to "no child left behind" to Moms of Liberty somewhat intact.
Now it's time for the US to learn from Other nations re education. No more navel gazing. For better or for worse, we don't need a reboot, we need a rebuild.
Somewhat intact, but riddled with wounds from the institutions that they depend on for support. My parents were not educated, but they made sure that all eight of us knew the value of an education. We did and we are.
Yes, Patrice -- "a rebuild."
At the K-12 level, kick out all standardized testing and put all decisions in the hands of the actual teachers. Humanities could occupy central place in addition to all courses.
Teachers themselves alone decide books and other materials to use -- no public officials, no admin, no bureaucrats, no corporate reps for any giant corporate textbook packagers.
In higher ed, key personal literacy, so students continuously write essays, improving skills for quoting others and their personal concerns, in the room, across campus, and in other departments with analogously apt issues (quoting directly, indirectly students as well as instructors).
An article in Mpls Star Tribune Sunday interviews Tim Walz' former Mankato students. He made learning fun and showed compassion for downtrodden students such as the gays. He taught social studies and geography encouraging students to read up on current events something the whole country needs more of now.
The Finns got the best public schools in the world, cameron, when they
1) kicked out the standardized testing, and
2) made it a rule to look for and hire only the best teachers graduating from college. And then they gave all power to the best. Not heaps of money. Just the respect that everyone has for that intangible thing we call the best.
I'm now reading the Anthony Doerr novel, "All the Light We Cannot See." It's amazing for the many, many, splendid, marvelous intangibles -- so many odd details, surprises, wonders in people, in life.
Our vulgar (the billionaires and cult hungry) want to systematize everything. Put numbers on all. Make life linear only, mechanical, replicable, interchangeable, boxed, packaged.
The best teachers see things in people, in life, such as Tim Walz's students knew he saw in them. Such as Anthony Doerr or any decent novelist creates.
Your idea in a country of 350 million people is nonsensical sorry. The variation in teachers for the number of students that need education is huge and there is no way a system which leaves it all up to the teachers will ever work. There needs to be some level of standards that teachers must adhere to or in a few years you will ask me back here complaining about how students are being screwed based on which teacher is assigned to them. Some teachers will be great, others okay, others awful. It will never work and pointing to a Scandinavian country with a population less than California is not a good example to use.
". . . some level of standards that teachers must adhere to."
Come on, Jon, you really dismiss all teachers as incapable of standards themselves?
What? You need J. D. Vance or the orange felon to dictate standards to them? Clarence? A bunch of high finance whiz kids also working for Putin? The cretins of standardized testing who imagine no life other than the numbered, mechanical, and packaged? The algorithm ghouls of social media selling only most crass sensationalism?
Really, Jon, by your own total dismissal of teachers don't you underline the bottom line to which most schools have already sunk?
Not at all. My point, if you actually bothered to read what I wrote, is that a country of 350,000,000 people has different issues that a tiny country like Finland with 6,000,000 (which is 1/8 the size of just California). There are almost 4 million public school TEACHERS in the US, which is 2/3 the number of PEOPLE in Finland. You can't just say "oh, let them all do whatever they want" you would have chaos and a hell of a lot WORSE education outcomes than we already have. We need training and retraining and ongoing support for all teachers in this country, but we can't just let them all decide to do whatever they want. The variations would be immense and if you are SERIOUS, you need to go get some learning about issues regarding scope and size.
Scale, Jon, has nothing at all to do with quality.
I've heard this so many times: Finland is so small and homogeneous. So what?
We're talking -- or should be talking -- about hiring quality. Then respecting them. Not interfering all the time with right-wing book banners, cultists, mass murder weaponry enthusiasts, billionaire standardized testing profiteers, and religious nuts.
Sure, America's varied. So, local principals or whoever vets the hiring of the best can also honor regional proclivities.
But hire the best, and leave them to work out the best as they see best.
But you still feel like you need to be interfering?
Phil-and connecting classrooms with communities through service learning would really help us to build. The schools now are set up to serve employers who want to maintain an uninformed and docile workforce motivated only by salary levels.