Originally posted by sundown316You should be careful which characteristics of people you implicitly correlate.
Kirksey957 hit the nail right on the head. Video games,cell phones, violence oriented TV and movies,not to mention parents who don't give a damn about seeing to their kid's education,are the reason most American kids are nothing but a bunch of lazy,illiterate,disrespectful,moronic couch potatoes. Why do homework? Hit a button on the PC,or punch in some ...[text shortened]... don't have kids myself-raising them would be a lost cause,in today's over permissive society.
Originally posted by sundown316Into what language?
Kindly translate[/b]
I remember when I visited India when I was thirteen, in eighth grade. I was nonplussed when I discovered that my cousins, who were eight and nine years old, were taking the same math courses that I was. And I was in Honors-level classes! I think this is what motivated me to work hard enough to get a respectable GPA, though I pissed away what little advantage that gave me by majoring in English. 😀
The education system is a real sore point with me. It is my firm opinion that the young people of our country today are, and have been for some time now, "evolving" if you will in the way they think and learn in comparison to the generations of yore. It is becoming increasingly clear to me that our society is producing more unique minds that obtain and process data in increasingly unique ways. The "old school" system (pardon my pun) fails to address this in almost any way. The generalized system of appealing to the so-called "average" student leaves those above and behind this generalization in the cold. I say this with confidence, being that I myself have only been out of high school for about three years. I know of many individuals that fell into the cracks by being labeled and processed right along with the masses, leaving them resentful for being handicapped by an antiquated system that failed to address their educational needs. For an example, take me and my wife.
The wife:
Spent most of her days from about 5th grade up in "special education". To put it politely, she comes from a low class and unsophisticated family that failed to encourage her academic endeavors. Hence, she falls behind the normal level of students for her age and is put in a class for similar children. She is kept in this group right up to the day she graduates high school. When I first met her I heard a lot of comments like, "I could never understand that". Now, three years later with a fair bit of prodding from me, she is coming to learn a great deal of things she used to say she "couldn't" understand. In fact, an IQ test not too long ago showed her what I had been telling her for a while: She has above average intelligence.
She had the ability, she was just never given the opportunity. While most of her life she was treated like she was stupid, she could have been an honor student. Fancy that. ðŸ˜
And on the other side of the spectrum....
Me, myself, and I:
To save post length, let me sum it up in a nutshell. Failed my first year of algebra for simply refusing to do the work. Next semester I took the same class under a different teacher. Showed up early for class, asked him if I could take the final exam. Aced it. Spent that hour in the library for the next semester. Why you ask? Imagine working a job in which you can accomplish the whole of your daily tasks in less than ten minutes, and then be required to write papers about it for the next eight hours. Five days a week. Year after year. You're not being paid for this job, it is simply a means of getting from point A to point B. What you're expected to do. For myself, this eventually reached a boiling point in which something had to give. The mind numbing waste of my time (in my opinion, especially at that time) eventually reached its limit. So here I was, a C- student who had won a number of academic awards on the national level. I dropped out of high school and got my GED. The difference in degree doesn't bother me. What bothers me is the massively wasted hours of my life sitting in a class learning absolutely nothing. I am sure this was equaled only by my teachers frustration at me. He he, I remember one good teacher I had. I took me into his office one day and absolutely screamed at me, "Why the hell won't you do your assignments! This should be cake for you!". I didn't say anything to him, but what I was thinking was, "That's exactly WHY I won't do them. You waste my time."
So here we are. Me and the misses, both shafted by the educational system on different ends. I think that unless you or someone you know falls into one of these ends you can't really understand. But the bottom line remains that same. There are many of our youth that are not seeing their academic potential, and THAT is the most wasted resource in this country.
Originally posted by ianpickeringThe thing is Ian, is that you keep making all these comments about how crap the American way of doing this is, and how crap the American way doing that is... etc., etc. Quite frankly, you should be more concerned with what is going on in our own country.
Since the 1983 publication of A Nation at Risk, a report by the National Commission on Excellence in Education warning of a
ising tide of mediocrity in American schools, education reform has been at the fore of our national conscious ...[text shortened]... g to a survey by the National Geographic Society.
Any comments?
A study of 11-14 year olds in Britain found that 35% could not place London correctly on a map of Britain, let alone know where Iraq was! Britain also has one of the highest rates of adult and child illiteracy in Europe, as well as some of the highest levels of teenage pregnancy, teenage drinking/drug abuse etc.
By slagging off America all the time, when our own country is just as crap just confirms most peoples stereotypes of the British as a bunch of arrogant bastards who like nothing better than going around telling foreigners how to run their lives
From now on, in all of your posts criticising America, in the name of impartiality, I want you to post the same statisitcs for Britain.... but then I guess you won't have a leg to stand on.
Mark
Originally posted by mmanuelIn all fairness, I as an American have no objections to his posts. He often brings up important issues that I enjoy the opportunity to discuss. He doesn't push unfounded anti-American propaganda, but rather makes intelligent posts. Any flaws my country has, I am not only happy to discuss, but encourage the debate as a step towards fixing our problems.
The thing is Ian, is that you keep making all these comments about how rap the American way of doing this is, and how crap the American way doing that is... etc., etc. Quite frankly, you should be more concerned with what is going on in our own country.
A study of 11-14 year olds in Britain found that 35% could not place London correctly on a map of Brita ...[text shortened]... the same statisitcs for Britain.... but then I guess you won't have a leg to stand on.
Mark
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Originally posted by mmanuelI agree. There are major problems facing the entire education sector in most western nations.
The thing is Ian, is that you keep making all these comments about how rap the American way of doing this is, and how crap the American way doing that is... etc., etc. Quite frankly, you should be more concerned with what is going on in our own country.
A study of 11-14 year olds in Britain found that 35% could not place London correctly on a map of Brita ...[text shortened]... the same statisitcs for Britain.... but then I guess you won't have a leg to stand on.
Mark
I think a better way of thinking about it is "what do I expect the education system to deliver" and compare it to "how revolutionary is that to the actual system we have in place".
In the UK school standards seem to be steady, and even going up (regardless of how "real" these figures really are). I have concerns over the quality that the standard measures, but the more you look into the issue the more complex it becomes.
From an interest in school point of view, we live in a bubble gum culture dominated by celebrity and irrelevance through the media. It is hardly supprising that "kids" are not interested in politics or societry when the rest of us don't seem that bothered either. Just as a lot of culture is being dumbed down, so is a lot of education. Its our fault in a way, we tell the government we want more people in education, more people with certain level of qualification, more people in university, and they have find a way to deliver.
As for the quality of teachers, well in the UK we lowered the wages and status of those in the teaching profession so what a supprise when we lowered the quality of the teachers. I am sure there are some great new teachers out there, but I know of a fair few people who got a poor degree and it was the only job they could get. Also, why are kids so rude and disobediant in class? Well kids are pretty media savy these days, and what does the media report on, unruly kids and how they get away with it all the time, its almost portrayed as the accepted norm.
There will always been bad kids, bad parents, and bad teachers, and bad schools. It seems these days we focus much more on these than the good ones. I am sure this is the case in the US as well.
Andrew
Originally posted by rapalla7it is next to "b", maybe the teacher's keyboard skills ain't not too hottish.
Our educationaly system is filled with kids that have crappy parents who teach them nothing at home. Time that should be spent on the 3 r's are now spent on teaching sensitivity, manors, and other things that should be taught at home. I recently had a minor fight with one of my daughters teachers because on her report card she received a N in keyboarding ...[text shortened]... and arenas and cut teachers in art and english. But what the hell, our team is winning.
Mike
Originally posted by mmanuelI couldn't agree more, it is getting a little old
The thing is Ian, is that you keep making all these comments about how crap the American way of doing this is, and how crap the American way doing that is... etc., etc. Quite frankly, you should be more concerned with what is going on in our own country.
A study of 11-14 year olds in Britain found that 35% could not place London correctly on a map of Brit ...[text shortened]... the same statisitcs for Britain.... but then I guess you won't have a leg to stand on.
Mark
Originally posted by Poison GodmachineIf you look like your icon I surely would!!
I hate inflammatory statistics like this. Where was this poll taken? How was it randomized? How many kids (or young adults in this case) were polled? Who determined where the sample came from?
And is your goal with all of these anti-American posts to get us all to move to England? You sure wouldn't want that!
Originally posted by gregofthewebMy purpose on this web site is to stimulate a bit of debate and engage in a bit of 'banter' - something that we enjoy over here. Lighten up a little.
What is your purpose in life ian?
Is it being a brit and finding faults in America?
Because if that is the case then it is kinda sad.
There are of course plenty of things to find fault with America. Go ahead take your shots. It's a free country.
Originally posted by chaswrayBeats me but the yanks seem to love them. These parasites represent everything that I hate about the class system in Britain - sorry. Hope you didn't think I was going to defend them.
Hey Ian,
Do me a favor, explain the purpose of the "Royal Family"