LogFAQs > #986902380

Rika_Furude posted...

i can believe that society is failing these kids and they are behind where we were at their age. And I think its probably not exaggerated, but instead understated

It's probably been understated for years. Kids today aren't brilliant, but it's not like we went to school with geniuses either.

Glob posted...

Yeah, being absent can have huge impact. Where I am now though, you cant tell them they cant take the kids out and they do it all the time with no idea how teaching and learning actually works.

Last year, I had a parent ask, I shit you not, which weeks of the year the children don't get taught anything because she would book her holidays then. She really didnt like it when I pointed out that the weeks we dont teach them anything are the weeks that theyre not at school. I find the while thing bizarre because shes paying 20 grand per term, per kid, to send them to our school and then seems miffed that we dont just teach them nothing for days on end.

I teach at a public school where the local taxes are incredibly high, so it's basically a private school in all but name, and we see the same thing. I think it's mostly because they don't really send their kids to prestigious institutions caring much about what the students actually *learn* there. For them, it is more a function of social status and being able to brag to their friends about what their kids are doing - sending their students to prestigious high schools and well-known colleges is really just their version of "keeping up with the Joneses", so to speak. I see it a lot when it comes to college applications and acceptances - for so many of the parents, it's not really about what the kid learns in college, or whether the college helps the kid with life, but really more about being able to brag about their kids on social media or to their friends. It's incredibly depressing that many ultra high-income parents think of their kids the same way they think about their handbags or nice clothes, but there you go.

A few years back we had a huge college admissions scandal in the United States where wealthy parents were bribing colleges to accept their kid who weren't otherwise qualified to attend those schools. The big question on a lot of people's minds was: Why? Why did families with net worths in the tens of millions feel the need to commit crimes and cheat in order to get their children into prestigious colleges? In my view, it's all about being able to claim a certain level of social position and virtue signal to your friends. It's sad.