Current Events > Is America's education system really THIS bad?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Cuticrusader09 posted...

How? My kid learned about the Holocaust in 5th grade when they read Number the Stars.

Were you in a red state & is the education there that bad?

We live in CT. My kids go to public school. My 8th grader is taking algebra 1 and my sophomore is taking pre calc along with AP Bio and AP Comp Sci. I cant say they are not getting a good education.

But I believe education starts at home. They both know that they can turn to us if they need help. They also know that we care about their grades.

It was pretty much this for me in the 80s.

Learned about the Holocaust in 6th grade, through. We had a survivor speak to us and show us her tattoos.

And we saw the actual, unfiltered pictures and film of the camps made by allied forces as the liberated them.

It was not sanitized in the slightest.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/a/a641d2c8.jpg

Wish I could find a more recent chart. So I mean the US isn't like absolute trash in a comparative sense.

It just shows the schism between funding and opportunity largely corresponding with undeserved school systems.

...

Show of hands, who in this topic went through US public education and knows what the Holocaust is?

Fun story:

The South prior to the end of the Civil War did not have a public school system. Only wealthy plantation owners could afford it through private tutors or expensive academies. The North had to impose a public school system on them as a part of Reconstruction.

ZMythos posted...

I could be wrong, but don't some European and Asian countries track students early on and only select the best performers at the higher levels?

I don't know precisely as I am not an expert on ed policy worldwide but I think there is some merit to this. I would defer to those better informed than me.

One more chart for reference. I thought I had posted the aggregate one before.https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/2/287600d7.jpg

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

...

Show of hands, who in this topic went through US public education and knows what the Holocaust is?

Me. But I've always loved to read, and developed an affinity for WW2 history in 6th grade.

ZMythos posted...

I could be wrong, but don't some European and Asian countries track students early on and only select the best performers at the higher levels?

Per my daughters high school graduation requirements she only needs to take 3 science classes so she wanted to take forensics next year for fun. BUT her teacher and guidance counselor strong armed her into taking chemistry instead because there is some sort of standardized test the kids take next year with chemistry and they need her (as one of the top kids in the class) to do well on it to bring up the average.

She was quite annoyed.

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

...

Show of hands, who in this topic went through US public education and knows what the Holocaust is?

Right here, thankfully. They even showed us Anne Frank and Schindler's List.

BB_mofo posted...

Fun story:

The South prior to the end of the Civil War did not have a public school system. Only wealthy plantation owners could afford it through private tutors or expensive academies. The North had to impose a public school system on them as a part of Reconstruction.

I learned something new.

Canadian here, and I don't remember exactly when I learned about the holocaust. I remember reading Anne Frank, and I want to say that was in grade 9, just based on my memories of class discussions and who was in my class at the time, but I definitely already knew of the holocaust before that. That said, in school I only remember it ever talking about it targeting Jewish people, the fact that it targeted other people was something I learned outside of school assuming I remember correctly.

Ivynn posted...

Didn't watch, but I'm gonna say "yes."

My education was horrible. My mom is constantly surprised and horrified at how much I donf know

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

...

Show of hands, who in this topic went through US public education and knows what the Holocaust is?

It was a bit of a Thing at my school, the fifth graders all buzzing and taunting 4th graders about the "real shit" they learned in history. I knew of the Holocaust in general, without the details of how people were killed, but concentration camps and details of how people were killed were in the 5th grade history book.

Also, I don't think it's fair to blame the problems only on the "no kid left behind" system. I think that system is a good one in general. Don't force kids to repeat an entire grade level because they fell behind. Provide resources to them and parents to help them catch up.

But I think the biggest issue is that teachers are underpaid and overworked. They have far too many students per classroom, they still work after the kids go home, they take work home, and they often buy supplies out of their own money. So kids fall behind and there's not a whole lot they can do on their own. Our schools are fucked...

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Ah... Yeah that would not be a question I'd know how to properly explain to a bunch of first graders lol.

Not watching that but regardless our education system is pretty bad. Mostly due to how underfunded it is and how little we care for it and children mostly.

The no kid left behind crap only solidified that.

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

...

Show of hands, who in this topic went through US public education and knows what the Holocaust is?

I did, starting in at least middle school.

I also had a teacher in high school who always dedicated a day to the Armenian genocide, which remains one of the only times I've ever seen it discussed in an educational setting.

I learned more about the Holocaust outside of school for the most part.

Although I did watch the Diary of Anne Frank movie in school, I think watching the Discovery channel peaked my curiosity.

Depends on the state and the schools but yeah a lot of schools but in general American education doesn't give a shit about the kids they just want obedient workers.