Mein, two people who have not raised kids, dealt with school systems, on a personal level, as parents.
I've put 3 kids through public schools, and have 9 grandkids, 3 in public schools, 2 in private schools and 2 home schooled. My 3 kids have grown up to be happy and successful, and I would think by all social standards, pull their societal weight. My grandkids are happy and well adjusted.
Also, I have friends who run and/or own private schools, tutoring institutes, and some in the public school system. The bottom line? Parents who are motivated, and having a lot of money helps. In my area the competition to get into the best colleges and universities starts with getting into the best preschools, and it is stiff and somethings a down-right cut-throat process to do so. Parents with money and who have highly influential careers hold sway of course, about their kids getting into the best pre-schools, and the pressure on the parents, teachers, administrators and kids is unrelenting throughout their years in school.
Then you have the parents without much money, but are highly motivated to see their children do well. They usually work extra jobs to get their kids into one of the lesser private schools or Catholic schools, or have them in public school and ride the teachers, administrators and their kids so as to get the results they are looking for.
Then you have the parents who could care less, and as a result, neither do their kids. What you're left with is someone who has little to no motivation to learn, and usually a teacher who would love to teach him or her, but has no leverage to even make them behave let alone learn, so is reduce to a warden.
So, there's no simple fix. Blaming the Dept. of Education is lame because most money and decision-making comes at the local school district level.
Regarding the current system we have now, I never said we should pour good money after bad. There are plenty of good examples of where kids in disadvantaged neighborhoods, who have been written off, have found the help they need in someone who was dedicated to inspire and mobilize a whole community to take responsibility for their children and get involved in their learning and education. But, these people, when they surface, need to be supported. And, we need to be training up new young people to do the same. There was a time when teachers, for the most part were passionate pioneers, and were respected and supported by their community. That same spirit needs to be fostered and supported, and it can't be by government, but by people.
-- Modified on 9/26/2010 8:12:53 PM
-- Modified on 9/26/2010 8:13:59 PM