Plummeting Education Standards Are a National Emergency

[OnMyWay]

57 minutes ago, Freebie said:

G/f told me in her school/college no one had ever mentioned geography, it wasnt a subject that was taught, and therefor her knowledge of countries and flags was by her own admission not good. We went to National Bookstore and bought a large map of world that had flags printed on back .Two weeks later, this lady can correctly tell me what the 4 countries of the United kingdom of Breat Britian and Northern Ireland are, what the Benelux countries are, what countries constitute Scandinavia, Pacific Nations etc etc. and their corresponding flags. She can tell her Montana from her Mexico and her Hawaii from Houston.

My step-daughter is a fairly good student but I am amazed that she knows little about world geography.  Thanks for the idea!  I will buy a map and have them start learning.

[OnMyWay]

43 minutes ago, hk blues said:

but my son's school format is via Zoom and Google classroom and the teacher is interacting with the students as much as they would in a physical setting and they can communicate offline with the teachers any time. 

I'm not sure what your son's age is, but I believe the kids are suffering a lot.  Especially socially and emotionally.  For youth, school is not just about the 3 Rs, it is about learning social skills, discipline, etc., etc.

Teenagers are especially vulnerable to emotional and social deprivation.  My Filipino friend told me yesterday that at his friend's condo tower in Manila, 2 kids have jumped, and they now have guards roaming the halls watching for kids.  The condos there are small so you can imagine how stressful it is for a family of 4 or more to be crammed in with no way for kids to go out.  Of course, that is only a second hand story but I trust my friend.

[OnMyWay]

2 hours ago, scott h said:

First class,,,,,,,,,,if you have the Pisos 

To buy the grades?

The article says even the top universities have tumbled way down the ratings list.

[Shady]

4 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I'm fully aware of the pros and cons.  I follow a group who is fighting all that BS and they are pushing back hard.  Polls show most Americans do not want that in schools.

Definitely most don't want it in schools, or the media, or in Hollywood, or in government, it's almost like the citizenry's been subverted by an un-elected parasitic elite.

Same goes for the 2nd Amendment, only a few states are fighting back. Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia

It's only going to get more divisive and more divided.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Shady

[Snowy79]

I'd just like to add in no way are the students stupid, they have just been educated wrong in my opinion, pretty much read and repeat from what I've seen.

  I know some locals my partner included who never graduated from college but has personally learned a few languages and quite happily asks me lots of questions then researches them.  Even things she has been taught, once explained a different way she grasps quickly or I show her where to find the answer then I get her to explain it to me. She was very much taught a question and an answer but not how to work out the answer herself.

[hk blues]

1 hour ago, OnMyWay said:

I'm not sure what your son's age is, but I believe the kids are suffering a lot.  Especially socially and emotionally.  For youth, school is not just about the 3 Rs, it is about learning social skills, discipline, etc., etc.

Teenagers are especially vulnerable to emotional and social deprivation.  My Filipino friend told me yesterday that at his friend's condo tower in Manila, 2 kids have jumped, and they now have guards roaming the halls watching for kids.  The condos there are small so you can imagine how stressful it is for a family of 4 or more to be crammed in with no way for kids to go out.  Of course, that is only a second hand story but I trust my friend.

My son is 8.

I wasn't comparing online to physical classes though - the latter is clearly better for all sorts of reasons - rather expressing my experience of online classes being different than Tom was describing.  

[OnMyWay]

2 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

She was very much taught a question and an answer

Yup.  Memorization is king.

My step-daughter was surprised that her current school has year end finals are testing on the entire year, not just the last quarter.  Her previous schools tested Q1 Q2, Q3, Q4 and then just added them up and averaged, with some bonus points thrown in.

[hk blues]

First of all, I'm not defending the education system here, it sucks in the main.  But, I've been exposed to the education system in both Hong Kong and Japan and it's just as bad in terms of the focus on repetition and not encouraging 2-way discussion in the lessons.  That said, they do also make up for this by putting in the hours in terms of homework, extra-curricular activities etc etc. - here, not so much.  

[Jack D]

10 hours ago, Freebie said:

10 hours ago, Freebie said:

G/f told me in her school/college no one had ever mentioned geography, it wasnt a subject that was taught, and therefor her knowledge of countries

My wife and stepdaughter also had very little knowledge of countries, continents, and oceans, so I bought maps of the world and of the USA, which are mounted on the wall.

I also found out that World history is lacking in Philippine education (since Philippine history is the focal point) in schools there, but that is more difficult to teach than just showing visual aids, such as maps. For those lessons, I had to rely on my ability to speak of world history, as well as showing movies that addressed historical events.

 

[Mike J]

12 hours ago, hk blues said:

First of all, I'm not defending the education system here, it sucks in the main.  But, I've been exposed to the education system in both Hong Kong and Japan and it's just as bad in terms of the focus on repetition and not encouraging 2-way discussion in the lessons.  That said, they do also make up for this by putting in the hours in terms of homework, extra-curricular activities etc etc. - here, not so much.  

Well the three Rs are sort of important to a well rounded education and may be lacking here.  But the Philippine kids really excel at singing, dancing, marching, karaoke, acting, etc.  It is that kind of education that may allow you to become a popular actor and then be elected president and your wife can buy lots of shoes.