US students' reading and math scores at historic lows: 'Devastating trend'

[bèlla]

Other countries recognize that public education needs proper funding models; not NIMBY models where folks don't work together for a rising tide to lift all boats. IT was middle class and rich people in their neighbourhoods that GAVE UP on the children in poor neighbourhoods when they would elect people who would block their money from going into poorer neighbourhoods.

There are few things I can say that would set our city ablaze. Redistributing property taxes from more affluent areas to others is one of them. It’s an unfortunate birth lottery of sorts. As some of our schools are more akin to well heeled private ones than not.

I don’t have the answers and genuinely believe home instruction is best if you can make it work. I don’t have a lot of faith in the system and wouldn’t rely on it alone for a child.

~bella

 

[rambot]

There are few things I can say that would set our city ablaze. Redistributing property taxes from more affluent areas to others is one of them. It’s an unfortunate birth lottery of sorts. As some of our schools are more akin to well heeled private ones than not.

I don’t have the answers and genuinely believe home instruction is best if you can make it work. I don’t have a lot of faith in the system and wouldn’t rely on it alone for a child.

~bella

In Canada we refer to it as the Postal Code Lottery.

I think the effects are GREATLY GREATLY exaggerated in the US though...

 

[bèlla]

In Canada we refer to it as the Postal Code Lottery.

I think the effects are GREATLY GREATLY exaggerated in the US though...

My daughter used to row and they built a boathouse in the area that wasn’t attached to a school to increase admission to Ivy League universities. Two of her teammates did PG at Philips Exeter. Don’t believe everything you hear. ;-)

~bella

 

[rambot]

My daughter used to row and they built a boathouse in the area that wasn’t attached to a school to increase admission to Ivy League universities. Two of her teammates did PG at Philips Exeter. Don’t believe everything you hear. ;-)

~bella

That's good to hear!

Though "PG at Philips Exeter" sounds like the MOST bougie fru fru thing I could hear (and I don't know what it means). ;-)

edit: oh....I googled it. I'll assume they were on a scholarship?

Imagine if it was JUST people's brains and not athletic aptitude that helped people get ahead. (I don't mean to know the success of your children of course....)

 

[Hvizsgyak]

That’s a super simplistic “back in my day” rant that, while fun (?) to read doesn’t really apply to modern needs of kids, teachers, and classrooms. I’m involved in a number of schools, and the whole “just pass kids because it makes us look good” is something people say happens but I’ve yet to see.

Do you want school names? I can give you 4 schools here in Florida that I know of and I've heard of one in Pennsylvania that has. And listening to other teachers online in forums, it happens in other schools in other states. And what I'm saying about "back in the day" reminiscing is that learning was simpler - you had to memorize the stuff. These "new" approaches that the administration forces teachers to use are just a distraction to the learning. The kids need to clear their minds of the sports, social media, cell phone texting and video game clutter and memorize their school lessons like we use to. I'll give you though that some kids do take longer than others the memorize and learn things and the school should be set up to handle that.

 

[rambot]

Do you want school names? I can give you 4 schools here in Florida that I know of and I've heard of one in Pennsylvania that has. And listening to other teachers online in forums, it happens in other schools in other states. And what I'm saying about "back in the day" reminiscing is that learning was simpler - you had to memorize the stuff. These "new" approaches that the administration forces teachers to use are just a distraction to the learning. The kids need to clear their minds of the sports, social media, cell phone texting and video game clutter and memorize their school lessons like we use to. I'll give you though that some kids do take longer than others the memorize and learn things and the school should be set up to handle that.

There are some very VERY old school methods of teaching that you see at private schools that emulate what education was like 30-40 years ago.

But let me tell you. There are a LOT of kids who don't do well in that atmosphere...for various reasons. Sadly, a lot of those reasons are, at least tangentially tied to parenting and homelife....but some genetics too.

But if you "know that your child" would respond well AND you are fine with absolutely BURYING your kid in work, I can't argue with the results it CAN yield!

 

[bèlla]

That's good to hear!

Though "PG at Philips Exeter" sounds like the MOST bougie fru fru thing I could here (and I don't know what it means). ;-)

edit: oh....I googled it. I'll assume they were on a scholarship?

Imagine if it was JUST people's brains and not athletic aptitude that helped people get ahead. (I don't mean to know the success of your children of course....)

PG students spend an extra year in high school to increase admission possibilities to better schools. Both girls fared well. One went to Johns Hopkins and the other enrolled at Princeton if I recall. They were given scholarships for the program at Exeter.

I didn’t allow my daughter to row in college. The sport falls under the NCAA and the practice time was extensive. I felt it would interfere with her studies and that was the primary reason for going. But given the cost of attendance I can understand why some go that route.

My daughter played golf competitively beforehand and both sports are very demanding. If you look at most athletes in that arena you’ll find the majority are in the top of their class. Unlike most sports golf has a dual element. Team competitions are a separate entity from private events. You can be part of a team and enter others individually.

The entry fees are paid by competitors along with travel expenses and aren’t subsidized. And that doesn’t count greens fees or time at the range. Coaches, sports doctors, etc. It adds up fast!

I think some sports are worth the investment. Whether you do them competitively or not. Golf is one of them and tennis is another. I’d add skiing to the list if you live in an area with access or sailing, shooting and riding of course.

~bella

 

[rambot]

PG students spend an extra year in high school to increase admission possibilities to better schools. Both girls fared well. One went to Johns Hopkins and the other enrolled at Princeton if I recall. They were given scholarships for the program at Exeter.

I didn’t allow my daughter to row in college. The sport falls under the NCAA and the practice time was extensive. I felt it would interfere with her studies and that was the primary reason for going. But given the cost of attendance I can understand why some go that route.

My daughter played golf competitively beforehand and both sports are very demanding. If you look at most athletes in that arena you’ll find the majority are in the top of their class. Unlike most sports golf has a dual element. Team competitions are a separate entity from private events. You can be part of a team and enter others individually.

The entry fees are paid by competitors along with travel expenses and aren’t subsidized. And that doesn’t count greens fees or time at the range. Coaches, sports doctors, etc. It adds up fast!

I think some sports are worth the investment. Whether you do them competitively or not. Golf is one of them and tennis is another. I’d add skiing to the list if you live in an area with access or sailing, shooting and riding of course.

~bella

I love this. Thanks for sharing.

I don't ski but I kinda disagree about skiing. For the amount of money you spend on the mountains here in alberta and the amount of time going downhill? I personally dont' know if it's worth it. It's funy of course.

 

[comana]

Do you want school names? I can give you 4 schools here in Florida that I know of and I've heard of one in Pennsylvania that has. And listening to other teachers online in forums, it happens in other schools in other states. And what I'm saying about "back in the day" reminiscing is that learning was simpler - you had to memorize the stuff. These "new" approaches that the administration forces teachers to use are just a distraction to the learning. The kids need to clear their minds of the sports, social media, cell phone texting and video game clutter and memorize their school lessons like we use to. I'll give you though that some kids do take longer than others the memorize and learn things and the school should be set up to handle that.

The problem with memorizing is that it’s a use it or lose skill. It is much better to teach the whys and hows of problem solving and critical thinking. Unfortunately, AI will be responsible for a loss of research skills in the younger and future generations.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Do you want school names? I can give you 4 schools here in Florida that I know of and I've heard of one in Pennsylvania that has. And listening to other teachers online in forums, it happens in other schools in other states.

Bro, you shouldn’t be telling me, you should be telling the state, I’m not the auditor.

And what I'm saying about "back in the day" reminiscing is that learning was simpler - you had to memorize the stuff.

Blind memorization is good for short term memory, not long term education. It is an answer devoid of context and the idea behind school is to execute methodologies and concepts.

These "new" approaches that the administration forces teachers to use are just a distraction to the learning. The kids need to clear their minds of the sports, social media, cell phone texting and video game clutter and memorize their school lessons like we use to. I'll give you though that some kids do take longer than others the memorize and learn things and the school should be set up to handle that.

This just reads again like somebody who doesn’t understand tech and is thus afraid of it and/or thinks it’s useless. If kids are learning the same thing they learned 45 years ago when you were in school, we will have surely failed them. No other country says that reversal of progress is the answer to educational advancement.

 

[iarwain]

The schools, the teachers, the government, the department of education have all failed us in educating the upcoming generations. But I think the real problem is a spiritual one. Families don't stay together, too many single parents, not enough Christ in the household, so we don't have true morals or work ethics.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

The schools, the teachers, the government, the department of education have all failed us in educating the upcoming generations. But I think the real problem is a spiritual one. Families don't stay together, too many single parents, not enough Christ in the household, so we don't have true morals or work ethics.

Or maybe it’s what the study pointed out… That post-COVID numbers are lower than that of 2019’s number due to less classroom hours and more absences, and that grades 4 and under are showing proportional positive growth and, as such, the gap for the older grades will close over the next 5ish years.

 

[keith99]

...
Though, as the link points out, what it meant to be a Democrat and what it meant to be a Republican used to mean vastly different things in 1970-2005ish, so viewing as an even exchange spectrum is kind of a fallacy. The me I am today back in 1990 would have made me right leaning moderate. The me I am today, same views, makes me a pretty solid Democrat. My father was a die-hard Republican in the 80s-90s, but is now a hard-line Democrat... But still registered Republican.

I first registered to vote as a one issue Democrat. I've never bothered to change it, though for long stretches I was far closer to Republican.

If one goes back not all that far there was the special case of the Southern Democrat. Republican on all points, but refusing to register for or vote for the party of Lincoln.

 

[iarwain]

Or maybe it’s what the study pointed out… That post-COVID numbers are lower than that of 2019’s number due to less classroom hours and more absences, and that grades 4 and under are showing proportional positive growth and, as such, the gap for the older grades will close over the next 5ish years.

The pre-CoVid numbers weren't acceptable either.

 

[keith99]

PG students spend an extra year in high school to increase admission possibilities to better schools. Both girls fared well. One went to Johns Hopkins and the other enrolled at Princeton if I recall. They were given scholarships for the program at Exeter.

I didn’t allow my daughter to row in college. The sport falls under the NCAA and the practice time was extensive. I felt it would interfere with her studies and that was the primary reason for going. But given the cost of attendance I can understand why some go that route.

My daughter played golf competitively beforehand and both sports are very demanding. If you look at most athletes in that arena you’ll find the majority are in the top of their class. Unlike most sports golf has a dual element. Team competitions are a separate entity from private events. You can be part of a team and enter others individually.

The entry fees are paid by competitors along with travel expenses and aren’t subsidized. And that doesn’t count greens fees or time at the range. Coaches, sports doctors, etc. It adds up fast!

I think some sports are worth the investment. Whether you do them competitively or not. Golf is one of them and tennis is another. I’d add skiing to the list if you live in an area with access or sailing, shooting and riding of course.

~bella

I think the way sports are treated in our schools is a major contributing factor in the education crisis. This is NOT to say I'm anti
sports, far from it. From grades 6-9 I went to a small private school where the boys were encouraged to play for the school teams. I pretty much played everything except baseball. (I was truly horrid at baseball). (This was before Title IX. The girls were also similarly encouraged, but there were few opportunities. 4 of the girls held a national age group record for the medley relay in swimming). I college I played 4 sports. Swimming, Water Polo, Rugby and Ice Hockey.

I'm not anti-sports. I am against sports stars getting passing grades because they are sports stars. Or getting the kind of tutoring that translates to being slipped the answers for exams and having their papers ghostwritten. Real tutoring, heck yes.

Back to 9th grade. There were only 3 boys in the 9th grade. Yet we beat the eventual league champion. That was before midterm grades came out. On our team almost everyone went both ways. One of the guys was a wide receiver/defensive back. He got a failing grade in history. He was scholastically ineligible.

Today (and to some extent even back then) if this happened in High School the teacher would be pressured to change the grade. That would have been laughable in this case. The history teacher was the football coach.

Sports one continues after school are worth it, and even some that end with school. I ended up playing Rugby for 40 years. Toured England and Wales twice, Australia with a stopover in Fiji once and spent a season in New Zealand. I've managed to race against Gunnar Larson (Olympic Champion and world record holder) and play Rugby with and against a score of guys who played for their respective national teams.

But sports and other extra curriculars are the cherry on the top of the educational experience. When sports become more than that they become part of the problem. When they and other extracurricular activities are omitted, there is a good chance that they are a canary in a coal mine that is not singing.

 

[Hans Blaster]

In Canada we refer to it as the Postal Code Lottery.

I think the effects are GREATLY GREATLY exaggerated in the US though...

That video seemed to suffer from innumeracy -- it suggested letters in the postal codes.

 

[Bradskii]

I love this. Thanks for sharing.

I don't ski but I kinda disagree about skiing. For the amount of money you spend on the mountains here in alberta and the amount of time going downhill? I personally dont' know if it's worth it. It's funy of course.

We've got good snow fields 5 hours south of Sydney. One time when I went I wore a heart rate monitor just to see how hard I was working. It also gave me the number of runs I did as you could see when my heart rate peaked during the day. Then I did something stupid and added up everything I'd spent on gas, accommodation, food and booze (all in 'alpine dollars') then worked out how much each run had cost me.

I really wish I hadn't...

 

[rambot]

That video seemed to suffer from innumeracy -- it suggested letters in the postal codes.

Well that's what us special folks up in canada have thwir pardner.

 

[rambot]

We've got good snow fields 5 hours south of Sydney. One time when I went I wore a heart rate monitor just to see how hard I was working. It also gave me the number of runs I did as you could see when my heart rate peaked during the day. Then I did something stupid and added up everything I'd spent on gas, accommodation, food and booze (all in 'alpine dollars') then worked out how much each run had cost me.

I really wish I hadn't...

My buddy who lives near kicking horse in British Columbia says if he didnt live near thrbhill he would never snowboard again with the cost of day passes and thr like.

 

[Hans Blaster]

Well that's what us special folks up in canada have thwir pardner.

Did you have a stroke, or does Canada have their own words too? I thought I could comprehend Canadian, but maybe only spoken Canadian and not the written form.