How Would You Improve the American Education System?

[Trinadaed]

Depending on the area start school later. Waking up at 6:00 or earlier is not conducive to students being awake for their first classes.

This is one problem my school has.

[Geneviev]

The thing is, music and art teach people how to be human. Math teaches people to think logically. Both are important, and one should not be replacing the other, but that's what American schools are doing.

And honestly, calculators were invented for a reason. They're a good alternative to teaching higher level math.

Higher level math can not be done with calculators, unless you mean advanced mathematics software.

Still, somewhat agreed. If you require a calculator to calculate 456 x 789 it is not the end of the world.
It does get worrying if you would not doubt your calculator if it said the answer was 42. Or 37 billion. At least some feeling of what the correct answer should be is still needed.

Some understanding of how numbers work is important, but most of what is taught in math classes in school never becomes useful for most people.

Depending on the area start school later. Waking up at 6:00 or earlier is not conducive to students being awake for their first classes.

This is one problem my school has.

It's a serious one, too.

[Nioya]

Honestly I’m very pessimistic about the future of education. I think schools in America act like prison and harassment is often tolerated if not encouraged. Kids get no respect and are regarded with contempt. The rules are harsh and extreme. Testing is a matter of life or death seriousness. Plus I think a big problem lies in our minority population. Black kids cost twice the resources needed to educate them due to behavioral issues and being behind, and the neighborhoods in which they inhabit don’t have the tax dollars to support them. Same thing goes for Hispanics, many of whose parents don’t even pay taxes.

Beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic, things don’t matter. So I would just not take it seriously. I’d say we should drill kids on those subjects, but later on we should focus on humanistic education with little to no testing. I’d agree with the Finnish model wherein the system isn’t focused on testing. But also I think we should a lot more focus on civics and social studies. Teach kids how to think about politics and spot fake news. Teach them history.

[Neutraligon]

Higher level math can not be done with calculators, unless you mean advanced mathematics software.

Still, somewhat agreed. If you require a calculator to calculate 456 x 789 it is not the end of the world.
It does get worrying if you would not doubt your calculator if it said the answer was 42. Or 37 billion. At least some feeling of what the correct answer should be is still needed.

Some understanding of how numbers work is important, but most of what is taught in math classes in school never becomes useful for most people.

This is one problem my school has.

It's a serious one, too.

Most of what is taught in math class thought are the basics for getting into STEM fields. If you do not have those basics you will find any STEM field in college highly difficult. Requiring those classes means the door is left open should a person eventually decide to try and go into one of those fields.

[Geneviev]

Some understanding of how numbers work is important, but most of what is taught in math classes in school never becomes useful for most people.


It's a serious one, too.

Most of what is taught in math class thought are the basics for getting into STEM fields. If you do not have those basics you will find any STEM field in college highly difficult. Requiring those classes means the door is left open should a person eventually decide to try and go into one of those fields.

Not everyone wants to go into STEM, though. If someone is more interested in history or language, that person shouldn't be required to take a calculus class when they can be taking an advanced history class or learning another language instead.

[Telconi]

Some understanding of how numbers work is important, but most of what is taught in math classes in school never becomes useful for most people.


It's a serious one, too.

Most of what is taught in math class thought are the basics for getting into STEM fields. If you do not have those basics you will find any STEM field in college highly difficult. Requiring those classes means the door is left open should a person eventually decide to try and go into one of those fields.

Debatable, if you take a math class at seventeen. And at twenty-seven decide to enter a related field of study, you're likely to need to take the class again.

[Havarland]

Then they're free to take it as a side class. Art history is not just as important as knowing how to do algebra. You can survive your entire life just fine without taking art or music. You can't survive without math. The vast majority of incoming American college students need some sort of remedial courses to catch up in math. Let's focus on that problem before we worry about whether enough kids know when Davinci painted the last supper.

It's possible to survive without most math that is taught in schools. That's what calculators are good for. Besides, it's easier to understand math if you learn music. Music and art don't have to be required after elementary school, but they should at least be an option and in many schools, they aren't. That's part of the reason that American students aren't prepared for real life. Music and art help you learn to think.

I agree with you. I used to be really bad at maths, mostly because of the exercises were boring, but now I use it daily and learn more and more every day, since programming is one of my hobbies and it's fun. Music is fan as well. In my school, I remember there weren't many activity groups, since it was a small school with little funding.

[Havarland]

Most of what is taught in math class thought are the basics for getting into STEM fields. If you do not have those basics you will find any STEM field in college highly difficult. Requiring those classes means the door is left open should a person eventually decide to try and go into one of those fields.

Debatable, if you take a math class at seventeen. And at twenty-seven decide to enter a related field of study, you're likely to need to take the class again.

True that. When I studied nursing and we started to study medicine calculations and stuff then we started maths from THE BEGINNING. How to divide etc.

[Painisia]

Categorizing pizza as a vegetable? *Sarcasm*

[Western Vale Confederacy]

If I gotta name one thing to improve about the American education system, it’s gotta be the cafeteria menus.

[Wunderstrafanstalt]

Depending on the area start school later. Waking up at 6:00 or earlier is not conducive to students being awake for their first classes.

Heh, weaklings. Bell rings and class starts at 6:30 am here.

[Havarland]

If I gotta name one thing to improve about the American education system, it’s gotta be the cafeteria menus.

Come and try school-food over here. Everything is tasteless. You pay ~10€ for lunch, 2€ for a coffee (a cup of coffee) and yet people claim it's the only country in the world where school lunches are free for everyone.

[Neutraligon]

Most of what is taught in math class thought are the basics for getting into STEM fields. If you do not have those basics you will find any STEM field in college highly difficult. Requiring those classes means the door is left open should a person eventually decide to try and go into one of those fields.

Not everyone wants to go into STEM, though. If someone is more interested in history or language, that person shouldn't be required to take a calculus class when they can be taking an advanced history class or learning another language instead.

Correct not everyone wants to go into stem, at the point of high school. People frequently change their major in college, at least early on, and the mth classes allow them to go into STEM fields should they eventually decide they want to switch. Like I said it leaves a door open.

[Neutraligon]

Most of what is taught in math class thought are the basics for getting into STEM fields. If you do not have those basics you will find any STEM field in college highly difficult. Requiring those classes means the door is left open should a person eventually decide to try and go into one of those fields.

Debatable, if you take a math class at seventeen. And at twenty-seven decide to enter a related field of study, you're likely to need to take the class again.

But you would have seen the material before. Learning material the first time and relearning material are very different things. And while people do change jobs paths later in age,I was more thinking about students who go to college right after high school.

[Wunderstrafanstalt]

IMO there's this large problem that most people don't really know what should they do or take. All the reforms and diversification might become useless if they don't have any idea what to do.

[Cop Met]

Fire all the activist "teachers" and remove all the propaganda and misinformation (i.e. gender studies, social justice, etc.).

[Havarland]

Fire all the activist "teachers" and remove all the propaganda and misinformation (i.e. gender studies, social justice, etc.).

But we need gender and social studies in order to kill evil masculinity. Especially in white men! "All white men are sexists and perverts" - I've heard from several western girls, who prefer Koreans and others.

[Western Vale Confederacy]

Fire all the activist "teachers" and remove all the propaganda and misinformation (i.e. gender studies, social justice, etc.).

But we need gender and social studies in order to kill evil masculinity. Especially in white men! "All white men are sexists and perverts" - I've heard from several western girls, who prefer Koreans and others.

You got the stereotypes all wrong, just sayin’.

If you’re gonna stereotype, at least do it correctly.

[Aellex]

Some understanding of how numbers work is important, but most of what is taught in math classes in school never becomes useful for most people.


It's a serious one, too.

Most of what is taught in math class thought are the basics for getting into STEM fields. If you do not have those basics you will find any STEM field in college highly difficult. Requiring those classes means the door is left open should a person eventually decide to try and go into one of those fields.

Tbh, I agree. It's not so much that you will find it difficult that you won't be able to succeed at all, math is built like any structure and require solid foundations the higher you want it to go.
Same goes for physic and chemistry.

[Holy Tedalonia]

Debatable, if you take a math class at seventeen. And at twenty-seven decide to enter a related field of study, you're likely to need to take the class again.

But you would have seen the material before. Learning material the first time and relearning material are very different things. And while people do change jobs paths later in age,I was more thinking about students who go to college right after high school.

I mean that is why there are STEM high school classes now.

[Khasinkonia]

Personally, I think one of the most important improvements that the education system in america needs is the recognition that education is not for profit. A lot of the system’s troubles arise from attempting to profit directly off of the education system. I personally think the education system should be allowed to have a net loss of money, as it’s an investment in the whole future of the nation. Education should be primarily concerned with educating future generations regardless of the cost, within reason.

[Phoenicaea]

Personally, I think one of the most important improvements that the education system in america needs os the recognition that education is not for profit. ..

i would support this post.

[Khasinkonia]

Personally, I think one of the most important improvements that the education system in america needs os the recognition that education is not for profit. ..

i would support this post.

One can tell by my spelling that I’ve not properly benefited from said system

[Salandriagado]

Higher level math can not be done with calculators, unless you mean advanced mathematics software.

Still, somewhat agreed. If you require a calculator to calculate 456 x 789 it is not the end of the world.
It does get worrying if you would not doubt your calculator if it said the answer was 42. Or 37 billion. At least some feeling of what the correct answer should be is still needed.

Some understanding of how numbers work is important, but most of what is taught in math classes in school never becomes useful for most people.

The thing that is being taught in maths lessons is useful for absolutely everybody who manages to learn it. It has fuck all to do with numbers, though. The stuff with numbers is a nice side-effect that you get on the way to the point of the lesson.

[Telconi]

Debatable, if you take a math class at seventeen. And at twenty-seven decide to enter a related field of study, you're likely to need to take the class again.

But you would have seen the material before. Learning material the first time and relearning material are very different things. And while people do change jobs paths later in age,I was more thinking about students who go to college right after high school.

The problem about relearning material is it necessitates an original learning, people tend to piss off things they dont want to do, teenagers more than most.