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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mary Cluney who wrote (27311)	8/29/2006 11:44:46 AM
From: epicure	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541776

" Nevertheless, for any kid that has the smarts and the ambition, the USA is where they have to be." Much as I love the education system here, there are systems that are just as good in other countries for the bright kids. There are few systems as good for dullards, though. In the US there is no tracking- as there is in other countries- so a misstep at the lower levels, or being of the wrong "class", doesn't immeiately get you shunted into an alternative trade school system. That's a tremendous difference between the US system and other systems. I happen to think we ought to offer more trade school type opportunities- but I think having the system label the students and assign them to the various systems if highly problematic.

To: Mary Cluney who wrote (27311)	8/29/2006 11:45:39 AM
From: one_less	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541776

"If you go to any of the other world class education systems, they all look to us for educating at the upper levels. No other country has the university and graduate level education that exists in the US." I have worked at universities. It is true that our graduate programs in math and science are, or at least historically have been, considered superior. However, for the past few decades the foreign students in these classes are always ranked at the top and American students in our own universities are almost always at the bottom of these courses. This is no secret. Where our students were once the shining stars of math, science, and technological innovation, it has become quite well known that the students of other countries passed us by long ago. So, it is no surprise that countries who once provided outsourced labor for our technology industry, now have their own high tech industries and are competing with us, and beginning to win in that competition. We are currently at rest upon our laurels. "I am not in education so I don't really know, but in comparison, I don't think we are comparing apples to apples. Our education system, if anything is too ambitious. We are educating the whole population as if they are going on to get their phd's." Wrong. At the local level we are only concerned about the normed standards. Schools are now rated in most states on whether or not they are achieving at the standard. This may be why the push to provide more and more funding to at risk programs and ignoring the potential of high achieving students continues. "Of course we are failing." Right, but we don't want anyone to feel bad about it. There are plenty of rugs with this dust getting swept beneath... its starting to work its way into the fabric. We focus on the norm and continue to do so as the norm gets lowered. "Nevertheless, for any kid that has the smarts and the ambition, the USA is where they have to be." I wouldn't choose any other place but these kids succeed in spite of the system, not because of it. Nothing to be proud of but the hopes that this will continue is the only hope I have for our future...unless or until there is some reform in the system, which is highly unlikely.