Condoms for teen agers

[SadisticNature]

So they could work in the fields on the family farms. From planting through harvest.

This is also the reason why attempts to expand the school year in various states have failed. Note that the US has one of the shortest school years of Westernized Democracies, while all of the top education systems in the world have a longer school year than the US.

[Ozme52]

This is also the reason why attempts to expand the school year in various states have failed. Note that the US has one of the shortest school years of Westernized Democracies, while all of the top education systems in the world have a longer school year than the US.

Perhaps... but my parents continued my education year round. Perhaps not formal classes, but I was expected to continue reading and learning (things that directly interested me) and took me places... and didn't just let me run around... I was taken to and educated within museums and such.

Perhaps the problem lies with the fact that our schools are expected by parents to be the sole arbiters and distributors of education.

Not enough parenting is done by parents.

[SadisticNature]

Perhaps... but my parents continued my education year round. Perhaps not formal classes, but I was expected to continue reading and learning (things that directly interested me) and took me places... and didn't just let me run around... I was taken to and educated within museums and such.

Perhaps the problem lies with the fact that our schools are expected by parents to be the sole arbiters and distributors of education.

Not enough parenting is done by parents.

If you place more of the onus on the parents however, you create a lot more problems in society. People from poor families either with a single parent who works, or with two parents working full time are much less successful at managing this burden.

Furthermore, blaming the parents for the failures of the school system ensures it continues to fail. It's not like the parents of kids doing poorly in school are going to be more successful as time progresses. Most of the kids who don't do well in school come from families that didn't do well in school, and saying that they should have the supports at home propagates this.

Ultimately the reason we have an education system at all is that parents are not the best qualified people to teach their children a lot of subjects, and if we want the chance of children able to do more and better than their parents did we need a system that enables students to learn skills their parents don't have. Ultimately relying on parents to do more in education fails at this.

[DuncanONeil]

There is a serious problem endemic to schools when high schools have to have classes in remedial reading and math. Colleges are even having to institute remedial classes.
Progress through school is supposed to indicate an ever higher level of knowledge. However, skill falls off precipitously between the universal test in grade four and the one in grade eight. If these are not evidence that schools are failing, what would it take?

If you place more of the onus on the parents however, you create a lot more problems in society. People from poor families either with a single parent who works, or with two parents working full time are much less successful at managing this burden.

Furthermore, blaming the parents for the failures of the school system ensures it continues to fail. It's not like the parents of kids doing poorly in school are going to be more successful as time progresses. Most of the kids who don't do well in school come from families that didn't do well in school, and saying that they should have the supports at home propagates this.

Ultimately the reason we have an education system at all is that parents are not the best qualified people to teach their children a lot of subjects, and if we want the chance of children able to do more and better than their parents did we need a system that enables students to learn skills their parents don't have. Ultimately relying on parents to do more in education fails at this.

[Ozme52]

If you place more of the onus on the parents however, you create a lot more problems in society. People from poor families either with a single parent who works, or with two parents working full time are much less successful at managing this burden.

Furthermore, blaming the parents for the failures of the school system ensures it continues to fail. It's not like the parents of kids doing poorly in school are going to be more successful as time progresses. Most of the kids who don't do well in school come from families that didn't do well in school, and saying that they should have the supports at home propagates this.

Ultimately the reason we have an education system at all is that parents are not the best qualified people to teach their children a lot of subjects, and if we want the chance of children able to do more and better than their parents did we need a system that enables students to learn skills their parents don't have. Ultimately relying on parents to do more in education fails at this.

Though (mostly) true, it doesn't change the fact that we (in the US) throw more and more money at education getting less and less value. And for that I blame parents who, for all the reasons you mention, don't take an interest in their childrens' educations.

I'm not suggesting that they take over the task... but they could encourage their children to explore "educational" venues. Whether libraries or nature centers or just the History Channel once in a while.

How many children read graphic novels... and don't realize the The 300 is a true story (give or take some aggregious poetic license.) If they did, might they not learn more about what happened just before or just after... or Troy... or Robin Hood. It would be so simple... just to say "There's more to that story ya know." and send them off to the library (damn, I almost forgot...) or to the computer!! and find out. And then say "Tell me about it tonight at dinner."

[DuncanONeil]

Now the reference to "The 300" was quite interesting. Having a discussion today at lunch with my 27 year old I brought up "The Stand" to help in explaining a BBCA series. She said the book was ok but the mini-series made the story easier to understand because of the visuals. Which made it easier to deal with the wide disparity of locations and continued movement of people.
I guess that made the mini-series kind of like modern Cliff Notes!

Though (mostly) true, it doesn't change the fact that we (in the US) throw more and more money at education getting less and less value. And for that I blame parents who, for all the reasons you mention, don't take an interest in their childrens' educations.

I'm not suggesting that they take over the task... but they could encourage their children to explore "educational" venues. Whether libraries or nature centers or just the History Channel once in a while.

How many children read graphic novels... and don't realize the The 300 is a true story (give or take some aggregious poetic license.) If they did, might they not learn more about what happened just before or just after... or Troy... or Robin Hood. It would be so simple... just to say "There's more to that story ya know." and send them off to the library (damn, I almost forgot...) or to the computer!! and find out. And then say "Tell me about it tonight at dinner."

[DuncanONeil]

This is also the reason why attempts to expand the school year in various states have failed. Note that the US has one of the shortest school years of Westernized Democracies, while all of the top education systems in the world have a longer school year than the US.

You have to bring that up NOW!?!?!
I threw that chart out about two days ago!!!!!