My highschool was a joke. They were more concerned with AP courses than basic home math, like book keeping and home finances. Both are equally important as far as I'm concerned. While I don't know if the information in the AP courses did me any goo, had I not taken the hard AP courses I wouldn't know how to really hunker down and study for harder college engineering courses.

I took the AP courses and such, but all the financial learning came from the family, and most of the time when I talk to others my age about finances I see their eyes glaze over almost instantly. That is just as sad in my mind.

 

Yeah, the focus these days are mandatory testing. Here in PA it's called PSSA's.
And the funny thing now, it's against the law for a child to miss 10 days of unexcused absence!! And that's because they want your child there to get credit for attendance.

The problem is, because of inclusion laws, schools are required to teach to the lowest level, which means if you're smarter than a bad of hammers, you'll be bored and unchallanged. And teachers spend too much time with 'special needs' and 'learning support kids' to actually do anything productive.
I mean, they even have adults that are assigned to kids called leanring support specialists. Their sole job is to think for, and help special kids act throughout their day in school.

And as much as we want to blame the feds, it's parents fault. They want their kid who's a low functioning learner to have the same opportunities (like Forrest Gump) as others. But what the nitwit parents don't understand is life isn't fair. Their 'special' kid will be living in their basement until they die, no social life, no real job- nothing.

End of rant!!! lol

 

In my opinion, a big problem is that schools are supposed to teach you how to find answers. Now days the questions are so easy that the student doesn't have to try to find it. Or the student is just so lazy that they get the answer from somewhere else.

Part of my job consists of helping people look for something that they should be able to EASILY find by themselves if they would just read and pay attention. A lot of times I help navigate a website I've never been to before.
This country also has a huge problem with lack of responsibility. Someone can be a total idiot and disregard rules and successfully blaim someone else instead of being responsible and admiting it's their fault.
If a student does bad in school they and the parent blaims the school or teacher when it's the kids fault for not trying and the parents fault for not making them.

 

we are swirling right now, not to much longer before it all goes down the *******

 

In highschool I never got better than a a C in English but usually had a D. My teacher was the type of person to NOT cut corners or let you slip by. I actually wish there were more teachers like her. The only reason I had bad grades in that class was because I waited till last minute to do the work and didn't usually read the subject much.
I don't blame anyone but myself for that.
I finally wised up in college and had a B in English Comp 1 and an A in Comp 2 with a 94 on my Final after the teacher said he wouldn't recommend going the route I went with the paper. He said it would be too difficult to explain what I was trying to.

Lately I've even been helping some co-workers with their term papers.

It all comes down to Responsibility. Too many people put the blame on others instead of looking at themselves. Pretty sad.

 

circling the drain as they say, not good at all

 

i'm sorry, that was not my test....nor the class that i teach.
i am a ISS (in school suspension) teacher. i sit at a desk all day, give assignments that the kids teachers send down. its not my fault the teachers are lazy and send stupid **** like this down.

when i have to give assignments i make kids research and write (by hand) what they find. usually about cars lol. and if its not good i make them do it over.

i get paid to be a dick and surf the internet.