Oseah said:
You should check out other school options for your child. If you’re considering any schools, make sure to review their materials, textbooks, and teaching methods.
Exactly! And make reading a habit with your kids from day one. Get them into books by age 3 or 4. It’s the responsibility of every family member to support kids in their learning journey.
A big factor is addiction, but not the kind we usually talk about. Cell phone addiction is huge among young people. Phones keep them constantly distracted, making it hard to focus or stay on task. Parents pass the habit on, and it gets reinforced with peers. The problem is so common that even work bathrooms have become phone booths.
You mentioned ‘seniors that graduated.’ Our school brags about near 100% graduation, but only about half the students are on grade level. It’s the same story everywhere.
Chester said:
You mentioned ‘seniors that graduated.’ Our school brags about near 100% graduation, but only about half the students are on grade level. It’s the same story everywhere.
It’s a wake-up call for sure.
Chester said:
You mentioned ‘seniors that graduated.’ Our school brags about near 100% graduation, but only about half the students are on grade level. It’s the same story everywhere.
It seems simple—just hold the kids back until they meet the standards. But that would create a huge backlog of students, and schools don’t have the resources for that. Private schools may seem like an easy comparison, but they often kick out students who don’t meet their standards, so only the best make it to graduation. Public schools can’t do that.
Why aren’t these issues caught earlier? Why aren’t parents hiring tutors or pushing their kids more? Are these kids still getting into college? A lot of this has answers people don’t want to confront.
Governors in red states just don’t care about education. They don’t want smart voters.
Carter said:
Governors in red states just don’t care about education. They don’t want smart voters.
Historically, these states were agricultural and didn’t need highly educated populations. The wealthy sent their kids to private schools or hired tutors, so they didn’t want to pay taxes for public education. It’s not a new problem.
Carter said:
Governors in red states just don’t care about education. They don’t want smart voters.
They want everyone to just read the Bible and think it’s actual history.
Carter said:
Governors in red states just don’t care about education. They don’t want smart voters.
They want everyone to just read the Bible and think it’s actual history.
Exactly. Once politics and religion mix, people will believe anything. That’s what’s happening now. The founders were right about keeping them separate.
@Carter
Asking someone to disprove something they never believed in the first place is the kind of logic I expect from people like that.
You’re confusing the purpose of schools today. They’re more about getting kids into college than actually preparing them for life. Just being proficient in math or reading doesn’t necessarily mean they’re well-educated.
You’re talking about the 2019/20 school year—don’t forget that the pandemic disrupted everything. We know students had a lot of learning loss, and schools were more lenient about passing grades during online learning.
How does this decline in education relate to the Flynn effect? IQ has been rising across generations, but is that still the case for Gen Z and Alpha? Just curious.
The switch from a classical education model to a progressive one has been a disaster. We’ve abandoned standards. Kids don’t read like they used to, parents don’t engage with them like they used to, and screens are everywhere. To fix this, you’ve got to start teaching your kids at home with a classical approach, or find a tutor who specializes in it.
@Candy
Thanks for this! My partner and I are thinking of homeschooling from pre-K through 8th grade. We’re both avid readers, and we were raised by parents who loved books, so we’re hoping to pass that on to our child. I was homeschooled during high school because of health issues, and I definitely see how screens and lack of reading have affected kids today.
Can you explain more about why professionalizing education (degrees in education) has been bad? I’m curious.
@Sophia2
That’s great about reading! The issue with professionalized education is that teachers today are trained in ‘education’ instead of in the actual subjects they teach. So, they’re experts in meeting educational standards, not in the content itself. They’re more focused on inclusivity and soft skills, which is fine but isn’t really education. The old system, where teachers were trained in the liberal arts or sciences, produced better outcomes. Now, teachers are stuck catering to the lowest common denominator instead of pushing kids to excel.
@Candy
Actually, teachers are trained to effectively communicate and teach the subject matter. That’s the point of education degrees. Inclusivity and social-emotional learning are part of education because they help kids succeed. And teachers today are definitely educated—they just focus on different skills than in the past.
@Theodore
Your response just proves my point. Inclusivity is a nice idea, but it’s not the same as real education. Our current system is failing because we’re not focusing on actual learning anymore. We’re creating kids who know less and have fewer skills than past generations. You can’t deny that education standards have dropped, and you’re part of the system that’s allowing it to happen.
@Candy
Completely agree. We need to get back to classical education and hold educators accountable. Parents, it’s time to speak up and make sure your kids are getting the education they deserve!