- Why has America's educational system fallen into an abyss?
Why do we suffer 1.2 million teenagers dropping out annually before high
school graduation?
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- The recent movie "Waiting for Superman" attempted
to define America's educational breakdown, but it failed to address the
root causes.
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- I asked Colorado immigration activist and housewife Marty
Lich about her take on what is happening in America.
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- "I have a great deal to say about Waiting
for "Superman" , but it will go against everything those
educated in public schools after 1980 have been taught," said Lich.
"I am a product of public schools beginning in the 1960's, and ending
in the early 1980's. Waiting for "Superman" did not
cover the Root Cause of the educational implosion of today.
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- "I can break it into two different areas--our country,
political correctness and educators and the other side of the equation,
which is students, parents and our society in today's world.
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- "So let me begin by stepping away from the money,
bureaucracy and unions "Waiting for "Superman" addresses,
they are a by-product, created in response to the core issues. In fact,
they are a desperate after-thought, trying to correct what is and has gone
wrong. The more we add-the worse it gets . "Waiting for "Superman" did
address that part.
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- "Our country has steadily slipped down in actual
education. The United States was the leaders in the educational world.
Our public education began in the 1960's and continues downward today.
so we need to look at why--what has changed in America. "Waiting
for "Superman" covers that.
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- "We always had poverty, we always had 'workers'
and we always had immigrants, those are not different. It is the numbers,
the tolerance, the indifference and lack of our values that have changed.
"Waiting for "Superman" ignores this though, focusing
instead on costs, bureaucracy and the resultant fallout, i.e., "drop-out
factories" and "academic sinkholes".
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- "What changed first is immigration policies
here, affecting our school population by sheer numbers today, versus four
decades ago beginning in 1965, then in 1986 and now today.
In fact, "Waiting for "Superman" could address
failed immigration policies and school fallout but chose not to. We
also have this desire to remain Politically Correct and practice tolerance
at all costs.
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- "Countries that are excelling in education are
notably Asian and Indian. "Waiting for "Superman" addresses
that, but not this next part. The Chinese have strict immigration policies--they
are not politically correct, they are in factauthoritarian, and they not
one bit interested in educating others children, they limit children born
there but they value their own children's educations! They also follow
this guideline; either you conform to their expectations, and live up to
them or you are assigned the worker status, uneducated and among the very
poor, even if you are 13 years old. In India-- if you are foreign born
you pay for your child's education or they do not attend Indian schools.
Period.
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- "What had set the United States of America apart
in years past was everyone could live up to their own potential--but it
was earned, it was not given for free to everyone. That has changed,
but can and should be reversed if we want to restore our education to the
days we led the world in education.
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- "In today's new Politically Correct educational
way here, we have raised a generation that is now raising their children
to falsely believe everyone is a winner and can do no wrong! Yippee!
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- "The bad news is - everyone is not a winner. If
students add 2 plus 2 and say the answer is 5, they get a "A"
for effort. They should be given a "F" for Failing. They failed!
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- "But in public grade school, there are no "F"
grades, because it hurts their little egos to show they failed. So it comes
as no surprise to me that "Waiting for "Superman" showed
the American students gave themselves the highest marks as the Most Educated
Students, despite the actual fact that they are among the lower scorers
in education. It is their egos speaking, which are beyond healthy.
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- "The result is we have raised/educated a spoiled
self-centered generation and they are raising the next generation of very
spoiled, self- important student children. They possess a much higher self-worth
than their actual value is. They need to learn respect, to work hard, and
to be a contributing cog in the wheel of society. They, along with others,
should be taught to pull together and lighten the load. But we do not
teach that--we have told them that they are winners no matter how poorly
they do their job in school.
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- "You cannot educate such thinkers either, for
they already know it all and they know they are right all the time, so
what's to learn? They know they don't need to learn!
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- "The reality check--we ALL fail--that's how one
learns to excel! But as we do not teach that, it is little wonder our
teen suicides and escape through drug/alcohol abuse is so high. On the
rare occasion they are told they have messed up--they fall apart.
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- "When I was in grade school--children were paddled
if they misbehaved by the principal. The result was, very few children
misbehaved. We had classrooms of thirty plus students--but we learned,
because my friends sat, listened, and did their homework. I am still friends
with some of them and I still have my grade school class pictures to prove
it! Children were really looked down on if they received Free/Reduced
lunch - -as it should be. That is no Badge of Honor, it is not the 'norm',
and it is factually a statement that their parents are failing them. Notice
I did not say society failed them--their parents failed them.
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- "In today's society the false belief is just as
that one mom said in "Waiting for Superman" when she had not
paid her child's tuition. She says why punish my daughter by not allowing
her to attend a school event? Why make my daughter lose out? This mom blamed
everyone but herself while the reality is, she is 100% to blame. Good
for the school to withhold the fun school event from that child, that school
just taught that child a valuable lesson of life-- "You get what you
earn or work for and when you don't do your part, you lose out."
That is exactly what ails American schools--but "Waiting for
"Superman" did not address that.
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- "If schools want to be successful-and educate, as
in teach, as in learn, then focus on this. Math and Reading. Period.
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- "If one is very proficient in math, one will find
science, technology and music comes easy. If one can read, one can self-educate
and history, arts, music---come easy. That is what one needs to know,
in order to learn, but we have drifted away from that--we try to teach
dual language, we try to teach science, history long before our students
are proficient in math, spelling and reading. Big mistake and we are seeing
the results now. It reminds me of phonetics --one big mistake with no 'Do-overs.'
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- "Do not focus on money, buildings, art, PE, music--they
are not important in school. They are bonuses for a job well done. But
we, in our PC thinking, of the Happy Hippie Era of the late 1960's, feel
entitled before working. The trouble with that is, we aren't entitled.
"One must earn one's bonuses and that is another life lesson that
is ignored today.
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- "Back in the successful public school days- if we,
in school, made a bad choice we were held after school as punishment. That
meant you missed swimming lessons, music lessons, field trips, Girl Scouts,
whatever, and it was tough toasties too. It was--PUNISHMENT! And we
then walked home if we were kept after school due to our bad behavior and
bad choices as well.
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- "And speaking of walking-if schools and parents
and Michelle Obama are really worried about obesity, and couch potatoes-the
solution is simple. No busing closer than 3 miles at any age. I walked,
my friends all walked...and I lived in a very wealthy school district,
they could afford buses but we walked. Rain, sun, wind, we walked. No
PE offered in grade school--but we did have recess. And we weren't obese
either.
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- "This documentary touched on parents in inner cities,
parents who had no education themselves but value education for their child
or grandchild.
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- "Who "Waiting for "Superman" deliberately
failed to cover (but what represents the majority) is the parents who
expect the schools to do it all for them. These parents/students feel entitled
and do not value anything if it requires any effort on their part. I love
my children, but I am not their friend, I am not their peer. I am their
best adult advocate and their toughest teacher as well. That is my role,
for I am the adult parent. I also taught them the "yours, ours and
theirs" of life- at a early age.
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- -There is "your items" --which you own, you
can wreck, protect, do whatever, they are yours.
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- -Then there is "ours"-- we in our house
share it, furniture, cars, and you will respect it for it is shared and
not yours alone to destroy. Then last, there is "other's property"
--grandparents, friends, library, and schools. Those are not just yours,
those are not our families--they belong to the people who allow you to
use them. You will abide by their rules even if they differ from our families,
you will respectful and I will check up on your behavior.
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- "Our schools, need to require-not request - parents/students
bear full responsibility for what their child does. When our public school
students defy schools dress codes--don't give them spare clothes! Make
them sit in the office until their parent arrives with appropriate clothing.
Inconvenience the parents a few times and it won't happen anymore.
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- "I heard one grandma worry in Waiting for
"Superman" about her grandchild "getting in with the wrong
crowd." She could escort her grandson to and from school
every day, if she took that responsibility upon herself. She couldmonitor
'good choice' friends but she doesn't. There is no mention of that lack
of personal responsibility in this documentary however.
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- "Right now, there is no accountability, nor personal
responsibility and all the unions, administrations and Federal interventions
in the nation will not address that- -and that is the Root Problem. Why
do you suppose Waiting for Superman glossed right over that as
well?
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- "Public schools also do the following and it is
far from successful. They put the top achievers in with the bottom, to
give the low-performers good examples to follow. The truth is this - these
low-achievers entire goal to get the high achievers down to their level.
The ' Reason why' is simple--"Misery loves miserable company."
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- "To conclude- -for whatever 'good intention but
bad outcome' reason, our schools and our parents feel obligated to supply
children with everything their little hearts' desire. Nothing is earned--it
is bestowed. The result is there no value attached to anything and no
consequences.
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- "The above is what "Waiting for "Superman"
did not cover--and yet, that is the origins of the issues today that
Superman did cover. You cannot correct issues until you go back to the
cause of them. "Waiting for Superman"skipped right on over that."
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