I was listening to Pink Floyd and The Doors during my freshman year of high school; I probably should have been more focused on my studies 😬 My mom was already reading me heavy literature meant for adults, so I ended up playing with books that were way beyond simple picture books instead of typical kids' stuff.
I don't really get this whole criterion regarding height and physical development. I'd love to believe it was just a lapse in judgment rather than a complete lack of expertise from the specialist.
Why? To me, that isn't exactly foundational chemistry knowledge. 🤷 I’m not saying it’s useless, but since I believe middle school curricula should be broader and less deep, I don't think chemical equations or mass percentages belong there. If a student is genuinely passionate about chemistry, they should have access to elective workshops. That should go for every subject, really. In fact, if it were up to me, I’d actually add more subjects to the middle school curriculum. Like I said, much broader, much shallower, and with a lot more hands-on learning and cross-subject connections. That’s just my take on it.
Jason Morgan said:Good heavens, I don't mean that at all—quite actually the exact opposite of what I just wrote above.
I think I misunderstood you; you seem to be focusing only on students who struggle academically, whereas I was talking about everyone, including the honor roll kids.😁
So, you really think the curriculum is fine as it is, without any unnecessary depth being forced on elementary schoolers? I mean, teaching chemical equations, mass percentages, and linear functions at the elementary level seems a bit much to me. Honestly, I'm just speaking from memory here—thankfully, I haven't looked at a textbook or talked to middle schoolers in quite a while.
This is exactly what I’m struggling to wrap my head around. Why would someone who actually enjoys learning—someone bright, curious, and genuinely engaged with school—be forced to memorize how to extract seed potatoes? It feels like such useless trivia. What kind of information is that, and why on earth should anyone be tested on it for five points? Why can't the time we spend on these things be redirected toward more interesting subjects, or toward actually helping us grasp and connect fundamental concepts?
That’s true, kids around ten can get really into things, like soccer for example. Personally, I feel like K-12 education should be broader but less intense than what we have now. It ought to be more interconnected and hands-on, incorporating way more experiments, real-world examples, movies, plays, and field trips...
Are you actually advocating for some kind of customized version of the American system? I’m honestly torn on this. On one hand, I get where you're coming from, but on the other... I feel like it might be too early to let kids dive into that during elementary school, especially since the entire structure is designed to move linearly. To really make it work, you’d probably have to overhaul the whole education system from preschool all the way up to PhD programs. I don't know. From everything I've read about global models, the Finnish system seems closest to what I consider an ideal setup.
Don't get mad at me for being a total pushover, but I agree with every single word you wrote here. 😁
(Even though I can be a bit of a literary snob—despite being a huge fantasy fan—I think some of it is just fluff, and honestly, I wasn't a fan of Goldman Sachs 😂 )
I honestly don't know. Maybe it's because I used to hang out with those alternative types who skipped class just to sit in the park, drink, and contemplate the meaning of life or debate religion and different political systems 😁 But seriously, looking at the people I've known, I can't really see the connection. (Though, I suppose you might find some folks who studied philosophy or political science, but even then, there aren't that many of them with poor general culture 😁 )
Regarding this whole concept of "pop culture," no matter how closely I look at it, I just can't seem to find a real connection between education levels and general cultural awareness. On paper, there should be a link, but in practice, I don't see it happening.
But urbantinker8, we’re talking about students who are clearly passing with straight As and Bs! That’s the whole point. If they’ve managed to graduate from college, you have to assume they weren't scraping by with Ds in middle school or failing everything in high school. You know? It’s just frustrating because kids are getting these top-tier grades despite having almost no basic literacy skills.
And one more thing—since when did nobody fail anymore? I feel like I’ve asked this so many times before. When did this unwritten rule start? Back when I was in school in the early '90s, and even when my sister was in school in the late '90s, people definitely failed classes back then.
But it’s necessary. Someone let them graduate elementary school with decent enough grades to get into a good high school, and then someone else cleared them to head off to college based on those grades. I'm talking about people who can't even spell "children" correctly, write with a chip on their shoulder, and constantly butcher basic grammar. It's the kind of stuff you see all over the internet. The same goes for actual knowledge—there are just huge gaps in understanding across almost every subject. It's much more important to actually grasp the underlying causes behind things like World War I or II—like how political shifts impact science and the arts—than it is to just memorize a single date by heart.
It honestly bothers me that some people graduate from college and are barely literate, if that. To me, that should be one of the core responsibilities of elementary school. Beyond just basic math, students need a solid grasp of geography and history. To even pass, you really need to be able to read and write properly. You don't need to know what an alliteration or a pleonasm is, but you definitely shouldn't be misspelling basic words.
It feels a bit premature to me, though I think a more laid-back approach might have suited my personality better—I was actually a pretty solid student before puberty hit. 😂 That said, plenty of kids seem overly coached during those early elementary years, only to really find their footing later on. Anyway, if you can still pivot your focus around age 15 or 16, the American school system isn't nearly as bad as I initially thought.
analogseal18 said:I am simply relaying information from a friend who lives over there; she graduated from that specific school system and is a US citizen herself. It apparently varies depending on the state. They are in a district similar to Chicago—fifth grade, age 11. They sit for a test, but the most critical factor remains the teacher's qualitative evaluation and recommendation.
Wait, so you're saying your entire future could depend on just one person? 😲
For a model like that to actually work in a community, you’ve got to have a real respect for knowledge and education. That’s the baseline. Plus, if you ever tried to strip away the elitism from Americans, they'd just find a way to reinvent it overnight. 😂 Honestly, our society doesn't share the same core values as the Finnish, so I don't see how a system like that could ever be implemented here in the States. It would just lead to total chaos.