School Reform: Thoughts?

rowdypanther12 said:So, how did the classes start under the new curriculum?
Is everyone following it now?

As far as I know, it’s everyone for American History and Language Arts.
I'm talking about Elementary School.

The entire K-12 curriculum was overhauled last year—everything from the little kids in Elementary School all the way up to the high school seniors.
It’s been a rolling process, really. Three years ago, they started implementing changes for the incoming first graders in Elementary School and the freshmen in high school, along with fifth graders and those specialized science tracks in seventh grade. Then, two years back, it expanded to cover second and third graders in both levels, plus the full sixth and seventh-grade curriculum and eighth-grade sciences. By last year, they had basically hit every subject for the fourth and eighth graders across the board, and now, this year's fourth and eighth graders are officially part of that fully reformed track right from the jump.

I'm running a little behind—if my mom starts at 7:00, did she get caught up yesterday?
Or maybe since 5:00?

rowdypanther12 said:I'm running a little behind—if my mom starts at 7:00, did she get caught up yesterday?
Or maybe since 5:00?

My little one is starting to eat at 8:00 now, but she was definitely feeling those hunger pangs as early as 5:00. So, you’re probably looking at a 5:00 start for yours too.
As for my son, he hit that stage at 3:00, and now he’s moved up to 5:00.

e, I actually need to correct myself there—it turns out the eighth graders are following the fifth grade's schedule for the reforms, and the fourth graders are starting from the first.
just a little piece of advice: finish your coffee first, otherwise it’s just gonna get 😁

😂
So, basically, it caught her on the fifth

It’s all pretty much what you’d expect, I suppose.—nothing particularly shocking here.
They’re introducing some sort of new regulation—or maybe just another bureaucratic hoop to jump through.

An English teacher is covering math at a school in Florida

I honestly believe she knows her stuff, and the kids will be fine. If they hit a wall, parents can always step in to help out a bit—whether that's through tutoring or just sharing what they know.

It’s honestly unrealistic to expect someone with a degree from Harvard University to jump into a temporary substitute role in an elementary school, especially when their field is in such high demand. We put out job postings every few months, but we just can't get anyone to apply.

I think the school found a decent workaround for the bright students (they'll have another teacher to lean on), but we really need to realize that pushing for reforms without actually increasing teacher salaries is a losing game.
Since certain specialists are clearly in short supply, I don't see any other way besides paying them more. That's why forcing computer science on everyone doesn't make sense—not everyone is built for it—just like paying for religious studies instructors for all eight years isn't practical. And don't even get me started on adding extra elective subjects.
We need to redirect the funding differently.

Of course, we should also thank the "helicopter parents" who want everything perfect; the reality is that most people don't choose math education as a major, and even those who do often have no interest in working in public schools.

Sorry mods, but I really gotta C/P this:

1978:

When it comes to school—there’s a massive difference. They actually teach way less stuff. In high schools, for example, you only take about five subjects a year. Students pick their own classes and deal with them every day. But get this—when they count what counts as a "subject," things like guitar, TV production, cooking, billiards, even driving... are all on the list.

Since nobody's studying at home, it basically sets you up to graduate without knowing much of anything. I remember being in class once and actually having to correct American students on their English grammar! I’ve even heard some of them don't even know who Ernest Hemingway is.

As for geography, I've seen students place the Soviet Union in Asia, and others put it in South America! Grading is mostly just tests, and the vibe with teachers is way more open—sometimes they actually miss that reserved attitude we have back home.

They have tons of extracurriculars, but everyone just picks one or two and goes hard at them. Take sports, for instance. If you want to play for your school, you're training two or three times a day, on top of actual games.

There's also this thing where the girls voted most beautiful in school form these "cheerleader" groups. They practice rhythmic dances and stuff so they can perform before big games, wearing mini dresses and those shoes with the little soft balls on the bottom called "poms." They dance right there on the track while the game is going on.

Susan James said:An English teacher is covering math at a school in Florida

I honestly believe she knows her stuff, and the kids will be fine. If they hit a wall, parents can always step in to help out a bit—whether that's through tutoring or just sharing what they know.

It’s honestly unrealistic to expect someone with a degree from Harvard University to jump into a temporary substitute role in an elementary school, especially when their field is in such high demand. We put out job postings every few months, but we just can't get anyone to apply.

I think the school found a decent workaround for the bright students (they'll have another teacher to lean on), but we really need to realize that pushing for reforms without actually increasing teacher salaries is a losing game.
Since certain specialists are clearly in short supply, I don't see any other way besides paying them more. That's why forcing computer science on everyone doesn't make sense—not everyone is built for it—just like paying for religious studies instructors for all eight years isn't practical. And don't even get me started on adding extra elective subjects.
We need to redirect the funding differently.

Of course, we should also thank the "helicopter parents" who want everything perfect; the reality is that most people don't choose math education as a major, and even those who do often have no interest in working in public schools.

Honestly, you see this kind of thing all the time because there just aren't enough teachers to go around... and now they're even looking into passing laws that would let nurses handle doctor duties since we're short on physicians too. In most developed countries, that's actually been the standard for ages...

Susan James said:An English teacher is covering math at a school in Florida

I honestly believe she knows her stuff, and the kids will be fine. If they hit a wall, parents can always step in to help out a bit—whether that's through tutoring or just sharing what they know.

It’s honestly unrealistic to expect someone with a degree from Harvard University to jump into a temporary substitute role in an elementary school, especially when their field is in such high demand. We put out job postings every few months, but we just can't get anyone to apply.

I think the school found a decent workaround for the bright students (they'll have another teacher to lean on), but we really need to realize that pushing for reforms without actually increasing teacher salaries is a losing game.
Since certain specialists are clearly in short supply, I don't see any other way besides paying them more. That's why forcing computer science on everyone doesn't make sense—not everyone is built for it—just like paying for religious studies instructors for all eight years isn't practical. And don't even get me started on adding extra elective subjects.
We need to redirect the funding differently.

Of course, we should also thank the "helicopter parents" who want everything perfect; the reality is that most people don't choose math education as a major, and even those who do often have no interest in working in public schools.

I suppose what matters most is that the teacher is a solid mentor—someone who understands pedagogy, psychology, and just has a good head on their shoulders—because foxnews.com/we-are-all-born-mathematicians
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The high school system, especially the prep schools, probably needs a total overhaul:

1. English should be mandatory every single day for an hour.
2. Physical education needs to be a daily requirement, one hour every day.
3. Second languages should be strictly elective. It seems like a real issue when kids lose interest in
history, math, or physics... and being unmotivated to learn a specific
foreign language just makes everything three times worse.
4. We should probably quadruple the hours dedicated to Psychology, both for individuals and groups.
5. There should definitely be more time set aside for Sociology.

What’s the actual point of increasing funding for psychology and sociology?
I mean, what does that even get us in practice?

mellowskipper said:What’s the actual point of increasing funding for psychology and sociology?
I mean, what does that even get us in practice?

I guess when you consider how much an individual can actually gain from having a solid grasp on both individual and group psychology in this day and age...

It’s kind of the same with sociology—understanding the deep, underlying ways society actually functions.

Students might just be able to teach themselves as they grow up. It's not like they need 😒

John Palmer9 said:I suppose what matters most is that the teacher is a solid mentor—someone who understands pedagogy, psychology, and just has a good head on their shoulders—because foxnews.com/we-are-all-born-mathematicians
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The high school system, especially the prep schools, probably needs a total overhaul:

1. English should be mandatory every single day for an hour.
2. Physical education needs to be a daily requirement, one hour every day.
3. Second languages should be strictly elective. It seems like a real issue when kids lose interest in
history, math, or physics... and being unmotivated to learn a specific
foreign language just makes everything three times worse.
4. We should probably quadruple the hours dedicated to Psychology, both for individuals and groups.
5. There should definitely be more time set aside for Sociology.

They already have 33 hours of classes per week, and that doesn't even include electives or any other extracurricular activities. How many more classroom hours could you possibly cram into their schedule?

I where would you even cut, since you have to make cuts somewhere.

On the other hand, what's the actual goal here? What specific skills are kids supposed to walk away with by increasing psychology and sociology hours? Because based on what you mentioned, you could achieve that without adding more class time—you’d just need to tweak the curriculum and focus more on how this stuff actually works in the real world.

Besides, understanding how society functions on a deep level isn't just about sociology. It’s a mix of several different factors studied across multiple fields.

Scott Booth said:They already have 33 hours of classes per week, and that doesn't even include electives or any other extracurricular activities. How many more classroom hours could you possibly cram into their schedule?

Supposedly, those 33 hours are among the highest in the entire European Union. If that's true, just how much are those "model" Europeans actually studying?

nimblelynx7 said:Supposedly, those 33 hours are among the highest in the entire European Union. If that's true, just how much are those "model" Europeans actually studying?

That’s not quite right. In Italy, students on a science track usually have about 27 to 30 hours a week, depending on their grade level.

http://www.liceidibra.com/CategoriaD...%20Scientifico

Scott Booth said:That’s not quite right. In Italy, students on a science track usually have about 27 to 30 hours a week, depending on their grade level.

http://www.liceidibra.com/CategoriaD...%20Scientifico

Not only is that false, it’s ridiculous. It is clearly a rigged study designed to push for full-day schooling—which is just a ploy to hire more teachers when there aren't even any open positions left.

You’ve got 7 hours in the morning shift and 7 hours in the afternoon shift. That’s effectively 35 hours per shift. If you're currently looking at a workload of 33 hours, you've still got a 2-hour buffer. Logistically, this keeps everything clean so your shifts don't overlap when it comes to classroom and lab availability. The only way you could really scale up is by adding an extra period to the morning block, which would net you an additional 5 hours every other week.

One thing to keep in mind is the actual length of the school year. Fewer hours per week usually means more weeks of school overall. On top of that, you have to account for different daily schedules and varying lesson lengths. There’s enough variation there that you can't really do a direct one-to-one comparison.

Adam Diaz67 said:I where would you even cut, since you have to make cuts somewhere.

On the other hand, what's the actual goal here? What specific skills are kids supposed to walk away with by increasing psychology and sociology hours? Because based on what you mentioned, you could achieve that without adding more class time—you’d just need to tweak the curriculum and focus more on how this stuff actually works in the real world.

Besides, understanding how society functions on a deep level isn't just about sociology. It’s a mix of several different factors studied across multiple fields.

I was thinking about a case recently—a bright student, just graduated high school, who basically hit a wall this year because she felt her mom preferred her brother over her. Looking at the situation, it seems pretty clear the mother just isn't great at communicating. If the student had studied something like interpersonal communication within families, she might have realized, first, what healthy communication actually looks like, second, that some people just aren't naturally good at it, and third, that being bad at talking doesn't necessarily mean someone is a bad person.

Adam Diaz67 said:I where would you even cut, since you have to make cuts somewhere.

On the other hand, what's the actual goal here? What specific skills are kids supposed to walk away with by increasing psychology and sociology hours? Because based on what you mentioned, you could achieve that without adding more class time—you’d just need to tweak the curriculum and focus more on how this stuff actually works in the real world.

Besides, understanding how society functions on a deep level isn't just about sociology. It’s a mix of several different factors studied across multiple fields.

So, everyone touches on it a little bit, but I guess nobody really gets into the deep, comprehensive stuff.