America is in crisis!

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Ma Cherie

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More bad news coming out of the US.:(

American students are lagging behind, especially in areas that involve math. This is very scary because that means when American students enter the work force, they're less likely to have the skills to prepare them. The American education system ranks number 24. We're behind third world countries. I find this sad, and it almost makes me angry that US hasn't kept it's promise in giving all students equal education.

After watching Oprah, I am thinking about becoming involved in a campaign called Stand Up.
http://standup.org/thechallenge.html
Right now, I'm in the process of collecting statistics.

So, why are American students performing so poorly?
 
I was terrible in math in high school, found pre-algebra challenging... Anyway math sucks I don't want to learn any more than I already know.

Add - Subtract - Multiply - Divide

Unless your a scientist or something you dont need any more than that in your daily life, in short math sucks.

p.s. : Oprah = worst and stupidest show in all of existance, good for absoluetly nothing
 
Actually, complex math is applicable to a wide range of fields, from engineering to business. You don't NEED it, but it is an underappreciated skill. People with math skills will always have jobs, mostly because so many people share the attitude that it "doesn't apply to real life."

American students perform poorly because they feel like no matter what they do, they'll be ok. They live in America (the greatest country on earth!), so what could possibly happen? They'll never end up homeless because of a welfare system that allows them to remain unemployed. Junior high and high school children are bombarded with media images and social pressures that tell them that what's important isn't what inside your head, but what's draped over your frame. Intelligence is still largely treated with disdain, particularly in areas where athletic endeavors are more popular. The benefits of taking academics seriously are rarely considered in many areas of the country, particularly by those unfortunate enough to be in a situation where their parents have decreed they be "out by 18." I understand the financial burden children place on their parents, and this kind of policy is often perpetuated from generation to generation, but I can easily see how a student can logically conclude that, when faced with the prospect of fending for themself after HS, a job is more important than college. Some of these people will prosper, due to circumstances or personal ability, but it's statistically proven that a college education increases lifetime earnings.

That said, I take most academic measuring sticks with a grain of salt. Standardized testing isn't fair, and with language barrier problems from immigrant children, lack of supplies due to poverty and lack of funding, and general ambivalence on the part of students and faculty alike, it isn't going to get better. The standardized tests I remember taking in HS were little more than a diversion from ordinary class. They had no impact on your grade, and no one cared if the school got additional funding. It wasn't important. You can't assess true ability in an arena where indifference reigns. It's more a commentary on the attitude of students than on their actual abilities, in some cases.
 
Thunderthief said:
p.s. : Oprah = worst and stupidest show in all of existance, good for absoluetly nothing
Click to expand...

I have to disagree, I don't like a lot of female shows like this! * it's not a MAN MAN show, Can't stand all this woman crying in the beginning.
But this show is giving a lot of people hope, power, and shows that they are not alone, and she got some great celebirties in her show..

why america... all I can say is Bush, sorry.
 
I have to struggle to figure out how to get 100% of the kids in my school to pass the math portion of the California High School Exit Exam. Some of these kids have not passed a single math test since the fifth grade and now they have to demonstrate basic proficiency (in English) in computation skills and algebra...
 
MeAndroo said:
Actually, complex math is applicable to a wide range of fields, from engineering to business. You don't NEED it, but it is an underappreciated skill. People with math skills will always have jobs, mostly because so many people share the attitude that it "doesn't apply to real life."

American students perform poorly because they feel like no matter what they do, they'll be ok. They live in America (the greatest country on earth!), so what could possibly happen? They'll never end up homeless because of a welfare system that allows them to remain unemployed. Junior high and high school children are bombarded with media images and social pressures that tell them that what's important isn't what inside your head, but what's draped over your frame. Intelligence is still largely treated with disdain, particularly in areas where athletic endeavors are more popular. The benefits of taking academics seriously are rarely considered in many areas of the country, particularly by those unfortunate enough to be in a situation where their parents have decreed they be "out by 18." I understand the financial burden children place on their parents, and this kind of policy is often perpetuated from generation to generation, but I can easily see how a student can logically conclude that, when faced with the prospect of fending for themself after HS, a job is more important than college. Some of these people will prosper, due to circumstances or personal ability, but it's statistically proven that a college education increases lifetime earnings.

That said, I take most academic measuring sticks with a grain of salt. Standardized testing isn't fair, and with language barrier problems from immigrant children, lack of supplies due to poverty and lack of funding, and general ambivalence on the part of students and faculty alike, it isn't going to get better. The standardized tests I remember taking in HS were little more than a diversion from ordinary class. They had no impact on your grade, and no one cared if the school got additional funding. It wasn't important. You can't assess true ability in an arena where indifference reigns. It's more a commentary on the attitude of students than on their actual abilities, in some cases.
Click to expand...
I don't believe everything will be okay even if I do suck at math. I seriously suck at math. I'm failing Geometry this year, and I'll be taking it during summer school. I won't be taking another math class next year. I feel bad about doing so poorly. I hope that I won't have to have advanced math knowledge for photography.
 
Dutch Baka said:
I have to disagree, I don't like a lot of female shows like this! * it's not a MAN MAN show, Can't stand all this woman crying in the beginning.
But this show is giving a lot of people hope, power, and shows that they are not alone, and she got some great celebirties in her show..
why america... all I can say is Bush, sorry.
Click to expand...
I prefer The Man Show
Maddox > Oprah

http://maddox.xmission.com

btw everybody check out Maddox's new book

http://www.alphabetofmanliness.com/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/08...f=pd_bbs_1/104-7416480-4521554?_encoding=UTF8
 
Let's not get into how much Oprah show "sucks". Besides, no matter what we think, she will always have her millions.:relief:

Anyways, I still haven't found any good statistics. But I will point out that one of the factors of Americans doing so poorly is the harsh socioeconomic circumstances. Yes, America pushes this idea that everyone has equal oppertunity, but when you really think about, students who come from lower income families don't have access to certian tools that will help them progress.

Yeah, sure America is supposed to be about equal oppertunity, but how are things equal when schools in the subarbs have up-to-date computers and fast internet access and schools in inner cities are just barely getting by with the equiment they have? :?

I also believe there's a lack of motivation.
 
Ma Cherie said:
Yeah, sure America is supposed to be about equal oppertunity, but how are things equal when schools in the subarbs have up-to-date computers and fast internet access and schools in inner cities are just barely getting by with the equiment they have? :?
Click to expand...

I understand you only used computers as an example, but I'd like to comment on this, since I work in a major school district in southern California (without saying explicitly, I'm sure everyone here has heard of the area) and my department focuses mainly on the creation and maintenance of IT infrastructure at our over 800 school sites. Our district participates in a federal program that provides a great deal of funding to public entities, like school districts, libraries, and individual schools, sometimes up to 90% of the cost of the project. These projects can go into the hundreds of millions of dollars, so this is no small sum.

Much of the basis for the funding is student participation in free & reduced lunch programs, i.e. what percentage of the student population at any school site is considered at or near the poverty level. The greater the participation in F&R, the more the federal gov't is willing to give. Naturally in a large school district, there will be a disparity between the nice areas and the not-so-nice areas. Since funding is based on a %, different packages are created to keep the different schools from affecting the total percentage of the package too adversely. Obtaining funding can take a great deal of time, as the gov't deals with public entities all over the country, but the time taken is pretty consistent.

My district is constantly working with contractors to maintain and create new infrastructure at the lowest price. It's my opinion that, at least in my district (which receives a great deal of negative press), problems revolve more around violence, drugs, poverty (which leads to kids having to work more than they should while in school), and indifference.
 
I'm actually do very well at school even though math is my least best subject I still do good in it. It just takes me forever to do then the other stuff that comes easy to me. It could be because I have a condition called ASD and it's a form of autism(but not severe).


I remember how horrible I use to be at math but I've gotten a lot better. I would be a strait A student if math didn't take me so long but I do get Bs in math. I use to get Cs.

My school is a school for students with learning or behaviour problems. It's a school run by different counties so we don't get a lot of money(For the first 2 months we didn't even have a school nurse!). The good thing is we have teachers who focus more on helping students with their problems and the subjects they're worst in like mine. Maybe it's because we have smaller classrooms compared to most high schools?
 
It's a good point to note that one of the factors of America's failing school system is due to large classroom sizes. This is especially true for most inner city schools.
 
Class size in California is the largest in the nation. Educational reform is irrelevant if they don't tackle this first.
 
In Utah the Elementary, Junior and High Schools I went to didn't help me with anything in Math. The public schools here in Davis County mainly Layton worry more about putting their money into making the schools here alot nicer on the inside and outside instead of the education and helping kids out who have alot of problems with math. I know that one first hand i'd struggle with math so much all through school and they wouldn't do anything at all to help me out with understanding math better.
 
Improving math at my school is my biggest challenge. I have 70 to 80 kids comming in every year that never passed basic math in middle school. Now they have to pass algebra and the California High School Exit Exam...
 
I felt like I was above-average in my math skills, and that the schools had a slightly easy cirriculum for their math courses while I was in Junior High and High School. This all changed though when I went through my calculus courses for engineering in university though, I went from feeling like the best in my class at math to one of the worst....

It seems to me like the majority people in the USA who aren't required to take or understand advanced math for their career choice don't bother to try hard or excel in their required mathematics courses.
 
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