[Old School]

The main problem with education in this country has little or nothing to do with any perceived need for more funding. More funding is not needed. What our system lacks is responsibility at all levels.

Few students have any interest in learning. They expect to be entertained. They expect to spend their time at school socializing. On the whole, they have never been expected to work and perform at any meaningful level and, obviously, they are incapable of performing basic tasks. Most cannot read, write, or perform math skills at an acceptable level. If you don't believe this, see how many high school seniors can manually do long division and see how many can manually write a paragraph with proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Does anyone else find it unacceptable that a significantly large percentage of college classes are remedial? Why? Obviously, it is because so little was expected of these students in elementary and secondary school. They are completely unprepared. Social promotion has replaced learning. Developing a false feeling of self esteem and self pride have replaced reading, writing, and arithmetic. Now, before you argue that some students are exceptional learners, let me suggest that these students learn in spite of the system and not because of it.

Most parents are so wrapped up in their own mundane and insignificant little lives that they demand no level of excellence from their offspring. Discipline and duty at home has continued to decline year after year. Most of these parents grew up in a permissive environment and, thus, we are reaping another generation of duds.

School officials, particularly those making the decisions and setting the "rules"(administrators, state officials, alleged education "experts"), expect little or nothing other than to continually cry for more money. Classroom teachers, at least those motivated to do so, cannot teach because of the lack of discipline, lack of motivation of students, and useless standards set by pinheads in positions of "authority". Classroom teachers are far more likely to be disciplined than are students (look at the pitiful mess at Greenup County). Therefore, most teachers have abandoned all the ideals of teaching and have chosen to just wait it out and refrain from rocking the boat until time for retirement.

Why do students in other countries outperform our students? It should be obvious. Will it change? No.

Excellent post. IMO parents have to be more involved not only in their children's education, but their social and family life as well.

There have been several instances where the students will stand up to the teacher and just say, I'm not going to do that assignment or turn in their homework. What can the teacher do? School discipline (if you want call it that) is a joke, kids know they can't be paddled, sending them home for three days is the harshest punishment they can receive.