Our education system is broken in this country

You might have stopped at "broken," OP. "In this country" redundifies "Our."

Eh, R1, at least I can spell and form a discernible sentence.

op, stop being such a school marm. loosen up and enjoy the site.

Stupid people make good slaves, customers, canon fodder, mindless zombie armies, and fucktoys.

You have a point there R4. I guess they want to keep people as stupid as they possibly can for cannon fodder.

OMFG, QYB!

I don't think a greater percentage of people can't spell. I think it's that a greater number of people write and read. As in, people who would never write a letter are now writing emails and texts and posts and reviews. It wasn't difficult to have a job that didn't require any writing, whether because it wasn't part of the job or because you had a secretary to do it for you. What we're seeing are more examples of just how illiterate many people are. Same number of people actively writing and liking it. In fact, I think texting and emailing improved people's writing overall because they're forced to read and write more.

It's actually gotten to the point that I simply ignore posters with horrendous grammar. I don't like ignoring people but since I can rarely make out what they are saying anyway I figure it doesn't matter.

Actually, the literacy rate is higher than it has ever been, both worldwide and in the U.S.

Making generalizations about the educational system because of informal message board posts is pretty dumb, OP. Most of the people on this site graduated from high school over 20 years ago, anyway, so I'm not sure why that would apply to education today.

Social media put an end to proper grammar.

Fat fingers on smartphones that have shitty correction software, OP.

Corrections take forever as my keyboard disappears at random.

Yes, I often abandon posts. Sometimes, I don't.

I have 30 years of practical experience in my field, a very tough field in which to get anywhere, and a local arts college called me regarding teaching my craft. They wanted to pay $4000 for a 10 week session and still were worried because I didn't have a Masters degree. I can clear $4000 teaching my own independent six week class (which I'd have to abandon) and I probably won't get this anyway because of that piece of paper that I let go for the actual career.

Academia is ass backwards too.

Classes in my district started Monday, August 31st. So far this semester, schools have been closed Friday 9/3, Monday 9/7, Monday 9/14 and today. Not even a month into the school year and they've had 4 holidays. In addition, Philly schools are closed 9/24, 9/25 and 9/27. Is it any wonder these kids aren't learning anything?

Literacy rates may be higher due to the sheer number of people who receive educations, but as someone who works on school campuses and grades essays, I can tell you that reading comprehension is not higher than ever. I spend a lot of time explaining that "lol" is not an acceptable substitute for laughed and even more time defining vocabulary words that were commonly used when I was growing up, but that seem to baffle young adults now. I also edit college papers and am often amused by the frequent misuse of their/there/they're and the substitution of "shuttered" for shuddered. It's not enough to merely be literate.

I'm reading a book right now that sounded interesting. I came across this line though, which caused me to cringe. "She was going to hire him on a temporary bases" So not only did the author not catch this, but neither did the editor. Just sad I suddenly understood when, a few pages later, the author had a character going off on Liberals. Then it all made sense.

I'm also catching more book editing errors these days, R15. Even worse are school bulletin signs that scroll with multiple spelling and grammar errors. The paper flyers sent home with the students aren't any better, but the parents never notice or comment, so I guess it doesn't matter any more.

Spelling, punctuation, grammar, has gone to shit with the young'uns in many countries. Language and standards for communication are evolving. Also, R7 has some original insights.

Evidence that standards for communication are changing: my students at a Swiss university don't bother using spelling and grammar checkers so helpfully provided by their word-processors. "Why?"

"Hmm, I always forget. Is it that important?"

"Well yes, it's important in this context - a university. And it's important in your target profession."

"Hmm, ok. But I don't see why it's important."

The end.

That's unpossible.

Schools are also excising a lot of the classics and pushing more non ficition "trade" books for students to read.

r4 called it. We are the new herd beasts.

I knew our country was doomed. I guess I just thought we had like 10 more years.

R1

[quote]You might have stopped at "broken," OP. "In this country" redundifies "Our."

Oh dear!

OP, DL attracts a certain crowd. You want highfalutin written expression, you can find it elsewhere.

This is the liberal plan. Stop teaching history. That way we don't know what made our country great. Our young citizens won't have pride in what we did to build our country. They don't understand how the beliefs of our elders were important in the growth of our country. Our country will implode in time as the weak millennials won't defend us. China knows that in time we will become a very weak nation. I am glad I am toward the end....

I agree but this thread is from 2015 so it's a distraction thread.

I hate to burst your bubble, [R24], but this dumbing down of the curriculum isn't a liberal plan -It's the result of George W. Bush's push for high-stakes testing. In the rush to improve test scores, many schools dropped all history and science instruction -Because those subjects weren't on the test. Since those times, conservative groups have lobbied to remove scientific principles from the science curriculum and replace them with mythology and religious pseudo-science. They have been attempting to rewrite history, converting our founding fathers into modern, bible-thumping Christians and saying that St. Thomas Aquinas was more influential to our formative history than Thomas Jefferson.

The purpose of history isn't to build pride in our past, but to prepare us for our future. There are lessons to be learned, traps to avoid, and good advice to be heeded. That means learning a lot of history, and many points of view. Not the jingoistic my-country-right-or-wrong crap that was the focus in years gone by. School should open minds, not close them.

(R26) History and science are still part of the curriculum everywhere in the U.S. In high school, one usually has to take world history, U.S history, and government/economics. And some states require state history. Students in high school need at least 2 or 3 years of science to graduate.

High school teacher

[R27] I was referring to elementary schools, where I have been teaching for 35 years. Subject requirements come and go, and I stand by my previous comment that history and science were given short shrift -if any time at all - for years in elementary schools.

I had to cook a pancake in 2nd grade science to demonstrate the changing effects of heat. I'd hate to think all that went to waste.

Remember in movies when women were told that they shouldn't be their smart self when dating someone new and rather play dumb to make the guy believe he's the smarter and superior one? That's our society in a nutshell these days. Know when to play dumb to make the insecure alpha not mad at you.

I see posts here all the time containing phrases like "dark skin guys" instead of "dark-skinned" and "old fashion" used as an adjective instead of "old-fashioned."

R30 I don't know of any situation to play dumb in just so's to appease some insecure alpha? You sound human trafficked.

[quote]I agree but this thread is from 2015 so it's a distraction thread.

The reason the bumper troll has been around for so long is because a vast majority of Dataloungers aren't savvy enough to understand they're replying to someone from five years ago who isn't even going to see what they wrote, or to understand that someone is trying to distract them from current topics by bumping old posts like this.

It works, that's why he keeps doing it.

[quote] I don't know of any situation to play dumb in just so's to appease some insecure alpha?

Right you are!

Teachers are not given enough control of what they want to do. Education is wayyyy to localized here, it should be more at the state level as opposed to local.

R34 He's NO alpha, he's a carnival midway barker...at best he's a low life opportunist. Doc can leave at any moment, at this point I don't think Trump would even care. I fear she's letting celebrity and her 15 min cloud her better judgement. But I liked your post, made me laugh.

[quote] He's NO alpha, he's a carnival midway barker...at best he's a low life opportunist.

I sure wish you were in charge of the GOP and not Mitch McConnell or be the head of DoJ instead of William Barr, or be the VP instead of Mike Pence. You wouldn't take Trump's shit to further your own agenda.