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Yes, the educational system is on the decline
Regardless of where it started, and in spite of the unions, the sad truth is, the bulk of the students today are trapped on a kind of educational "assembly line." Give 'em all a passing grade, whether they've earned it or not, and then ship them off to the next class. I remember a tale a co-worker once told me. A girl in the same class as her son turned in a poorly conceived, poorly written, poorly executed paper on some topic, and received the failing grade she deserved. Going home in tears forced her parents to go to the school the next day and complain to the principal. Instead of the principal standing by his teacher and her grading of the paper, he had her change the score to a passing grade just to appease the parents! I think all that taught the girl was: if you scream and bitch and stomp your feet enough, you'll get people to bow to your whims, regardless. That too falls on the parents, as well as the spineless principal.
Some years ago, Jay Leno went to a California high school graduation ceremony, and asked a few of the graduating students some very basic questions, and the answers were astonishing! Some kids thought we broke away from France following The Revolutionary War, that Mussolini was an Italian composer, that Benjamin Franklin was one of our presidents. They couldn't name the three branches of government, had no idea who the inventor of the phone was, and thought we had allied with Germany to fight Russia during WW II. And all the while, Leno's audience was howling with laughter. I'm sorry, but I found none of that amusing in the slightest! Remember, these were high school seniors . . . graduating seniors . . . and supposedly the people who will be running our businesses and country someday. I don't know about anyone else, but that thought scares the crap out of me!
Here's an excerpt, and an interesting thought, by the late, great George Carlin from his book "Brain Droppings": "While we're at it, why don't we teach courses in how to be responsible, or how to be married, or how to be a good parent, or, at the very least, how to be a reasonably honorable human being? Unfortunately, such courses will never be taught, because the information gleaned would have no application in real life."
Yes, today's educational system is indeed a sad state of affairs! 
posted by
JimmyA
on November 2, 2011 at 9:04 AM
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My mother taught in a country one-room school - grades 1-7.
It's in an atmosphere such as that where students benefit from lessons taught to all those grades. (My mother didn't spare the rod; one day she took the rod out of a window blind and smacked an unruly boy's hand.
)
posted by
reasons
on October 31, 2011 at 1:19 PM
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I spent my grades 1----7 in a one Teacher one room school too
with about 12 kids but I think that i played or read books more than anything.....but then that was me, being me,,,,always prefering a book to anything.
posted by
Kabu
on October 31, 2011 at 1:00 PM
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