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.... and parents willing to kick ass too.

First letter I have read on this blog that makes a lick of sense in a long time. The writer hit the nail on the head. The "no failing student" and the "no discipline" group were the downfall of our educational system. The attitude of Don't hold them back and don't swat the hindside because it might hurt their ego's developed a group of failed arrogant hoodlums.
Time to go back to basics as the writer said. I've been saying it for over 30 years.

I agree that social promotions are a problem. However, what do you do with a 16 year old eighth grader?

We have so much emphasis on passing tests, that it is small wonder kids don't learn what they need to learn.

I was appalled to learn from my 8th grade granddaughter that she was not being taught grammar, that she was studying only literature. While I highly value literature, kids need grammar every year, over and over and over. It is boring for the teachers and the kids, but it must be learned; another problem, kids think school must be "fun".

The lack of writing skills of my high school students drove me crazy, and this was from all levels, AP, CP, and down. As a business teacher, one of the competencies we had to teach was homonyms (of course that word brought snickers). Their, there, they're..your, you're. On and on. Their main complaint to me was "This is not an English class" I told them that ALL classes are English classes. Poor writing skills make you look ignorant even though you are smart as a whip.

OOPs, got on a tangent again. I say to Len: Unfortunately, "educators" (teachers and principals) make NO decisions as to what is taught. We are all given a curriculum guide which we have to follow. Fortunately, the business guide was great; we taught what the kids needed to learn in our courses. Legislators with no education background make the rules. Also Dr. Grier makes a few of his own (I don't consider him an educator, just another politician/dictator.) All of this ties the hands of teachers and principals. These things, not salaries, run off good teachers.

Carol,

Truer words are seldom spoke. You really nailed it this time.

Mrproduce, I'm only in my thirties. I lived through a lot of the transition from what schools used to be to what they are now. It's a downright shame. When I started in elementary school, a visit to the principal's office meant a paddling, major embarassment at school and a worse fate at home.

We diagrammed sentences until our fingers hurt. Neatness was a MUST.

I guess the full realization of how much our schools have slipped came during college. I went back to college almost 6 years after graduating from high school and years of work experience.

In one of our college English classes, we were required to read and grade our the papers written by our peers. I couldn't believe my eyes. There were some essays that I couldn't even comprehend. There were people who couldn't even write a complete sentence. Where's the subject or the verb? It was just pitiful.

Truth, I am just a little older than you...I too remember diagramming those darn sentences! DO NOT bring back those terrible memories! LOL

I too went to college as a non-traditional student. I recall taking a "knowledge" test in my first semester English 101 class. Surpising to me, I fell right in the middle of "knowledge" of English with my peers who had just graduated high school only a few months prior. That alone told me that there were grave problems in our education.

I had numerous conversations with my English professor. He and I dialogued about what was happening both in the US educational system and even there at our institution. It is amazing to me.

I have a 19 yo niece. Her knowledge of English is atricious. I have offered my assistance to her on several occasions. I am astonished at her level of knowledge.

The only saving grace that I have was an 11th grade English teacher. She was a TRUE stickler on grammar and taught it with a passion. Were it not for her, I would have never passed college English. I had the opportunity to convey those thoughts with her. She then told me how that she no longer was able to teach grammar as she had when I was one of her pupils. That is the problem, politicians making educational decisions! Throw those bums out!

Shalom

I taught middle school math after social promotions were put into place. I had students that didn't know their right hand from their left hand, couldn't tell time, couldn't count money, and couldn't add single digit numbers. Knowing they had gotten to middle school on a "free ride," they also knew they would be sent to the next grade via this same "free ride." And we ask ourselves why our educational system is failing!

Carol D: Good letter!

Darryl,

Sorry about bringing back those nightmares. I did okay on those sentences until they got downright ridiculous and the diagram went from one side of the chalkboard to the other.

My teacher's name was Mrs. Bray. She was getting ready to retire after our class. Lucky her.

Good letter Carol.

Hey, I remember those darn diagraming sentences until it made you wild.My english days predate 90% of those on here I am sure. I started 1st grade in 1950, so has anybody got me beat there and graduated in '62. We had no kindergarten and would you believe that 1st grade was half -day for the first half of the year.

I was fortunate to have an English teacher who realized that a lot of students didn't like just plain grammer study so she encapsulated it with Lit. When we read a play, short story, poetry or what ever, you could count on having to write a short essay on the meaning , the writers intent etc. From that we received a grade for grammer as well as our Lit. It helped us to understand the Lit better and sure helped in learning how to write for which I am eternally grateful.

I too returned to school after being out for several years and found that incoming students were slipping. In grad school I was years older than those in class with me and how they made it through college much less into grad school based on their writing ability was amazing to me.
Incoming freshmen that we worked with as grad students were clueless on how to write a simple sentence. How to find information in the library. How to even begin to form an essay paper etc etc etc.
It's time to stir up a hornets nest and get rid of those in charge who would keep the system the same in order to look good on paper and put folks in with some common sense on what and how subjects should be taught in our schools starting in K-12.
No time like the present.

Greetings from Carol, class of '62. My kids were blessed to have Maggie Maleski for 10th grade English. They "hated" her then, but love her now. They both write and speak so well. God bless all the Maggies of the world.

Social promotion is never a good idea, or practice or anything. As stated above, it is a set up for all kinds of let downs, abuses, frustrations, acting out etc. etc.

In a nut shell--I read a study that compared a child's early school readiness with the educational level of the mother and the amount of time she spent with the child and the conversational/educational quality of that time.

The results showed that the (please excuse the words used for brevity's sake) educated mother spent more qualitative and educational interactive time with her child than did the lower level educated mother.

What the sad results were that by the time both of these children entered (I think) Pre-K, that the school test scores were significantly different, that is to say, were higher for the child with the educated mother.

The gap that was created during this at home time
was hardly dented throughout K thru 12 grade. Granted that the more advantaged child continued to enjoy more educational opportunities (I guess)
than the other less fortunate.

Two of the suggestions were:
1- to identify these less fortunate children at a very early age and get them into school;

2- (this is the kicker), try to get the mother to go back to school as well. There are all kinds of social promotion and they will come back to bite us.

I hope I did justice to the study, I think I was pretty close tho.