Whats wrong with America's high schools

CNN ^

[SwordofTruth]

These days the bench is mostly empty. Of his dozen friends, Shawn says just one or two are still at Shelbyville High.

They graduated Shawn, about time you do it as well.

[RightWhale]

Nevertheless it is a myth, and lacks the substance of a good myth. It is a utopic myth, which is nothing like a moral myth; that is, there is nothing to learn and apply. An accident of language, like saying an apple is red. An apple is not red. They are two different things. Capital is not wealth and neither are factory production. He made this stuff up. There are treatments available now.

[Major_Risktaker]

Your best bet is to HOMESCHOOL or put them in a PRIVATE school that is CONSERVTIVE - that is IF you really care about your kids.

I agree 100% with you. We just freed our 14 year old daughter from 9th grade public school and will home school her with private tutors.

Her attitude is 100% better now and she can't wait to start.

Animals at the zoo have more common sense and behave better than teachers and students at US public schools today.

America started going down after President Eisenhower left office and has been sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss.

[68skylark]

Afterward, encourage them to join the military to help pay for college. Coast Guard, Marines, Army..you know better than anyone which branch they'd fit right into.

This is good advice for some kids. But remember that about 75% of young people aren't eligible to join the service becasue of health issues, academic reasons, aptitude test restults, etc. Let's not make a kid be surprised or feel bad if he can't get in.

[swmobuffalo]

"Please provide a link to a high school that does not teach English."

They can't because they're on a bandwagon/highhorse affair w/how bad public schools are and it doesn't matter to them whether they really are right or not.

[durasell]

I took Latin as a kid. Never used it. But one day I'll visit Latin America and it'll come in handy.

[hosepipe]

[ Capital is not wealth and neither are factory production. He made this stuff up ]

True socialism is being capitalized in many places.. like in China.. The Capitalization of Socialism is big business.. even global business.. For when socialism is capitalized, socialism is parasiting capitalism like it does everything else it touches.. Socialism is a social parasite.. but the disease is democracy.. For democracy generates socialism.. as a symptom.. Socialism is merely a symptom of democracy(Mob Rule)..

[swmobuffalo]

"dropout rate has been approximately 30% for two decades."

There is within every generation a segment of society that refuses to excel. Doesn't matter what you do or say, the motivation isn't there.

[Drango]

For Latinos and African-Americans, the rate approaches an alarming 50 percent.

If we are to be a great society we MUST do something about this.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Dropping out isn't the worst problem.

True. I would rather have them drop out and take the GED later.

[LegendHasIt]

Many good points above.

Here's one more example of things that are wrong with our schools:

Students given school credit for demonstrating
at pro-illegal alien rallies.
(but not for anti-illegal immigration rallies.)

[ClaireSolt]

Dropping out is partly a symptom of the low standards. When schools fail to tach the baiscs in grammar school, then high school work is too hard for them. also, they know that they have other choices, ie welfare and jobs.

[ga medic]

I figured that out. The public school system has numerous problems and they have a big impact on our lives. If we don't look at them realistically, the impact will increase by orders of magnitude in the next generations. Imagine a society where 50% of the population does not have a high school diploma and does not have the skills to hold even low level jobs. Those who prefer to insist that high schools no longer teach English only create a distraction for those interested in finding long term solutions.

[LegendHasIt]

Sorry, I messed up the link in my post above.
(That's what I get for tapping it in on my Pocket PC.)

Try this:
Students given school credit for demonstrating
at pro-illegal alien rallies.
(but not for anti-illegal immigration rallies.)

[RightWhale]

But one day I'll visit Latin America and it'll come in handy.

Won't have to go anywhere since Latin America is coming here. Well, maybe go to Burger King, they all speak Latin there.

[nmh]

And that IS the TRUTH!!!!

[nmh]

We private school our daughter.

It's worth ANY sacrafice.

If parents insist on chasing the dollar ... then make allowance for a good conservative private school - it pays off!

[Jim Noble]

In 1941, the fraction of white American teenagers who completed high school was 25%.

This is probably close to the "natural" rate, the product of IQ + motivation.

What's wrong with high schools is that 75% of the "students" are too stupid for legitimate 11th and 12th grade work, and they are prisoners in a place where they cannot be successful.

Let them go, and watch things improve.

[Drew68]

The article says the dropout rate has been approximately 30% for two decades.

It amazes me that you are not allowed to have a sip of beer until you are 21 yet you can freely drop out of school at 16. Which has worse long term consequences? An American without a high school diploma has no value in the job market. None. He/she will be competing with illegal immigrants for unskilled jobs that the illegals will be able to do for less money and higher productivity. Parents who allow their kids to drop out of high school are relegating them to a hard, hard life.

[RobbyS]

The unions regard the schools as huge indoctrination centers for the values they hold dear. They oppose vouchers for two reasons: one, they think that no amount of money for the public schools is sufficient; second, they don't want others with "wrong" values to have any influence over the education of students. This includes parents who reject those values. What are these values? The values of the constituent parts of the Democratic Party.