Still digging through my stack of reading that I neglected, and this Bob Herbert column from the Times last week bubbled up.
An American kid drops out of high school every 26 seconds. That’s more than a million every year, a sign of big trouble for these largely clueless youngsters in an era in which a college education is crucial to maintaining a middle-class quality of life — and for the country as a whole in a world that is becoming more hotly competitive every day.
Ignorance in the United States is not just bliss, it’s widespread. A recent survey of teenagers by the education advocacy group Common Core found that a quarter could not identify Adolf Hitler, a third did not know that the Bill of Rights guaranteed freedom of speech and religion, and fewer than half knew that the Civil War took place between 1850 and 1900.
I think that the lack of discussion about education in this election cycle is what is depressing me most about the state of change right now. We’ll be watching reruns of Paula Abdul’s “meltdown” on Idol last night for at least another week, or wasting even more time on Rev. Wright, but the idea of having a serious sit down about education that involves the interested parties (read: EVERYONE) just can’t happen.
I will say however, that if we are going to measure the success of education in America by how many people can accurately date the Civil War or identify Adolf Hitler, we may not be ready for the real conversation that has to take place.
Just as I had been thinking as well. I won’t add more info here, but my recent post, “Still at Risk” falls along the same lines…
http://ransomtech.edublogs.org/2008/04/29/still-at-risk/
I’ve been feeling the same way. We don’t take our education seriously enough. I also think we need to revamp our education system. Right now our schools are only geared for one type of person. As Sir Ken Robinson said at TED (www.ted.com) in 2006, “We are educating people out of their creative capacities.”
Check out this article from eSchool News – Educators seek lessons from Scandinavia – http://tinyurl.com/395wbb
Could it be that the Bill of Rights,Adolf Hitler, and the Civil War don’t count on the all-important math, reading, and writing standardized tests? Hmmmmm
Maybe kids don’t have accurately date the Civil War, but it would be nice if they could identify the half-century in which it occurred.
I taught English/writing/technology courses for 13 years at a major urban university. My experience is that it’s not just K-12 students who are “Clueless in America” as stated above. I would estimate that 3/4 of my adult students (ranging in age from 20-60) had difficulty writing simple sentences, let alone a five-paragraph paper. The best writers were the oldest students who attended high school decades ago.
I also worked in a corporate environment for a few years…………….and found the same thing. Corporations spend millions of dollars training employees how to write — even simple reports. And I know teachers who are still confused by “it’s” and “its”……..
Good point Will – what kind of democracy can you have with a population that is clueless? With all our profound and complex problems – what hope have we of solving them?
How did we get here. Is it just the schools? Or is it a wider cultural shift – TV etc? The failure of the family etc.
On PEI we are locked into the same results with the worst outcomes in Canada – most young are incapable of working or behaving in a social manner. Everyone is blaming our ed system – but again I wonder if the causes are wider.
School has a lot to answer for but I fear that of we make school the focus of the problem we may miss what may be more important
I think that mention of Hitler, the Bill of Rights and the Civil War could be examples of bigger concepts, ideas and issues that are important in our world. Understanding Hitler’s reign could help students understand what’s happening in Darfur and realizing that the Civil War wasn’t all that long ago and that we are still struggling with racism today.
I’m most disappointed with the conversations teachers are having in the halls, classrooms and faculty rooms. They seem to be about the latest “reality” TV episode. Many of the conversations educators are having with students is about the very same. (BTW – I’m proud to acknowledge that I was not aware of Paula’s meltdown until you wrote it.)
What are we afraid of? Is it that educators don’t want to be exposed? Exposed to the fact that they don’t know it all? That they might have been teaching a unit “wrong” and might look incompetent?
Im am in agreement that the “discussion” is needed… BUT…..
Is that really the whole story? I think the question may be…
Who is interested in the discussion itself. Is it just us who are already working in education? (I think thats called “preaching to the choir”) Is the American public REALLY interested in talking about education to the extent of doing something about it through pressing their political sources or (Heaven forbid!) being accountable to their children at home. (ie. making sure they live like education is important)
Teachers interested in Idol are maybe guilty of being tired, fed up with the perceived importance of their role by America; or, how they are respected by their support of government and the parents/students they are trying to educate.
There are so many neglected aspects to this discussion its really heartbreaking and sad. The discussion is important. But what are we willing to give up to have it?
So true. As a citizenry, we do very little. We are highly vocal about and protest abortion. We protest anti-abortion. We protest for choice. We protest for civil rights. We protest for free speech. We protest against the Olympic torch. We protest against abuse of animals. We protest against wearing fur. We protest against cutting trees down. We protest against endangering wildlife habitats. We protest for union rights. We protest for better writer’s compensation in media. We protest war.
We are quite silent when it comes to education. The only attention we seem to get in the media is when these national and international “reports” come out that compare us to one another and to other countries. And it is the media representing “us”.
Or, are they?
I agree that we, as educators, are the only ones pushing for better education. What sad is that no one seems to have noticed that there are no educational issues being brought up in the current election process. I think, (and this is only an opinion) that when people hear about how the US compares to other nations, it bothers them for about as long as it takes get a cup of coffee. It’s a stat thrown out in conversations by people who think they know about education and educators. People who couldn’t do what we do.
However, to play the devil’s advocate, does everyone really need to go to college. I need someone to drywall my basement. The guy I hired doesn’t have a college degree, and he makes more money than I do. When did having a job that requires less of an education become a bad thing.
Being interested in reality shows is a way to wind down and escape the pressures of the day. It doesn’t make one ignorant of other issues. It bothers me when students are questioned about specific events and all seem to be judged by the answers of a few. Put a few politicians on the spot and see how well they do. Students mostly know what is being stressed by their teachers, and yes, what they need to know to pass a test. If they are able to seek out and find information on their own when it is needed, they will probably be okay.
It is a shame that a big portion of Americans are “clueless.” I wonder myself many times of how people can be so “clueless.” I also wonder what is going wrong with America’s education system. I am in school now and seem to know the basics. I wonder how others around me do not know things that I would call basic. Education needs to be improved in America. I think a big issue in the American education system is that they allow kids to go too far along with out fully understanding the material. The fact of the matter is that American education needs to be a bigger issue then it is. Many things push its way to the front of political debates but education is not one of them. If we have poor education our future will not be bright, and if we want a government in the future that is strong and educated then education needs improvement.
Will,
I thought that this was a very good post because I had not idea there were so many students dropping out. I think that I am not really exposed to that because in the area where i live most of the kids graduate and go to college. But the fact remains that there are still many high school students who drop out. As you said over a million a year.
I think that something more needs to be done about this issue. Because in order to even get a middle class job you have to go to college and complete high school. Some of the kids in my school are sometimes talking about how much they hate high school and just want to be done. Sometimes I wonder why they hate it so much. I guess there are some people who just do not have the will to learn and be successful. But sometimes students drop out because thier family needs them because a parent died or something else. And most of the time those are the students who want to learn and grow the most.
I do not understand it when some students are just lazy and drop out of high school because they dont feel like working any more. Well they need to wake up and realize that nothing is easy in life and if they dont finish high school and go to college, then life is going to be even harder. There are kids in third world countries who would kill to go to school and learn. To be able to learn is something very special and rare in their country. So the clueless kids of America need to start taking advantage to everything we have and stop talking everything for grantite.
This was a great blog. I think that on all of the blogs on Google are all about technology in the classrooms. But I think we need to talk more about kids dropping out. If a lot of people are dropping out, then there won’t be any classrooms to have technology in! Education is very important, even if people think it’s not at the moment they drop out. People need education to go to college, or get jobs. Something needs to be done. I don’t think that dropping out should be an option, ever. Like Angelica O said, if someone wants even a middle-class job, they need to have completed high school and college. I also agree with her when she says that some students are just lazy and don’t want to go to school any more, they don’t realize how largely it will impact their lives. Great blog!
This was an important blog. Having a High School kid dropping out every 26 seconds is astonishing. A million students a year is ridiculous, students need to be reassured how essential school is. If they want to succeed in life, they cannot do that without finishing high school. They are throwing their lives away, and their parents are to busy watching the newest episode of American Idol to care. We need to have classes or speakers to let students know the difficulties they will face if they do not finish. Four years of high school goes by faster than some students think. Just finishing it can change a life dramatically. Parents need to talk to students who are struggling and they need to help them out, so that they do not make the mistake of dropping out.
This is a great blog to make me realize that America does need a wake up call at times. It is quite astounding the many of students dropping out of school. I believe that those students are wasting a part of their education life, while many out there do not have such a opportunity to even pick up a book. Education is so essential in the world, it applies to about everything. Education helps you realize the important aspects and personal styles, the chance to make your life out of a strong passion you desire, and generally to make a living. Students need to really open their eyes to the control they’re giving to their life. Parents as well must pay attention to what their sons/daughters what may be doing, or nobody else will. Wondering about these young adult’s dropouts of school is much more then the work they refuse. There could be many possibilities of dropouts; peer pressure, friends, family, depression, etc. This blog is certainly a good reminder of having the great importance to learn and creating your own life the way you choose.
I am astonished on how many students are dropping out by the seconds.Having a good education will get anyone so far in life and help them achieve the goals they are looking into. Personally, I dislike school because of the early mornings and the long boring hours. The thing is though, I want to do something big with my life. I already have my mind set and I have since I was little. The education that is being taught in all my classes, I am trying my hardest to sink in because I know that I will be needing it when I get older. Other students should be doing the same. They don’t have to know what they want to be when they grow up, but they should learn what the teachers are providing them because it will help them more then they think. It’s not the school’s fault for not making learning fun, it’s the student that has the choice to receive the materials or leave. It would be nice to see more students going to school then leaving it.
Mr. Richardson,
I was shocked after reading how many students drop out of school. “An American kid drops out of school every 6 seconds”, that is what I read on your post and that really concerned me. For me school is mandatory and I can never imagine dropping out. First of all if I did drop out I would be bored to tears and secondly I would probably lose all my friends because no one wants to be friends with a drop out kid. Most good jobs won’t take you if you don’t have a high school diploma. I understand that it is the kid’s choice to stay in school but if they want a job they should probably finish high school even if they don’t have that good of grades. Education is key in life now a days and you wont get very far with out. This post really opened my eyes to how privileged I am to having parents that won’t let me drop out and also I don’t want to become any statistic on the drop outs in America.
Berek