Our Education System Sucks

[Lonestarblue]

19. The article I read states that there was a noticeable drop in scores in 2012.

So what was happening just before then? In 2010 Republicans gained control of many school board and state houses. Many promptly started meddling in public education, though red states have always tried to mold public education to suit conservative beliefs.

The leftover cuts from the Great Recession probably were not restored. Charter schools were beginning to siphon money from public schools. Mainstreaming had become the primary education model, and if not done well it has a deleterious effect on the learning of non-disabled students.

Teacher salaries have not kept up with inflation, and many people have left the profession. A few years ago, education was so bad in Kansas after Republicans cut taxes for the rich and just kept cutting money from education that many teachers left the state. Kids were learning from social studies books that were 20+ years out of date and falling apart because there was no money for books. Republican policies definitely hurt education.

Things have not improved since 2012. Some states, like Texas, increased class size to avoid hiring more teachers. When this was done a Texas, a number of veteran teachers left the profession because trying to teach a class of 35-40 kids is not conducive to learning. Ideal class sizes are close to 20.

In addition, social media has had an impact on school behavior and on classroom disturbances. Kids also mirror the behavior of the adults around them, and we have a non-civil society that seeks violence to solve even minor disagreements. Most kids also now have cellphones, and parents demand that they have access to them so they can call 911 if an active shooter is trying to murder them!

We need an overhaul of our approach to education, but Republicans are not serious partners. They only blame unions for all the problems and want to get their hands on public monies by starting for-profit charter schools. What DeSantis is doing in Florida will not help education and is likely to make things worse as experienced teachers choose to leave and partisan school boards hire hacks who believe as they believe but have little or no teaching experience.

Sadly, I see student scores onky getting worse.