(Mary Beth) What do you mean “start in grade school?” What do you THINK THEY’RE DOING IN GRADE SCHOOL?

I hate this “the U.S. doesn’t stack up against other nations” crap.

#1: What do Americans like to do on the weekends? We like to relax. We go to the lake, we knock back a couple of cold ones with our friends… we plan outings and activities that are FUN. And, on the weeknights? We like to watch American Idol or some other reality nonsense after we get home from our kids’ 42 sports activities. So, what’s my point? CULTURE. The American culture says, “Life is short, let’s enjoy it.” Now, if you’re willing to give that up, fine. But changing our CULTURE? Good luck. I don’t see every American K-6th grader spending evenings at Kumon after a full day of public school, do you?

#2: In the U.S., thanks to the grand vision of our founding fathers, we provide a free education to every child through grade 12. EV-ER-Y child. In the nations we’re being compared to, free public education is for students through 8th grade. After 8^th grade, students in other nations are filtered into either a trade-school track or a college track. In our country EVERY child is tested; in other nations, only the cream of the crop is tested. Apples to oranges.

#3: You want me to do my job better? Do yours. I need every parent to send me children who are prepared to learn. Read to your child every night at bedtime starting at birth. Play math games at dinner, in the car, and when you’re waiting with your child in the doctor’s office. Make your child work HARD on their homework (quit doing it FOR them). Make your child “look it up.” And, TALK to your child. A LOT. One of the single biggest determining factors of a child’s school success is the number of words per day he/she hears at home. Expect your child to respect you, and discipline him/her when s/he is disrespectful. If I call home to report your child was disrespectful at school, it was a BIG DEAL, so support me. (I don’t call home if it’s small potatoes. I handle the small stuff on my own.) Classroom management strips away a LOT of learning time.

#4: Let me do my job. Stop expecting me to teach material that is unrelated to my curriculum… Character education, career education, DARE, CHOICES, dental care, etc., etc., etc. These are wonderful programs. They are. But, if you’re going to keep whining about how we don’t stack up with other nations, let me teach the core curriculum.

#5: The highest math class I took in high school was Algebra II, and the highest math class I took in college was College Algebra. I never took trig; I never took calculus. Granted, I am not an engineer (neither are you!), but I am not wanting for math skills. I managed to obtain two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s. There are a lot of us out here who were not graced with a math brain, so torturing us all with advanced math would be pointless. Instead, how about if we find out what percentage of the Chinese population has taken calculus, and we aim for a similar percentage?

| Category Rant