Proposal to restructure public education, to focus on teaching children how to be independent, think freely, problem solve, and most of all understanding America.
School systems are set up to brainwash children to follow the machine. I propose we have schools teach children the constitution, break it down explain in detail what it means. That pro America is encouraged. Economics should cover investments, inflation, savings, and banking.
Sports should be competitive again, healthy living taught and worked on.
Schools should be hands on learning, not just how well the students can take a test. Actual math should be taught, and both math and grammar should have to be passed to proceed.
Teachers need to be allowed to teach, and be reminded their position should encourage questions, and hold utmost patience for the students to try new things.
Schools have become indoctrination camps and it is time to change it, or do away with it
Abolishing the Department of education allowing states to take control again. Kids are not learning anything useful we need to give kids more opportunity to learn the trades.
Maybe I missed the point, but what I’m getting at is making sure our children understand how America works. Understanding how to come to informative conclusions. Learning practical endeavors, such as how to grow, knowing where opportunities lie should they have an idea that needs capital.
How many clips, interviews, tik-toks, and such do you see of our youth, and it exemplifies stupidity, anger, and retoric?
From just the public school education, could kids, change a tire? Understand how bills are processed into law? Know who their state, and federal representatives are? Grow a single plant from start to yield? Properly invest capital gains to avoid extra taxes? And so much more practical areas on life.
School has become, here take this test get the school funding, no don’t argue with your teacher, because somehow being a teacher has given them a god like status in their subject where you can’t ask questions.
Oh and don’t feel like doing your work? No problem schools could care less and some even look into how they can use AI for all sorts.
Critical thinking requires Socratic Seminars, Philosophical Chairs, Problem based learning, a pedagogical understanding of depth of knowledge, and effective practices in questioning. Erik Francis is a current educational leaders with Maverick Education that is phenomenal in the area. The Buck Institute is most effective at PBL, and Pushing Boundaries Education all stand the test of time in this initiative area.
Those are all good points, I’m afraid at this point the whole system needs to be looked at. Besides the basics, like understanding language,(reading, writing and speaking)math, science. The states should look at actual endeavors in their areas and teach skills for becoming independent adults. I believe the federal reach has over reached and no longer cares about independent individuals but voters and agenda pushers.
I taught school for almost 20 years and went through many standard and curriculum rewrites. I remember when “No Child Left Behind” was rolled out. We cannot continue educating students like we did 30 -50 years ago. The world is not the same. But we continue to bus all children to one central location and force students of various abilities sit in a classroom equivalent to their age. Oh, I’m aware of flexible grouping and differentiation strategies. Sounds good until you’re the teacher writing 15 page lesson plans and getting burnt out from trying to be all things to all students. Today’s students have educational, physical and mental health needs that didn’t present in the classroom in 1980. Our schools are failing our children. Our teachers are overwhelmed. We need a paradigm shift to a new way of educating our students that will engage students, free teachers up to be educators, and keep everyone safe.
Curriculum can be digitized and the whole curriculum can go out on day 1 to allow students to complete it on their own pace- some might take all year some quicker. This will give an incentive for students to work hard, problem solve and then be rewarded with free time. Schools could have rich arts departments and athletics programs, clubs or trade classes. We all know what kids are learning right now is BS
The curriculum should also be made available to homeschooling families for free, those families deserve the same free materials that everyone else is given. Lower-income families that prefer to homeschool can more easily do so, and if they want to exclude some topics based on religious beliefs or other reasons, they can do so.
A comprehensive understanding of U.S. history requires teaching “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly,” beginning with the landing of the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock and extending to the present day. This curriculum should not only address significant events and figures in American history but also highlight the complexities and challenges faced by different communities throughout our nation’s journey. Additionally, it is crucial to incorporate the interactions and relationships with other countries, providing students with a global context that deepens their understanding of how international dynamics have influenced U.S. history. By exploring both the triumphs and the failures, students can develop a more nuanced perspective of our past and its impact on the world today.
This is one of my favorite videos on this topic.
I really think children need more time to play outside and better play structures, more natural, like trees and ropes to climb etc.
I think the constitution should be a topic and it’s own class that’s taught every year K-12 as well as the real reason for the Boston tea party.
I also think there needs to be more of a well-rounded education - more performing and visual arts, cooking class, woodworking, etc.
Young kids need to learn, how to read, phonetically, how to do math, using their heads, how to write, and give them little puzzles to learn how to reason, Kids do not need sexual education, gender garbage, they need to learn how to play, share, run, have fun while learning. Let them explore the world using science. we can climb back up to real academic education using these, teach them languages, year by year.
Kids are naturally wired to learn—it’s something they’re born with. Our role isn’t to force them into a mold or tell them what to care about, but to support what they’re already drawn to. It’s less about teaching and more about being there to guide them, trusting that they’ll find their own path if we just give them the space.
I like this as an observation, but would like to see what a detailed proposal for curriculum would look like for K-12 that doesn’t teach to the test, but gives children and young adults the critical thinking skills they will need to survive and thrive in a society that’s headed for artificial intelligence providing facts and knowledge at their fingertips and will replace many of the types of jobs traditional education is geared towards
Think more like trade schools
So in Kindergarten;
practice good manners
Practice cleaning up after ones self
Practice eye contact when speaking
Slower pace so the kids don’t feel rushed
Solid foundation of the English ABC’s plus we should encourage a second language as well. Second language could be a stand alone class the students go to at different times throughout the day giving the teachers a planning period too.
Time for being read too, at least one book by the teacher each day.
Begining concepts of math, block counting, number recognition, grouping.
Hands on biology of animals even outdoor classrooms, gardening, and care.
Team sports and nutrition.
And a topic of life (career, seasonal event, performing arts, theories, and such) to give the kids a chance to ask questions and learn new possible interest.
I’m not necessarily disagreeing with your list, but here’s my question: Why does it need to involve the government at all? I’ve been reading through the entries on this website since I joined yesterday, and I’m shocked that so many ideas here (all that I have seen) still include the government. Education should be a decision made by families and their local communities. Teaching wasn’t even a formal profession until the government turned it into one in the 1800s. The whole idea of subjects comes from Prussia—these aren’t American ideas; they were imposed on us by elites.
the idea is reforming the government education system.
Yes families and local communities should have a say.
You’re getting into teacher unions, DESE and the system absolved (which at this point may be the solution)
Public schools need to change, it has to start. Changing the governments involvement in what they require the public system to teach can be the first step.
Homeschoolers do have full control over their curriculum many parents that can homeschool do, but this is to reform the public side, which at this time is mandated by what the government dictates.