Re:U.S. math scores drop on major international test
by cutemonster on Wednesday December 11, 2024 @03:04PM
(#42392214)
> The pre-college US education is not excellent. ... The standards are low.
If so, might still be a lot worse elsewhere. Maybe the US is not good, but less bad?
As an extreme example, think of Haiti for example.
1. The standards are low. Here are some examples:
- My high school calculus class went at half the speed of a college calculus class. Some of the students still complained it went too fast!
- I took Spanish for 3 years. Native Spanish speakers laugh at my Spanish because it is extremely poor (poor pronunciation and I cannot read a Spanish newspaper).
2. Students and parents are more concerned with grades than with learning.
3. I know of teachers who have been punished because they had high standards. I know of one English teacher who was made a librarian because he failed half of his class. He was the best English teacher in the school, and he had high standards. I know he was good because I had him.
4. When I went to high school, I was surprised at how many students could not write a coherent argument in English.
5. My physics and chemistry classes in high school looked nothing like the classes in college. Basically, they were relatively easy, and I did not learn a lot. In the case of physics, the textbook also did a poor job of explaining concepts.
My main point is my experience with US public education was poor. Classes were easy, students were not pushed, and concepts were not taught. I don't think you can call a school which cannot teach physics, chemistry, or Spanish a good school. I also do not think my experience was unique.