How pathetic is our system?

Originally posted by picastoc ↑

The chart would not display. I'd have been interested to look at it. Here are some further reasons:

Our culture does not value education and this is apparent when compared with those of some other countries
Two parents working thus no time to assist with homework projects, school interviews, etc (hence parents less involved in education achievements of their kids, wanting to blame everybody and everyone else, but not themselves). Often, the woman feels guilty about that and tries to compensate.
Broken families - children not performing at school slip through the cracks of the system, who is responsible? Children leave homework in one house, forget their textbooks, etc because they move from house to house.
Replacement of traditional learning with more emphasis now on technology (reading and writing less important)
Teachers entering the profession with very ordinary academic achievement levels, ordinary spelling and comprehension levels themselves. Seen many a spelling error written up in front of a class by a young teacher, myself.
Completely different attitudes towards education.
Society's constant attack on teachers. Instead of supporting them, they are criticised for their easy, cushy jobs, lots of holidays, etc. Attempts to discipline used to be supported by parents. These days parents don't want to hear about poor behaviour of their kids, so attack the teacher instead. This did not occur in previous decades. Discipline administered was a concern by the parents and supported by them.
Hard working, high achieving students are less inclined to enter teaching profession, given society's low respect for teachers.
Lack of morality. This includes some teachers. Laziness of some teachers.
Kids getting far higher grades than they deserve - encouraged by the "System".

All the ills of the community are reflected in the classroom. They are all there in miniature and as a microcosm of society. Focus is so much on money and so little on learning just for learning's sake. Goodbye literature and poetry and hello to the world of business. When the study of economics was replaced with Business Management in senior school, one of my students said he enrolled because he wanted to be an "inside trader".

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"Kids from Australian homes compared with kids from Asian homes????"Completely different attitudes towards education"

You hit the nail on the head pic!

Attitude!

pic - two of our closest and dearest and longest friends have been teachers all their lives.
They have had enough!
The education system is in shambles because it is drifting away from the basics of what students need -rather than what they want.

My two grandkids' greatest treat is me reading them books - which I do with great pleasure
They do not have a TV in the house
My two daughters were also avid readers as am I and my wife - who just happens to be a Doc in Clinical Psychology and specialises in child and adolescent mental illnesses.

The way I see it - and that is from the outside looking in - our Education system is dumbing kids down.
From the inside looking out you may have a different perspective pic

But it's not a pretty picture and it won't change whilst we continue to live in denial