Okay so we are screwing up education

Discussion in 'Education' started by garyd, Jan 24, 2020.

  1. garyd

    garyd Well-Known Member

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    https://getpocket.com/explore/item/...-reading-in-20-years?utm_source=pocket-newtab

    The gist of it is that there is a knowledge gap between rich kids and poor kids. We've known this for decades. It contributes to the reason why programs like head start don't have lasting impact. Yet the savants that run our education system are doing almost nothing to fill in that gap because skills teaching alone does nothing to fill that basic knowledge gap. Note I notice this while administering the old peabody intelligence test which basically uses a set of pictures and word prompts to test intelligence in kids who weren't yet proficient in reading.

    I administered these tests to kids in first grade in cities and little country schools. The city kids -regardless of socio economic class always did better than the country kids regardless of socio economic class. I thought it odd then I noticed that there were certain pictures and prompts that the cities kids almost always got right and the country kids almost always got wrong and these four or five combinations accounted for almost all the difference. The difference was simply that these combinations were things country kids almost never saw and but would have been part of. the daily routine for kids living in the city.

    This knowledge gap and the fact that almost nothing is being done to address it is almost certainly part of the problem in our inner city schools. We are trying to solve the wrong problem in our schools. This isn't a problem that takes a crap load of money to solve what it does require is that we refocus our aim and start recalibrating goals
     
  2. tkolter

    tkolter Well-Known Member

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    On average our education system overall public, private and homeschooling options are adequate based on our population size the margins are the issue the very poor and low intelligence people and the very intelligent (money at this level is less of an issue for the wealthy they can send children to the best schools but the poorer people). If your poor your either screwed or need parents and others who work at your education if you have internet access and a public library you have your school with encouragement. Right now you can learn at the college level with a good cell phone and its free of the costs of books and tuition anything if one is dumb its an issue for ignorance for ordinary average folks they might have other interests like sports for the brighter people they can learn now without college in soft subjects? Now STEM fields. medical majors and prep to be a doctor or LNP are fine but studying Literature or a Language or getting skills to be an artist or actor there are cheaper options now.
     

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