See, I think US education is well behind global standards.
Depends upon the school. I've got some awesome public schools around me, some of the best in the nation. My own district is top-flight, and can pretty much keep-up with . . . the next mention in my response . . .
. . . Private schools, Prep & otherwise!
"Public" is not the only game in town. In fact, despite my local district being very good, and my paying commensurate property taxes for it, my kids spent k-12 in the Catholic/Catholic-Prep system.
I'm willing to place my kids' education alongside any others. Not all schools suck.
I think we teach to tests...not to educate. We aren't measuring learning - we are measuring the ability to take a test and regurgitate answers. Not only in our K-12 traditional schooling, but we have also turned college into job prep vs. true learning as it once was more often viewed. We are trying, but we are using an antiquated road map and it is time to make some major investments and changes in HOW we educate and how we view education.
But if we don't test, how do we measure the kids' knowledge bases?
Critical thinking & "learning" is vitally important. But so is knowledge!
There's certain things you need to know & understand to be "educated".
My son is 8. He's INCREDIBLY talented in STEM fields. His brain is "wired" that way. He's also ADHD and has a speech disorder that isn't *really* about speech, but more about how his brain sends signals to his body. SO much of traditional US education is just completely awful for him. Thankfully, he's in a private school where they do a LOT more small group and hands on learning...but I want to hire him a private teacher/tutor and just set them free. (He won't 'learn' from me or I would homeschool...
Ah, do you see my concern? As I stated above to Nomad4Ever , I find it hard to believe any one parent has the knowledge & skillset to properly educate their kids to the level a good school has.
My fear is what happens to the exceptional kid? The high-flyer that needs, wants, & can handle advanced instruction? If the parents can't provide that, it would seem-to-me they're knee-capping the kid, not allowing him or her to reach their full potential.
Ditto for the arts & other activities like athletics & debate. What parent could possibly have all these advanced skills, much less be proficient in teaching them?
he would THRIVE being cut lose from the 'structure' of school)
I get that. He needs, and deserves, the environment best suited for him. That's why I like the Montessori Method, and wish it was available in latter years - including in high school!
But structure is only one thing. Again, my concern is in adequate home resources.
I know what my kids had available at their schools. I simply see no way I could have supplied all that. I'm extremely grateful to have access to academic institutions that were able to provide those resources to my children.
Overall, the US approach to education has been shown to just NOT work for boys in comparison to girls. Sit at a desk and performing seat work and paying attention to someone in the front of a room is completely contradictory to the way that we know little kids - and especially little boys - learn best.
Interesting. My son went to an all-boys' traditional Catholic Prep, one of only several "boys only" still around in my area.
Upon interviewing with them, I wasn't thrilled with the "all-boys" aspect, even while they tried to convince me "boys learn differently than girls". However I let my son make his own choice, as every one of his several prospect schools were very good, so I figured his happiness & enthusiasm would be the over-riding factor in his academic success,
Turns-out the kid thrived there, and I think I underestimated the effect of "boys learn differently"!
You often only hear about this sort of thing in the "manosphere" where they are trying to "spin" it...but it is an issue.
Are you asking if there is a crisis looming? Are boys falling behind? And if so, what’s happened to our boys to make them fail and fall behind?
www.armyandnavyacademy.org
And Merry Christmas to you and your family also!
From what I saw of my son thriving in an "all-boys" environment, the above might be right.
Thanks for the great conversation. (as always!)