Stupid in America

[monsoon]

Disturbing for sure, but one of the reasons we don't like American teenagers here. See this.

[tony speller]

sad. i really have no comment because everything is pretty obvious. I'm about halfway finished right now.

[Neo]

I'd like to say that this is well worth watching. I typically don't watch 40 minute videos on my laptop but this was definately worth a little time out of my day to watch.

It is remarkable that the school system in the US is in the state it is in today. We've got to come together to bring light and the end to this destructive tunnel we're sending our kids through.

[hood]

In Michigan we have schools of choice, and it has helped, but not as much as in some of those places. I think it is largely due to the lack of charter schools in my area, although we have some top-notch public schools in the suburbs, and many people from the city have moved their children there. Schools of choice has hurt the Lansing School District, they have lost almost 5,000 kids since the program started and had to close quite a few schools.

[GRDadof3]

John Stossel usually has some good pieces on 20/20, although I haven't watched them in a long time. He's one of the few outspoken conservatives on these "news" programs. He used to just have a bit at the end of the program called "Gimme a Break!" that would expose a lot of untruths and exaggerations in the media. When Barbara Walters left, he got pushed up to "co-anchor" spot I believe.

The Stupid in America story does seem to be a bit sensationalized, although I'm not disputing our public school system is in shambles. And a lot of those kids are acting out because there's a camera on them.

[dimebag1980]

I like John Stossel, and this is a very powerful video. I'm only halfway through it right now, but already... how sad.

Sensationalism? Maybe, but I agree with you GRDadof3... the system is in bad shape. Take that from me, coming from Louisiana, which is constantly in the bottom 3 states in the nation as far as education goes.

[Spartan]

Its interesting that they chose Lee County in South Carolina for their piece. Lee County is one of the poorest and least populated counties in the state. While that is absolutely no excuse for the status of things there, I don't think it is a fair representation of the state's education system, and the education that most of us recieve.

That video does make an interesting case for school choice, which I was suprised to see. Its also interesting to see that they showed Gov Sanford, who is a huge proponent of it. Teachers and the left in general tend to be against this- at least they do here in SC.

I don't generally watch long videos like this, but this one was definately worth 40 minutes of my time.

[Snowguy716]

I thought the whole thing was pretty sensationalist.

I am a product of the Minnesota public school systems and I learned about the bill of rights and the constitution in 2nd, again in 6th, 8th, 9th, and 11th grade. I learned about the civil war in 5th, 8th, and 11th grade... I had world history in 7th and 11th grade.. civics in 9th grade...

All Minnesota high school students are expected to complete math through trigonometry and are expected to complete at least Biology and Chemistry in high school with physics strongly recommended. You are also required to complete 2 years of a foreign language, 1 semester of art/music, 1 quarter of health and at least 2 quarters of phys ed.

New standards drafted by our government require students to reach goals like reading by the end of 1st grade, multiplication by 3rd (learned it in 2nd grade), division by 4th grade (learned it in 2nd/3rd).. you have to know how to write (Minnesota basic skills tests in reading, math, and writing).. before you can graduate...

Minnesota is 20th in school expenditures and in the top 10 on graduation rates, 6th for SAT scores, and 1st for ACT scores.

North Dakota does well in achievement and boasts an 89% graduation rate.. and is 36th in per pupil funding..

And we have teacher unions and inner cities and everything else.. I honestly don't know what's wrong with these other places. Does that make me stupid?

But I will say this:

Minnesota does have open enrollment. This means you can send your child to a neighboring school district and take the funding with you. My school district has 5,000 students with a student population of 5,500 because 500 students choose to attend surrounding districts (mostly for geographic reasons.. our district is the size of Rhode Island and our schools are centrally located. 1.5 hour bus rides are not that attractive).

We also have charter schools that offer good alternatives like experiential learning with world cultural themes in French (K-8) and German (9-12) at Concordia Language Villages and another charter high school that saves around $2000 per pupil by using cheaper facilities in order to take students on several different excursions like camping in the boundary waters or winter camping on Lake Superior or canoeing in the Everglades or Scuba-diving in Belize. Test scores at these schools have been very high.

[ironchapman]

Yet another good piece from John Stossel. This video was worth the time it took to watch.

As a teenager who attends a public school and whose parents are teachers, I can certainly attest to the fact that there is a great need for reform in schools.

At my school, it seems like the best education you get is from the teachers who care the most about their job. There is certainly a difference between the dry, boring, "burnt out" teacher and one who cares about his/her students and tries to get them involved in the lesson.

[runawayjim]

part of the reason i like private schools so much is that you tend to get teachers who simply want to teach and love their jobs rather than care about the money they make.

[Recchia]

That Belgium school system is awesome, talk about a way to give schools incentive to be top-notch.

[Snowguy716]

I think it should be known before you go and start talking about how stupid the up and coming generation is: Test scores may be no better than they were in 1975.. but they're no worse.

It's really quite unfair for you all to be putting these labels on American youth when you didn't catch the grade yourself. Of course we have a problem (in some areas), but I feel like some of you are just here to put your problems on a younger generation.

If you want my opinion, I would say that the Baby Boomers are what screwed this country up, and it'll be the younger generation that has to fix our education system because they couldn't.

[hood]

If you want my opinion, I would say that the Baby Boomers are what screwed this country up, and it'll be the younger generation that has to fix our education system because they couldn't.

Yeah, my message to all of the people in their 30's and up: we are prodeuct of your system, wait untile we are about 50 or 60 then judge how we turned out. And since we're talking about generations, my bid for the best: the WWII generation.