Do you believe that it was a bad decision to integrate the public school system?
366040
i believe that was the best decision ever made.  i think that if schools hadn't of been integrated then there would still be a lot of prejudice in america. now there is less hate among people and more understanding and people have realized that they or their ancestors were wrong about how they thought.
599263
I think it is sad that public schools are teaching kids what to do to prevent being pregnant istead of teaching kids wht NOT to do to be in a relationship that involves sex whilst at school.\n\nIf schools would spend more time and money into teaching kids how to become independent financially and self responsibility, the new generations would be a better bunch of people.\n\nKids were taught how they can rot the system by becoming irresponsible parents - making kids and then the welfare take over the responsibility to supporting them financially!  What would these kids learn?  That it is OK to lay on their backs or to push girls down and produce like rabbits!  Then draw fortnightly paychecks to support their irresponsible and ignorant lifestyles!\n\n@@@@@@@@@@@@@
938385
It's not working because it wasn't written by educators. It was written by beaurocrats.\n\nThe only way to fix the educational system is to let educators write the laws. Not the beaurocrats.
83736
No!  I don't believe that education past secondary schools should be a right. The problem with our present system is everyone "should go to college" this means watering down our system to deal with the "lowest common denominator". Which, in turn, gives people a false sense of their education and knowledgebase. "I hav a colage dregre!"... well, you're still not very smart!
295852
i guess they all have their own downsides public schools can be crowded private schools are expensive with a certain genre of people and home schooling doesnt give you all of the social aspects you may need in life. i think it all depends on the certain child and what their specific needs are
470475
Well, it's not one school system, it's many.  Some are very poor, and some are very good.  I graduated from a school system that sends many students on to Ivy League schools and has a very strong academic reputation.  I taught in a school system that has a very poor reputation and has many students who struggle with remedial classes at the local colleges.
1004385
The public school system is designed not to educate but to control and to produce a complacent non-individualist populace.  Read the book Dumbing Us Down (written by a teacher, no less).
388467
I agree that the 'No Child Left Behind' act is ruining American education. I, personally, think it's a bad rule and that because of it the smarter kids are bored. I'm in school right now and I'm one of the smartest ones and this rule is making school a drag for me because we have to keep learning it all over, even if only one person doesn't know it. This act is making the smart kids, who will one day contribute the most to society, want to or drop out of school.
713616
As a public school teacher, I would actually recommend home-schooling your children if at all possible. I send my daughter to a private Christian school. Some people think it's too expensive to send their kids to Christian school, but I tell you it doesn't cost any more than daycare. Most of you probably send your kids to daycare, don't you? Also, you can't put a price on a good Christian education.  They have smaller teacher:student ratios, they focus on academics, they learn good morals, they are allowed to worship as they please (in accordance with the 1st Amendment), they score higher than the national average on tests, and they help to create productive members of society. They are not crime-and-drug ridden like so many public schools. \nA public school would be the last place I'd send my child if I could help it.\nIf, however, I did have to send here there, I would be on those teachers, principal and school board like white on rice. I would give them notes saying that they are not to teach my children evolution or any sex education (especially presented by Planned Parenthood!) or any "diversity" training (which is really just pro-gay propaganda). I will NOT have my child brainwashed by the public school system. You should be aware that the creation of a free, public school system was one of the tenets of Karl Marx's Humanist Manifesto, which was implemented by Teddy Roosevelt in this country. In fact, most of the tenets of that Manifesto were accomplished in this country in the first half of the 20th century. We have slowly become a socialist nation.\nBefore that time, children were either home-schooled or private-schooled - and some of the best, most intelligent people our country has ever produced were educated thusly.
126372
Not exactly.  The school curricula are limited so as not to offend one group or another, because school boards don't like controversy--it isn't good for their continued employment.  A friend of mine who used to work for Holt, Rinehart & Winston talked every once in a while about everything they weren't allowed to put in the textbooks because someone in Kansas or somewhere might get upset--and since it's cheaper to publish one book for the whole country than it is to specialize them by state, the attitudes of people in one state can easily influence what goes into textbooks across the country.\n\nThis limits the amount of real education that takes place, which in turn can keep kids from being exposed to intelligent, reasoned debate.  This makes it harder for them to think clearly when they grow up, if they're not learning it at home.\n\nSo yes, history does appear to be badly taught in public schools, and part of it is intentional.  But I think the gullibility and mindless consumerism is a side effect, not the primary cause.
378120
There are many problems that exist with public schools, and there are a variety of reasons.  Parents aren't making their kids learn any discipline or have any discipline about learning, schools are underfunded, teachers are underpaid, (which makes some potentially great teachers choose other fields) lack of community support, exagerated emphasis on standardized testing, etc.  The biggest problem would be apathy from the general public, everyone always thinks that it either isn't their problem or that someone else will fix it. It's like the TV ad with the huge group of people standing around talking about how horrible it is that someone dropped trash 2 feet from the trash can, but no one in the group actually reaches down and picks it up.  Lest you all think I am all talk and no action, I am an 11 year veteran teacher of public high school, and yes, I am still "in the trenches."
277150
As others have said, in an ideal world yes - but in reality its is a case by case proposition.  I think it is less difficult in primary school. Though these sames students aren't as easily accepted once they get to high school. Lastly, the funding isn't always there (regardless of what the government says about improving the educational experience of all students and claims on funding)and when this happens both the student suffers as well as the other forgotten participant - the rest of the students in their class.
55733
Even though the decision was THE landmark Supreme Court decision involving discrimination and civil rights, the realities of Brown v. Board of Ed. were miles away from the theoretical rights the decision granted.\n\nIt was particularly bad in the south.  Little Rock, University of Alabama, Mississippi State are just the three school discrimination stand-offs that come to mind first.  All three were violent, frightening, and involved elected leaders as high as governor actively--and literally--standing in the way of black students attending white schools and universities.  The humiliation and harm they endured is beyond my imagination.\n\nIt wasn't much better in the North.  While not openly hostile to blacks in white schools, there was enough of an ugly undercurrent that it finally surfaced once forced busing to achieve racial integration began.  Boston, Cleveland, and San Francisco among many northern cities experienced often violent protests of the practice, shattering the illusion that it was only the south that believed in "separate but equal".
656716
First I think that 20% is a low estimation.  Second, teachers work incredibly hard to ensure that lessons are tailored to meet the needs of varying skill and ability levels.  Finally, even though teachers do what they can with the limited resources that they are given to work with, it remains difficult to reach all students (particularly with the levels of apathy at an all-time high).  There is nothing inherently wrong with the public school system.  The flaw however, is that not enough financial resources are put into a potentially great system.  With sufficient resources (financial, physical, and human), the percentage of students that would not understand their lessons would drop significantly.
118165
Years ago, inner-city public schools were fine institutions of learning and prepared their students for the working world.\n\nI think that current inner city public schools are an abomination and do not properly prepare the students for college or career.\n\nI find that suburban school districts, private schools and charter schools give our children an excellent education to prepare them for their futures.
533041
I think it's an excellent idea.  Public school don't teach what is expected of an employee in a work situation, nor do they teach the values that employees need to be able to succeed in a work situation.  Most young people fumble through their first few jobs until they learn what is expected of them.  Two years of community service would alleviate this very painful transition in the lives of young people and build confidence in them with employers.
279642
No, there is nothing bad about going to an "Alternative" School. In fact, it is usually quite good. Alternative schools generally provide alot better life skills training and are generally better in studies as they are more focused.