As my children grew up in the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties, I saw a progressive change. In the Seventies students who had learning difficulties went to special remedial classes. I went to summer school for math in six grade and again in seventh grades. In High School even some of the “popular” kids went to remedial classes. It did not matter because a minority of students went to college the rest of us chose military, trades or manufacturing.
In the Eighties, there was a change. My youngest son had a problem eventually corrected by surgery. But it left him behind in reading and English. The school district had no remedial classes. He stayed with his class but studied out of a different book. Since teachers still taught back then, they had the classes structured in such a way the they were able to teach from both books during the same class. It was done this way to not embarrass kids with learning issues. It worked for my son, he caught up with everyone by Fifth grade.
In the Nineties the shift was to drugs and separate schools. I had to fight to keep one son out of the special school even for a single class. My other had been assigned to the separate High School it was a breeding ground for gangs and drugs. They even kept them in a building a mile from the actual high schools. Teachers did not even attempt teach this was a reform school where the prisoners went home at night. It fulfilled the State mandate that all kids had to attend school until 17 years of age. When my daughter went to school it was routine all kids were evaluated for zombie drugs. I lost it on a teacher for having my daughter medically evaluated without my permission. That was still required back then. She never was put on drugs and she is completing her Masters while a manager at a very large international firm.
Long winded but my point is we gradually moved away from educated or kids over thirty years.
“Long winded but my point is we gradually moved away from educated or kids over thirty years.”
You haven’t been long winded enough. There is more work for you to do.
You’ve come up with the problem. Now you need to work on the cause and then the solution.
Have you asked yourself why things have ended up this way? That’s the most important part.