So, honest question here, not trying to flame, but actually seeking your opinion: if the problem is what the ed schools are currently churning out, what explains the last thirty years of steadily declining educational standards?
> if the problem is what the ed schools are currently churning out, what explains the last thirty years of steadily declining educational standards? <
Fair question. The main problem in urban public education is the lack of effective classroom discipline. That has always been a problem, but it has accelerated over the past thirty years - which is just the time you cited.
A secondary problem is truancy. Truancy laws are no longer enforced like they should be. So kids now come to school whenever they feel like it. No one can master a subject that way.
Here’s a typical situation. It’s Algebra 1 in an urban high school. Most of the kids are okay (even in my worst classes, most of the kids were okay). 30 students are in the rolls. On any given day, maybe 20 or so show up. It’s rarely the same 20. And 2 or 3 are chronically disruptive.
Old days: A truant officer would be trying to get those missing students to attend class. There’d be phone calls and visits home. And disruptive kids would be suspended from school for a day or two, giving the class a bit of breathing room.
Now: There are no truant officers (at least where I taught). And there are no attendance rules. Absenteeism is is high. Disruptive students are NOT suspended, as it would make the school look bad.
Today’s principals get bonuses when suspension rates drop. So there are few suspensions. Teachers are told to handle disruptive students on their own.
That makes the teacher more of a cop, and less of an instructor. How can you teach effectively when one kid is talking on his cell phone, two more are wondering around the room, etc.?
It’s a real mess.