I read an article recently about how screwed up the state government in California is. They are basically driving the middle-class out of the state. The only ones that will be left are the super rich and the very poor. The state will become a welfare state.

@Bridget: Wow, thanks for the awesome comment/post . Your provincial exams sound like what a lot of other countries have, and to be honest, that 50% weight is intimidating! But that would definitely motivate a student to study. I guess the question is what is the goal of the public education system? Is it to push students through with a piece of paper or to equip them with real skills and knowledge? Sometimes the administration/board members don’t know, while teachers certainly have a good grasp of where their students are weakest. Public education should be an opportunity available to all, but unfortunately not everyone will take advantage of that opportunity.

@ModestMoney: I think that the UC and CSU systems voiced concerns over LAUSD lowering some of their requirements, although the move up to a C passing grade is an improvement. Construction and improvement to school is definitely an important componenet, but I think LAUSD went pretty far overboard with some of their costs. Should a school cost half a billion to build? I don’t know, it’s an interesting question!

I can see some of the intentions of those changes you mentioned though. Like making the schools nicer may seem like a waste, but hopefully it will encourage kids to take school more seriously and possibly attract better teachers. Making the graduation requirements a little easier may give some students the confidence to meet those requirements. I don’t think colleges will adapt their views to match the high school graduating requirements. It just gives some extra hope to those who may otherwise be discouraged.

Where I live, our public school system ranks 2nd only to Finland (the rest of Canada is ok too but grade inflation is becoming a big problem). I’m really proud of our education system, but they’re trying to make changes to cater to the below average students too, like getting rid of due dates on assignments and there’s even people wanting to scrap our standardized provincial exams (you take them in grades 3, 6, 9 and 12, and in 12th grade the mark you receive is worth 50% of your final grade for that class!).

I manage a few first-year classes at the main university in our city (which also ranks top 5 in the country and has a good world ranking as well), and frankly it pisses me off to deal with students that think they get unlimited chances to redo an assignment or can just hand things in whenever they want. They have NO concept of failure whatsoever, to the point that when I fail them in a class they will spend WEEKS trying to negotiate a pass AND THEN THEIR PARENTS WILL CALL ME. Why do parents think it’s appropriate to call their child’s university instructor?!?!?

gah! Ok I’m working myself up into a rage now I need to take some deep breaths…

The school system is in crisis and it’s hurting our best & brightest just to boost the self-esteem of underachievers. And helicopter parents are breathing down everyone’s throats to make sure little Johnny or Sally makes it to the next year.