Shocking Report: 80 Percent of Recent NYC High School Graduates Cannot Read Adequately

[AuH20]

But it's the greatest city in the world????????? :confused:

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/03/07/officials-80-percent-of-recent-nyc-high-school-graduates-cannot-read/

[AFPVet]

It doesn't surprise me at all. While I didn't have a problem with basic skills after high school, I had to learn critical thinking skills in college since they only taught us osmosis and regurgitation in high school. That did set me back quite a bit.

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

Who's shocked? lol

[MelissaWV]

One of those graduates appears to have written that article and the headline.


“I was nervus about how hard it was going to be, how much of a chnage it was going to be from high school,” Gonzalez said. “I knew I needed to take remedial, If I started right away with credit classes it wasnt going to be so well, so it’s better off starting somewhere.”

[Zippyjuan]

Nicely spotted!

[mport1]

That is shocking. I can't believe the government was somehow able to teach 20% of students to read. That is a huge success for them.

[Kotin]

thought this was going to be the onion... man we are going downhill( especially in the east ;) )

[angelatc]

Obviously that would change if we paid the teachers more. Because rewarding failures always improves results in the long run.

[MelissaWV]

Nicely spotted!

There are errors throughout the article, and I am considering making this my new proofreading exam :D

[emazur]

Samuel Blumenfield (who now writes John Birch Society articles) wrote this book in the 1980s:
http://www.amazon.com/NEA-Trojan-Horse-American-Education/dp/0941995070
and a major thing he ranted against was how government education was dropping phonics and replacing it with the "whole word" approach to reading, which in his opinion and IMO is the stupidest goddamn thing you could do with a language that uses a phonetic alphabet (even if English is imperfect with regards to phonics - otherwise those of us who learned phonics would all be spelling bee champions and would never mispronounce written words).

Did anyone here NOT learn phonics under the US education system and/or if you have kids in government school, are they learning phonics or not?

[HOLLYWOOD]

Sounds like the NYC; NEA, AFT, & AFSCME, need more money to drone the students. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

All you have to read, ( IF YOU CAN READ ;) ) is this: FINNISH LESSONS they're tops in the world and they do it at a 1/3 the cost! See video @ the bottom.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51X3vUSa1FL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

The Finland Phenomenon: Inside the World's Most Surprising School System
http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/the-finland-phenomenon-inside-the-worlds-most-surprising-school-system-588.php


The Finland Phenomenon: Inside the World's Most Surprising School System
December 10, 2012 7:08 PM


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The Daily Riff is updating and curating the best key story links about Finland and their intensely watched and admired education system ("the best in the world"). Here is the most recent from Business Insider, (http://www.businessinsider.com/finlands-education-system-best-in-world-2012-11?op=1) which is getting a lot of whoa's from people who even lose interest in top ten lists. Finnish students rank top of the charts in international studies of standardized testing (PISA).

Below is a top ten list via Cooperative Catalyst (http://coopcatalyst.wordpress.com/2012/05/05/parenting-magazines-mom-congress-2012-and-finnish-education/) via via Parenting Magazine's Mom Congress 2012 summarizing the traits of the much admired and controversial Finnish education. The Finns seem to do exactly opposite the growing U.S. education agenda:







Finland does not give their kids standardized tests.
Individual schools have curriculum autonomy; individual teachers have classroom autonomy.
It is not mandatory to give students grades until they are in the 8th grade.
All teachers are required to have a master's degree.
Finland does not have a culture of negative accountability for their teachers. According to Partanen, "bad" teachers receive more professional development; they are not threatened with being fired.
Finland has a culture of collaboration between schools, not competition. Most schools, according to Partanen, perform at the same level, so there is no status in attending a particular facility.
Finland has no private schools.
Education emphasis is "equal opportunity to all."They value equality over excellence.
A much higher percentage of Finland's educational budget goes directly into the classroom than it does in the US, as administrators make approximately the same salary as teachers. This also makes Finland's education more affordable than it is in the US.
Finnish culture values childhood independence; one example: children mostly get themselves to school on their own, by walking or bicycling, etc. Helicopter parenting isn't really in their vocabulary.
Finnish schools don't assign homework, because it is assumed that mastery is attained in the classroom.
Finnish schools have sports, but no sports teams. Competition is not valued.
The focus is on the individual child. If a child is falling behind, the highly trained teaching staff recognizes this need and immediately creates a plan to address the child's individual needs. Likewise, if a child is soaring ahead and bored, the staff is trained and prepared to appropriately address this as well.
Partanen correlated the methods and success of their public schools to US private schools. We already have a model right here at home.
Compulsory school in Finland doesn't begin until children are 7 years old.





What are Finland's strengths? Perhaps the quickest way to get the big picture is this slide show (http://www.businessinsider.com/finland-education-school-2011-12?op=1), or this new and the most in-depth being the above-titled documentary film, "The Finland Phenomenon." Even if you read all the articles about the Finland school system, I highly recommend you watch the documentary - it fills in the blanks left bare by generalities.

Can the U.S. and other countries learn from Finland? Or, as some argue, is this an "outlier" country (translate: a country that teaches others no real lessons to others)? We also find juxtaposing Finland's practices with Singapore (http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/the-five-key-features-at-singapore-chinese-girls-school-400.php) and Japan (http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/what-american-teachers-can-learn-from-japan-315.php), there are several key common themes shared by all, but not witnessed in the U.S., such as teacher autonomy, along with some key differences. You be the decider, and let us know what your riff is, on or off-line. - C.J. Westerberg



Video, Articles, and Podcasts






#1 - Video Trailer to the Bob Compton and Tony Wagner Documentary, "The Finland Phenomenon"
(Bob Compton produced the controversial "2 Million Minutes" (http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/education-arms-race-106.php) edu-documentary; also
featuring Tony Wagner, author and educator, "The Global Achievement Gap")

#2 - 30 second Quik-Vid on "Teachers Key to Finland Education"

#3 - Dan Rather and HD NET - "Finnish First"

Articles:

What Americans Keep Ignoring about Finland's School Success (http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/) via The Atlantic

26 Amazing Facts about Finland's Unorthodox Education System (http://www.businessinsider.com/finland-education-school-2011-12#) via Business Insider

The Children Must Play (http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/82329/education-reform-Finland-US) - The New Republic

The Final Word is Always Finland (http://www.quickanded.com/2011/01/the-final-word-is-always-finland.html) - Quick and the ED


Finland's Educational Success? The Anti-Tiger Mom Approach (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2062419,00.html)

Interview with Finland Minister of Education (http://hechingerreport.org/content/an-interview-with-henna-virkkunen-finlands-minister-of-education_5458/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+HechingerReport+%28Hechinger+ Report%29&utm_content=Twitter)

Podcast:

Steve Hargadon's "Future of Education" Podcast on Finnish & American Education (http://www.stevehargadon.com/2010/11/live-in-elluminate-early-wednesday.html)Perspectives on Learning Communities (Well worth the visit!)

h/t #1 video via a tweet from Heidi Hayes Jacobs (http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/thinking-and-learning-3-quick-videos-586.php); h/t #4 video Joanne Jacob (http://www.joannejacobs.com/2011/02/learning-from-finland/)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xvBYJBTKRn4

[acptulsa]

Did anyone here NOT learn phonics under the US education system and/or if you have kids in government school, are they learning phonics or not?

Damned if I remember. Mom taught me how to read long before kindergarten.