Back when I use to work part time as an oil burner service man, my friend and co-worker John Slimmer used to have a whole bunch of "Pappy used to say" old sayings. My favorite of them all was,
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." We had a system that educated most of the participants to a fairly high level. It wasn't broke, but we have spent the past forty years trying to fix it. Good post, elena.
In one of my classes I used to teach in which I taught teachers some of the skills required for teaching, I asked one class of thirty experienced teachers to name one new way of doing things that had been forced down their throats in the past twenty or so years that had made their jobs easier or make their students learn better. After several were mentioned and discussed, the conclusion reached was that there were none. We went through the new math, whole language, BSCS biology, and a host of other shot at and missed, sh1l at and hit innovative programs. Most seemed to believe that the education they got in high school was far superior to that their current students got. It is worse today than it was then.
At some point in time, we will come to the inescapable conclusion that students learn best when they are disciplined, motivated, and have supportive parents. Until then, a large number of kids will become adults whose education is sorely lacking. You can throw all the money at it you want, and you won't change that.
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