Michigan Educational System Article

[Andrew Schreiber]

I admit, I am behind the times, in my weekly reading of the newspaper* I found the front page article very interesting. It was about the state of the educational system in Michigan. The main article was talking about how the state has failed to adequately prepare students. The real interesting part was a related article about the attitudes of students being a significant problem. Here is a link to the article.

The second article discusses what one sociology professor calls a "normalization of ignorance". Students, and more importantly parents, don't care about learning and this, more than anything, is the problem with the educational system. Having personally experienced this I hope that some of the brighter minds on CD will have some insight on how to combat this trend.

*The newspaper comes to my parents house in Clarkston and I am only here once a week, I also refuse to read the newspaper online, there is something satisfying about holding paper in your hands.

EDIT: Just to be clear, I am not bad mouthing students, parents, or schools. I was a product of the Michigan school system. Just looking for possible solutions.

[Tom Line]

I'm a product of the Michigan public education system. I got accepted to an excellent college. I see many Michigan kids in our robotics team that I'm sure will succeed.

What I've seen, and what that article seems to support is this:
1. Good parents can make up for a bad school system and produce good kids
2. A good school system can't make up for bad parents.
3. A bad school system and bad parents.......

You'll never be able to change the attitude of the parents who truly don't care. Frankly, no matter how hard you try you're not going to make school "fun" so the kids /want/ to go there and learn. Incentives (field trips etc) work when they're younger, but even then if you can't engage the parents you're fighting an uphill battle. Incentives (scholarships) to colleges only go so far too - it's the parents you have to motivate.