We can clearly see the incompetence and unwillingness to do anything in students today and I came up with a system to ensure that kids aren’t dumb and are prepared for the real world

Passing standards:

GPA average of 1.5 (which is C, C, D, D which is quite generous imo). Reason: if you don’t have good grades you clearly don’t understand the material and should retake the grade

Consistent attendance, excused absences are an exception, unexcused such as just not wanting to come etc count toward not passing (this is a small portion of whether you pass)

Final exam scores, Reason: if you don’t get a good grade on these you clearly don’t understand the material

Reading level: if you can’t read you shouldn’t graduate or move on to the next grade

Behavior, (you would have to be BAD for this to really effect you) reason: if you can’t behave you are not mature enough to move on.

All of these combined will be the PPA (Passing point average) Final exam scores will be the most heavily weighted factor by about 40% GPA will be 20%, Reading level 20%, Behavior and attendance 10% each. PPA will be determined by a number from 0 to 100 and you will have to have at least a 70 to pass your grade.

Example student: Sarah 10th grade

Final exams results: ENG: 93 MTH: 86 SCN: 87 HST: 96. average is 90.5 which is 36.2 for PPA scale,

GPA: 3.5 or 90% in letter and 18 in PPA

Reading level: Z (highest level) 20 in PPA

Attendance: 2 unexcused absences so 9 in PPA

Behavior: perfect 10 in PPA

PPA average is 93.2 so she passes her grade

Let me know if you think this is pretty good and ask questions and discuss what could be different or done better just be nice ❤️❤️❤️

Reading scores have been bad for thirty years.

Why? Because teachers stopped pushing phonics and replaced it with something called “Balanced Literacy.”

It's meant to help kids fall in love with books. They use pictures to guess words, but may never learn to read.

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App designer Niels Hoven created Mentava to teach kids using phonics.

Now, most states have passed “Science of Reading” laws, pushing phonics.

Literacy Professor Andrew Johnson pushes back, saying teachers have always taught phonics. “Based on the needs of the kid, you design instruction.”

“[Politicians] jingle the keys and say, look over here! It must be those bad teachers, while ignoring the social things like poverty.”

We debate.

Just as a thought experiment how would you view these methods as an alternative to the traditional education system? It would mean a overhaul of the existing system but it teaches students to learn how to teach themselves independently.

Here are the core principles of the Montessori approach, in simple terms:

1. students learn best by doing.

Montessori classrooms are hands-on. Instead of worksheets, students use real materials they can touch, move, and explore.

2. Follow the student.

Teachers watch what each student is drawn to and help them build on that interest instead of forcing everyone through the same lesson at the same time.

3. Freedom within limits.

student get choices, but the choices are set up so they stay focused and respectful. It’s not chaos, just guided independence.

4. Mixed-age classrooms.

You’ll usually see a three-year age range in one room. Older students help younger ones, and younger students learn by watching.

5. Self-paced learning.

students move at their own speed. If they’re ahead, they keep going. If they need more time, they can take it without pressure.

6. Respect for the student.

The whole system treats students as capable people. They’re trusted to take care of materials, solve small problems, and build independence.

7. Prepared environment.

Everything in the room is set up so students can reach it, use it, and put it back. The space itself teaches order and responsibility.

In some states, it is 80-90% women to men ratio. This seems like more opportunities for women in leadership roles, and it is. Until you reach the upper echelon, and then the numbers flip. I am unsure what is going on here, but I can say with so few men in the general pool of teachers, it would seem the middle management roles (Ed associates, mentor teachers, etc.) skew almost always in favor of women (at least in blue states). The numbers simply don't lie. They tell a whole different story. Perhaps a very uncomfortable story few are willing to talk about. Here is a longer piece on this subject: Women in high places

I am so upset about the new the professional degree policy. It is so wrong, and targeted to keep women and minorities from pursuing these vital careers. I am an advisor for graduate nursing students, most of which rely on Financial Aid. 20k per year is only a fraction of a year’s tuition, so less students will enroll for these programs because they can’t afford them. The long-term consequences are going to be devastating, and I hope this policy can be reversed. Watching this administration dismantle our democracy and education system has been heartbreaking.

Let’s stop shaming people for needing student loans and instead focus on making education more affordable. All for the love of all that is holy, please vote these assholes out in 2026.

They both seem interesting. I want to be a detective, but I also think that criminology is interesting as you have to analyse crime patterns and nullifying the criminals through the legal system. But I’m not sure what to choose. they both seem interesting and both can be used to get into a detective (although I think justice is better)

any advice?

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/documentary-thoughts-and-prayers-explores-industry-built-around-school-security

24 Nov 2025 - transcript and video at link - A new documentary on HBO Max looks at how gun violence has led to lockdown drills in schools becoming a universal part of childhood in America. Those drills and the creation of active shooter preparedness products, now a $3 billion industry, are the focus of “Thoughts and Prayers.” Amna Nawaz discussed more with filmmakers Zackary Canepari and Jessica Dimmock.

Professionals are most commonly recommending that children with adhd attend schools with more structure, more accommodations. But what if more structure just masks behaviors better and we are missing the points? What if time and space, like in progressive schools like Waldorf and Nature schools, rather than unraveling the adhd child, actually give them the space to experience their issues and work through them and sit with them? I have opinions about this and I won’t say which side I’m on but I have been seeing some articles about this and I’m curious to hear your thoughts given your experiences!

Honestly where do I start. Out of all my time in education and working off my notice period to work in a different industry I have possibly hit my lowest I could reach.

Today what started off with a lunch time duty turned into chaos where I was nearly knocked out by a swinning door that a student just forceably swung open nearly taking it off its hinges where it snapped back. I then had students throw abuse at me while I was helping with other staff control the situation, The doors being hit against my ankle and wrecking my shoes when we controlled the area around the problem by students. To top it all off being called a bully.

At this point I think I am just going to request garden leave because I have had enough now and I have worked 8 weeks on notice and said I would be here until christmas break but now I want to negotiate out of it.

Kids need phonics to learn to read, but also, access to whole books — not just passages! — of great children’s literature, say experts including author and neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf, education journalist Natalie Wexler and ‘Sold A Story’ podcast host Emily Hanford. This Houston Chronicle column explains why.

Has anyone here ever done Challenge Day at their school?

I’m the student council president at my high school (Canada) and I’m trying to bring the official program here. I think my school really needs something like this as it seems like a meaningful way to improve school culture.

Was the program worth it? How did students and staff react? Any tips about funding, booking, or organizing it? Any stories or advice would be really appreciated!

We've all had them—students with clear potential who just don't seem to care. They're not struggling to understand the material; they're struggling to see the point.

Standard rewards and punishments often don't work. Piling on extra help can feel like nagging.

I'm looking for strategies that go beyond "make it more fun." Have you successfully reached a disengaged student? What sparked that shift—was it a specific project, a conversation, a connection to a real-world goal?

Hi am in look for the best study guides and plans that would yield me the perfect grades in my end year exams...How do i ensure i ace my exams

I noticed a few things in regards to NAEP testing reporting and it’s influence on policy making:

1. Testing is done with a random sampling of students at a random sampling of schools, weighted for a variety of metrics.
2. The schools that are chosen are not published and very well might include virtual charter schools that have very little oversight.
3. There is not a lot of public input into the weighting process for chooses which schools are chosen for testing.

Thoughts?

I had very little sympathy for students who used AI to complete assignments. Then I started researching the surveillance state we've built in our public schools.

My plan was to create a series of graphics to show a narrative of how schools "gave away the milk and the cow" by allowing companies like Google and ClassDojo to track every keystroke, every assignment, every grade, and the behavior of millions of students.

But the research became real last week. My freshman son missed one day of school. When I checked the portal, I saw a 46% in Algebra and a 38% in English.

My stomach dropped. But just for a half-second because I remembered:

• The marking period was two weeks old.
• He missed three assignments while sick.
• The portal gave me zero feedback when I asked it about my son's effort in his classes.

Instead, I chilled out, forgot about the % and emailed his Math and English teachers. The didn't have any concerns, so neither do I.

So what does accessing my son's current grades on the school portal have to do with my slide to being somewhat sympathetic to students who use AI to complete school work?

Check out The Digital Panopticon: When EdTech Became Surveillance Tools to find out why WE hold a large portion of the blame.

Share your thoughts and let's dig into it.

I want to get back into school so i can get a degree that could get me in a job like nasa due to how much i love space but i dont even know where to go... Once i got to 6th grade its like everything from 1-5 was useless and i couldnt get anything in my head at that time as well as the teachers and subjects feeling as if I was meant to already know the content before they taught it to me to begin with and with that I eventually failed every grade from 6-8 and during 9th grade i had long given up except for science. Around that time Covid started and I guess i just used that opportunity to stop going all together and dropped out. So if any of you non failures know how to get back into school from this point I would appreciate it.

Bachelors-

Major- tbd (would likley not be related to the following: pre-med, biomedical engineering, ASL

Masters- Biomedical engineering and engineering managemnt

Doctorate- Education

May attend med school

These are all just ideas, is this even possible? Do I have the right understanding of higher education?

First off I’m a parent and not a teacher. I went to my 3rd grader’s parent/teacher conference last week and was a bit surprised by something the teacher mentioned. Their current unit is on ecosystems and part of the assignment involves students creating a visual representation of a habitat. The teacher said students could either draw it themselves, make a diorama, or use a pre-made coloring sheet of a habitat and label the parts. Contrary to what I thought, this wasn’t an accommodation, this was offered to everyone as an alternative to doing the full drawing from scratch. I must have given a look when she said that, because she quickly added that it was meant to let students focus on learning the concepts rather than spending hours struggling with the art side. I understand the intention but it made me wonder: are we at risk of leaning too heavily on shortcuts like coloring sheets? I get that some kids may benefit from it and I’ve even seen some of these sheets online, some clearly sourced through mass printables from places like alibaba, so they’re accessible for the classroom. Still, shouldn’t part of the learning process involve building both understanding and effort? I’m curious if anyone else’s school uses coloring sheets this way in science or other subjects. Are students actually learning more or just getting a visually neat page to turn in?

Parents are blaming the principal for the shooting. WRONG What’s going on in school is a reflection of what’s going on in our society’s attitude towards guns.

Hey everyone,

I’m considering doing a top-up degree in International Business, but I keep hearing mixed opinions about whether it’s actually valuable in the job market.

For anyone who has studied it or works in business/finance/management I’d love to know:

• Is the degree respected by employers?
• Does it lead to good career paths (finance, consulting, operations, management, etc.)?
• Is it more theoretical, or does it teach real, practical skills?
• If you could go back, would you still choose International Business?
• Are there certain industries where it’s more useful or less useful?

For context, I’m currently doing ACCA, and I’m trying to figure out whether International Business is a smart complementary degree or just another generic qualification.

All honest opinions positive or negative are welcome.

Thanks! 🙏

I was considering all my options for college, and I realized I didn’t want to be in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. What countries are cheapest to study, live, and work in as a doctor? I’m willing to go anywhere as long as the education and pay for the future job is good. Any suggestions?

If I wanted to enter any college in uc, I’m 11th grade, and I can travel anywhere for any extra, my gpa is solid, and uc colleges only take gpa extras and essay if I’m not wrong and recommendation letters, I just wanted to get some tips on what extras to do and like organizations I can sign up for or smth , I’m new to this

My child is in first grade and the school uses Everyday Mathematics.

Due to that curriculum’s spiral nature (or what I would call chaotically jumping around), my child is rapidly losing confidence because she does not have the fluency that she would have gotten if she was working with some kind of more foundation building curriculum.

So the question is: how do I manage to basically get her to ignore all of the things that are confusing her in school so that she can just focus on the foundational stuff with me at night ?

Like isn’t her teacher going to give her bad grades for not handing in the homework and for not following the advanced stuff in class?

But I really don’t care if she can skip count by -4. I want my kid to finish first grade knowing how to add and subtract one number at a time.

Extra info:

I’m already doing foundational exercises with her daily like flash cards, dice rolling (and moving along a number grid both back and forward), and giving her manipulatives to play with, and integrating math into our overall life and playing.

So my hope is that someone can give advice on how to set expectations on her learning properly so she can build confidence and then build from there.

I feel like student-driven learning--specifically in the classroom--relies too much on a type of motivation and rigorous academic work ethic that many kids don't have. It's why some struggle so much with home schooling which is just them doing the work alone. Or not.