Become The BEST In The USA In High School Education!

[Vic Spencer]

US Students Are Falling Behind In Science And Math: Bleak Future For Our Children.
WE CAN CHANGE THAT!
10/18/08 update.

For details, facts, go to www.knoxedu.info

Things may come to those who wait...but only the things left by those who hustle.” (Abraham Lincoln)

WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?

Scholastic achievement in our high schools has been falling for close to four decades (see the statistics below). As a result, we experienced a big drop in science and engineering graduates, especially at the MS and PhD levels. These in turn are the most important degrees in maintaining our economic health. MS and PhD level scientists and engineers do all the important research and development for USA products, to make them more innovative and less expensive, and for vital scientific work for our country.

This situation resulted in a gradual reduction of many American products that we all saw and see (cars, engines, steel, electronics, PC's, heavy machinery, and so on). We used to, but we no longer create the best products in many of these important fields. That in turn increased our imports (Americans buying foreign products like Japanese cars) and reduced our exports (foreign countries buying American products). The total dollars we paid/pay for foreign products has been much more than what we get for USA products that foreign countries buy. That created/creates what we call "our negative balance of payments", increasing "our national debt", and that in turn creates the "falling value of the US dollar" to this day. That makes foreign products, commodities like imported oil, more expensive.

Just imagine if you spent a lot more money for many years, decades, than what you made. For us that is impossible. We could borrow only so much. On the other hand the government can print more money, that is devalued. That is what is happening to us as a country, and one of the biggest reasons is us not graduating enough scientists and engineers to make superior products quickly enough to meet the demend of our own American customers.

This situation is an emergency, and it must be reversed.
HOW CAN WE SOLVE THIS TERRIBLE SITUATION?
How could we motivate the students? There are two important communication paths to them.
1. Teachers need to organize 30-45 minute weekly discussion periods with all students, one topic at a time, from grade one to twelve to make sure that all children develop a solid understanding of why studying, high school graduation with additional science and math courses, and an education beyond high school is vital, and all the exciting and high paying jobs that are out there just waiting for such well educated children. The school is the only place where such messages can be delivered and discussed with ALL children so that they will get excited about what they could become if they work hard in school. Major discussion classes could be:

• The long-term decline of US secondary education and resulting national problems (for the adult presentations below)
• What education is (training of the mind, like an athlete has to train his/her muscles)
• Why education is important (future income, quality of life depends on it)
• Why HS diploma is absolutely vital (one cannot get good jobs without it)
• The exciting jobs that await the kids after a university education (this is worth many discussions)
• Free possibilities for education, any university (with very high scores. I know two boys who had a totally free ride at Harvard) and the military options.

Could Dr. McIntyre and KCS initiate this program urgently please? Our students' future literally depends on it. Will Dr. McIntyre and KCS do so? We hope that they will. There are not too many opportunities that cost so little, and yet have such far reaching impact.

2. Parents and the general public need to be informed about the above facts as well. They need to be told up front, what happened to our secondary education system, a national problem we are facing and a local problem as well. The current high school graduates insufficiently trained in math, science and English are no longer suitable to take on a job at many of our local companies who used to be able to hire high school graduates before.

There are parents who do not understand the need for education. The Knoxville Chamber of Commerce (Jennifer E.) is working on a presentation to the public covering this area. This is also very important although we will not reach as many students through the parents as the first method above. However, it is also vital to get as much parental support as we can for this effort, and this is the best method that could achieve that with the right message.


PARENTS AND TEACHERS! SOMEHOW WE ALL HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO CHILDREN THAT THEY HAVE ONLY TWO CHOICES.

• THEY CAN WORK HARD FOR 10-12 YEARS IN SCHOOL (THE PARENTS AND TEACHERS HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY TAKE ALL THE ABOVE MENTIONED MATH, SCIENCE AND ENGLISH COMP. COURSES), PLUS MAYBE 4-8 MORE YEARS IF THEY WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE (FREE IF THEY HAVE EXCELLENT GRADES IN HIGH SCHOOL), AND THEN HAVE A GREAT 50-60 YEARS IN A WELL-PAYING FABULOUS JOB, MAKING PERHAPS 2-4 TIMES MORE, THAN MANY OF THEIR PARENTS.
  
  
• OR ... THEY CAN DECIDE NOT TO WORK HARD IN SCHOOL BUT HAVE MORE FUN, BARELY GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL, AND HAVE A REALLY HARD LIFE FOR 50-60 YEARS DOING MANUAL LABOR, HAVE VERY LITTLE MONEY, OR DEPEND ON THEIR PARENTS TO SUPPORT THEM FINANCIALLY UNTIL THE PARENTS DIE, MAKING THEIR OWN AND THEIR PARENTS LIFE VERY DIFFICULT. AND THEN PERHAPS BE HOMELESS. THIS IS NOT AN UNLIKELY STORY WITH OUR SLIDING EDUCATION AND ECONOMY.
  
  Those are the two fundamental choices that all school children are facing. Make sure that they know it.

INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS EDUCATION?

(Please click on it to read it. Most people have the wrong impression.)

Click here to see our USA standing in the world:
In math achievement (34th!) or in science achievement (29th!). Source: US Dept of Education, OECD PISA results.

Click here to see Tennessee's ACT standing (38th!) in the USA:
Science and math composite (38th!)

Click here to see our ACT trend in Tennessee:
Five year ACT trend
College/university readiness trend
College/university readiness demographically

Click here to see our ACT standing in Knox County, Tennessee:
By high school
Graduation rate by high school

Let me see if I understand this "picture". USA high school results are 29th-34th in the world. Tennessee average is 38th in the USA. How much is being spent per student for these results?Internationally (USA is 4th) and within the USA (TN is 44th!!)

Picture this again...We are the 4th biggest education spenders in the world (BUT Tennessee is 44th in spending in the USA), and we deliver the 34th in high school results internationally? What are we doing?? Something is very wrong with this picture.

Our competitor countries' curricula include Algebra 2, Solid and Plane Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus 1, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, local language composition -- all of them. Algebra 1 and some Geometry is shifted to 8th grade. That is what we used to have in the USA, without using calculators. The use of calculators seriously diminishes the mental training of students. If our high school students take and finish all the above courses with an A or B, they will succeed. Although they are not part of the curriculum for a high school diploma, these courses are offered at every high school.

I am sorry, but some of us parents are a big problem.

• Most parents' and high schools' expectations of our high school students have never been lower.
• We have permitted too much under performance for too long. Who loses? Our children, and OUR COUNTRY.
• Kids having more fun has become important at home at an expense to studying time.
• Most parents take the child's side if the child has an academic or discipline problem in school.
• Most parents and school children have no respect for teachers, yet everyone's future depends on them. Very foolish.
• We do not seem to value the importance of a degree in engineering or sciences. Yet this is what leads to much more income and jobs that are more exciting.

NOTE A CONTRAST IN THE COUNTRIES WITH WHICH WE COMPETE:

• Professors and teachers are the most respected professions in the top thirty countries, followed by medical doctors.
• Parents support the teachers without question because they know that their child's future depends on them.
• Disrespectful behavior toward professors or teachers is not tolerated and it results in expulsion from the school.

WE ALL HAVE SOME URGENT WORK TO DO TO CORRECT THESE PROBLEMS IN OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM.

[Jamey Dobbs]

Let's put Singapore into perspective. My husband who worked in Malaysia tells me that Singapore is a very repressed society, a tiny city-state not even as big as Knox County, with enormous wealth. I checked it out on wiki too (see civil rights) and while it is a "partial democracy," the gov't restricts speech, press, and political and religious expression. The govt "permits indefinite detention without formal charges or recourse to trial." And I don't think we want to live in a place where people (read young people, who experiment like American kids do) are put to death for making mistakes. Look at their mean income to explain the housing and clean streets, and then look at civil liberties they sacrifice. Maybe their math program is good, and their shopping, but let's not get carried away--it's an apples and oranges comparison.

[Vic Spencer]

Jamey, I either did not say something clearly or you misunderstood me. Singapore does not have natural wealth. They made everything themselves. I spent a lot of time there. I know many outsiders who lived there, because the location is perfect for Asian operations HQ for international companies. I prefer to live in the US for many of the reasons that you sited.

Our education in the US has become very poor, creating some very serious economic problems for us, that many of you do not realize and feel yet (for a long time now: negative balance of payments, increasing national debt, and devaluation of our dollar). We can no longer live alone in the world like an island. No one can. We lost entire industries to others, look at all the "Made elsewhere" products that we pay for and our dollars go "elsewhere". Some of these are a labor rate related question, but most such dollars are not.
We allowed our education system to become much worse while other countries improved at a high rate. Look at the OECD-PISA results I am posting. And TN is one of the worst within the USA.
My point is that I never advocated for us to become like Singapore, but you took it as such. Their educational system, and contributions to education (Singapore math) are excellent. We could copy a lot from the Singapore educational system to make ours better. Also Finland's, Hong Kong's and Alberta Canada's. And I believe that we should improve our system ASAP. I think we have an emergency.
I also said that Singapore is an excellent vacation spot, great for shopping, and it happens to be the best place to live for expatriates (foreigners who live there for their international corporations). I also agree with their attitude toward handling crime. In their schools you do not have to worry about shootings, fights, and anyone threatening the teachers. It is the educational system and Singapore math that I think we should seriously look at. That is all. You made me feel bad, but maybe I did not communicate well enough before about Singapore.

Vic

[Debi]

Dumbing down education. Has there been a "dumbing down" of the ACT in the last 20 yrs or so? I could not believe today's news that stated the average ACT test score of UT freshman was what, a 27? I graduated in 1989 and a 22 was considered a strong average. Sure there were those of us who scored higher, but it was not common. If it has not been decreased in difficulty, my hats off to TN graduates, that's quite impressive. I realize it's only 60-something% of those who were accepted into UT, but still impressive numbers.

[Vic Spencer]

Debi, it is the SAT that was made easier or "dumbed down" in the mid 90's. The ACT remained the same strength, but it is not as old as the SAT. The maximum score on the ACT is 36. The ACT score is influenced by how much math and science the student has taken. The Knox County goal of 25 is rather modest. Although the ACT is not used internationally, or used very little, I read in in an article somewhere, that the top 10 international performers are averaging as a group around ACT 28-30. What all this tells you is that our expectations for high school performance is too low, the requirement for a diploma (Algebra 1, Biology, and either Algebra 2 OR Geometry) is way too low. To get good ACT scores the student needs to take Algebra 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, intro Calculus, Biology, Physics, Chemistry and English Composition. We are in deep trouble with the weak curriculum in high school. If the students take these courses, they correct the problem but only for themselves. The high schools are not pushing this possibility yet. They should promote it, because the student's future depends on it.

Vic

[Vic Spencer]

ANYBODY, I NOTICED SEVERAL TIMES THAT I AM GENERATING A DOUBLE MESSAGE SOMETIMES. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT CAUSES THAT?

VIC

[Debi]

It's just your magnetic personality, the computer can't get enough of you.

[Debi]

So you are saying it's no different then when I took it in 1988? I remember the scoring and my friends and I taking it. I remember one friend scored a 32 his first try and was dissatisfied and took it again, the rest of us were about to vomit. Lol.

I'm amazed that what was considered good in the late 80's is now the average. That tells me we have not dumbed down the curriculum, if so our kids are getting knowledge other places. Would be interesting to see a chart of average test scores over the last couple of decades. I was an Anderson Co Schools graduate, don't know if we scored a little lower there or what.

[Vic Spencer]

Calico pussicat! Just research and put your chart together. You should read www.knoxedu.info . I have lots of references there showing how we dumbed down relative other countries. Our curriculum changed downward also. We have not dumbed down a lot against ourselves, but fell big time relative many foreign countries who went passed us. That is the reason for our negative balance of trade, our rising national debt, and the devaluing dollar. We lost several important industries along the way also as a result.

[Vic Spencer]

We just did a major update to the above content on our Website covering this important subject, that started with local overcrowding of a high school only about 5 months ago. I would appreciate it very much if you could look it over at www.knoxedu.info . Our children's future depends on what we do, or don't do.

If you have any questions, please write to me. I am very interested in anyone's opinion.

For our local Knox County school system, I need only one piece of information to present a complete picture. I have been trying to get it for four months, but a project reworking the database system prevented it. I would like to get the total dollars (ADA=Average Daily Attendance based) per year, per high school, per student average, for each year going back at least three years, but preferably five years so that I can construct trends. I would appreciate anyone's help in this.Thanks and best wishes,
--
Vic Spencer

[Vic Spencer]

I just updated the main message in this thread to what I have (mostly) at www.knoxedu.info . I did learn a lot since I started commenting on this topic. The most important thing I learned is that we will not improve the sad state of our high school education in Knox County as well as nationwide, until we motivate our students to work harder. Without the children understanding why they should and want to work harder to get much better grades, nothing will change. To achieve that, we need the teachers' help more than ever. They have daily contact with all students every working day. And we also need parental support, not parental opposition to hard work for their children. After all, the choice for all students is:

• Do I work hard now during my few years in high school so that I can get a good job and an easier life, or...
• Do I have fun now for a few more years in high school, and then clean the floors in some factory for the remaining 60 years I have?

THE WORLD HAS CHANGED MY FRIENDS. AND THOSE ARE THE CHOICES. The amount of money you will make will depend on how much education you have in areas that are NEEDED by the employers. If you have only a high school diploma with its weak curriculum, you will do and grow old doing manual work. It is almost completely that way. Parents and grandparents, forget how the world used to be when you and I were young. Those days are gone, and do not apply to your children's education. What you may have noticed is that the world is changing ever faster. The old days are gone. To be successful, we must adopt the new ways - in education but not in bad behavior.