Hey Pandas, If You Could Change One Thing About The School System, What Would It Be? (Closed)

Teaching basic finance! As in, how a mortgage works, how banks lend money, how credit card interest works, retirement funds etc. Why didn’t they teach us any of that in regular everyday school?

Pay Educators More!

A greater focus on careers in trade (at least in the US). College is nice, but not for everyone. We still need HVAC technicians, plumbing, electricians, auto mechanics, good haircuts, and so on. Remember- every time you enter a fancy modern building, it was designed by the college educated, but it was built by guys with technical certificates.

My biggest thing would be homework. Homework shouldn't be mandatory unless it's a class assignment that you didn't finish.
Let kids be kids, school is not their life, so let them live it how they want and not be stressed out by something so unnecessary (homework, not school)

Standardized Tests

(New York State uses these tests to assess their educators)

It is not fair to evaluate teachers based on my son's ability to take a test. I would just like the teachers to be evaluated across the board more fairly.

The zero tolerance bullying thing to be more inforced. Me and my friends sometimes get tripped,stuff thrown at us, and harassed right in front of the teachers eyes. The teachers excuse is the hierarchy system and how they cant control the popular kids. ( kids with lots of money, mainstream kids, kids whose parents have threatened to sue the school or harm the schools students,etc.)

More money for education, education should be one of the top priority for each government, everywhere in the world

Expecting so much out of teachers and in return paying them so little.

The way bullying is handled.
Being a student myself, I have witnessed many other students being bullied to the extent of tears, and when they alert their teachers about it, they just turn a blind eye. This is not - and won't ever be- okay. Kids commit [unalive] because of bullying. We need to make a change.

I was a High School teacher so I am drawing on my experience here. The Finnish system is the world's best. Follow that and all of society will benefit. Please research before commenting.

Teach things that will make a difference in a persons life such as ...life skills on a global and multicultural level. Planning and managing goals, finances, income, taxes, insurance, home purchase, home mantenance, auto maintenance, navigating bureaucracy and the paperwork involved, law, political governance, voting, cooking, cleaning, purchasing goods and groceries, building and maintaining relationships, having children, writing a will, planning a funeral, building a viable business, wilderness survival skills, sewing skills, plant identification, basic first aid, and I'm certain there is much more I have missed. STEM should also be taught but leave specialized interests for post secondary (which should be free), with introductories in high school. Also, when things like chemistry are taught, teach the correct and most current information. Kids don't need their heads filled with the historical progression of scientific understanding that was proven wrong except in a history class.

I live in Canada. Despite being a bilingual country only one province is committed to being bilingual (not the one you think-- it's actually the ittt bitty province of New Brunswick out in the Maritimes). I dislike that there is no consistency in the country for how language is taught.

What I would want is for half days to be French and half to be English with a period devoted in each grade to native languages. It's embarrassing to honestly have no clue how to pronounce names that use characters from outside our typical alphabet especially when those people are literally born and raised here. I would also want, at least for a couple years in elementary, a period devoted to ASL-- it shouldn't be on me to pay for a college course as an adult to learn how to better communicate with deaf people in our society, the government knows they exist, why create systemic isolation? If there is time to learn how to use a computer in the 21st century where kids start school already owning one, then there should be time to learn languages that both honour our country's heritage and help us communicate with those we would otherwise make feel uncomfortable.

As it is, in my province (Ontario), you are only required to have one period of french up to grade 9, after that you can switch to a different language or continue in French for another year or two. I had the privilege of attending a private French immersion school so all classes except for English were taught in French-- I speak both fluently and can couch that it in no way inhibits your ability to speak English, if anything it helps you learn the intricacies of grammar conventions.

1. School funding should not be determined by standardized test scores, the "gifted" schools have the highest state funding and endless amounts of programs, while "regular" schools are cutting extracurricular programs left and right since they can't afford it.

2. Pay teachers better wages AND provide the supplies needed for their classrooms to function. I'm not talking about the fun posters I just mean basic material required. Pencils, paper, white board markers. We managed to rent all these kids laptops during covid but can't provide teachers basic supplies in the classroom?

3. A curriculum catered to the needs of the individual student. Not everyone learns the same way or at the same pace, but every child deserves the chance for a proper education.

4. Edible school lunches.

5. The ability to effectively protect children from school violence, ranging from a fight to a firearm.

6. Putting kids in detention and preventing them from catching up on homework/class work. Seriously? I was honestly floored to hear this from my high schooler.

Dress codes. Kids should be able to wear what makes them comfortable, not what the school seems fit. At my high school, they banned Hoodies, Crocs, Open-Toed shoes and a bunch of other things.

I would like to see schools stop allowing small minorities of parents-with zero background in education-influence what children learn or what books kids have access to. If you don't want your child learning about something, it's your responsibility to restrict it, just like you would with a violent TV program.

Minority kids should be treated fairly. I'm in a UT school rn. I got tackled a few days ago bc I was wearing a Pride pin.

Got 5 Things! Here we are:

Firstly, the excessive amount of Homework. I don’t want to have to be doing six hours of science per night, but oh well, here I am. I’m not saying effectively rule-out homework as a thing, but tone it down a little. Well, a lot.

Secondly, we need to learn some basic Life Skills. Finance, Economics, Cooking, Cleaning (both boys & girls!), Self-Care & Hygiene (would have helped some kids in my class 🤮) and the rest of the basic stuff you gotta know.

Thirdly, Single-Sex Bathrooms & Changing Rooms. It’s SO uncomfortable having to basically get naked with a large, hormonal male staring at you from across the locker room. I don’t get how some people think this is inclusive.

Fourth, the Bullying Situation. We need more opportunities for people who experience bullying to be able to seek help (sometimes anonymously due to embarrassment or shame) after being subjected to harassment / bullying at school.

Lastly, more lessons on acceptance of your body. You only got one, there’s no point in endlessly comparing it with others and wishing you could change things about yourself, it just leads to dysmorphia. You’re fine EXACTLY as you are!

American here: Logic, as a skill, needs to be more emphasized. Many classes have bits of that incorporated, but evidently not enough.

The fact that the school is run by a man so as a 7th grader we are not allowed to bring purses to school to store period products and if we take a pad out of our pencil cases in a male teachers classrooms you're asked what it is as they think you're being sneaky with a phone or something. Absolutely disgusting, these people.

Change the curriculum for special needs students. I am level one autistic and so many times I would tell my teacher that their, questions, or instructions don't make sense. They'd just go (insert Karen voice) "Well, EVERYONE ELSE got it" well I'm sorry I have a condition that makes me different! We have the technology to do personalized learning plans where everyone has their own special curriculum, just we've been doing the old way for so long and the teachers are lazy.

2. Less school days! Just from being at school for a day causes me to hide in my room for the rest of the day, it's hard for me to go 5 days a week because I'm autistic level one.

3. Teachers need to be payed more

4. Teachers should show that they care and not be sarcastic. I've cried so many times because a teacher was sarcastic to me. (Which I can't tell what's sarcasm or not too well) and so many teachers just don't want to talk to me and treat me like a human. The classes I do best in are the ones where the teacher is kind to me and I want to impress them. If they don't care then I don't care

THIS IS THE AMERICAN SCHOOL SYSTEM BTW