<p>Since PCP quoted me (my “#3”) among others, I’ll respond first to that quote:</p>
<p>I can only speak for my region, Pop, where I’m more aware of the dynamics and the underlying reasons, because I’ve watched trends, work in the field, and am in close communication with many levels & types of schools and with the “system” in general. I want to stress that my observations are true for publics. I have not found a significant “recent” change in approach or content at privates, overall. For the most part, privates in my region have remained constant. They are also for the most part quite difficult to get into because of demand vs. supply, and even without demand, the supply is low. Finally, by the time the family discovers that the student is unprepared to be competitive in some significant way, it is too late to apply to that private school, because much of the time this is discovered in early high school.</p>
<p>A lot of it is related to the money and “the system” – i.e., cost control withiin increasingly burdened public services for a correspondingly shrinking public dollar, and the fact that schools are “controlled” not only by the physical currency but by their internal cultural currency which is more based on a union mentality (“workers’ rights”) than on the guiding ethics of the profession. IOW, while it is true that larger classes & fewer prep periods burden a teacher more (are objectively “unfair”), there’s nothing to prevent a conscientious teacher from doing the same amount of work he or she would normally do/have done…except that the teacher faces pressure from the union & local rep not to take on such duties. There are definitely teachers who resist such union pressures to punch a clock; they are the ones I both respect & feel much sympathetic anger with, because it is objectively unfair not to increase pay proportionately. But welcome to the 21st century world. In case teachers haven’t noticed, nurses are overburdened (not receiving commensurate pay with increased responsibilities), as are workers in many private & public sectors.</p>
<p>My dermatologist is way past retirement. He keeps working not only because he still loves medicine, but also because he has many patients who still need him. He also works longer hours than he should for his age, but most of that is definitely because of his professional commitment. He’s not the only dermatologist in town, but he has vast experience and is also not ready to abandon his melanoma patients until he’s confident they will be equally cared for elsewhere. I experienced the same with my former gynecologist, who had specialty knowledge/training for special cases and delayed his retirement because of that.</p>
<p>My internist takes on some uninsured patients who can’t pay her full fees; she charges them half-price. Because she’s a stand-up woman and gives two figs for their medical care. It’s also what you do when you’re a professional.</p>
<p>Writing is not sufficiently assigned by teachers because instructing to it and correcting for it are time-consuming. Second, as I’ve said often, teachers are caving in to the public culture of short-cuts, shorthand, impatience with difficult tasks. It’s the fast-food educational culture. The excuses I hear from them are all related to that: “Students won’t take the time;” “students don’t know how to write.” Um, yes. That’s why it’s your job to teach them how. </p>
<p>As I mentioned elsewhere, formal writing tasks are being much too ignored in grades 7 and 8, when if anything they should be ramped up in preparation for h.s. So even if 5th & 6th grade students had excellent writing training (the vast majority do not), they are out of practice by the time they reach Grade 9. Again, we’re talking formal writing here. Therefore, it will be an especially time-consuming task for a h.s. teacher to begin the training or retraining process, along with all the other material the teacher is being required to teach. The only “solution” to this is outside tutoring.</p>
<p>Structure of writing is based not only on form, but also on mechanics, which are not being sufficiently taught. Typically, grammar will be “introduced” in 5th and/or 7th, and never spoken about again. So if you have no idea how a sentence must be structured, and how the English language is built, or how to complexify your sentence, you will find writing a real drag. It will be as difficult as trying to build or repair a car with only 2 or 3 tools or pieces of equipment at your disposal.</p>
<p>Ease of writing is related to literacy – at the very least, subconsciously. Study after study has found that breadth & frequency of reading makes writing far easier. You have styles & standards of expression imprinted in your brain, not to mention accurate & colorful vocabulary. My students are severely lacking in vocabulary in context, and in familiarity with varieties of expression, because they are not being required to read widely, nor are interested in doing so. They’d rather play with their electronic toys. And they’re not going to read a whole book on Kindle, unless it’s a category of book that does not address these needs of literacy acquisition.</p>
<p>As to teaching how to prepare for tests, and teaching other study skills, part of it is the same excuse I’ve found above: “not enough time” in the school day to address this. Again, I have just always considered this essential to my job, as did my own teachers. But it has also lost value as part of teacher training, which is unfortunate, because it is not “obvious” to a student how to study. How to be a student is one thing that any teacher should consider an essential set of skills. I know this is still important overseas, or at least has been historically – such as in parts of Asia and Europe.</p>
<p>What I find particularly troubling is the failure to teach, in the regular school day, how to think critically, read critically. This is also something that doesn’t necessarily “just come naturally” to the student; it must be directly taught. There is also naturally a “time” excuse for that. But just note that what is being replaced for careful thinking & thoughtful writing is often just more curriculum crammed into the school day (on any grade level, before & after high school). Part of this is a pull from outside, from an information-oriented culture, which assumes that U.S. students are more ignorant than students from other countries because they don’t get enough “stuff” in the regular school day, when in reality it’s more that their outside reading levels are so poor.</p>
<p>Finally, others have alluded to this, reflecting on the “recent” nature of trends: When you get wealth and a high level of parental education, combined with density, in any given area, you are goiing to get a hyper-consciousness about educational competitiveness, and if addressing preparation for college cannot be solved in the public school, you will seek outside private or commercial sources as long as you are not willing to surrender to mediocre preparation.</p>