Colleges find many lacking

[barb162]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0511200357nov20,1,6377421.story?page=2&coll=chi-newslocal-hed

By Jodi S. Cohen
Tribune higher education reporter
Published November 20, 2005

In the lowest-level writing class at Columbia College, freshmen learn about the pitfalls of run-on sentences and the correct places for commas. In basic math, they learn about fractions, decimals and simple geometry.

Sarah Rehder didn't expect to start college in either of these courses. A graduate of Curie High School in Chicago, she assumed she was prepared for college.

But like many students in the state and nationwide, Rehder learned through a college placement exam that she wasn't ready for college-level coursework. Now she's learning--and paying for--material that she arguably should have mastered in high school.

"I thought high school was supposed to prepare you for college," said Rehder, 18, a photography major and the first in her family to attend college. "I'm just doing the same thing over again that I did in high school. I didn't learn anything."
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How does a person get out of high school, let alone primary school without knowing fractions? Why is a person awarded a diploma for primary education when that person didn't complete sixth grade level work.

[Bjornsdotter]

1. That's true

It's been my BIG complaint about our current education program.

My kids both attended a private school for gifted child. There were serious gaps in their education, most noticeably in what I would consider the educational basics. Sure my kids mastered Shakespeare in 4th grade but English grammar was never even introduced. Now my 16 year old is playing catch-up with English grammar and it still isn't being taught in high school. In order to remedy this situation, I have made both of my children study a foreign language...nothing teaches English grammar like learning another language. Fortunately, they have an excellent French teacher and their knowledge of English is improving.

Bottom line, if you don't master the basics at some point you will stumble and not be able to catch up.

Okay, rant over. :rant:

Cheers!

[barb162]

2. Shakespeare in 4th grade,

English grammar never even introduced.

Maybe that's the problem? The teacher can say oh look at this hard stuff they are learning but the kids don't know how to write a sentence or paragraph. I notice a lot of kids can't write, spelling is terrible, etc.

I heard a woman (40ish, well-spoken) mention on TV a week ago she never read a book. And I thought how did she get out of school without ever reading a book? I remember doing book reports in grammar school and I thought I went to a very substandard school. But one often learns how to read by reading.

I swear, I don't know what the heck is going on in so-called education today. I don't think it's education, at least as I knew it.
And what you wrote wasn't really a rant; it's a legitimate gripe.

[Bjornsdotter]

3. Exactly the problem

With my kids (and others at the school) the high IQ's were seen as an excuse to introduce higher concepts without ever touching on the basics.

The basics must always be taught first, mastered and then move on. I spent more time introducing the basics at home than I should have. What I found scary was that so many parents missed the cues. However, having an education background, I was the lone voice yelling that the program would bottom out.

The whole system needs to be overhauled. A good portion of public school children are medicated for ADD/ADHD simply because the teacher can't teach or control the class. We need to put accountability back in the schools and remind parents that parent is also a huge part of education.

Cheers!

[adnelson60087]

4. I teach high school

And I know the futility of getting high school kids to read and/or write in my science classroom. The english teachers, to their credit, do what they can, but many of these kids are not introduced to topics like grammar and spelling in the early elementary schools. Or perhaps, the kids simply ignore the rules and do what they like in their writing, as is the case online. I cringe EVERY TIME I see a student write "B-CUZ"....

[Bjornsdotter]

5. I taught high school and college

I spent at least half of my class teaching English grammar, which should have been taught in elementary school. We have to get back to teaching the basics when they are supposed to be taught; not playing catch-up later.

The kids do use a lot of slang commonly found on the computer, it's a sign of the times. I hate it, it drives me crazy.

Cheers!

[nemo137]

6. As a UIUC student, I absolutely agree.

I had a girl at a lecture once (Ted Rall on Central Asia), ask me where Russia was on the map. It was disheartening.