Some people are probably gonna bitch about this, but that�s just fuckin� tough. Schools are supposed to be teaching our kids, preparing them for the realities of life in the big, bad world. And in this they fail miserably. Just look around at the youth of today if you need proof of this statement.
Let�s start with the curriculum currently in use at our fine learning institutions. Can anyone tell me WHY four years of English is necessary? Or more accurately, four years of what they have mislabeled as English? Because just take a look at all the people coming out of school these days without a firm grasp of the language we speak in this country. Past the 8th grade, English class has almost nothing to do with the English language. All they can be bothered with is making sure we all read everything William Shakespeare ever produced. Well you know what? Shakespeare is the single most overrated writer in the history of the written word.
Not only that, but how is reading a few plays by some idiot who�s been dead for 500 years helping kids speak our language? We don�t talk like that. Shakespeare does NOT belong in English class. If they want to teach his crap, then there should be a course dedicated to doing just that. And it should be a fucking elective.
And what�s the deal with Social Studies? If you look at what the term should mean, and then compare that to what they�re actually teaching in that course, there seems to be some discrepancy there. And how is it helping us anyway? Seriously, where in your life, other than trivial knowledge or if you want to be either a professional Jeopardy contestant, (or a Social Studies teacher,) are you ever going to use this knowledge? I mean in any sort of practical way? You aren�t. It�s that simple.
This is just history. They try to give it a fancier name, but it�s still just history. And yes, history is important, but really, after the 8th grade, there�s not much they�re teaching that�s all that necessary. Give one year of WORLD history in high school, and then make it an elective. The kids who are interested can pursue it, and the ones who aren�t can get on with more practical things.
And something practical is what needs to replace this ridiculous Social Studies garbage. Something like Social SKILLS. This is an area where kids today are desperately lacking. Because 4:20 seems to be the extent of these skills for the vast majority of these pinheads. And if you don�t know what I�m talking about with 4:20, then GOOD! You are perhaps one of the few people who slips through the cracks of our educational centers and didn�t come out dumber than when you went in.
And along with Social Skills should be another extremely important course, something along the lines of the old Home Economics course that was available when I was in high school. But it needs to be expanded, and NOT an elective. It used to be an elective course, something for the girls in school to take when the boys were taking shop. What a ridiculous concept. Maybe this is why we have so many dirtbags out there. Fuckin� guys who can�t even do their own laundry. Home Economics should be re-tooled, and made mandatory, and maybe re-named as well. A course like this would be most helpful in getting kids ready for the realities of life after they leave school.
Some of the things covered could be the aforementioned laundry, some basic shopping skills, (and girls, I mean for necessities, not for shoes or the perfect handbag. That�s just more unnecessary bullshit.) How about balancing a checkbook? Teach these little fuckers how to budget and pay bills. Things that we all need to know to get along in society. Yes, some cooking would be important too. Not teaching kids how to all be master chefs, but at least how to fucking feed themselves.
And here�s another thing about school that is kinda bugging me. Why is it that only two years of math are required for a diploma, but we need four years of reading Shakespeare? Ask anyone with an IQ higher than that of a rutabaga and see which one they rely on more often out in the real world. Other than English teachers, I can bet what the answer is going to be. We ALL use math skills, every fucking day. But for some reason the schools don�t think these are as important as a centuries-dead mediocre playwright, or who the ruler of Egypt was in 5,000 BC. That just doesn�t make any kind of sense at all, and I have to wonder what the logic behind this is.
But speaking of math, there�s something about that bugging me as well. And that is this ridiculous need to �show your work.� There�s no real, good reason for it. What, to make sure kids aren�t cheating? Hey, all the teacher has to do is his or her FUCKING JOB and watch the students as they take a test. That�s part of what these people get paid for. Lemme put it another way, when we all get out in the real world, which person do you think is going to be more valuable to an employer? The person who can get the answer to something quickly, in his or her head, or the shlub who needs to have a blackboard wheeled into the room so he can figure out the problem, because it has been drilled into his or her head that they need to �show their work?� I know which one I would rather have working for me.
I know that not everyone has the ability to work stuff out in their head, and that�s fine. Not everyone is wired the same way, and does everything the same way. But why should I be penalized for being able to do something that the other students can�t? Just because I arrived at the answer in a different manner doesn�t make it any less right. So why do I get the failing grade for being smarter? Why should we all have to work DOWN to the lowest denominator? How can that be called an education?
And speaking of teachers not being able to do their jobs, what the fuck is the deal with homework? What kind of bullshit concept is this? 13-year-old kids are coming home from school with four to six hours more work to do. This is insane! They�re kids, for chrissakes! Let them fucking be kids. I never did homework. I refused. When I leave the school at the end of the day, that�s it. Your time is over, and now it�s MY time, to do with as I see fit. Some stranger is NOT going to dictate how I spend my time away from school, no matter who they think they are.
I will also never force my own kids to do homework. Oh � if they start failing tests of something like that, or get caught cheating because they don�t know what�s being taught, then I WILL be taking action, but not the action you might think. I will be going and talking to the school board, looking into the teacher�s teaching habits. Because the ONLY reason for assigning homework is that teachers either don�t care enough, or aren�t good enough to teach the students in the allotted time. Better teachers will result in better-educated students, all without the unnecessary burden of homework. When you get a job out in the real world, 99.9% of the time you do NOT have to bring it home with you, so why are we doing this to our children? Inadequate teachers is why.
Of course, some of them will complain that they don�t have enough time during class to teach, which I�m still not convinced I buy, but okay. Here�s your fucking solution for that problem. Kids can be in school a little longer each day, say from 8 AM to 4:30 PM. Eight classes every day, 55 minutes per class, with five minutes to go from one class to the next, and a half hour lunch break. And the classes will be important ones; math, science, social skills, home economics, (or whatever we change the name to,) computer skills, English and vocabulary skills, and two electives.
Notice there are things missing from that list that currently are thought to be important aspects of children�s learning. No foreign language requirements, and there�s a good reason for that. What�s the fucking point of teaching them to speak French if they can�t even speak English properly? And hell, the only words you really need to know in French are �I give up,� anyway. Why does it take three years to teach them that? Foreign language studies should all be electives. If I am planning on going to Spain, then it�s up to me to learn to speak Spanish. If people from Spain are moving here, then it is up to THEM to learn English, NOT for us to learn Spanish.
Physical Education is another one you�ll notice missing. And the solution to that should be glaringly obvious. As soon as we are not loading these kids down with pointless, needless homework, they will have time after school to actually go outside and PLAY. It will no longer be necessary for them to do this during school hours. School hours can be focused on actual learning, and all the other stuff can be done later. I know this means coaches won�t be able to use the gym classes as recruitment periods for the school�s sports teams anymore, but I don�t really give a shit. Let them do that shit on their own time as well. If you want to play a sport, sign up for it for an after-school activity, but not during school hours.
And that also means none of this pep-rally shit either. Too much time is already being wasted during school hours. This solution is supposed to help make our kids smarter, and that means no interruptions with unnecessary shit during school hours. Assemblies can be a thing of the past unless it is for genuine educational purposes.
And it should go without saying that in order for a student to play on a sports team, they have to be passing EVERY SINGLE course in school or they cannot play. Too many kids stay in school just to play a game, and they come out of school dumber than a bag of rocks. No B average, no football. It�s that simple, although I will admit that most schools do seem to be getting a lot better in this area.
The elective courses would have to be changed also. When I was in high school, and we had to take a music class, the ONLY thing the teachers would focus on is classical music. That�s not good enough. If they are going to teach about music, then ALL forms of music need to be included, and given as close to equal in time as possible. Classical music IS important, but so is jazz and blues and rock and metal and country and even pop and disco. The only thing not necessary in a music class is rap, because there�s no music in that. Rap should be taught in a poetry class and keep it out of music.
Same thing with an art class. It should not focus on just one aspect of art, but encompass ALL of them, to give the kids a well-rounded basis in the subject. And then, after that class maybe there could be some secondary classes, each of THOSE focusing on one form of art. And the same could be done for music. Say there�s an introduction class, that covers ALL the basics, and then if they want to the kids can go on to specialize in something else.
Another thing is the whole giving them the summer off thing. Why are we still doing this? I mean other than the teachers are only doing this job because they know THEY also get that vacation. It used to be because the children were needed to help on the farms and such in the summer, but that doesn�t really happen anymore. That�s why it�s called summer VACATION now, and it�s completely unnecessary. Keep the kids in school year-round. Give them four two-week breaks every year, and start the school year in January and end it the week before Christmas. It�ll work out better that way.
Also, we need to do away with this REGENTS bullshit. There are only two states where this means anything. And when I was in high school, you had the option of getting a regular diploma and not a Regents anyway. What�s the point of offering two different diplomas? This is asinine. One diploma, the same one for every student, and Regents disappears. Before we can make the kids smarter, we have to make the system that teaches them smarter.
All in all, the problems with schools are NOT hard to fix. We just have to WANT to fix them. And yes, I�m sure the students will complain, but tough. In the long run this will help them out, help them to be better educated, more well rounded adults. And judging by the people I meet every fucking day, this is definitely what our society needs right now. Too bad it�s not going to happen, since the vast majority of �educators� don�t really give a shit. Just give �em their fucking paycheck, and their summers off, and that�s what they really care about. And we all just get stupider. What a fuckin� shame.