I need some help for a school assignment... All help accepted!!

[Pucky21811]

1. What is the role of public education in society?

2. What do you expect of people who graduate from public high schools?

3. What was your Kindergarten- 12th grade experience like for you?

4. How did your public education help or not help you in your life?

Hey everyone! I am taking a very intensive summer course (a fifteen week course condensed into only 8 days) for my Childhood Education major. I have to interview people of different age groups: approx 20's-30's, 40's-50's, 60's-70's and 80's+. I need at least one representative of each of the four groups to answer these questions. I will GLADLY take more than one insight, though!

I would not use any specific names, and it is only for an assignment; it will not be posted anywhere visible or anything. Please only share if you're comfortable. I am thinking mostly those residing in the US will be able to relate to this the best, but I will accept any insight on these questions!

If you could just start out by saying which of the age groups you are in (respectively sorted above) so that you don't have to share your specific age groups, that would be great. Then answer the questions as best as you can/feel like it. I was assigned this today and I need a collection of answers by Monday. I have some family members and family friends but not a lot of time. Any extra help from you guys would be great, since I know we have such a variety of age groups here. This site was my first guess.
Thank you in advance!
-Pucky! :D

[thekinetic]

1. A glorified daycare. It is worthless, they are only concerned with stupid federal imposed tests and to turn kids into cattle.

2. To forget everything they just learned. All worthless and mostly wrong yet not enough to do anything with.

3. Hell on earth. Just that, over crowded with jerk teachers and students that act like their lives mean something to me.

4. Gave me social phobias! Not kidding, it made me hate people for the most part, hate myself for the rest.

Combine all that with the fact that I lived through it with ocd and I'm lucky I didn't kill myself (tried once but was saved by a gift from a friend).

I'm 29 and you know what the education system is a joke and needs to be completely overhauled. But no all they want to talk about is bullying, whatever happend to beat the bully's butt with whatever you could find then beat them again for bleeding.

Ok this is turning into a rant so I'm going to stop there.

[Pucky21811]

Thank you! I really really really appreciate your honesty; I totally agree our system is disastrous. I was hoping people would be really and truly honest, so thank you so very much!

[dramaqueen]

I think the role of public education is to provide children with the knowledge and skills they need to live productive lives as adults. Unfortunately public education is severely lacking IMO

2. I expect people who graduate from public high school to know how to read and write and use halfway decent grammar.
3. My K through 12 experience was not the greatest in the world. Since my father was in the military we moved every 2 to 3 years, which was difficult. I had a few good teachers and a few bad teachers. I was also bullied. I could write a book about my experiences but I'll sum everything up by saying that I wanted to go into education because of my bad experiences.
I wanted to be the kind of teacher that I never had.
4 . I went to 3 different high schools. I really think the second one had the better curriculum than the other two. I really don't know if going to public schools helped me or not. I think college helped me more. I'm 50 years old if you need my age.

[lvandert]

I don't know if you need it but here ya go. I'm 21 and grew up in St. Paul MN and went to an inner city public school.

1. What is the role of public education in society?
To attempt to give the general populace a general education and possibly some common sense, but doesn't always work.

2. What do you expect of people who graduate from public high schools?
It depends entirely on the person. Someone who goofs around and doesn't do the work, ends up dropping out- probably does the things no one else will really do. If your the person who works at it and gets their GED one way or another they probably have half a chance to make something really good of their lives.

3. What was your Kindergarten- 12th grade experience like for you?
K-5 (elementary) was horrible. I was always picked on and teased, but I made a couple good friends out of it all. 6-8 (middle school) was worse I got beat on occasionally but made some more really good friends. 9-12 (high school) was even worse but for different reasons. I wasn't "the pretty girl" or "the curvey girl" or even the girl that would do unmentionable things on the first date, therefore I was picked on and teased all the time. Along with being shot down by every guy I would ask to a dance. I didn't go to prom and didn't feel like being a third wheel. My senior year I started fighting back. broke a girls nose and threatened to beat many others. Slowly they left me to my studies. By the end of the year I at least had peace.

4. How did your public education help or not help you in your life?
It taught me to stick up for myself, and while many people may not care about their education, it taught me that I do. I'm making something of myself and in one of the top 100 tech schools in the country, studying what I love!

[Pucky21811]

Thank you all so very much! Any more answers are greatly appreciated for the next few hours! I knew I could count on you guys. :)

[dramaqueen]

No problem. I'm glad I could help.

[SnowySurface]

I find it interesting that there are so few responses to this tread. I wonder if most people don't want to think about K-12 or if a lot of members went to private school like I did.

I would help if I HAD experience in the public school system. ^_^;

[Pucky21811]

Hello hello helllooo all you helpful, wonderful people! Finally the first course summer course is behind me, and thanks to the help of you guys for this assignment, which became an essay.

Unfortunately, I am in the second course now, and I have virtually the same assignment, with only slightly varying questions. The answers, too, will be used in an essay. I have started a new forum over it, and the link will be posted below, in case you guys felt like answering questions for me again. THANK YOU!

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread....42#post1116742