Is Public Education Failing Your Child? Reasons & Solutions

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Do you believe that public schools are failing your child?​

​There's a good chance that you do. Most parents worry about their children getting through high school with the skills necessary for college, and whether or not they will be prepared to succeed in today's workforce.
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This blog is going to discuss the reasons why public education is failing kids, as well as some possible solutions.

1. The public education system is failing your child because they are not teaching the skills needed for college, work and business in general. ​

​We live in a world where people need to be able to learn how to do things on their own without having someone else there telling them what needs to happen next. Unfortunately, public schools fail at this by teaching kids only one way of doing everything instead of giving them multiple options. We are seeing the effects of raising a generation that is thinking of college as the only way to be successful right now. The lack of creativity in the education system is one problem because it doesn't do anything to help kids think outside of the box. Kids are getting into college based on a test that usually prioritizes memorization rather than any type of real knowledge or skills they have. This has created an environment where people who don't go to college feel like their options are limited when in fact they can go on to learn real skills and harness that to become an expert in their field. We have a huge shortage in trade skills workers and a lot of those jobs pay better than the average college graduate with a four year degree earns coming out of school. We have to rethink the education system in America and the world.

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2. Reasons why the education system is failing your child

​- In the US, one student drops out from high school every 26 seconds.

We need to be thinking about what caused us to get to that point. As parents, we can not afford to try and step in and intervene when they are threatened with not graduating or being kicked out of school. It is our responsibility to make sure these kids are set up for success from the beginning or as early as possible.  Public schools are overburdened and overworked. If you work in education, you know that these teachers and workers care, however you need to know that they are overwhelmed with how many students they have. The paperwork, documentation, and assessments are never ending. When I was in the classroom and had 90+ students in a Title 1 school you better believe I wanted to do my best for every last student I had. The problem was, that it is impossible for one teacher to solve every problem for every child. It all takes time, and we all have the same 24 hours a day. Your child or someone else's will slip through the cracks.

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3. Solutions to help fix the problem

Homeschooling or Homeschooling Co-Op​

​The logic behind homeschooling is that you can offer your child access to all of the subjects in their curriculum. You will also be able to tailor it to meet their specific needs and interests without having them come home exhausted from overwork and frustration. Homeschool coops are great because they allow kids who might not have as much time on their own at home, but still want an education outside of school and can be coordinated with the support of other parents and families.

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Tutoring online or in person​

​​A virtual tutor allows students online lessons during certain hours or days of the week. The teacher may live anywhere in the world and can help solidify core concepts your student may be struggling with. The other option is to have someone come to your home or meet at a public space. For us, the virtual option allows us to travel and maintain the connection with a teacher and not lose any progress or waste time driving around. My wife also had a hard time with in person, because she always went into frantic cleaning mode knowing someone is coming to the house. The tutoring was supposed to save us time and make our life easier.​​

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Online classes (different than virtual tutor)

This can allow for social interaction for your student and allow them to learn from someone that isn't mom or dad. This can also be a great way to have them learn subjects that you as a parent might be uncomfortable with. We lived in rural Missouri for a while, but my daughter was interested in Hawaii and was interested in taking a Hula class. We would never have found someone locally, but online we found a Hawaiian woman that was teaching them online and with nothing but a laptop and internet my daughter's interests were able to be met and fulfilled cheaper than  in person lessons after taking into account the driving back and forth.

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​Brick and mortar schools that are tailored to the needs of their students. This can be achieved through a variety in curriculum, class size, lesson duration/frequency, or subject matter taught. We need teachers who want to teach children how to think critically and creatively. Teachers should not have 90+ student loads because it is impossible for them to give as much attention needed when they are averaging about 5 minutes per child each day on average--and this does not include time spent planning lessons or grading assignments!
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The current public education system has many problems: administration issues from funding cuts, lack of parental involvement due to different working schedules with parents out at work all day long and so many other time commitments that reduce the amount at time to help with homework or re-enforcement of concepts.

4. What you should do if you're not sure what to do next​
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• Work with your child's teacher to improve their education. If you feel like they're not getting enough attention, or the teachers are overwhelmed by a huge class size then look into alternative options for them!
  
  
• Look into homeschooling or buying online courses. Do your research and see what options there are. Make sure the options you choose allow for flexibility, simplicity and fit the needs of your child. Do not think that signing them up for online classes that have 50-200 kids in them will do the trick. Those may be fine for basic interest things, but my kids have just felt left out and literally told us that they could have just watched that on Youtube. The interaction of smaller classes is key for most children to bloom and really feel heard.

5. The importance of a good education for children cannot be overstated. If you are in a position to homeschool, whether that is because of your own educational background or by choice for religious reasons and/or lifestyle preferences, do not underestimate the importance of this role and purposeful decision as it will positively impact their future.
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• One important note about homeschooling is that there needs to be balance with socialization outside of school hours so make sure they get involved in extracurricular activities like sports, craft or other hobby groups etc...
  
  

• It can also help them understand what life skills they need (cooking healthy meals at home) and how decisions today can affect tomorrow - leading them towards being financially secure adults who know how to live within their means!

If you are unable to homeschool do not despair as there is always the option to supplement with tutoring, online classes, extracurricular groups etc. The important thing to note is that you just need to stay involved in your children's education. You should understand what they should be learning and assisting in the best way possible that works for you and your family. Let us know how we can help.

Trammell Classes is an online school that uses interest-based learning to teach children in grades K-12.  Trammell Classes provides a safe, secure environment for your child to explore their interests and learn at their own pace.  Trammell classes provides a way for children to experience interest based learning and homeschooling online. The ultimate goal of Trammell classes is to help kids get interested in learning again!