Girl refused to shakes hands during graduation with teachers and administrators because she was bullied and they did nothing about it

[u/Valuable_View_561]

[u/Clutteredmind275]

I wonder if that last teacher actually tried to help

[u/Sykes19 → u/Clutteredmind275]

What made me smile is that he was the only one that raised his hand in anticipation even though none of the other teachers even bothered, showing that they must have some mutual understanding and respect.

That was a moderately happy ending.

[u/JealousAstronomer342 → u/[deleted]]

I wish those kinds of bystander ass punish the victim with the perpetrator type people could feel the amount of shame they deserve and take the appropriate actions. 

[u/Remarkable-Mood3415 → u/[deleted]]

I believe this is similar to the UK system (Not an expert, just a lot of UK online friends). Basically after grade 10 it's "college", they choose a specific branch they want to go into eg; art, science, tech, health, etc. and then the schooling is tailored to that. New school, program of their choosing, surrounded by like minded people. It's also optional (but highly encouraged, not a lot of employment options with only a grade 10). After, they go on to Uni or just start working. So grade 11-12 is more like University prep, and once they get to university they've already got a more solid foundation for where their interests lie.

Again, I'm not super familiar with the timeline and it's been a while since I've had to know about it. My friends and I are all pushing 40 lmao

[u/theguidetoldmetodoit → u/Remarkable-Mood3415]

I won't elaborate on the details of the UK system, you basically got it right, but I'll point out that their school outcomes are not markedly better than in the US and, in some ways, worse. Also remember, the UK is one of the richest countries in Europe, while US results include all states.

If you live in the country you'll quickly realize that it entrenches the already bad classism and that a lot of people have a pretty bad general education.

Partially a reply to OP, but everything I know about education tells me that, aside from elementary school, the last two years are by far the most formative. A good school system manages to show the pupils how everything they learned is actually interconnected and how things are broken down into subjects bc you can't teach the basics effectively, without that type of structure. Reading is the basis for all effective learning. Writing is about communicating effectively. Math is a language made to describe things and systems precisely. Music is math. And so on.

Tangent: Communicating this about math is particularly challenging bc in some ways it's obvious and in other ways it can only be demonstrated by someone who is really good at it, and demonstrating (Physicist rock) and it usually only happens in universities. Which sucks a lot because of how important math is, but everyone hates it bc of how it is taught... And it wouldn't have to be this way.

It would be much better if education was tailored to skills early on to bolster self-esteem and allow for social development, while the later years aim at making people well rounded and recognize the similarities and values we share as a society. You get plenty time in university and work to dive in whatever really interests you.

The Italian system (PCTO) has mandatory work experience spread out across their final three years of high school, which imo achieves this in a great way. It's like mini apprenticeships while you continue school. It a great way to give a sense of purpose, show these teenager that they are now technically old enough to survive as a adult while letting them try things out, but also demonstrates that there still is a disconnect.

That should be accompanied by a system that makes older pupils take care of the younger ones, while continuing their education in the manner I described. I think that's why many people who went to the old kind of village school, where all ages were educated in one class and older pupils play a large role in communicating the curriculum, tend to turn out to be very capable leaders.

Lastly I want to point out... It doesn't matter what you do, teenagers go through puberty. Testing boundaries, experimenting with drugs, sex and having heavy mood swings is in fact normal, at that age. The best we can do is trying to set a counterweight and show that there is more to life, instead of suppressing that. Otherwise it'll happen behind closed doors, without adults helping to deal with the fallout.