[Gammit]

Actually, they have compared the American 9th grader to the European 9th grader elevty-billionty (no borrow a term from a friend) times. Depending on which country you're bringing the European from, and which subject, the American student runs nearly equal. And people have even compared the number of hours American children spend on homework to that of European children... guess who has more? Answer: not the American children.

Ok, now I play devil's advocate... Unfortunately, the american teacher has gotten a bad rep. Then again, some of us deserve(d) it. Let me put it this way: when a local school district here in Michigan made it MANDATORY for all of their teachers to be well-versed in current technology, 50 teachers retired early that year. Pretty sad. However, there are those of us who consider ourselves the new generation of teachers. Those that rely on different methods and approaches other than just talking to the students, who constantly reflect ("how could I have done that better?"), and who bury themselves in the research to come up with the most reliable and efficient teaching practices, are already making a difference.

I'm not saying that the teachers who are out there right now are bad, as some of them are quite up-to-date with their teaching practices, and/or are fantastic educators. However, for those of you with "bad" teachers, be patient... we are on our way.

P.S. I'm always open to tutoring those who need help with nearly any subject... as odd as that is over e-mail, you can find my address in my profile. Just be sure to mention that you're from the Ironworks so I don't think you're crazy!