Leave Those Kids Alone

Campus Report ^ | January 14, 2009 | Heather Latham

[bs9021]

Leave Those Kids Alone

by: Heather Latham, January 14, 2009

Charles Murray has a few problems with the United States’ current educational policy. In his book Real Education, he lists four cardinal ones: ability varies; half of all children are below average; too many people are going to college; and America’s future depends on how we educate the academically gifted. He argues that these are ideas that must be embraced before public education can improve.

Murray starts with the idea that the ability to do and learn certain things varies in degree and kind with children. He uses the multiple-intelligence system developed by Howard Gardner to define the different kinds, although he prefers to call them types of intelligence “abilities.” The abilities that he describes are: bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, spatial, logical-mathematical, and linguistic. He separates linguistic, logical-mathematical, and spatial abilities associated with mental visualization into one other category he calls “academic ability.” He also believes that the current measures used in elementary schools are not effective in determining these. He says, “Educational measures such as test scores and grades tend to make differences among schoolchildren look as though they are ones of degree when in reality some of them are differences in kind.” He goes on to say that educators should not run on the assumption that every child has some above average ability and will overcome their deficits. He argues, “Schools that ignore those realities are doing a disservice to all their students.”

The next problem that Murray discusses is that half of all children are below average....

[Paladin2]

Half of the kids are below average?

Heresy. Not possible. Laws need to be passed to outlaw this type of thinking. Hate Crime. Against the UN Charter. etc.

[tbw2]

Careful. In a couple months, it might actually BE illegal.

[Dawn531]

Murray argues that it would be more beneficial for many students to pursue a vocation or attend a vocational or community college before starting to work rather than focusing on getting into a four-year college.”

I would argue that a very large number of students are attending community college before getting into a 4 year college.

My kid did community college for his AA, then state college for his BA, and now a private U for his graduate work.

[TheRealDBear]

Half the kids are below average?

Thank you, Captain Obvious!

[wintertime]

• “Let gifted children go as fast as they can;
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The government school fails miserably in allowing **any** student to go as fast as they can. ( bright or dull!)

I removed my son from first grade when the teacher and principal flat out **refused** to believe that he was several years ahead of his class in reading and math. The principal suggested that **maybe** he could be tested in the summer but that first priority would be given to the slow children. ( Summer was 6 months away!)

I removed him from school and homeschooled. By 15 he had finished Calculus III and all general college courses. There is no possible way he could have accomplished so much so quickly in the government school.

[Marie2]

After homeschooling five kids I must say I agree at least with his basic premises.

Some kids are just smarter than others.

I’d like all kids to have equality of OPPORTUNITY.

Even an average kid, with hard work, can rise to above average.

But not all kids are college material.

Some excel in a few areas, some in one, some in all, some in none.

There is nothing wrong with that.