Posted on 08/15/2019 2:36:29 PM PDT by Rummyfan
As a semi-retired business writer who taught in Detroit 35 years ago, I returned to the classroom because a local high school was unable to replace a Latin teacher who had resigned. I hold an advanced degree in medieval studies and renewed my certification to teach Latin, history, and social studies. Once in class, I witnessed firsthand the politicized atmosphere of today’s factory-style government-monopoly schools.
My first exposure to school politics came when I renewed my certification. The 1982 certificate only listed the courses I could teach. In contrast, the 2018 version had a 300-word “Code of Ethics” that amounted to a profession of faith in collectivism, egalitarianism, state schools, and diversity (typically limited to superficial things like skin color and gender, not ideas). Nonetheless, I proceeded, thinking that I couldn’t possibly make matters worse. That much was correct.
Grosse Pointe South High School is architecturally interesting, sits in a higher-income community, and is considered a good school by locals.
After an interview and teaching a few “test” classes to first- and second-year students, I was hired. Within a few days, however, it was clear that many students did not understand English grammar, much less Latin fundamentals. In response, I taught remedial grammar and outlined how students could pass my course with a “C” or “D.” There were some excellent students, but test scores were not distributed in a bell-shaped curve. It was an “inverted” bell, or bimodal distribution – with scores clumped at the two extremes.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
As most FReepers who STILL send their kids to public schools would attest to, the public schools all suck in this country - EXCEPT the ‘wonderful’ public schools that I send my kids to. They’re COMPLETELY EXEMPT from all the bad things we read about...just never happened at my ‘wonderful’ public schools.
Right?
Government run schools are more interested is teaching perversion as a normal lifestyle than teaching little Johnnie how to read and write
Its all about indoctrination.
The public school model is untenable.
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And this is at Grosse Pointe, which I’ve always thought of as quite affluent, never been there. The school looks like an elite college campus.
No proficiency in basic grammar. Amazing.
A good friend has dubbed the public schools “failure factories”.
The schools have been leaning left for a very long time. When I was in high school, in the 1960’s, I attempted to grade the history books in the public library. I had particular “facts” which would typically be left out. Most books would not pass my test. I only remember three of the “facts” I using as the test.
(1) Mention of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact which, for all purposes, marked the beginning of WWII. By the 1960’s, the liberal historians were not willing to admit that Stalin was a member of the Axis when the war started. That inconvenient truth was swept under the rug.
(2) Of the 205 people named by Joe McCarthy on the floor of Congress, almost all resigned rather than face investigation. It is true that many were in the Department of Agriculture, but they still represented people who had infiltrated posts in our government. I cannot imaging picking 200 names out of a hat and having them all resign as soon as they are accused if they hadn’t been up to no good. This one was not reported by ANY history book.
(3) The relationship between the death of Stalin and the end of hostilities in Korea. Any thinking person would see that the North Koreans were brought to the table very shortly after Stalin died and the Russian people wanted their government to quit spending so much money on the “war”.
The historians were more interested in giving political cover to Stalin and shifting the blame to the Chinese. While the Chinese did supply bodies, the Russians were the primary source of funds. When the Russian funds dried up, then the Koreans had to come to the peace table.
I remember my father, in the fifties, telling us that the U.S. troops were facing a lot of American war materials that had been supplied by Roosevelt under the Lend Lease Act during WWII. These war materials were then sent to North Korea to supply their troops.
The popular TV program, MASH, kept this lie alive while the show ran. The Russians were seldom seen as primary movers and shakers for North Korea. The Chinese always took the blame.
The schools are not worse. Everything is going according to the plan. Ignorant people are easier to brainwash and control.
Sanctimony is a hallmark of the Left.
Just sayin.
Take a quick read through the article. There is a test that must be passed in order to move on from 8th grade to high school. This is insanity at its finest.
The state of New York recently passed a law requiring prospective school teachers to take a literacy test to get their license, but repealed it the following year because 36 percent of whites failed the test on the first try, while 54 percent of Hispanics and 59 percent of blacks failed.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/13/nyregion/ny-regents-teacher-exams-alst.html
In other words the State of New York is knowingly putting a large number of illiterate teachers in classrooms.
Dollars to doughnuts all the other states do the same thing.
Wonder of wonders!
I'd like to have been a fly on the wall when the Grosse Pointe school board decided to keep Latin in the curriculum. I would expect the liberals to raise an objection, to the effect that Latin is a "dead language" and therefore not relevant to modern, progressive ideas and causes.
It's been a few years since I last recited "Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est" but the basics of the language, and particularly the Latin roots of many English words, remain engraved in my memory forever.
At one time, students were advised to learn French since it was considered the language of diplomats and international business. That is no longer true, although anyone planning on living in France might find it advantageous to know the native language.
These days, especially in the Southwest and California, I would expect more high school students take Spanish than all other languages combined.
Will it pay off? Time will tell.
One Korean War anecdote from years ago was that after a defeat over some Chinese, the US checked over chinese vehicles and found that the chinese quarter-ton 4x4 had a Ford model A engine. Henry Ford had a factory in china before WW2? I did read his biography 30yrs ago but I cannot see that venture listed with the others on Wikipedia.
Other changes in the history books involve the Weimar Republic and the diplomatic games from the french side involving cancelling of the Reparations (amongst others). And I now know Von Papen was the man of mystery - but he was hardly talked about at school.
As a Latin teacher, myself, In private schools, I find it amazing that this public school even offers Latin! But, yes, knowledge of basic grammar is the sine qua non of learning Latin.
The Latin teacher at my school was 5 ft tall and had breath that would knock flies off a crap wagon. Instead of hitting you with a paddle, like most teachers did back then, he would get right in your face and scream dung breath at you. It was effective and still legal today, I guess.
I have many public school teachers in my family - the older ones have seen the deterioration over their careers. You have ignorant kids raised by ignorant parents that were themselves raised by ignorant parents. And the teacher can no longer enforce any sort of decorum in the classroom, so 1 bad apple destroys any minute possibility that learning might take place. And most classes are chock full of bad apples.
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