Posted on 01/13/2008 6:57:00 PM PST by K-oneTexas
Why is Public Education Failing? By Tom DeWeese
Children are coming out of school dumb because they aren't taught academics. They have, instead, become experiments in behavior modification.
It's a fact. Most of today's school children can barely read or write. They can't perform math problems without a calculator. They barely know who the Founding Fathers were and know even less of their achievements. Most can't tell you the name of the President of the United States. It's pure and simple; today's children aren't coming out of school with an academic education.
Colleges know it. They have to set up remedial courses for incoming freshmen just to prepare them for classes. Parents know it. Their children grow dumber everyday.
The politicians say they know it. They hold hearings to grill education "experts," and they hold high-powered education "summits" to debate and discuss the "problem." And they keep coming up with more federal programs and dictate more standards and spend more taxpayer dollars to fix the problem. But the problem continues to explode. Why?
Frankly, any parent can find the answer simply by looking through their child's textbooks or taking a close look at the classroom structures that their children are forced to endure.
That's just what I'm going to do for you and when I'm through, see if you still wonder why there is an education crisis. And ask yourselves why all the politicians, with huge staffs to do their bidding, can't seem to find the problem.
Restructuring the Classroom
It comes under many names; block scheduling, group learning, cooperative learning. It's all part of a radical change in the way children are handled in the classroom.
Children are paired with others for group grades. Individual achievement is de-emphasized. Under block scheduling a number of subjects are tied together in one long class. For example, math, science, health and physical education have been combined in one school. Children are supposed to learn these skills by working on class projects, such as launching an imaginary rocket to the Moon.
Presumably when faced with various problems in building their rocket, students will seek out the necessary information. They'll need math to calculate the projectory, science to find where the Moon is and health to know what to feed the astronauts. Obviously health is for astronaut training. Children are not instructed on how to do the math calculations or how to find the information they need. They are to find it for themselves. And children who can't keep up are to be helped along by other children in their group. It's called "kids helping kids." That's why teachers are now called "facilitators."
"Cooperative learning" is nothing more than a classroom-management technique that provides a convenient hiding place for bad teachers and under-achieving students. The student who doesn't care to learn, or has failed to grasp a concept, allows the rest of the group to do the work and yet gets the same grade.
What students coming out of such classes cannot do is perform math problems, recite multiplication tables, conjugate a verb or structure a sentence. Random facts picked up in the rush to complete a project do not supply the proper base or structure to understand a subject.
Math
Perhaps the most bizarre of all of the school restructuring programs is mathematics. Math is an exact science, loaded with absolutes. There can be no way to question that certain numbers add up to specific totals. Geometric statements and reasons must lead to absolute conclusions. Instead, today we get "fuzzy" Math. Of course they don't call it that.
As ED Watch explains, "Fuzzy" math's names are Everyday Math, Connected Math, Integrated Math, Math Expressions, Constructive Math, NCTM Math, Standards-based Math, Chicago Math, and Investigations, to name a few. Fuzzy Math means students won't master math: addition, subtraction, multiplications and division.
Instead, Fuzzy Math teaches students to "appreciate" math, but they can't solve the problems. Instead, they are to come up with their own ideas about how to compute.
Here's how nuts it can get. A parent wrote the following letter to explain the everyday horrors of "Everyday Math."
Everyday Math was being used in our school district. My son brought home a multiplication worksheet on estimating. He had 'estimated' that 9×9=81, and the teacher marked it wrong. I met with her and defended my child's answer. The teacher opened her book and read to me that the purpose of the exercise was not to get the right answer, but was to teach the kids to estimate. The correct answer was 100: kids were to round each 9 up to a 10. (The teacher did not seem to know that 81 was the product, as her answer book did not state the same.)
Children are not taught to memorize multiplication tables. Those who promote this concept believe that memorization is bad. Instead, children, they say, should be taught to "discover" multiplication. Students, they say, learn to multiply over several years by "thinking about math."
Social, political, multicultural and especially environmental issues are rampant in the new math programs and textbooks. One such math text is blatant. Dispersed throughout the eighth grade textbooks are short, half-page blocks of text under the heading "SAVE PLANET EARTH." One of the sections describes the benefits of recycling aluminum cans and tells students, "how you can help."
In many of these textbooks there is literally no math. Instead there are lessons asking children to list "threats to animals," including destruction of habitat, poisons and hunting. The book contains short lessons in multiculturalism under the recurring heading "Cultural Kaleidoscope." These things are simply political propaganda and are there for one purpose – behavior modification. It's not Math. Parents are now paying outside tutors to teach their children real Math – after they have been forced to sit in classrooms for eight hours a day being force-fed someone's political agenda.
English, Reading and Literature
Conjugate a verb? Diagram a sentence? Learn to spell? This is language class. We have more relevant things to learn.
In a seventh grade language arts class in Prince William County, Virginia, children are given a test entitled, "What makes you good friendship material." Children are to circle "yes," "no" or "maybe" to questions like, "Am I someone who is trusting of others; likes to have close personal friends; is able to influence others; enjoys sharing with others; can keep a secret? If you answered yes to most of these then you are really good friendship material. If not, you need to work on yourself."
One book being used in classes is called The Book of Questions. Designed around situation ethics, the authors openly admit that "this book is designed to challenge attitudes, values and beliefs." Again behavior modification – not academics — is the root of this exercise.
Here are a couple of sample questions from the book of Questions:
(1) On an airplane you are talking pleasantly to a stranger of average appearance. Unexpectedly, the person offers you $10,000 for one night of sex. Knowing that there is no danger and that payment is certain, would you accept the offer?
(2) A cave-in occurs while you and a stranger are in a concrete room deep in a mineshaft. Before the phone goes dead, you learn that the entire mine is sealed off and the air hole being drilled will not reach you for 30 hours. If you both take sleeping pills from the medicine chest, the oxygen will last for only 20 hours. Both of you can't survive; alone one of you might. After you both realize this, the stranger takes several sleeping pills and says it's in God's hands and falls asleep. You have a pistol; what do you do?
And so it goes, in Geography where, instead of looking for Colorado on a map, children are instructed to make a "Me" map to psychologically profile the children. In Civics, instead of learning how the government runs and of the great checks and balances that the Founding Fathers installed to protect our liberties, children are taught how to be "global citizens" under the UN's Declaration on Human Rights." In Health classes children are taught about Mother Earth — Gaia — with lessons on the Sierra Club as heroes.
Children are coming out of school dumb because they aren't taught academics. They have, instead, become experiments in behavior modification to prepare them to be citizens of a global village. The fault lies with the U.S. Congress, which now dictates curriculum and perpetuates the Department of Education, from which all of these evils flow.
Tom DeWeese is publisher and editor of The DeWeese Report and president of the American Policy Center, a grassroots, activist think tank headquartered in Warrenton, VA. ampolicycenter@hotmail.com http://www.americanpolicy.org/
The very notion of "public education" is directly at odds with every principle on which this country was founded, so I don't consider failed public schools to be a problem except that they cost me (the taxpayer) a lot of money.
I’m reading this thread a day late, but I wanted to agree with you on Saxon Math. We, too, started 5/4 in 3rd grade. In 10th grade my son tested into College Algebra at the local college so I sent him there under dual credit program for College Alg., Trig, Calculus w/Analytical Geometry, etc. (he had finished Saxon Alg II in 9th grade, we taught math year round, and would just go from one Saxon book to the next, skipping about the first 30 lessons in each book as they are review.)
Saxon Math prepared him well, and to me, the best part about Saxon was if I didn’t think he had a full grasp of a principle, I didn’t worry. I knew we’d see it again next week, and the week after, and the week after. Math is mastered by practice, and Saxon doesn’t leave a concept or principle, they keep reviewing.
read
Oh really?
What do you call the following agenda?
Promoting the gay lifestyle,
Promoting consequence free sex by providing access to birth control, abortion, and ‘how to’ sex classes,
Promoting population control,
Promoting the ‘global warming’ fraud,
Not allowing any mention of religion or the roll it played in the development of this nation,
Refusing to expell or suspend trouble makers from the classroom, because school funding depends on daily attendance totals,
Teaching political agendas in the classroom and pretending it’s based upon science,
Telling the students that their parents have no real authority over them and that the school will protect the students from punishment,
etc...
I could go on, but you’ll miss the point anyway.
I did Saxon until I started math at the community college. I was in calculus there when I was 15. Saxon prepared me for that and for a 740 math SAT score. Saxon’s the best thing since the slide rule.
That is, if you actually do it and no calculators until at least Algebra.
Good for you! Yes, I think Saxon is the way to go. How far did you go with Saxon. Back when we were using it, they didn’t have the higher math books, the Saxon Math courses pretty much ended with Alg. II (and it didn’t include a lot of geometry.) I have heard that the newer Saxon Math books cover some of the higher maths.
In our local schools things are not going as badly as it appears they are in other localities. There is a fair amount of liberal bias in many areas (Civics and history, for example. We combat that stuff at home. Public education is unknowingly preparing our kids for what they will see in college and in the world— a liberal agenda that can be successfully opposed (at least on a personal level) by logical examination of its tenets. We are working to teach that to our 16 year old boy/girl twins. I would prefer not to have schools attempt to indoctrinate my children from any perspective, but to the extent schools push a liberal slant, it is being done while thinking parents can use the situation as an opportunity to teach logic, morals and critical thinking.
Let me take a stab at it. UNIONS?
There will always be a “slant” to education — whether public or private. But a public school should reflect the community’s standards and culture.
I have an education degree, and I found it be nearly worthless. I taught high school French, among other classes. Education courses are necessary, to an extent, and the classes that are included in an education major are NOT that easy, as you state. However, most education classes provided me little assistance in actually teaching. To a great extent either one can teach or one cannot. Everyone is not able to teach. Mere knowledge of the subject matter, while a prerequisite to being a good teacher, is not enough. One must be able to communicate effectively in a way understood by one’s students. One must have a certain amount of patience. One must be able to “connect” with the students. These things come easier to some than to others. I enjoyed teaching, but could not afford to continue doing it and raise a family. I practice law, representing banks and small towns, among others. My teaching experience often comes in handy when trying to convey how the law works in different situations.
You posted, in part: That process isn’t available for kids who haven’t memorized their multiplication tables. You and I don’t really multiply 9 times 9. We know that the answer is 81 because we once memorized it.
***
And what about 10 times 10? Do we actually multiply that? I am not sure there is any difference in not multiplying 9 times 9 and not multiplying 10 times 10.
I did the next book after Algebra II, Advanced Mathematics, and then started at the community college. Since I was required to take pre-calc there (no way to test straight into calculus) I was all set after Advanced Mathematics.
They got a lot of geometry worked in through the upper level Saxon books. I certainly don’t feel deficient in geography. Just because it’s not a seperate text doesn’t mean the materials weren’t covered. Advanced Mathematics had quite a bit of geometry, lots of trig, that sort of stuff.
This is not the case where I live. The school board members are often family members of NEA members and parents hesitate to complain because of fear of retailiation against their child. Teachers have the power to grade, after all, and many grades are subjective (even math)
I don’t quite agree with that ... Hannity and O’Reilly are social liberals ... Ann doesn’t have kids and neither does Rush. Hannity and O’Reilly do but they have their kids in private schools so ... they are letting conservatives down and also they are social liberalism clouds their “thinking”. I purposely put that in quotes because they are FEELING more than thinking - the social liberal part of them.
I have heard Rush complain about the schools and wanting CHOICE but on Ann I haven’t followed her closely enough to see know her views on that issue. Here’s a search on her comments on public schools:
http://www.humanevents.com/search.php?topic_name=Ann+Coulter&keywords=school&x=34&y=8
And Rush on public schools:
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/tools/search.guest.html
This one in particular should pique your attention:
Liberal Indoctrination at Schools Are Nothing New
December 10, 2004
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/estack/liberal_indoctrination_at_schools_nothing_new.guest.html
So it is noticed as a problem but perhaps not highlighted enough.
Your point is so VALID ABOUT SCHOOLS that I want to scream it from the rooftops! LIBERAL indoctrination has been going on for YEARS. It was subtle in the beginning. Now, it’s in your face. The problem is that previous generations were seduced into believing that they were “mean” or had to “see both sides” when the facts remain that for example “stealing is wrong under ANY circumstances” ... instead they used EMOTIONS to sway them from right and wrong. Honor is frowned on. What’s in it for ME is what they stress today and to hell with you ... .
So, to be honest, yes, liberal indoctrination is a major problem in public schools and I dare say some private schools. The wealthy elite also tend to like some of this liberal trash. The answer - school choice where parents have CHOICE to send kids to schools that they agree with - and you can only HOPE that some of their LIBERAL indoctrination isn’t deep seeded.
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/estack/liberal_indoctrination_at_schools_nothing_new.guest.html I also want ot be careful to not include all public school teachers in this derogatory category of LIBERAL indoctrination. I know there are a FEW, and I mean FEW, who aren't liberals and for them it is an uphil battle to influence kids the right way. Still I'd like to see public schools ABOLISHED and like Belgium let parents have CHOICE in where they send their children and not have it limited by "school district".
I don’t quite agree with that ... Hannity and O’Reilly are social liberals ... Ann doesn’t have kids and neither does Rush. Hannity and O’Reilly do but they have their kids in private schools so ... they are letting conservatives down and also they are social liberalism clouds their “thinking”. I purposely put that in quotes because they are FEELING more than thinking - the social liberal part of them.
I have heard Rush complain about the schools and wanting CHOICE but on Ann I haven’t followed her closely enough to see know her views on that issue. Here’s a search on her comments on public schools:
http://www.humanevents.com/search.php?topic_name=Ann+Coulter&keywords=school&x=34&y=8
And Rush on public schools:
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/tools/search.guest.html
This one in particular should pique your attention:
Liberal Indoctrination at Schools Are Nothing New
December 10, 2004
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/estack/liberal_indoctrination_at_schools_nothing_new.guest.html
So it is noticed as a problem but perhaps not highlighted enough.
Your point is so VALID ABOUT SCHOOLS that I want to scream it from the rooftops! LIBERAL indoctrination has been going on for YEARS. It was subtle in the beginning. Now, it’s in your face. The problem is that previous generations were seduced into believing that they were “mean” or had to “see both sides” when the facts remain that for example “stealing is wrong under ANY circumstances” ... instead they used EMOTIONS to sway them from right and wrong. Honor is frowned on. What’s in it for ME is what they stress today and to hell with you ... .
So, to be honest, yes, liberal indoctrination is a major problem in public schools and I dare say some private schools. The wealthy elite also tend to like some of this liberal trash. The answer - school choice where parents have CHOICE to send kids to schools that they agree with - and you can only HOPE that some of their LIBERAL indoctrination isn’t deep seeded.
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/estack/liberal_indoctrination_at_schools_nothing_new.guest.html I also want ot be careful to not include all public school teachers in this derogatory category of LIBERAL indoctrination. I know there are a FEW, and I mean FEW, who aren't liberals and for them it is an uphil battle to influence kids the right way. Still I'd like to see public schools ABOLISHED and like Belgium let parents have CHOICE in where they send their children and not have it limited by "school district".
Look at what you stated. I quote you exactly.
If a “community” has LOW standards and perhaps an armpit like Newark, NJ are they supposed to reinforce LOW, uncivilized “standards”?
I don’t think so. Regardless of “community standards” and “culture” - HIGH STANDARDS and CIVILIZED culture are desperately needed. Our standards are too often LOW or nonexistent. We don't need more of that.
I meant political slant and standards.
However, a school cannot operate in isolation from a community. The schools in Newark — as well as schools in de-populating rural communities in crisis — will reflect the larger environment. Is this a good thing? Nope. But the truth of the matter is, schools won’t save a community, the community has to save the schools.
Exactly. If the numbers are known, it is not an estimate. “Estimate” implies unknowns. If 9x9 is not the exact set of numbers, someone already “estimated” them.
In defiance of Saxon’s recommendations (:O can you imagine that?!?) I never made them do EVERY single problem, nor did they do all the speed drills. I see no point in being able to do it fast. I’d rather have them be right. Fast will come with practice and knowledge and nobody has to do that in real life anyway.
If they had something down pat, I considered doing the problems just busy work and hate busy work, BUT I always insisted on them doing stuff I knew they were not sure about.
We had to go up two grade levels. You can always slow down when they get really stuck. One thing I did was let them do the work that they understood and told them to let me know when they got to something they didn’t understand and I’d help them. After a while of working on it together, the light would go on and I’d get “I get it now. You don’t have to help me any more.” That’s such a good feeling.
LOL!!! We did the exact same thing....
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