Posted on 03/23/2008 6:51:28 AM PDT by FreedomPoster
Great read...Interesting take on public education, and I am sure the lefty teachers who listen to PBS are not pleased.
Ping, for your consideration.
Actually, the article has some truth; but it's squarely in the PBS camp in a lot of regards. He and our educational establishment both believe that kids really don't have to know stuff. He buzzwords it as "moving from the knowledge based economy to the search based economy." That is just another excuse for not teaching stuff to our kids.
The reality is that you can have the biggest, most powerful search engine in the world and it doesn't mean a thing if you are searching for information about Brittany Spears. Being able to search is founded on a knowledge base that tells you that you need to search, that a search of a particular sort may be useful, and the whether the result are meaningful.
So instead of dumping all that silly "knowledge" stuff, the internet makes it MUCH more important. Ironically, the best education right now is a classical education. Very broad and designed to instill context. The internet is meaningless without that info being put in context.
I didn't see a distinction made between "medium" and "method" and how these affect "perception," something I would think would be front and center on an educator's radar...
Finally, if society's collective intelligence, after a generation so, is based on machinery and common databases, then I suppose the old saw "knowledge is power" takes on a whole new meaning - one that ought to put the fear of God into everyone. And what sorts of citizens will we be by then; and what sorts of citizens will we be when the foundations are manipulated or rendered useless?
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> They are ready to dump our schools.
Anyone who thinks this even possible, seriously
misunderstands the purpose of government schools.
They have nothing to do with topical education.
The goals of government schools are:
1. Perpetuation of the government school system.
2. Indoctrination of teacher union dogma.
3. [irrelevant - everything else is subordinate to 1&2]
Someone who thinks that is probably wrong about a lot of other things too.
If anything 'destroyed' the US manufacturing, and there is very little actual evidence that it's destroyed, it's the myraid of OSHA, EPA, ADA, and a scores of other Leftist regulations that punish employers for hiring people, using our God given natural resources (trees and oil come to mind), or for selling a product at a profit.
Pretty well so, as predicted by the Iron Law of Bureaucracy.
The Washington DC public schools spend over $13,000 per pupil per year. 12 x $13,000 = $156,000 to educate a single child.
But this school system reports that less than 10% of its graduates are proficient in math and science at graduation.
$156,000/0.10 = $1.56 MILLION! to graduate a single young adult who is proficient in math and science from this school district.
Let the excuse-making begin! When can we admit that the entire process of public schooling is a abject failure, one that wastes both enormous amounts of money, and wastes an enormous number of lives of the students who fail to achieve proficiency because of the very nature of the factory education the system insists on delivering?
> ISO certification is what destroyed the U.S. manufacturing economy.
Probably the truest statement that I seen in a long time.
I’ve worked for 2 ISO certified companies (both out of business) and one company that made a conscious decision to never go ISO. It is thriving. I remember of CEO making a public statement 6 years ago that ISO culture is the quickest way to the unemployment line and it is true.
These certain things that are learned is the "Body of Knowledge". What Body of Knowledge do you need to watch Jeopardy and what Body of Knowledge do you need to be a contestant. I may not be able to answer all the questions on Jeopardy fast enough, but I could go to the library and look them up, or could buy reference books for home use to look them up, or now use the internet to look them up.
But, there has to be a body of knowledge that is common to everyone and used by everyone in society, or sub-groups of society. And, the Body of Knowledge that a society uses defines the society.
Agree completely with your comments. But the ability to access information will change the world, which I think is the main point of the commentary. Instead of only the elites of the world having this ability, soon everyone will...if they want it.
The basis for all education is wonder. Those that wonder why and are motivated, will find the answer. These are the knowledge seekers and ultimately the ones who move us forward. Now all of the seekers of answers to important questions have the means to get them. That has never been the case before.
But I believe that the only real problem we have here in America is that we do a poor job of educating those that wonder. I think the authors point is that now poor schools will get bypassed, and that’s a good thing.
How did ISO destroy the manufacturing?
I wouldn’t disagree with your statements.
The key point her brings, from my perspective, is Why does that core set on knowledge have to be imparted via the traditional education system? If you can independently certify that knowledge is in place, who cares about a degree from XYZ high school or ABC university?
All manufactures have always used or conformed to some type of certification. ISO is no different, only wider in scope.
Jeez, need more coffee.
The key point here, from my perspective, is Why does that core set of knowledge have to be imparted via the traditional education system? If you can independently certify that knowledge is in place, who cares about a degree from XYZ high school or ABC university?
I think this is a good article.
With college tuition and expenses increasing at a rate of at least 5% to 10% per year it is increasingly hard for parents to justify guaranteeing an additional, seemingly automatic $2,000 a year more for student loans.
One of my sons witnessed those increases of $2,000 a year over 4 years for what? And the problem is, the student loan people keep loaning more money as if it justifies the increases in education spending. And exactly WHAT was improved that cost $8,000 more the 4th year that it did the 1st year of College?
Same with public secondary and elementary education. The costs keep going up, supported by tax formulas that keep going up. But the quality keeps going down. At what point do people start saying enough is enough? Can they continue supporting an automatically higher costing status quo? Or even worse, a decline or reduction of quality standards of education when not justified by increased costs?
Technology could indeed render traditional group schooling obsolete. Obviously the teachers unions and school administrators are going to fight to maintain their controlling grip on the educational standards they deem necessary for students. But the overriding motive behind traditional educators maintaing their grip on schooling is to maintain their legitimacy as employable and not expendable.
I have to flag this very idealistic statement:These are the knowledge seekers and ultimately the ones who move us forward.
The structure of modern civilization which is being overturned before our eyes used to vet and required proof of fitness for any who would rise to significant places of influence and/or power. That structure, where it hasn't already been undone, has decreasing credibility and effectiveness. In other words, insitutions that once protected are now doing so less and less; in fact, many have become hostile to their constituents.
When the means of power and influence are "open to all as never before [to paraphrase]" the question of fitness for it becomes paramount.
Those who are going to "move us forward:" are you sure you want them to?
In this wild-west of means that society is becoming, morality is the guidance and strength that is utterly required. But of course, the most persuasive and desirable of power seekers will be completely devoid of it.
The ramifications are startling.
"Knowledge is power" is now become a threat, because what passes for knowledge is but a shell of it and can be created on the fly and delivered en masse to...anyone, regardless of motive.
because "traditional education" is a social experience, and humans are social beings.
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