If the children are being taught the answers to the test, out of context and absent the skill of critical thinking (and they are), this isn’t “education”. It’s fact stuffing so they will pass the test and the school may meet the standards (ha ha ha) of “no child left behind” .
Here is my problem with this argument.
The kids are failing the standardized tests!
If a teacher can't get the "fact stuffing" right, how are they supposed to teach anything more?
If "teaching to the test" is so beneath them, then how come they can't "teach to the test"?
However, here is what I see right now (and I think this is what McCollough is saying:
Students are not being taught context.
Students are not being taught critical thinking.
Students are not being taught facts.
Since I see no quick, easy and foolproof solution to the overall problem, if I can at least see a teacher engaged in "fact stuffing" I will cheer because at least something is being done.
And, in my experience, teaching "critical thinking" always means teaching Marxism. And you cannot begin to work on context if you don't have any facts. Therefore, "fact stuffing" is for me a good thing, a crucial first step, and the very thing that is really missing from education.