I have commented before that education is more than math and science. Unfortunately, political solutions to provide better education in the United States have given short shrift to the arts. When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, America shifted its focus in learning to providing aide for military defense, neglecting poetry, art, reading, and music to a greater or lesser degree.
The following excerpts were gleaned from students in my humble hamlet over the past few years. They show a rather alarming drop in overall literacy.
“Taiwan is a form of martial arts.”
“Zimbabwe is a song one sings at summer camp.”
“Emily Bronte was a famous paleontologist who discovered the Brontosaurus.”
“Sigmund Freud was a famous brain surgeon in the 1950s.”
“A ‘shakespeare’ was a kind of Roman artillery.”
“ESP is one of America’s intelligence agencies.”
“Buddy Holly is a green plant people display at Christmas.”
“Global warming will only affect poor countries since they have no technology to combat it.”
“Time travel was invented by Einstein.”
“The Bible was written in the Middle Ages by Christian monks.”
While humorous, such statements by high school students in the twenty-first century must give one pause. “Teaching for the test”—competency tests—is one problem that contributes to such ignorance. Another cause high on the list is that too many teachers are in the classroom because they have majored in subjects they enjoy … but they don’t know what to do with their degrees after graduation, so they teach in order to bring in a paycheck.
I’ve said it before: We in a heap of trouble.
Picture: Public Doman
The following excerpts were gleaned from students in my humble hamlet over the past few years. They show a rather alarming drop in overall literacy.
“Taiwan is a form of martial arts.”
“Zimbabwe is a song one sings at summer camp.”
“Emily Bronte was a famous paleontologist who discovered the Brontosaurus.”
“Sigmund Freud was a famous brain surgeon in the 1950s.”
“A ‘shakespeare’ was a kind of Roman artillery.”
“ESP is one of America’s intelligence agencies.”
“Buddy Holly is a green plant people display at Christmas.”
“Global warming will only affect poor countries since they have no technology to combat it.”
“Time travel was invented by Einstein.”
“The Bible was written in the Middle Ages by Christian monks.”
While humorous, such statements by high school students in the twenty-first century must give one pause. “Teaching for the test”—competency tests—is one problem that contributes to such ignorance. Another cause high on the list is that too many teachers are in the classroom because they have majored in subjects they enjoy … but they don’t know what to do with their degrees after graduation, so they teach in order to bring in a paycheck.
I’ve said it before: We in a heap of trouble.
Picture: Public Doman
19 comments:
anna-lys, I don't like the current White House occupants. It has been disastous leadership imho. And they haven't done anything for education. Plus Bush is certainly not an intellectual!
We're in big trouble here too. An entire overhaul is needed but sadly I can't see it happening.
It's very sad, isn't it? I agree with Anna-Lys, the dangers of uneducated people in power. The same goes for management. How do those people get there? One of our managers can't even spell a decent word!
It's the same here Billy, The Times quotes every year the most humourous of exam answers.
The other thing that I never understand is why is one school better than the other? Is it management again?
I despair
Lane, you're right. I don't see it happening because no one seems to realize the causes. Giving bad teachers more pay isn't going to help. The curriculum is outdated, and the little dears play video games instead of reading.
anna-lys, we're all trying to figure that out over here. The smartest does not necessarily get elected. American elections are very complicated.
Monique, I think schools vary from district to district. Socio-economic levels play a big part, as does administrative competence, or the lack thereof. And then there are the parents, who don't have many rules for fear their kiddos won't love them anymore. Children become autonomous at a much younger age. Not as much "at home time" either. Very sad indeed.
Kissinger was educated and he got us into a lot of trouble, as well.
The trick is to take away their power, not try to find someone who will wield it "intellectually"...
Oops I thought I was bad.
I could talk for ages about the education system. I know I am a bit etno centric but I must say that the Dutch education is pretty good. I have some concerns about the high pressure and I am a believer in self directed learning which is not developed yet in Holland because the dutch system is quite conservative.
In NZ we have the Brittish education system which is very much a class system. The rich go to private schools. The state school in our neighbourhood is very good. My daughter was there for a year (she changed because of social problems though) but it is not valued as much because it is not a prestige school. Ridiculous.
I think in general the learning here is much more slag than in Holland.
That's also a reason why I try to get my children internally motivated. They will work much harder if they like it.
It is true that not all are competent teachers. I assume that graduates over there have to do teacher college as well in order to learn to teach. I have to stop now otherwise I keep on rambling.
Marja, I appreciate all your comments on this one. (I like rambling conversation. My son says I sometimes won't stop :) You touch on one very important problem, which is that teachers here do only one semester of student teaching, which doesn't prepare them for dealing with an infinite variety of student personalities over a lifetime. Since they aren't really taught how to teach, their students are not motivated learners with any real interest in their subjects. Schools are babysitters, although there are certainly exceptions, and we do have some very good schools and teachers. In general, we have what I call factory education, which just pushes students through a broken system. I taught for twenty years and then quit. I wasn't going to be a part of it anymore.
anna-lys, unfortunately, we have a very biased system here that doesn't educate students very well in social studies or geography. Many students have been unable to point to the major continents of the world. In general, students here are not taught to appreciate other cultures. I am afraid this in turn is tied to a shallow, narrow idea of patriotism.
Scott, I agree. Kissinger was brilliant, but some of the transcripts of his conversations in past years scare me. The ideal president is probably some obscure businessman who is not a politician and will never see the light of day.
Very true, anna-lys. I'm afraid that American students have a very provincial attitude. Their horizons don't extend very far. In a shrinking world, cultural diversity should be taught.
Marja's comment made me think. I am Dutch also and of course had a Dutch education in the late fifties and early sixties.
When my children were younger in the nineties we visited my brother, and his daughters were anxious that their two cousins would visit their school.
We set a date and the day to visit came.
The school was quiet, the classes small, the teachers very friendly and the pupils were encouraged to speak English to my daughters.
What amazed me the absolute most though was ... Nothing had changed since I had left the educational system. Everything, and I do mean everything, was exactly the same as when I went to school.
That must be the example of a good educational system, unlike here in England where they keep changing systems which never seem to work adequately.
What an interesting post this has become.
Middle Ditch, thank you for such a thoughtful reply. Yes, nothing seems to change. We are still mired in a 19th century curriculum, based on the philosophical premise that one can learn everything that is knowable. Also, in the US, half of the teachers' time is spent maintaining discipline. Education is broken as far as I'm concerned. A drastic overhaul is needed to bring us into the 21st century.
Hi Billy. First, thanks for your visit and comment at Politics Plus.
You have a real point here. I think math and the sciences are absolutely necessary, because they teach us techniques to apply knowledge functionally. But the arts and humanities are equally necessarily, because they teach us the understanding to apply knowledge wisely.
anna-lys, Vonnegut is one of my favorite writers. He is very satirical and took a dim view of mankind's madness, much like Mark Twain.
As far as critical thinking, it is now in all the curiccula and textbooks but seldom practiced. This is not surprising since no one can think critically until they have mastered basic skills, which they're not. It's a Catch-22
TomCat, thanks for stopping by. Good point. How can people apply any learning without the liberal arts as a template on how to apply the knowldge wisely. Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat its mistakes.
anna-lys, you're welcome. Everyone needs support LOL
All that I can add is this
:-D and lol
anna-lys, I'm working on another post to add a little pitter to the patter. Got caught up in our presidential election coverage on TV. The nation is really rivetted to this since so much is riding on the outcome. But I'll come up with some more "stuff." LOL
No problem, anna-lys -:)
These are the preliminary elections. The president won't be elected until November.
Hillary has been around longer -:) It varies from person to person.
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