"EDJICATION ARE IMPOTENT?' (PART ONE)

I just read this: "Four out of three people have trouble with fractions" - and laughed. I did so despite remembering that the quality of our kids education is a real controversy today.

Should it be? Ever watch "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?" It's sort of a takeoff on the reverse intellect of the peasants and the nobility in a Monty Phython movie.

Here the questions are so tough that the contestants - many of whom have advanced degrees -are frequently forced to cheat off the answers of the highly informed grade school student panel members in order to gain the cash prizes they seek.

You watch this and say , "Do they really teach this in grade school now? Whatever happened to getting a gold star by coloring within the lines?"

In first grade I was a charter member of the "Buzzards" reading group, hoping to be called up to "Bluebirds", "Red Robins" or "Soaring Eagles".

My second grade math exercises were trying to keep "twosies" and "threesies" in order when playing jacks with the neighborhood girls.

Some of the quiz show questions include geometry, astronomy, and tough math. If these are representative topics and questions for first thru fifth graders why is there a controversy over our educational system?

Trust me, there is and nobody can seem to arrive at a consensus.The predominant argument is a lack of dedication by too many of today's teachers. Others look to an apparent epidemic in the frequency of ADD and/or dyslexia diagnoses as a contributing factor..

We still have many who see the dearth of people reading books and the increase in video games and TV watching as the true enemy.

There also seems to be a movement afoot to blame the absence of parental support as the real cause. Teachers in particular say this causes a ripple effect disqualifying many from the opportunity to enter college.

Finally, there are the higher education dissidents. They claim "This whole 'My kid has got to go to college" thing is an idea that is past it's prime. College is greatly overated"They take the view of the proletariat, concluding," What we truly need is just more good trade people"

Good point if you look at my "55 and older senior community". It is the many talented retired trade workers in our senior community who are earning substantial extra shekels to supplement their social security, etc and work only when they choose.

Me? I'm the hand eye challenged guy - and always was. If I didn't get a college education I'd be on a street corner imploring you to buy my pencils.

For some strange reason I haven't found a way to make a quick buck by lecturing on "A Comparative Analysis of Lexicographers Samuel Johnson and Noah Webster". The only Boswell my neighbors are interested in is Connie.

As a country, we lack cohesion in discussing the relative merits of education. One proud parent's bumper sticker announces that their child was selected "student of the month in the fifth grade". Another family's bumper sticker proudly proclaims "My fourth grader can beat up your fifth grade student of the month".

Is education overrated? I'm not sure how to answer. Too many variables, perhaps.

In my childhood neighborhood I had a friend you might call a remedial student now. He was very athletic and quite handsome. One day, after a riveting Junior High lecture on communism he raised his hand and said, "I think I understand Mr. Finfrock, but can you tell me - that Stalin guy - is he on our side or theirs?'

Not to fear. Bobby was such a good athlete he got a "scholarship" to a local steel community high school that was heavy into proselytizing jocks. He went to school only when it struck his fancy to do so.

Bobby became an honorable mention All American at one of the football factories in the Carolinas and allegedly married a beautiful and wealthy co-ed from down there. Another blow struck for "edjication"? Maybe, but not all of us can rely on those types of genes.

How bad is the education of our kids?" Is the whole thing overblown?

Not at all", claim the folks we like to think should know. They are those who are "doing the doing". Many are educators - some are politicians - and on both sides of the aisle - I might add.

Unfortunately, all seem to have a panacea. This is despite the fact that after "No Child Left Behind" we now have only 12 states who can claim that 50% of middle- class kids are proficient at 8th grade math. ( Yes, that's 50% - as in half.) It would also seem to be a knockout punch for those who contend that poor grades are a problem only for the poorest school districts.

The "No Child Left Behind" folks disagree with the protagonists for "Charter School Systems".
Then along come those who take the more pedestrian path and argue we simply have to get back to basics. Most recently it's the "Race To The Top" theory we're championing.

This is a program where 40 states"lobbed" in plans to the U.S. Department of Education last January in pursuit of $4.35 billion in federal funds made available to spur innovation in the classroom.

What? We want teachers to be innovators in addition to babysitters? Hey, I'm a big fan of incremental progress as opposed to panaceas - but why, after all this time, can't we get it right?

Educator and former presidential education advisor, Diane Ravitch totally endorsed the "No Child Behind " reform when introduced in 2006. However, in her recent book "The Death and Life of the Great American School System" - she trashes it.

Albert Shanker, the educational labor leader, was the champion of the "Charter Schools" approach in the late-1980's. Now, Charter schools are being criticized for becoming elitist and their leaders desirous of "killing off" the public school system. You can't possibly believe this is what Shanker envisioned.

He once said, "There is no more reason to pay for private education than there is to pay for a private swimming pool for those who do not use public facilities."

Shanker was interesting - even if controversial - and seen as a radical labor leader willing to close down schools to get what he wanted for teachers. He was also quoted as saying:"a lot of people who have been hired as teachers are basically not competent."

He'd have never made it as head of the Baseball Major League Player's Union.

That's enough for one blog. We'll visit some other aspects including results of speaking to actual teachers in a future post.