Edjication - PART TWO

There were a few subjects as a kid that I was discouraged from discussing with strangers. One was religion, another was politics, and I'm assuming the third was sex. Hey, two out of three ain't bad.

Seriously, upon reflection, this appeared to be good advice. I now have a fourth No-No to add: Education. I sought some input as to our eductional woes from folks either in the profession or retired from same. For a variety of reasons that assessment was not forthcoming. Therefore, I'll go with what I have.

Let's start with the latest "flap" regarding the education of our kids.

Texas allegedly wants to change their books so that they will narrow the options of actually learning the truth about history. We're now 26 years past the title year of the famous book "1984" and it's "newspeak'" and apparently some of us still don't get it.

What we also don't get is a convincing answer as to why our kids are not receiving the education of their forefathers. Now, that may not be necessarily bad but , there is a clear indication that our kids are not learning at the projected grade levels.

Now, what we could do, as in "1984", is to wipe out history, change the memory level, or simply reduce the requirements. Don't laugh. It's happening every day. At a grade school, middle school, or high school level there are many who recommend we simply stop that infuriating and depressing scheme of measuring the test results and awarding appropriate grades.

The PC folks tell us -in a manner consistent with giving all Little Leaguers a trophy - that to do otherwise is harming the psyche of our kids.

My one question to all of this is :"Folks, how the hell did we get it so screwed up?"

I'd like to share with you one assessment that may go "behind the screen and reveal the true identity of the Wizard in the land of Oz".

Here is one educators response to my questions which is described by the writer as "stream of conscienceness by a secular humanist relating not uniformly accepted truths but that which I believe." (editors quotes)

So, if polysyllabic words are not your thing you may choose to read "no further". However, you'll miss one heck of an insightful treatise.

In response to my question about the Rhode Island teacher firings:

"Was it a radical action? Yes, but needed.

In 20 years of teaching I got very tired of hearing some of my peers decrying the "lot" they had been given each year, their blaming of the parents, or the student's cultures, or the teaching materials, or the administration, or television, or video games, or .. whatever.

It is the responsibility of teachers everywhere to build a multicultural family within their classrooms where differences in culture, social economic status, language, and belief systems are all embraced, not found fault with, and for the teacher to instill an atmosphere of "yes, I can" within their classroom.

Teachers need to take personal responsibility for the results achieved in their classrooms, and once they stop growing in teaching skills and personal empathy, then they should get the hell out of the profession."

In response to my question about diversity of students and cultures:

"During my years of teaching in inner city schools, I have had classes that on average had student demographics of 1/3 white, 1/3 black, and 1/3 Hispanic, with a sprinkling of Native Americans and Asians.

My observations were that no one race was dumber or brighter than another, although difference in cultures had a lot to do with their achievement levels. Asian culture valued education more and had stronger parental support than the other cultures. Black culture had the lowest value on education and the least amount of parental support, and often had a serious problem with family structure. A high percentage of my black male students thought that their best chance to improve their socio-economic status was through sports: the females believed it was through dance and music.

These cultureal based beliefs are based on memes".

I had to look up the meaning of the term: meme (sounds like cream) : "a postulated unit of culture, ideas, symbols or practices which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing , speech, gestures, rituals or imitation."

There was much more included in the thoughtful response of this educator- but, I think you, the reader, get the picture.

Education is what it is because we of the amount of time we take to make it so. The "number crunchers' in sports as in life would have you believe that their statistical conclusions are "the answer" instead of just one more tool to throw into the mix.

It is the failure of this syllogism containing a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion that has allowed us to witness incredible feats achieved by sports teams and kids in classrooms whose team members went off at 70 to 1 odds of being successful.

It is still human thought, response, and actions that are needed - not more government intervention using a carrrot/stick "Race to the top" approach to improving our lot in education.

If you read this to the end - I thank you for your interest. You are one of us who can make a difference.