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Toxic education
Topic Started: Jun 7 2008, 05:14 PM (202 Views)
DĂșnedain
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Vanishing American has an excellent entry up on her blog from a few days ago on the failure of our education system and the liberal equality-based way in which today's Western society views education. It's well worth a read.
"I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen."

~ Martin Luther
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Allison

The article has some good points, but the problem begins in the lower levels of education really, not in college.

Instead of "teaching to the test," where teachers are forced to teach exactly what will be on a standardized test their students will take later in the year, teachers should be given the freedom and time necessary to teach in such a way that their students truly learn and understand the material, and gain thinking and problem solving skills rather than simply memorizing a bunch of facts and procedures.

The memorization gets them nowhere later in life. Sure, they score well on the test, and that's how the schools and teachers are "graded." But those things they supposedly "learned" are complete useless in the real world. They need to be taught how to think for themselves and solve problems so that they can succeed as adults, whether or not they choose to go to college.

And how do we get there? We need people who have been IN the classroom making the policies and coming up with ideas on making education better instead of politicians who've never set foot in a classroom as a teacher.
Edited by Allison, Jun 8 2008, 04:23 PM.
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Allison
Jun 8 2008, 04:22 PM
The article has some good points, but the problem begins in the lower levels of education really, not in college.

Instead of "teaching to the test," where teachers are forced to teach exactly what will be on a standardized test their students will take later in the year, teachers should be given the freedom and time necessary to teach in such a way that their students truly learn and understand the material, and gain thinking and problem solving skills rather than simply memorizing a bunch of facts and procedures.

The memorization gets them nowhere later in life. Sure, they score well on the test, and that's how the schools and teachers are "graded." But those things they supposedly "learned" are complete useless in the real world. They need to be taught how to think for themselves and solve problems so that they can succeed as adults, whether or not they choose to go to college.

And how do we get there? We need people who have been IN the classroom making the policies and coming up with ideas on making education better instead of politicians who've never set foot in a classroom as a teacher.
The biggest problem, aside from the out-of-control Teacher Unions that practically run the schools, is the liberal-progressive, anti anything pre-1960s America propaganda that these government schools pass off as curriculum. You can improve the educational effectiveness all you want, but if the material itself is useless propaganda then you're not going to get anywhere.

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They need to be taught how to think for themselves and solve problems so that they can succeed as adults


Allison, our liberal government does not want kids taught to think logically and rationally. That's the whole point. Our government-run schools are really nothing more than indoctrination centers.

*Not that it really matters what I think, but I don't have any problem with you becoming a teacher. As I've said before, I'm sure you'll make a great. But that doesn't change the fact that these "schools" are unconstitutional and flatout destroying the minds and spirits of the the next generation. They do nothing but produce brain-dead, PC oriented zombies who hate the very things that made America great in the first place.

~ Joel
"I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen."

~ Martin Luther
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Allison

I don't think our points of view are conflicting. Maybe I'm just not saying what I mean well enough. There is a heck of a lot wrong with schools today, so I'm certainly not disagreeing with that. I think that what is being taught and how it's being taught is way off base. Kids are graduating high school with no clue about the real world. It's a real problem, but until politicians are convinced of that and listen to TEACHERS (the ones in the classroom), no amount of changing anything is going to help. (Hence, the concept of "teaching to the test" in order to improve education...worst idea ever.)
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