I’m posting this column from one of my favorite conservative columnists on the internet. I enjoy reading Mychal Massie’s Daily Rant because he speaks the truth without making any apologies for what he says. Read on!
I have long held that American children are academically dumb and getting dumber, and Iāve held that the reasons for same are the intrusion of the federal government into ourĀ educationĀ system, illiterateĀ teachersĀ full of elaborate teaching methods that do not work, and parents.
Parents do not like to hear that their children arenāt getting a marketableĀ education. It is easier to live in denial than face the reality that their children are being poorly educated, despite a stint or two on the honor roll. I hate to be the skunk at the picnic, but more times than not, it does not mean your child has learned anything substantive. Plus, I am unapologetic in my condemnation of parents who do not provide consistent learning environments for their children. Children are the future of our nation.
So-called educators have gone to great lengths to dumb down the children of America, and most parents donāt give a ratās tail about it as long as they can say their child made the honor roll. But my position is that making the honor roll in most public schools means less than nothing. It, at best, means little if the parents arenāt providing a consistent learning environment outside of the classroom.
With the above-referenced always in my mind, this morning the first news that caught my attention was an article written by Kala Rama āPassing Score Lowered ForĀ FCATĀ Writing Examā in Florida. (http://www.clickorlando.com/news/Passing-score-lowered-for-FCAT-Writing-exam/-/1637132/13396234/-/k1ckc2z/-/index.html) Rama reported: āThe Board of Education decided in an emergency meeting Tuesday to lower the passing grade on the writing portion of Floridaās standardized test after preliminary results showed a drastic drop in student passing scores.ā
FCATĀ is the acronym for Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test exam. Rather than being resolved to the expectation that children are in school to learn and those charged with ensuring that happens areĀ teachersāFlorida, like many other school systems, found it easier to lower the requisites for passing.
I would hope that it is glaringly obvious that lowering the score needed to pass an exam does not increase theĀ studentsā learning capacity. Parents need to understand that. A poorly educated child who has been the beneficiary of lowered expectations and lowered grades necessary for passing may graduate from high school on the honor rollābut then what? What will the child do with their āI graduated on the honor roll, and Iām going toĀ college, graduate and get a good job.ā
The truth, however, is must less optimistic. They may graduate fromĀ college, but it wonāt be with the requisite marketable employment skills to even give them a chance of landing a high-paying good job. They will, however, leaveĀ collegeĀ in debt from student loans, and with anĀ educationĀ that hasnāt prepared them for the future.
It is a variant form of socialism that believes lowering scores required for passing gives everyone a better opportunity to succeed. What it does, in reality, is ensure that there will be another generation of unemployed and underemployed.
In 2003, I wrote āNo Foundations, No Futureā in which I addressed this very problem. I wrote:
āIn Florida, minorityĀ studentsĀ are accepted intoĀ college, but are unable to pass the multiple choiceFCATĀ test that requires only a 40 percent score and can be taken five times to pass.ā
In Pennsylvania, between one-third and one-half of prospective math and scienceĀ teachersĀ failed their certification tests. About one-third of applicants flunked special-educationĀ certification. Nearly 50 percent of prospective SpanishĀ teachersĀ failed their tests. More than one-third of the applicants failed both the pre-professional skills test in writing and social studies. On the ācontent knowledgeā portion of the math test, 43 percent of theĀ teachersĀ failed. (Jane Elizabeth /John M.R. Bull, Post-Gazette ā āUp to half of teacher candidates failing tests,ā Jan. 17, 2002)
In Illinois, 5,243Ā teachersĀ failed key exams. TheĀ NewĀ York Times asked the question: āWhat to do about [NewĀ York]Ā teachersĀ who chronically fail their certification exams? Some inĀ NewĀ York have failed 10 times ā 3,000 have never passed.ā
Parents may not like what I am saying, but the truth is my defense. It doesnāt take money to ensure children are educated; it takes commitment from the parents andĀ teachers. My family set the bar high when it came toeducation, and the expectations that my cousins and I would achieve and exceed them were as much an absolute as sunshine. MyĀ teachersĀ didnāt care about our colorāthey cared that we learned. Our parents didnāt demandĀ teachersĀ of color, and diversity was the number of different books we read, not a color-coded faculty.
Iāve had conversations with editors who tell me how ill-equipped and unprepared many of the young people they interview are. I personally observe the lack of professional skills in young people today. Sadly, many parents today are more concerned about themselves than they are their children. And they are willing to turn to those who will validate (for a price) whatever excuse they feel will absolve them of guilt and/or responsibility.
Parents need to open their eyes and see what they are allowing to happen to their children. Many children today have no interest in learning, their interests lie in X-Box, the latest electronic gadget, worthless television programming, and the latest song. Unfortunately, that doesnāt ensure capable contributors to our free-market; it ensures that, at some point, we will see the further erosion of skilled employees.
I concluded the 2003 piece referenced above saying: āThe foundations of America are being destroyed: A watered down, diluted god of convenience; moral decay within the family; poorly educatedĀ teachersĀ andstudents; and a government that governs for the posterity of itself is ā agree or not ā the death knell of our nation.ā
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