Monday, June 30, 2008
In Our Schools - Have they gone astray?
This writer seems to know what's going on...
Peter Berger discusses today's world of education in the Rutland (Vermont) Herald:
"It's been decades since schools first outlawed failure and adopted the false mantra that all students are guaranteed success. Our national education law, No Child Left Behind, rests on two mutually exclusive wishful absurdities embraced by politicians and education experts. First, schools have to raise standards so they reflect world-class college expectations, or else the school is in trouble. At the same time, every student, including those with learning handicaps or simply less than average ability, has to meet those elevated standards, or else the school is in trouble.
There's no such thing as high standards that everybody can meet. That's why we can't all make it as major league ballplayers or Marines.
The one essential for success that does lie within each student's control is the one essential we don't talk about. You'll rarely hear much about diligence and perseverance in today's scholastic master plans. Instead of effort, we talk about fun. Instead of extolling self-discipline and the personal and societal benefits of self-improvement, we bribe kids with cash and MP3 players."
