HomeManifestoEssaysSolutionsActivismFree eBooksQuotations

Working Minds Philosophy of Empowerment homepage

Things To Worry About
Education

Rodin's staue of 'The Thinker' with graduation cap and diploma                main Worry index
Energy & Global Warming Page
'Corporations vs. America' Page
Class War & Economics Pages
Trans-Pacific Partnership Page
U.S. Politics / Elections Pages
International Politics Page
Pipeline Disasters Page
Earth's Biosphere Page
Internet Freedom Page
Human Rights Page
War & Peace Page
Health Care Page
Racism Page


"None of the world's problems will have a solution until
the world's individuals become thoroughly self-educated."
R. Buckminster Fuller [1895-1983]

"All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind are convinced
that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth."
Aristotle [384-322 B.C.E.]

"True liberal education requires that the student's whole life is radically changed by it."
— Allan Bloom

"The principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women
who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done."
Jean Piaget [1896-1980]

"Only education is capable of saving our societies from possible collapse, whether violent, or gradual."
Jean Piaget [1896-1980]

"The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next."
Abraham Lincoln [1809-65]

"Higher education in America is designed to fashion plowshares into doorstops."
G.E. Nordell

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
— Nelson Mandela [1918-2013]

"The mind is not a receptacle; information is not education. Education is what remains after the
information that has been taught has been forgotten."
Mortimer J. Adler [1902-2001]

"The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don't tell you what to see."
— Alexandra K. Trenfor of Bogotá, Colombia

"Education is only half the battle against poverty. The other half is opportunity."
— Micah S. Hackler

"Don't just teach your children to read . . . Teach them to question what they read. Teach them to question everything."
— George Carlin [1937-2008]

"Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe"
Thomas Jefferson [1743-1826]


         


Selected Books on the Subject of Education

Education Film Festival at Magic Lantern

"National Excellence: A Case for Developing America's Talent"
[U.S. Department of Education Report October 1993]
online text version at Dept. of Education

Working Minds 'WMail' ezine essay #6: "How We Learn" [Jan 2001]

U.S. English, Inc. [est. 1983]
American Library Assn. [est. 1876]
The National Mobilization for Great Public Schools
National Education Association
PBS/Merrow Report "First To Worst" TV program [now on DVD]
National P.T.A. {Parents & Teachers Assn.} [est. 1897]
National Assn. of Gifted Children
Teach for America [est. 1990]
A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students
Chris Davison's Intellectual Capitalism website
Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [est. 1920]
School Success Info website
Teachers Count: Learn a thing or two
National Science Teachers Assn. [est. 1944]
National Center For Family Literacy [est. 1989]
Standard Deviants educational products: on DVD or on VHS
evangelical brain-washing exposed in the movie "Jesus Camp" [2006]
Forum on Educational Accountability
Alliance for Excellent Education [est. 2001] of Washington, DC
The Phi Beta Kappa Society [est. 1776]
The American Scholar quarterly [published by the Phi Beta Kappa Society since 1932]
Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design [est. 1963], 1600 Pierce Street in Denver, Colorado
Read & Succeed Program
Tutors with Computers
Educn Innovation Laboratory at Harvard headed by Roland Fryer
U.S. Federal Student Aid website
Student Nation members blog {hosted by The Nation Magazine}
StudentsFirst education nonprofit [est. 2010] founded by Michelle Rhee
Fire Science Online [est. 2011 & ad free] - public service education & career resources
Student Debt Crisis [est. 2012] website - your one-stop hub for student debt issues
Forgive Student Loan Debt campaign [est. 2009]
Monte Zucker Education - photo & cinema classes worldwide [est. 2005] based in Maryland
All Nurse Job Descriptions - your nursing career guide [est. 11/2017] is based in Alaska

Core Knowledge Foundation [est. 1986] based in Virginia
official websiteWikipedia
founder E. D. Hirsch, Jr. [b. 1928]
browse books at AmazonWikipedia

Lexile measures are being used across schools in all 50 states and abroad
WikipediaLexile websiteMetaMetrics, Inc. [est. 1984] website

"We Are The People We've Been Waiting For" [New Moon TV, U.K. 2009]
FREE DVD available at the official website, shipped worldwide !!



Davidson Institute for Talent Development [est. 1999]

Knowledge Is Power program [est 1994]Knowledge Is Power program [est 1994]

California Children & Families Commission           Reach Out and Read® program [est. 1989]

Academy for the Love of Learning [incorp. 1998] in Santa Fe, New Mexico

3400+ free online lessons at non-profit Khan Academy, based in Mountain View, California

National Center for Science Education [est. 1981]

Pathways In Technology Early College High School [est. Sept 2010, first program Sept 2011] in New York City

Coursera: Take the World's Best Courses, Online, For Free - based in Mountain View, California

Teach For America [est. 1990] based in New York City

Education Opportunity Network [est. 2/2013] which is a blog & newsletter project of the Institute for America's Future

Stanford University Education Program for Gifted Youth

Accredited Schools Online [est. 2013] is based in Nevada, USA

logo for Major League Hacking [est. 2013]        Major League Hacking [est. 2013]
entry at Wikipedia
worldwide Local Hack Day is on December Third

Back To School Essentials Dept. at Amazon

                                                 

ad for High School Course for $2.98 - click to view bigger image in new window  

'last call' ad for High School Course for $2.98 - click to view bigger image in new window  
Kansas publisher Haldeman-Julius [1919-76] placed full-page ads in pulp magazines and on the backs of comic books for a complete high school education for only $2.98, delivered C.O.D., circa 1928; the sixty listed booklets averaged 60 pages each, and the selections are interesting, and so they are listed here in detail"Sixty volumes, 3,485 pages, 825,000 words"

I. ENGLISH
1. English Faults
2. Spelling Guide, 1925
3. Grammar Guide, 1924
4. Punctuation Guide, 1924
5. Words Pronounced
6. Conversation Helps
7. Vocabulary Helps
8. Letter Writing
9. Preparing Manuscripts Properly
10. "How To Argue Logically"
      by Schopenhauer, 1920

II. HISTORY
11. United States
12. Story of The American
      Revolution
13. U.S. Civil War
14. Lives of The Presidents, 1926
15. U.S. Dry-Law

III. LITERATURE
16. Facts To Know About The
      Classics
17. 100 Books To Read
18. Reading Guide

IV. THE ARTS
19. Painting Facts
20. Sculpture Facts

21. Music Facts
22. Musical Terms
23. Architecture Facts

V. LANGUAGES
24. Latin Self-Taught
25. French Self-Taught
26. Spanish Self-Taught
27. German Self-Taught

VI. BUSINESS
28. Economics (Wealth)
29. How Wall Street Works
30. U.S. Commercial Geography
31. Commercial Law
32. Business Letters
33. Typewriting Guide
34. How To Write Telegrams

VII. SCIENCE
35. Chemistry Self-Taught, 1923
36. Physics Self-Taught, 1926
37. Astronomy Self-Taught
38. Psychology Self-Taught, 1924
39. Riddle of Human Behavior
40. Evolution Explained
41. Great Scientists
42. Zoology Self-Taught
43. Woodworking

VIII. MATHEMATICS
44. Plane Geometry
45. Curiosities of Mathematics
46. Arithmetic (1), 1925
47. Arithmetic (2), 1925

IX. REFERENCE MANUALS
48. Quotations
49. Shakespeare's Lines, 1924
50. Classical Mythology, 1924
51. Biblical Allusions
52. Foreign Words, 1925
53. Famous Authors
54. Gazeteer

X. GENERAL HELPS
55. How To Get A Liberal
      Education
56. Self-Development
57. Comments On Life
58. How To Study

XI. QUIZZES
59. What Do You Know?
      (Questions)
60. General Information (Quizzes)


a search at Internet Archive on keywords 'Haldeman+Julius' returns over 300 free online flipbooks
from among the 1,900 titles of their "Little Blue Books" series.

                                                 


Indianapolis Star news story September 2016

I.T.T. Technical Institutes shuts down
       Niel Smith would have finished his degree in less than a year.
       But Tuesday morning, he found out all ITT Technical Institute campuses were closing nationwide in the wake of devastating federal sanctions. He drove to his South Bend campus, but nobody was there to answer his questions: "Is there going to be any way for me to finish my degree? What's happening here?"
       Smith, 27, said he is left with $30,000 in student loan debt and credits for an information technology degree that likely won't transfer to another college.
       "When I took out those loans, my goal was to get a degree," he said. "It wasn't my goal to stop halfway through and have to pay back something that I have nothing to show for."
       ITT Tech's closure disrupts the education of about 40,000 students across the country and leaves about 8,000 employees without jobs, said Carmel, [Indiana]-based parent company ITT Educational Services Inc.
       But the shutdown was unsurprising to many who followed the recent unraveling of ITT Tech, which reached a critical point in late August. The U.S. Department of Education banned the school from enrolling new students who rely on federal financial aid — ITT's main source of revenue — and required it to put aside $247.3 million in case the school went out of business.
       Experts called it a death sentence. On Tuesday, ITT blamed its closure on those sanctions, calling them "unwarranted," "inappropriate" and "unconstitutional".
       "The actions of and sanctions from the U.S. Department of Education have forced us to cease operations of the ITT Technical Institutes, and we will not be offering our September quarter", ITT said in a news release. "We reached this decision only after having exhausted the exploration of alternatives, including transfer of the schools to a nonprofit or public institution."
       The sanctions came after ITT's accrediting agency threatened to withdraw accreditation. The Obama administration also has been ramping up its scrutiny of for-profit colleges, which led to the bankruptcy last year of Corinthian Colleges.
       In a blog post Tuesday addressing ITT students, U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. said the decision to impose increased sanctions upon ITT was not made lightly, because federal regulators understood the possibility that the school would close.
       "Ultimately, we made a difficult choice to pursue additional oversight in order to protect you, other students, and taxpayers from potentially worse educational and financial damage in the future if ITT was allowed to continue operating without increased oversight and assurances to better serve students," King wrote.
       Even as ITT bristled over the federal actions in its closure announcement, higher education experts say the blame lies with ITT.
       "The department's actions were what ultimately precipitated the closure today, but the company put itself in this position through years of bad choices and management," said Ben Miller, senior director of postsecondary education for the Center for American Progress.

       State and federal investigations into ITT began in 2002. ITT currently faces fraud charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission and a lawsuit from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It has been under investigation by at least 19 state attorneys general.
       Trace Urdan, an analyst for Credit Suisse who follows ITT, said the Department of Education could have worked more cooperatively with ITT to keep it from closing, as it has done for nonprofit colleges.
       ITT said it had no opportunity for hearing or appeal of the sanctions. The company had asked for leniency and said it proposed alternatives that were not accepted, though ITT did not describe the terms [that] it was seeking.
       "Some of ITT's attitude is justified," Urdan said. "But it's certainly not the case that the Department of Education did this to them. They did this to themselves."
       Experts say there's still a market for for-profit education, but ITT's closure proves a diminishing patience for poor outcomes and financial instability.
       "Overall, it's a pretty chilling move by the Department of Education," Urdan said. "For a lot of other schools, it will help make them more prudent in their financial decision-making for sure."

       ITT has operated for about 50 years, running more than 130 campuses across the country. It offered on-campus and online classes in business, nursing and health sciences, electronics, and information technology. Last year, ITT generated $850 million in revenue, about $580 million of which came from federal student loans.
       Its Facebook page erupted Tuesday with comments from angry and confused students seeking their next steps.
       Recent ITT Tech students can file claims to have their federal student loan debts erased. Politico reported that current ITT Tech students and recent dropouts owe about $485 million in outstanding federal loans.
       But veterans have no recourse. The Post-9/11 GI Bill gives veterans 36 months of college tuition, plus expenses, to attend the school of their choice. It makes no accommodation for students who are enrolled in a school that closes.
       Byron Sumpter, a sergeant in the U.S. Army National Guard who attended an ITT Tech campus in South Carolina, said he learned of the school through a commercial. He thought what better way to use his military education aid than "go back to school and get a better job."
       "Now I can’t get the education I was studying for," said Sumpter, 32, who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
       He enrolled in the school’s network system administration program in September 2015 and was set to complete school this coming June. Sumpter said he was looking into schools that would accept his credits.
       "I’m still in shock, to be honest with you," Sumpter said hours after learning of the closure.

       In Indiana, six ITT campuses closed. On Tuesday, its headquarters off U.S. 31 in Carmel was dark and locked, its parking lot empty.
       ITT did not provide a figure on how many employees in Indiana would be affected by the closure. Most of its faculty worked part time, according to national data. In 2014, ITT employed 620 workers in Indianapolis.
       Gov. Mike Pence has asked the Department of Workforce Development to contact ITT Tech employees to assist them with job placement, according to the governor’s office.
       "ITT Tech's situation is due in part to the Obama administration's over-regulation, which is sadly killing jobs nationwide," Pence spokeswoman Kara Brooks said.
       Enrollment has plummeted in recent years. State records show nearly 12,000 students were enrolled at ITT's Indiana campuses in 2014. That number dwindled to just over 1,800 this year.
       Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education Teresa Lubbers said the state is working to help students continue their education even if ITT credits don't transfer. Ivy Tech Community College, for example, said it doesn't accept ITT credits but is looking for ways to allow students to earn credit for past experiences and credentials, such as through prior learning assessments.
       The state is also seeking help for students who paid through private loans to attend ITT Tech, through repayment from ITT's line of credit or the state's $650,000 assurance fund, Lubbers said.
       To Anna Cobb, who lives on Indianapolis' east side, ITT Tech seemed like a good school, where the staff and faculty were polite and helpful as she pursued the college education that she had put off for a long time.
       At 41, she works in health care at a job that pays $8.25 an hour. She has a car payment that she didn't want and now a student loan she can't afford. She wanted a degree and a career in information technology, and she believed an instructor who said a couple of weeks ago that even though ITT Tech wasn't allowed to take new students, she would be fine.
       "I guess I should've researched a little more," she said.

article by IndyStar reporter Stephanie Wang; IndyStar reporter James Briggs contributed to this story.

Tampa Bay Times news story August 2015

"Failure Factories"
       Schools in Pinellas County, Florida collapsed after the school board ended racial integration policies. In just eight years, Pinellas County School Board members turned five schools in the county’s Afro-American neighborhoods into some of the worst in Florida. First they abandoned integration . . . Then they broke promises of more money and resources. Then – as black children started failing at outrageous rates, as overstressed teachers walked off the job, as middle class families fled en masse – the school board stood by and did nothing.

posted September 2012
       The U.S. Department of Education decided to privatize the TEACH Program (website www.teach.gov) and filed notice for proposals in April 2011; Microsoft, Inc. won the competitive bidding in February 2012; the converted website - now www.teach.org - went online in July 2012. The dual intention of the prograsm is to recruit new people into the teaching profession, and also to get new and experienced teachers around the country hired at a school.
TEACH Program logo
posted June 2012
       "There are obviously two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live. Surely these should never be confused in the mind of any man who has the slightest inkling of what culture is. For most of us it is essential that we should make a living . . . In the complications of modern life and with our increased accumulation of knowledge, it doubtless helps greatly to compress some years of experience into far fewer years by studying for a particular trade or profession in an institution; but that fact should not blind us to another – namely, that in so doing we are learning a trade or a profession, but are not getting a liberal education as human beings."
       — James Truslow Adams [1878-1949], circa 1929
Book Banning To Be Followed By Book Burning?
In January of 2012, the fascist Board of Education in Tucson, Arizona banned the entire Xicano & Ethnic Studies curriculum from the school district. To prove their power, they sent goon squads into classrooms and pulled the books out of the hands of students and off of library and classroom shelves, then boxed them up and sent them to a secret location. Particular attention was given to seven books, with the full list adding up to 50 written works that apparently threaten the anti-democracy side – plutocrats, oligarchs, the One Percent – in the escalating
real-life Class War here in America.
Various responses are already occurring, including the Librotraficante movement to
purchase the banned books elsewhere and smuggle them back into Arizona.

Authors of these banned books include Rodolfo Acuña, Sherman Alexie, Jimmy Santiago Baca, Ana Castillo, Sandra Cisneros, Junot Diaz, Paolo Friere, Dagoberto Gilb, Rodolfo 'Corky' Gonzales, Winona LaDuke, Elizabeth S. Martinez, N. Scott Momaday, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Wm. Shakespeare [1564-1616] {no kidding!}, Henry David Thoreau
[1817-62]
{even!}, and Luis Albert Urrea.
Amazon links for the Seven Major Offenders and for several dozen other of the books 'Banned In Tucson'
– with book covers and multiple editions and other details –
have been coded on Spirit of America Bookstore's America's Ethnic Authors Page.


McClatchy News
Wednesday 18 January 2012

"Texas and Louisiana have introduced education standards that require educators to teach climate change denial as a valid scientific position. South Dakota and Utah passed resolutions denying climate change. Tennessee and Oklahoma also have introduced legislation to give climate change skeptics a place in the classroom... The National Center for Science Education ... announced on Monday that it will launch an initiative to monitor the teaching of climate science and evaluate the sources of resistance to it."

Time Magazine, January 2010
"U.S. schools rank 32nd internationally in math scores, tenth in science and 12th in reading."
Los Angeles Times
Saturday 29 May 2004
California Section / Letters [page B-23]

       Widespread scientific illiteracy has left most Americans defenseless against pseudoscientific babble. The real problem is that many of these people vote. For fun, ask the next college-educated professional you meet to explain where liquid hydrogen, a proposed auto fuel, comes from and why it is not a "source" of energy. While most high school students in the 1950s could easily explain this, we have dumbed down our educational standards in math and science so far that public policy is now at risk. A population that believes in telepathy, fat-burning diet pills and a 10,000-year-old planet Earth is unable to evaluate anything objectively.
       Paul S. Dwan
       Pacific Palisades

Los Angeles Times
Wednesday 24 September 2003
California Section / Letters to the Editor [page B-12]

Bad Behavior in Schools
       Re "The Real Learning Barrier," editorial, Sept. 19 [see below]: I wish every school board member, administrator, teacher and parent could see the results of the Public Agenda poll that determined disruptive classroom behavior is the greatest impediment to a learning environment in schools. After 17 years in elementary and middle school classrooms, I know this to be true. I've concluded that teachers are afraid of administrators, administrators are afraid of parents, and parents are afraid of their kids.
       Suzanne Harris
       Los Angeles, California

* *         * *         * *         * *
Los Angeles Times
Friday 19 September 2003
California Section / Editorials

The Real Learning Barrier
       Opponents of the school accountability movement complain about the time that standardized testing takes away from instruction. But a new nationwide survey shows that teachers are far more vexed by the time and effort they spend trying to tame unruly classrooms than they are by tests. How can they hope to meet improvement goals when some students' behavior makes it hard for everyone else to learn?
       Even more interesting, the survey by the nonprofit Public Agenda found that students were almost as bothered as their teachers by rude classmates. And more than 40% of both groups said teachers spent less time teaching than trying to quell disruptive behavior ranging from threats of violence to rudeness and classroom clowning.        School reform can't take root in an out-of-control classroom. Yet policymakers and administrators have all but ignored that old classroom basic, discipline. Administrators blame teachers, according to the survey, saying that kids act up because the lessons aren't interesting enough. That's a weak excuse for inaction. Everyone wants students to feel engaged, but a boring lecture is no excuse for disruptive behavior. In the adult world, everyone sits through meetings he or she would rather skip.
       Even college professors report increasing behavior problems, with students showing up late and carrying on cellphone conversations during lectures. The University of Arizona has started showing classroom behavior videos to its freshmen. Employers report that the boorish behavior has extended into the workplace.
       Research shows that orderly, well-disciplined schools prevent unruly behavior rather than just react to it. They have principals who walk the campus regularly, rather than holing up in an office. They train teachers in classroom management. They set clear rules and ask students for ideas about what these should be. They treat students and parents warmly.
       Principals and top officials at these well-run schools give teachers the authority to discipline kids and support them when they do it, the studies find. They don't give in to complaining or threatening parents without good reason.
       New York City schools this fall are making a fresh attempt at restoring classroom discipline. A new discipline code in the district is both flexible and clear. The district has set up learning centers, in partnership with community groups, for chronically ill- behaved students. The idea is to keep them from wrecking things for the kids who want to learn, while addressing whatever is causing the bad behavior. Time will tell whether this works, but at least officials at high levels are no longer just placing blame.

Los Angeles Times
Sunday 26 August 2001
Main News Section [page A-34]

Diploma Statistics Indicate U.S. Education Is Passing and Failing
Census: A record number of people have completed high school, but only 75% of young adults have.


Los Angeles Times
Tuesday 14 August 2001
California Section / Letters [page B-12]

Private-School Behavior Fostered by Parents
       Re "Private Schools Lose Ground in Hiring, Keeping Teachers," Aug. 8: I would like to share why I left the private school arena to teach in the public schools. It had nothing to do with money, although now that you mention it, I am going to earn $15,000 more this coming year. It had everything to do with private-school parents and their conviction of entitlement.

       When I joined the teaching force, I entered with enthusiasm, creativity and a drive to communicate with children. Little did I know that when parents pay $12,000 to $25,000 a year for their elementary student's education, I would be taught many lessons. A Westside mother spat in my face because her "brilliant" (her word) son was doing multiplication drills in class. She felt he was beyond them. His test scores proved he was not. I was asked by the parent of a fourth-grader if I felt her daughter was Ivy League worthy. I was told to "grade creatively" by a weak-kneed headmaster bowing to the pressure of a particularly affluent member of the parent body. At times, parents pay so much for a child's education that they feel it is not necessary to be a parent who teaches. The best teacher cannot help a child to read if the lessons end at the afternoon bell. And the worst teacher cannot stop a child from learning and loving the act of learning when that love is cultivated at home. It makes me weep to see bright children having such spoiled behavior modeled for them. You cannot buy an A. The private sector did not lose me because I needed more money. It lost me because the parents need a timeout.
       Heather M. Wolpert
       Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles Times
Sunday 13 May 2001
Main News Section [page A-13]

Crumbling Rural Schools One Step From 'Disaster' [small excerpt]
       Nationwide, at least 25,000 schools need major repairs or outright replacement, the General Accounting Office found in 1995. The National Education Assn. estimates that it would take $322 billion to adequately repair, build and wire schools across the country – with an estimated backlog of $23 billion in California alone.
       But in few places is the shortfall as keenly felt as in rural America, where economic decline and a population shift into the cities have left small towns with little money to support their schools – and the fear that they may become ghost towns if they allow the schools to close.

Los Angeles Times
Saturday 5 May 2001
Metro Section / Voices [page B-9]

Youth Essay: This Is Why We Can't Read
The following open letter was signed by the Los Angeles High School seniors in teacher Kevin Glynn's advanced placement government and economics class.
       We are tired. So tired.
       Many of us are up before dawn, rubbing sleepy eyes as we trudge toward buses that, if they do not first pass us by, carry us to distant destinations long before most of you are awake. Once at school, some of us wolf down a tasteless cafeteria meal before classes begin; others head to the vending machines to buy junk food before the bell rings at 7:35 a.m.; most of us listen to our stomachs growl until 11:15 a.m. when we burst through classroom doors to forage what we can in the half-hour break we have before we grab heavy backpacks (as there are not enough lockers) and are herded back to classrooms by security personnel barking orders through bullhorns. Maybe there was time to go to the bathroom (remembering to bring our own toilet paper), maybe there was time to play (probably not).
       Three more classes until the last bell rings our redemption at 3:05 p.m. We surge past the gates, past the guards, heedless of traffic, some toward home, some toward work, some to be swallowed up by the vast city that surrounds us.
       Education seems to be the issue in America this year. President Bush has declared it his No. 1 priority. Every educational expert, professor, psychologist, politician and pundit seems to have something to offer why we, the benighted objects of such wisdom, can't read, write, calculate or assimilate. Despite all the scratching of so many wise heads, nobody seems to be able to figure out what the problem is. Low expectations? Bilingual education? Standardized testing? Lack of accountability?
       You, the adults out there, remain clueless. The real problem is that you have not asked us. As far as we are concerned, the reasons are simple and the solutions are clear. If only you would listen.
       School begins too early. Most of us start the school day tired. We need our sleep. How can we be expected to learn anything when many of us are working when most of you are shuffling around in your pajamas? Start school at a reasonable hour.
       We need a decent breakfast. We also need guidance and encouragement. This cannot be done in the dark rushing out the door.
       How can you blame us for doing poorly as students when you are doing poorly as parents? You should insist on the right to be good parents. If your employers complain when you have to go to a parent-teacher conference, tell them that most juvenile crime and delinquency would disappear if only the adults would take charge of their children.
       Build more schools. It is hard to learn when you have no desk to sit in much less no text-book to read. If you say that education is important, then prove it. We don't need more strip malls, video arcades, food courts, or movie theaters for our future. There are already more than enough of those. Instead, we need room to grow physically, mentally and spiritually.
       Not only do we need more schools but we need schools we can be proud of. We do not like the current model of industrial-style education, where schools are kept open year-round, day and night, to "optimize and maximize" the facilities for a "better return on investment."
       As a result the buildings are exhausted and falling apart from constant use. The custodians can never keep up. Give us a school in good shape, with trees and grass instead of concrete and broken glass and most of us will try to take care of it, to make it a place that we will want to come back to and support rather than try to get away from as soon as we can.
       Building more schools to meet the increase in student population coupled with a return to the traditional calendar would give everyone a chance to relax, talk things out over the summer and get ready for September together.
       Set a good example. How can you tell us that education is important when you spend most of your time in front of the television? How can we do our homework when you want us to do chores instead and then get mad at us for poor grades? Why do you want us to try harder when you have given up on yourselves? Let's see you reading a book once in a while. Let's hear you talk about current events at the dinner table rather than rushing off to watch television. Take us to a museum instead of a movie. Call our teachers, go to conferences, bug the principal. We can't do it alone.
       Do the right thing. We'll trust you to do your job, and if you do, then you can trust us to do ours. After all, you're the adults in this situation. You're the ones who got us into this mess. It's up to you to get us out.

Los Angeles Times
Sunday 4 February 2001
SoCal Living Section / Letters [page E-3]

Politicians Ignoring the Real Problems With Our Schools
       As a college professor who has worked with high school teachers (most of whom have left the profession) for 30 years, I can say unequivocally that "A Witness to the Decline in Teaching" by Mary McNamara (Jan. 29) and Robert Knox's letter (Metro Letters, "Bush School Proposal: Teach Basics and Text," Jan. 29) demonstrate more insight into what needs to be done in our nation's schools than anything that has ever come out of the mouths of politicians, including President Bush.
       Knox's point that parents need to reevaluate their own responsibilities to their children's education is one ]that] the politicians have largely ignored. Why? The answer is simple: Parents are also voters. It's much easier to demagogue against the public schools to gain votes than to address the real educational problems, which are largely centered in attitudes developed in the home. Holding teachers accountable for what happens in students' homes is analogous to holding physicians accountable for their patients who eat excessively, refuse to exercise and ruin their health in various other ways. If physicians' salaries were based on how healthy or unhealthy our entire population is, we would soon see a widespread exodus from the medical profession.
       Something very similar to this is happening in our schools. Midwestern rural communities already cannot staff their classrooms with qualified teachers, and other parts of the country are facing similar shortages. (Nationwide, we will soon need close to 3 million new teachers.) If McNamara and Knox were in charge of educational reform, we would see real progress because their proposals would immediately address the most serious problem in K-12 education: the exodus of qualified teachers from our nation's classrooms.
       Bush's program, which myopically limits accountability to teacher-school accountability, will only drive more teachers out of the profession, make it impossible to recruit new teachers, and eventually close our public schools because there will be no one willing to work in them.
       Dennis M. Clausen
       Escondido, California

                                                 

main Things to Worry About Index Page
Energy & Global Warming Page
'Corporations vs. America' Page
Class War & Economics Pages
Trans-Pacific Partnership Page
U.S. Politics / Elections Pages
International Politics Page
Pipeline Disasters Page
Earth's Biosphere Page
Internet Freedom Page
Human Rights Page
War & Peace Page
Health Care Page
Education {this page}
Racism Page

Selected Books on These Subjects

Solutions Index Page
Activism Pages
Alternative Energy Page
Alternative Media Page
Alternative-Fuel Vehicles Page
Environment Page
Labor, Capitalism & the Working Mind
Making A Difference Page
Progressive Talk Radio Page
Recycling Page
Solar Energy Page


top of this page | back to Working Minds homepage