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By Alan Caruba

In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education released a report titled “A Nation at Risk” that documented nationwide failure in American schools. Not much has changed since then and the federal takeover of school curriculums and testing methods has mercilessly continued with the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind and the Obama administration’s Race to the Top.

They are the top-down approaches to learning that have played a large part in the continual “dumbing-down” of American education. Once the province of local school boards, innovative schools, and individual teachers, the education of children has been taken over by Big Government.

Making matters worse, amid the confusion of federally mandated education requirements, state legislatures are now straying beyond their traditional roles to tinker with schools in unprecedented ways.

A recent example of this involves two bills making their way through the North Carolina legislature – House Bill 766 and Senate Bill 479 – which focus on testing in that state’s public schools. While the motive behind these identical bills may seem to be to “improve” testing, the bills serve only to further dumb-down education through legislative micromanagement.

In the case of North Carolina, the bills not only order schools to administer a specific college admissions test to all students in the 11th grade—the ACT—it also mandates “diagnostic tests” for students in grades eight and 10 that will “align” with the ACT.

In effect, the North Carolina legislature is using the force of law to compel classroom teachers to teach to the test rather than providing a solid education.

Since there is a long established, respected alternative---the SAT---it further reduces the element of choice for local boards.

It begs the question, when does a legislative body possess the requisite knowledge to decide which test is in the best interest of students and their education? Isn’t that a pedagogic, not legislative, question?

Even the uninitiated could be forgiven for thinking that this legislation was rigged from the outset and reflects the best bill writing that special interest money can buy, but it gets even worse.

The North Carolina proposal requires that “students who do not pass the tests adopted for eighth grade shall be provided remedial instruction in the ninth grade.” Using legislative fiat to push weak students from eighth to ninth grade and expecting them to learn new material when they don’t know the old material is a sure fire recipe for utter failure.

Common sense says that not all students at all ages learn at the same pace. Some learn faster than others. Some students come from lower income brackets, are raised by single parents or even their grandparents, and face other socio-economic factors that lead to greater obstacles and fewer incentives to study.

Rather than face this simple truth and deal with it through an effective, flexible policy, North Carolina lawmakers would let struggling students sink even further behind as they are pushed to the next grade level with a vague promise of remedial teaching.

The real problem with such top-down, one-size-fits-all legislation is that, once passed in one State, it spreads to others and, of course, it has its origins at the federal level. That makes it attractive to lawmakers beyond the Tar Heel State where politicians are juggling shrinking state budgets and teacher layoffs with their need for popular poll numbers and reelection.

Education has become highly politicized, providing opportunities for special interests to inject themselves into policy debate. This deliberate dumbing down of education and students has afflicted the U.S. since the 1960s. It shows no signs of being reformed.

Former Attorney General, Edwin Meese III, said, “We must always evaluate policy proposals in light of principles like rule of law and the logic of our constitutional system. The Education Department’s sponsoring and funding of national curriculum runs counter to both laws of Congress and the wisdom of the Founders.”

The Founders who wrote the Constitution, knowing that the best education was locally determined and directed education, did not even mention the word “education” in that document. If for no other reason than this, the North Carolina legislature should scrap these education proposals and make a fresh start.

© Alan Caruba, 2011

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Tags: education, government-mandates, testing

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Comment by Cherylo on May 22, 2011 at 9:55pm

Yes, but lets not forget those union teachers in Wisconsin, causing damage to the capitol, threatening law makers, and demonstrating a loyalty to the union above all else, and even worse, encouraging students to be their pawns.

Parents generally have abdicated their responsibilities.  The union thankfully accepts all of the power, and does its part to jargon parents out of the mix.  Library?  Oh, you mean media center, Mrs. Jones.  Parents are made to be intimidated and the PTA is under control of the teacher's union.    So, the only thing that will level the playing field is to restrict union activity or ban union activity in schools.  Lastly, students with behavior problems, or police records, need to be put out of the least restrictive environment of a regular class room.  Special education students should be trained with the basics of performing a job, and not expected to solve equations.  The only function of schools should be learning, with some extra curricular activities in middle and high schools.  There should be testing that shows Mary's performance against her peers nationwide and not Mary's performance measured against her own performance.  Every class room should be monitored by web cam, putting everyone on their best behavior.

In a public school system, there should be no expectation of privacy.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwTpZpwjtIE

Comment by Robert L. Voelsing Sr. on May 20, 2011 at 11:18pm

I saw  a co-worker's wife on TV as she (vice-chair)  & the chair. of the school board out on L.I. ( he ran a gas station) were BANNING books from the HS library.  Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughter House Five"  WHY? Sex?? Language??  No explaination.  also  "Poems by Negroes Poets",,,WHY??  don't like the authors???     DUH???

Pols say it's the teachers fault,,,,teachers KNOW it's the PARENTS fault,,,as the parents are supposed to be the kiddies FIRST teacher.,,,,.         In my opinion,,,in many cases,,,not all,,,,but many cases,,,the parents are illegals who snuck in & come from a farming society where there are NO schools for the poor ignorant farmers & their kids for generations.  Uncle SAP keeps sending Foreign Aid,,& the Corrupt Gov't.'s keep the dough for themselves & live high on the hog & send THEIR kids to Harvard & other expensive Private schools HERE.  Meanwhile,,,the poor ignorant farmers kids are something ,,,NO Pols or even the Media will EVER say or admit to,,,these kids are just plain STUPID.  I know ,,I know,,,it sounds Non PC,,even racist,,,SO WHAT!!!!  This is what I believe for I have seen it with my own eyes as the kids that rode the NYC City busses (not school bus,city bus) I drove for almost 30 years ,,have gotten dumber & dumber.  I have spoken to students that rode my routes & EVEN THEY SAY  that the new immigrants have NO education from their old country,,& come here with NO knowledge of English ,,so it's tuff to teach them,,,they get frustrated & quit by 9th or 10th grade. But the Polsblameit on everyone else,,EXCEPT  themselves,,,for as we all know it's the Pols who keep the borders WIDE OPEN & let ANYONE  in.   Cardinal Mahoney of LA actually believes that these illegals ,,whom he believes are ALL Catholics,,,and they are NOT,,,,will go to the Archdiocese'churches & Catholic schools,,well they won't because it's not FREE ,,as it was for me in the 50's & early 60's. NOW Tuitions are thru the roof & Poor immigrants CANNOT  afford to send kids to their schools,,,,BUT even Mahony does NOT get it.   DUH!!!!,,,,& he wants them ALL to cross the border & settle in LA.  Hey Mahoney,,get out of your limo & see the REAL world.

Comment by Billy Bowlegs on May 20, 2011 at 7:58pm

Steven;

 

Now get all your neighbors to do the same thing and when you get your NO responses, all of you go together and discuss the issue with the Tax Collector.   Then pound on your County Commissioners.  And, if you look up your County Code Book and read a little, i would bet you can find a loophole that will give you more ideas on how to Harrass the County Officials, Tax Collectors, Judges.  Make them nervous until they make a mistake.  Then drive through the holes they make.  If they get close to your harrassment technique and try to shut you off, change the tactics.  The idea is to get the County Tax Collector Fighting with the stare Department of Revenue, bring in the State Attorney General, call for an Audit by the State Auditor General, and even have the State Inspector General act on some nuances you find.  Get a big fight started.  And, again, change the game plan the first time any one of them get close to finding out what you are doing.  DUMB them DOWN is the trick.  Give them the DUH response a lot of times.  Have them explain, explain a second time, and then explain it again so you will understand.  (I did that number on the IRS in 1975 or 76 and haven't been audited since.)

 

Comment by Billy Bowlegs on May 20, 2011 at 9:35am

Albert;

If a county were to descend on the County Tax Collector with demands that their TAX dollars were to be withheld from the School Board because of the liberal educational programs, the Tax Collector would be caught in a rock and hard place scenario.  The Same Group should be prepared to bring suit against their tax collector for funding other than for "the WE THE PEOPLE TAX PAYERS" with a demand that all TAX Resources be frozen until such time a "School Curriculum suitable for the County Population's desires" could be created.

(e.g., get rid of homosexual demonstrations in class and videos that contradict the religious beliefs of the majority in the County).

The impact of such an approach would get US Wide attentin and all the Unions in the US would descend on the County to stop the activity.  Because, if you stop the money, the teachers do not get paid, and the school closes.  Union Contract broken.

This would be a total disruption of the government at this point but it would become controlled by the PEOPLE'sd WILL.

And, agreed.  Quit taking Federal Money is part of the equation while spending your own is part.

 

Comment by Debrajoe Smith-Beatty on May 19, 2011 at 6:04pm
Billy you could manage the government for a year!
Comment by Billy Bowlegs on May 19, 2011 at 6:02pm

Albert,

I don't want any position.  I would like to go to bed at night knowing I can wake up a protected citizen tomorrow.  That ain't going to happen on any liberal's watch.  They want our guns;  Why?  Because no one will attack a nation with 80 Million or more armed citizens.  The booby traps and cost would be too great.

They want our money.  Why?  Because broke, hungary people will do a lot of things they would not normally do when their family is hungary.

They want slaves!  Why?  Plain old control mechanism.

We want OBAMA out of office.  Why?  We know he's a liar, cheat, criminal and is raping the United States.

What is being done:  Nothing Nothing Nothing.  Congress has their heads up their own asses on this issue.

What would I do:  When I finished, if I were the one in Charge, it would take another 100 years for the government of the United States to grow even large enough to think about what has happened in the last hundred years.  They would be somewhere around the  1780's and trying to make the Federal Government work. 

About the only functional elements of government we need would be a STRONG MILITARY, some monitary oversight to be sure we has a fiscal policy, and a very tightly restructured Judicial Branch that were pure Original Constitutionally oriented.  If they want Constitution Change.  That would be the Congressional Branches Job. (But first they would have to have their heads out of there asses for a decade just to get fresh air in their lungs).

No, I won't volunteer to run either.  Too Old and Cussed.

 While, each State would be happily managing their requirements (that is if the liberals did not get in charge in a state). 

Comment by Billy Bowlegs on May 19, 2011 at 9:46am

I met some of the Stupid on Phone this Morning.

 

Got a phone call while taking a shower this morning.

My wife would not answer because all late 8AM Early 9AM calls are normally business or TPN contacts.  She wants no part of that.

I had to walk out to BR and pickup the phone soaking wet (me not the phone).

It was the Florida Republican party (out of area code), wanting $150.00 donation.

I went through a S***Storm Rising level of discussion.

Here is what set me off:

I asked, "What was the Republican’s doing about the BC and getting OBAMA out of Office."

He replied (his age was probably between 25 and 35 by voice) that OBAMA had released his BC what else did we want!  (Are you about as pissed as I am at this point - someone asking for money and doesn't know what is going on in our Government!).

The entire nation has their head up obama’s A$$ at this point.  They have been taught to do this with blind loyalty.  (New meaning for blind is where your head is located).

I then went through Boehner as worthless as tits on a bore hog.  He continued with his script.

I then went through our local Representative is a big fat a$$ hotel.  He continued with his script.

I then went through Governor (I contributed to) but advised I wanted to see my Opinions in discussions and he never did.  He continued with his script.

I then went through many of us had a Project about S*** Storming Washington and crapping on everyone in Washington.  He halted reading script only for a few seconds but went back to script.

For you readers, I have assigned myself  10 Rosary;  "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee;" - and I am a Southern Baptist.  Have to calm down.  Obama ain't worth it.

 

I would bet there are less than 2% rallying to get rid of Obama and even realize what is going on out of 300 Million.

 

I have had to drink two pots of coffee this AM just to calm down.

 

Now my wife is on my A$$ about being so nasty.  dThe indigestion is setting in.  So I am having a bad day.  How about you.

Liberal  lies are just part of the big overall probelm facing the United States.

 

Subject: can there be any doubt about his legality?

 

http://www.thepostemail.com/2011/05/18/orly-taitz-default-judgment-...

 

So, Obama is starting the liberal commie news media attacks already and he is the one with a Fraudulent SSAN and a Fraudulent Birth Certificate, Boehner and the House have their heads in a very dark side of the moon crater, while Dirty Harry runs his maffia machine against us every minute he breathes.

Did I leave anyone out?

Comment by Donald W Ronk jr on May 19, 2011 at 7:39am

Michigan gave control to the state years ago, now our schools produce computer whizzes with no relavent knowledge of anything. My 15 year old doesn't care about anything except what new technology he can get.

We gave up local control for a more equal education and tax distribution. Now Detroit gets a larger share and produces more drop outs than graduates.

Comment by catherine deanni on May 19, 2011 at 7:10am
How do you change a country from a democracy to a dictatorship, You start with the children making them stupid and poor. You need most of the people depending on a few for there needs and of course add million more poor into the country(Illegals)  These will be the people who will vote to keep these few in power so they keep there free benefits.
Comment by Billy Bowlegs on May 18, 2011 at 10:14pm

Whatever happened to the good old F's and Failing a Grade.  I went to school with a kid who was still in the first grade when I hit the 7th.  He was not stupid, he was not retarded.  He most probably was truly dislexic and saw everything backwards.  You give him a hand saw, hammer and nails and he could build you a cathedral.  Most of the time, the people he worked for only wanted a barn or an outhouse with the half-moon on the door. However, he was great.  He did get his drivers license and he moved on through life after quitting school.  Back then, we did not have the Federal Government and other government involvement so the neighborhood let him make it in life.  Fast forward fifty years.  I was riding with another school mate that made it through highschool.  As we traveled into Georgia from western Florida, he asked me to watch for a specific sign, he said he could not read signs.  About that time, I read off the road sign he had asked about and did he see it.  He yes but it read exactly the opposite of what was written.  Transposing the numbers.  This chap was not a certified automatic transmission specialist and worked for GM-Caddillac.    He made it in life without Government Intervention.

Get rid of government - keep some of the things that Schools have Learned on their own, go to Pass and Fail and get rid of computers out of classrooms.  (I've been Computer Literate for 47 Years - there abouts.).  You should not learn computers until high school (at home is fine - they should not replace book reading, writing, and manual arithmetic, and balancing the check book).

This would also cut about a Trillion out of our budget over two or three budget cycles.

If Feral School Programs go, then we get smarter immediately.

 

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