The reason for this weblog
It has been remarked so often as to be a commonplace, that if the educational policy of the United States had been imposed by a foreign power, it would be considered to be an act of war. I entirely agree.
More to the point, it would appear that C.S. Lewis was extraordinarily prescient as regards the future of American education in his essay, Screwtape Proposes a Toast. In brief, Lewis suggested that on its own, the democratic impulse towards education would inevitably devolve into an egalitarian impulse: that the motivation would change from giving to each person as much education as would be beneficial to that person and to the state, into one of giving everyone the same education, regardless of whether that person is a genius or a moron.
It does not take a genius, or anyone who has been following educational policy in the United States for the last forty years, to note that that policy has largely devolved to the lowest common denominator. Grade schools have de facto largely stopped teaching reading by phonics, spelling, grammar, calculational arithmetic, or composition, regardless of what is supposedly on the curriculum. In other words, reading, 'riting, and 'rithmatic are history. And so are U.S. ratings for primary education in relation to the world. Perhaps the less that one examines secondary subjects such as geography, English, American and world literature, U.S. and world history, mathematics, science, and political theory, the less the embarassment.
Finally, the lack of preparation of high school graduates for the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary for successfully negotiating university or college studies, is dismal; as is the decline in ranking of U.S. college students in relation to those of other students in the world, by any measure. While U.S. colleges and universities are presently still highly rated in the estimation of the world, at this rate, it is only a matter of time before that rating will diminish. One can only live on one's capital for so long, before one becomes bankrupt. This is as true in world politics as it is in personal finance.
Unfortunately, one legacy of giving most of American public education to bureaucrats (other of course, than giving higher salaries to administrators than to teachers), is to change the focus of American education from educating students to preserving the prerogatives of the bureaucrats. I fear that as long as bureaucrats, and not teachers, have control of the curriculum and the methods of education, the present situation is likely to continue.
If any change is to occur, it will occur among those who wish to educate themselves, and those who wish to educate their children. It is for these people that this weblog is written.
The L'Abbe Faria, as the more discerning know, was one who educated himself, and who educated the illiterate sea-captain Edmund Dantes, in the novel The Count of Monte Cristo. I invite the discerning reader to come into his cell. You may be surprised as to what you may learn.
More to the point, it would appear that C.S. Lewis was extraordinarily prescient as regards the future of American education in his essay, Screwtape Proposes a Toast. In brief, Lewis suggested that on its own, the democratic impulse towards education would inevitably devolve into an egalitarian impulse: that the motivation would change from giving to each person as much education as would be beneficial to that person and to the state, into one of giving everyone the same education, regardless of whether that person is a genius or a moron.
It does not take a genius, or anyone who has been following educational policy in the United States for the last forty years, to note that that policy has largely devolved to the lowest common denominator. Grade schools have de facto largely stopped teaching reading by phonics, spelling, grammar, calculational arithmetic, or composition, regardless of what is supposedly on the curriculum. In other words, reading, 'riting, and 'rithmatic are history. And so are U.S. ratings for primary education in relation to the world. Perhaps the less that one examines secondary subjects such as geography, English, American and world literature, U.S. and world history, mathematics, science, and political theory, the less the embarassment.
Finally, the lack of preparation of high school graduates for the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary for successfully negotiating university or college studies, is dismal; as is the decline in ranking of U.S. college students in relation to those of other students in the world, by any measure. While U.S. colleges and universities are presently still highly rated in the estimation of the world, at this rate, it is only a matter of time before that rating will diminish. One can only live on one's capital for so long, before one becomes bankrupt. This is as true in world politics as it is in personal finance.
Unfortunately, one legacy of giving most of American public education to bureaucrats (other of course, than giving higher salaries to administrators than to teachers), is to change the focus of American education from educating students to preserving the prerogatives of the bureaucrats. I fear that as long as bureaucrats, and not teachers, have control of the curriculum and the methods of education, the present situation is likely to continue.
If any change is to occur, it will occur among those who wish to educate themselves, and those who wish to educate their children. It is for these people that this weblog is written.
The L'Abbe Faria, as the more discerning know, was one who educated himself, and who educated the illiterate sea-captain Edmund Dantes, in the novel The Count of Monte Cristo. I invite the discerning reader to come into his cell. You may be surprised as to what you may learn.
posted by Bernard Brandt | 3:05 PM
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