Shaun Kenney | Politics and Religion in Virginia's Public Square


Thursday, May 25, 2006 Indicting America's Education System This article says everything I would ever want to say about education in America: The deadliest business hazard of our time is the result of a sea change in the American approach to education that occurred early in the 1970s. Across the United States, conventional educational standards were tossed out the window, replaced with feel-good theories like 'whole-language learning' that emphasized personal fulfillment over the accumulation of hard knowledge. As a result, we now have two generations of men and women who expect gold stars not for succeeding, but simply for trying. And, sometimes, merely for showing up. In Great Britain, even primary school students can name all the monarchs of England. How many American children can name the capital of their own state? In India, the study of mathematics is practically a religion. In the United States, how many retail clerks can make change without relying on a calculator? In Germany, vocational education is a rigorous and honorable pursuit, producing highly qualified workers and tradesmen. In the U.S.A., people actually boast about their inability to deal with anything mechanical. But sheer stupidity is not the greatest danger presented by the current crop of blank slates. It is the arrogance bred of ignorance that constitutes an unparalleled descent into goofiness. In the long-dead past, incompetents generally recognized their own incapacity and behaved accordingly. Today, every jackass sees himself as a genius, and every fool fancies herself a philosopher. This is the best article on the American education system I have read in years, and indeed an indictment of American culture to date. I marvel at the education of others, some for their utter lack thereof and others for their pure genius. Schooling seems more a case of survival rather than education -- the smart ones survive regardless, while the unintelligent ones are subsidized so long as they regurgitate information. Education used to be much more cost effective, not to mention cheaper and dare I say of superior quality for the average American student. Today, what can we boast about? Education has become more of a boot camp than a meritocracy, where it's those who survive - and not the best and brightest - that do well. What's more, I worry about this: I can tell you when the Second World War was fought to the point of perspective (1939-1945, earlier for the Japanese and Chinese). I can name the current regent of Great Britain (Elizabeth II), name basic mathematical functions, do basic mechanical repair, farming, and carpentry. I'm fairly proficient in theology and philosophy. Does that make me intelligent? Or does that mean I have what is expected of an educated man? I suspect the latter. It's a shame America's education system has to be that way, if for no other reason than those in positions to change anything are caught up in the same hubris their students are propogating. The old idea that a high school diploma is worthless has expanded to the point of undergraduate and even masters degrees all becoming suspect. Are we creating educated thinkers, or mindless regurgitators? I fear for my generation... posted by Shaun Kenney \| 5/25/2006 01:59:00 PM \| 1 comments 1 Comments: At 5:33 PM, Susan said... Today, every jackass sees himself as a genius, and every fool fancies herself a philosopher. Including you, Shaun Kenney Post a Comment Home
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