It's easy to predict the future. Take anything that the government says, reverse it, and you'll come pretty close to having a crystal ball. Why? Nietzsche knew: "The governments of the great States have two instruments for keeping the people dependent, in fear and obedience: a coarser, the army; and a more refined, the school." The No Child Left Behind Act was government-speak for "leave as many children behind as possible." It has been an utter failure and contributed to the destruction of our children's ability to think. But how do we measure success or failure when it comes to education? One of the primary methods is national testing. But if educators are teaching children to the test (i.e., "gaming" the system), are students really learning what they should be? What should schools be teaching children and why? How should we properly measure the results of education? Who should be held responsible for the failure of education?

FTA:

I DID not attend a graduation ceremony in 25 years as a Boston public high school teacher. This was my silent protest against a skillfully choreographed mockery of an authentic education - a charade by adults who, knowingly or unwittingly, played games with other people's children. I knew that most of my students who walked across the stage, amidst the cheers, whistles, camera flashes, and shout-outs from parents, family, and friends, were not functionally literate. They were unable to perform the minimum skills necessary to negotiate society: reading the local newspapers, filling out a job application, or following basic written instructions; even fewer had achieved empowering literacy enabling them to closely read, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate text.

However, they were all college bound - the ultimate goal of our school's vision statement - clutching knapsacks stuffed with our symbols of academic success: multiple college acceptances, a high school diploma; an official transcript indicating they had passed the MCAS test and had met all graduation requirements; several glowing letters of recommendation from teachers and guidance counselors; and one compelling personal statement, their college essay...

We instituted tests and assessments, such as the MCAS, that required little exercise in critical thinking, for which most of the students were carefully coached to "pass." Teachers, instructors, and administrators made the test the curriculum, taught to the test, drilled for the test, coached for the test, taught strategies to take the test, and gave generous rewards (pizza parties) for passing the test. Students practiced, studied for, and passed the test - but remained illiterate. I also bear witness to my students' ability to acquire a passing grade for mediocre work. A's and B's were given simply for passing in assignments (quality not a factor), for behaving well in class, for regular attendance, for completing homework assignments that were given a check mark but never read.

Failure to educate. The Boston school system is churning out illiterate students whose only skills are to pass predictable standard tests

DISCUSS!

Original posting by Braincrave Second Life staff on Dec 5, 2010 at http://www.braincrave.com/viewblog.php?id=396