Thursday, May 17, 2012

Government Education: No Child Allowed to Advance Too Much

An EPJ reader emails:
Today, I was told some news about how state education works. Our son is in kindergarten. If it were possible, we'd surely send him to a private school, but at this time, we can't.

Fortunately, as far as public schools go, he does attend the best grade school in the state...and it's noticeable. They really do put a lot of effort into educating the kids.It doesn't change my view (in the least bit) that the whole thing should be privatized. We just happen to be geographically lucky I guess.

Anyway, today we found out that, because his school is so far ahead of others in the state, they have to *pull back* the curriculum. In other words, they have to slow down & teach the kids less. As would be expected, parents around here are upset, but it's to no avail. Supposedly, if the school wants the federal cheese, they have to comply.

And yet, the cries never cease on how "we" have to "invest" more in education.

The whole thing is an absolute joke.

The Internet and Virtual Education cannot replace this monstrosity soon enough.

16 comments:

  1. This post deserves much more elucidation. We need DETAILS. If this is accurate, this should be a Stossel Special.

    If true, it's OUTRAGEOUS!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This emailer is well known to me. He did not want any further details out because it involves his son. Sorry.

    Maybe you would put your kindergartner on the firing line, he has obviously chosen otherwise. If he identified the school anymore directly, I am confident he would be identified.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mr. Wenzel, can your friend homeschool? God knows our children need all the protection from the state that they can get.

      Delete
  3. Hey, I didn't say mess with the kid's life.
    I respect his choice to remain incognito.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I got you Capn Mike,

      I just copied and pasted my response to an emailer who attacked the anonymity of the emailer much more harshly. It wasn't meant to be as harsh on you.

      Delete
    2. Thanx for that, Bob. I was a little hurt.

      Delete
    3. Capn Mike

      Your comments are always welcome and I consider them as always adding value to the EPJ discussion.

      Delete
  4. Move to Arizona. We may have our faults, but we are definitely supporters of education freedom.

    ReplyDelete
  5. guy should home school

    ReplyDelete
  6. My daughter is in public school by no choice of mine ( divorce) and she is far and away the most advanced kid in her class.

    I don't worry about the stunted curriculum because I have taught her to educate herself. She does stuff on Khan Academy, and just reading whatever interests her. I don't care more about what she IS learning in the public school than what she's NOT learning. It's the stuff that they do teach that concerns me the most.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't have any kids of my own yet but THIS is what concerns me the most. And ironically my significant other is a public school teacher.

      Needless to say, topics of privatizing education and the indoctrination that goes on in public school are taboo subjects in our household. And before anyone accuses her of being part of the problem, she's a language and reading teacher. Not a lot that can go wrong dealing with 5 year olds (beyond the reality those parents do not reinforce learning or good habits at home).

      JG

      Delete
    2. My youngest son is in the same situation. He lives in the God-forsaken middle of the San Joaquin Valley in Ca., and there are NO private school alternatives.
      The school (high school) could be worse, but it's basically a benign baby-sitting facility.
      Fortunately, he inherited a voracious thirst for learning from his parents and has been a autodidact from day one.
      May I add another shout-out for Khan Academy. What a gift to us all!

      Delete
  7. problem: can't see the forest for the trees

    recommendation: focus more attention on the tree branches

    result: re-entrenchment; absolute certainty that there is no point in looking for the ever-elusive forest.

    michaelD

    ReplyDelete
  8. Free online education will undo any damage inflicted by public education:

    https://www.coursera.org/
    https://plus.google.com/114424163811716070551/posts/bnLpsUq7rhd
    http://www.khanacademy.org/
    http://www.unz.org/

    As good as free:
    http://www.libertyclassroom.com/
    http://robinsoncurriculum.com/
    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/technology/personaltech/a-review-of-living-language-and-rocket-languages-app-smart.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. The brilliant research done by John Taylor Gatto about the origins of the public education system show that this dumbing down is anything but accidental. http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/

    ReplyDelete
  10. Bob, I had nearly the exact same discussion about my daughter at a PRIVATE school here in LA. Because they follow the curriculum for the public schools in LA Unified School District (the infamous LAUSD that occasionally pauses from molesting your kids to half-ass educate them) and my daughter was born in December, after the September cut off for any grade level, they said they'd have to have her repeat the same material for 18 months til the other students were caught up with her (she's 3). I thanked the lady for her honesty - that's one difference between public and private, she told me my daughter was too far ahead to be a good fit in their program. However, this is precisely why charter schools are not a fix. As long as the state controls the curriculum they can distort the entire system with policy creep.

    ReplyDelete