“The Fine Print”, by Michael Schrader
WHAT WOULD JEFFERSON
THINK?
(Written 08 April 1998. Published in the Neighborhood Journal. Posted 25 June 2009.)
Since I wrote the infamous column about the dismal state of
education in
Let me report that as a result of my visit, I can honestly
say that the limited sample of teachers that I witnessed
doing their job were giving their whole-hearted best. I applaud their efforts. Of course, the skeptics will say that the
teachers were hotdogging it for the benefit of the
"guest." I, however, do not
believe the skeptics. The faculty I saw were sincere, and were truly dedicated to doing what they
perceived to be right by their students.
Perception of what exactly is "doing right by the
students" is the crux of the problem with education today. As the proverb says, the road to Hades is
paved with good intentions. So, too, is
the road to a stupid populace. Take, for
example, the use of calculators in algebra.
While the intention, making algebra easier, is positive, the long term
effect is very negative. As one student
pointed out on the day of my visit, why learn how to solve algebra equations by
hand and waste 5 minutes, when one can get the correct answer instantly with
the push of a key on a calculator.
Allowing the use of calculators will have the long term effect of making
the subject harder, as the abilities to critically think and analyze, the
abilities learned with the solving of algebra problems, for example, will not
exist.
In talking to various educators, I was appalled to hear that
they do not seem to find a problem with providing these types of crutches. After all, the argument goes, if we force
them to actually have to learn problem solving, they may fail, and that may
hurt their self-esteem. The argument
proffered is one of equalization, that the role of the
schools is to make the playing field equal for everybody. Of course, the only way to really accomplish
this is to set the standard at the lowest-common denominator.
Let me sidetrack here and say that I took the test that
practically every teacher I have talked to said was just too difficult for our
students, a test that was made by a national committee whose standards just are
not the same as those here. (In other
words, our standards are too low.) It
took me about 30 minutes, and I was distracted at the time. I will be the first to acknowledge that my
ability to take the test is not an accurate reflection of its true difficulty
to high school juniors, as I have 15 years of additional life and educational
experience. So, I gave the test to a
sophomore at one of the
The problem is that our government, in its infinite wisdom,
has decided that it knows better than the teachers, the men and women in the
trenches, what is right for our children.
There are school boards who have decided that it is not okay to teach
about sexual reproduction because it sends the wrong message to our youth. (Gee, it is rather hard to teach biology
without discussing reproduction. It is,
after all, what promulgates our species.)
There are school districts that would rather spend their time censoring
what students can and cannot read than actually encouraging students to read,
period. The state is just as guilty, as
the state has said it is more important to play football than to actually
learn.
The best way to establish a dictatorship is to eliminate the
ability of the people to think for themselves.
(This is exactly what is happening nationwide with the "dumbing down" of the public schools.) Thomas Jefferson understood this, which is
why he was such a strong advocate of education.
We need to stop this march to tyranny, this stripping of the liberty of
our children, before it is too late.
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