I remember how it was -- JR
Some serious concerns about the present efforts in education
Eugene E. Nalence
I got my master’s degree from a well-regarded graduate school of education in 1966. I spent the following 41 years in secondary school and community college classrooms teaching physics, chemistry, and computer science. I still write about education.
I have serious concerns about the present efforts in education—especially urban education. In the more than half century since I got my master’s degree, very little has changed. Results from urban education systems may actually be worse now. That should have alarms sounding, klaxons blaring, warning lights flashing, and every other possible alert activated in every graduate school of education.
How can there still be students arriving at high school unable to read? How can Baltimore public schools happen? What about all the books written, papers published, programs developed, conferences held, people trained, money spent? Why do problems still exist? Why have things gone so horribly wrong?
In the years since 1966, education policy has wandered off in some odd directions. Remember Ebonics? Policies now may be off onto the strangest path ever. There is a new orthodoxy that blames all failures and problems on “white supremacy” and pervasive “systemic racism.”
This clearly totally devalues the efforts of all the people who followed me out of various graduate programs. There were hundreds and hundreds who went out into school systems everywhere and gave their best. Sincere efforts were made. Some tears were shed. Are we to believe that these efforts were all wasted and destined for failure? That idea is mistaken at best, and may be delusional. I know that I am being heretical, speaking in opposition to current orthodox beliefs, but I feel compelled to speak out. I fear no cancellation. At my age (80), the only real cancellation that can come for me is the final one that comes for us all. I would like to offer ideas for new directions educators should explore.
Let me explain the genesis of these ideas. I graduated in 1965 with a BS in chemistry and physics minor, and decided to go into education as a socially responsible career. I needed education courses to qualify for teaching certification, so I went after an MS in education. It turned out that the best (and really only) course that prepared me for student teaching in a large city school system was an extra course I took in cultural anthropology.
That course made me realize that I was going into a different culture—urban teenagers—and I needed to be aware of their customs and values. I could see the highest value was given to personal respect, and perceptions of disrespect always led to problems. I made it clear to every class I had that I would treat everyone with respect and expected respect in return. I never had a serious problem. Mutual respect worked.
I think the principles of sociology and cultural anthropology need to be applied to urban education. If education is not valued, all programs will fail. If students see nothing to be gained from education, nothing will make it work for them. The urban culture—the value system—must be changed so that education is seen to be worth the effort. Education must always be active, not passive. Education is not given, it must be achieved. A model for how effective this is can be seen in any school by checking the music program and the athletic program. In these programs, you will always find amazing results because of the active involvement of students.
I would also like to take the time to clearly demonstrate the ignorance of racism. Albert Einstein used to describe what he called “thought experiments” to work through his ideas. Here’s a “thought experiment” about racism. Suppose we borrow some samples from medical school dissections. Imagine three human brains displayed on separate trays—one Asian, one Caucasian, and one African American. If they were not labeled, no one—no one—could tell them apart. Perhaps blood work or DNA analysis could decide which was which, but as far as appearance and general components, they would be indistinguishable. The same thing would be true for three human hearts. Clearly, all are linked by a common humanity, and all racial differences are purely external, and matter no more than different colors of eyes, different heights, or any other external characteristics. Clearly, racism is pure ignorance. This leads to another conclusion. All differences in educational performance between different racial groups must be entirely due to external causes. These causes are cultural, and without considering them, no educational reform can ever succeed.
If real change is to come, it would be appropriate to create an educational Manhattan Project, bringing together the best minds in education, sociology, psychology, etc., to address the problems with input from all disciplines. It should be done with no limits on ideas to be explored and no political bias. Present efforts in education focus on “equity” as a goal. Equity is not a product—it is a characteristic of the result of a functioning education system. Equity is like reliability. No company manufactures reliability. They produce products with reliability and adjust their processes to make sure that happens. If our education system works properly, equitable outcomes will be a result. Equity cannot simply be imposed.
In conclusion, it’s obvious that something different needs to be done, or there will be a 2023 graduate from some education program writing in 2080, wondering why nothing had changed. Imagine the talent that has been lost since I graduated in 1966. Let’s not lose any more.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/thoughts-about-education-5501887
******************************************Black conservatives are not welcome on the campus of the University of Wisconsin
I truly doubt that many know about this disturbing story, but you should:
During a Thompson Center event, which was also on Zoom, several prominent Black conservative speakers were featured. Civil rights icon Bob Woodson and Dr. Carol Swain were among the invited guest speakers. However, during the presentation, the event was hacked into by some leftists who seemed to struggle with English and were using profane and disparaging verbiage. They even used gay slurs, which one would think would bring forth the ire of the alphabet soup LGTBQIA+ mafia, but nope. Some of these Marxists even went so far as to take the path of Jonathan Toobin and expose themselves, with one even committing a sexual act upon themself.
All this was done to shut down a conversation with Black conservatives, ya know, the feared enemies of the progressive socialist left. The folks that Joe Biden castigated as not being Black if they did not vote for him. Now, where was the national news coverage on this episode? Can you imagine if young campus conservatives hacked into a BLM leftist socialist campus-sanctioned event and conducted themselves in such a reprehensible manner and behavior? Yes, there would be calls of racism, and the students, if they were, would be expelled, and all campus conservative groups would be banished. There would be law enforcement investigations into hate crime charges.
But, when leftists take such actions against Black, Hispanic, or Asian conservatives, there is deafening silence.
It is time we start declaring who the true ambassadors of systemic racism in America are. It is time we start defining and pointing out who the faithful acolytes of fascism in America are. The most racist aspect of those who embrace the progressive socialist left, aka the Democrat Party, is that they believe they have every right to denigrate, disparage, demean, and physically attack any minority that does not want to be a part of their deranged ideology. It is no worse than burning a cross in someone's front yard. Then again, members of the Democratic Party were the founding fathers of the KKK.
Heck, the patron saint of the left, the mother of murdering unborn babies in the womb, primarily Black babies, Margaret Sanger, is revered by the left. Her legacy, Planned Parenthood, does her handiwork in the Black community to this day. How interesting that California Governor Gavin Newsom made a decision based upon identity politics and appointed the head of Emily's List as the next Senator from that state: a black lesbian woman, acolyte of Sanger, and the 20 million genocidal murders of Black babies in the womb. Right up to birth!
But it is not just the blatant racism proven by this disconcerting interruption evidenced. It is also the abject display of fascism that was revealed, once again, from the left. Instead of attending these events and seeking to gain an understanding of different thoughts, perspectives, and insights, leftists prefer to eradicate, eliminate, and shut down any and all dissenting discourse. If you do not like the individual speakers or the subject matter, stay at home or in the basement and just leave well enough alone. Nope, that is not what fascists do. Since they are intellectually unable to make a cogent dissenting argument, their mantra is to coerce, intimidate, instill fear, interrupt, and, in the case of Antifa (the so-called anti-fascists), resort to violence.
I have said it before and will reiterate: Joe Biden's inaugural speech was not about unity but conformity. There are severe repercussions if you choose not to conform, such as having a man interrupt a discussion with notable Black conservatives by masturbating.
The citizens of Madison should be embarrassed to have had this happen. The students of the University of Wisconsin should be disturbed and offer an apology. The Democrat governor of Wisconsin should issue a public statement condemning such abhorrent behavior. None of that will happen because, in the eyes of the progressive socialist left, it was deserved punishment for not being subjugated to their ideology. In other words, being their slaves.
To Live Free means to have the freedom of speech, expression, thought, and conscience, along with the right to assemble peaceably. It is not contingent upon the acceptance of modern American Marxists. It is certainly not based on one's skin color or philosophy of governance.
To the people of Wisconsin: is this what you want to be known for? Heck, all Americans, is this acceptable? Always remember, when tolerance becomes a one-way street, it leads to cultural suicide, the goal of the cultural Marxists who desire to transform America fundamentally.
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Flocks of Sheep Roam Our University Campuses
Australian universities are now decidedly devoted to passing as many students as possible.
Passing is relatively easy, considering students typically only have to satisfy 50 percent of the requirements on their exams or assignments to pass. Of course, this is a very low benchmark.
If students are allocated a mark of 49, 48, or even 47, they are bound to use the ubiquitous appeal processes to get over the line.
They have access to a swath of bureaucratic solutions, ranging from essay or assignment resubmission to supplementary, or deferred examinations to achieve success.
Many students ask for preferential treatment, examination concessions, or apply for extensions. They may also request an acknowledgment of a “disability,” and some might even resort to illegal means.
It is not uncommon for academics to pass those who should fail because it saves them the unpleasantness associated with appeals procedures and form filling.
To obviate the need for a long drawn-out, and often acrimonious, appeals procedure, it is often convenient for academics to give their failing students a 45.
Yet hard evidence, for example in the form of directions from the University’s Learning and Teaching Committee, confirms that universities will also lean over backward to pass students who clearly shouldn't be in tertiary education in the first place.
This is a consequence of increased government oversight and novel legislative requirements for universities to reduce the rate of failure for students.
In a sobering article, Emeritus Professor Steven Schwartz argues that our politicians and universities “look forward to offering voters a world where failure ceases to exist and success requires no effort. A world in which every student gets a degree just for showing up.”
It is an impassioned plea for society to recognise the salutary impact of “failure” because successful people are those who are able to learn from and outlast failure.
Indeed, how is it possible for people to face the harsh realities of life, if they have never learned to live with, confront, and conquer failure?
Professor Andrew Norton argues that, although the government has correctly identified the university student failure rate as a real problem, “its heavy-handed regulation would create unnecessary red tape for universities.”
Nevertheless, the universities’ response to the rate of student failure (and attrition) is often merely a band-aid solution.
Thinking for Yourself Denied on Campus
The reality is that some students might not really be able to read or write English well enough to benefit from, or contribute to, their education because they lack “critical thinking” skills.
Although some of these students are undoubtedly devoted and hard-working, their inability to think critically unfavourably impacts their studies.
While some universities pride themselves on teaching such skills, these efforts are in vain if students lack the capacity or the interest to benefit from it.
Critical thinking is a disciplined way of reasoning. It involves analysis, evaluation, and reflection.
However, on most campuses, critical thinking, which endures only in an unrestricted and uncensored free speech environment, is frequently curtailed by university administrations that impose conformist behaviour, supposedly to preserve “diversity.”
For example, on Australian campuses, students are afraid to criticise The Voice (and other social engineering developments).
Critical thinking is thus often seen as the natural enemy of the kind of “diversity” that universities impose on students.
In this context, it is useful to remember the words of John Stuart Mill, the 19th-century philosopher and politician, who wrote in his celebrated essay “On Liberty”:
"The disposition of mankind, whether as rulers or as fellow citizens, to impose their own opinions and inclinations as a rule of conduct on others, is so energetically supported by some of the best and by some of the worst feelings incident to human nature, that it is hardly ever kept under restraint … and as the power is not declining, but growing unless a strong barrier of moral conviction can be raised against the mischief, we must expect, in the present circumstances of the world, to see it increase."
Mill’s analysis also aptly describes the precarious world of our universities.
He derides the sheep-like conformity, which now enables university academics, administrative apparatchiks, and indoctrinated students to impose their freedom-unfriendly views and arbitrary rules on people.
According to Mill, “The only freedom which deserves the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it.”
Surely, there should be an attitude of “openness” that fosters free speech, which is a pre-condition for critical thinking to flourish on our campuses, even if the dark forces of oppression seek to impose a preferred ideology on students.
Undoubtedly, the promotion of critical thinking is the right recipe to combat the ogre of students’ failure and to restore a sense of pride and achievement in those who are seeking knowledge and skills to enhance their lives.
It is a way to overcome an over-reliance on fuzzy feelings or emotions, to avoid conforming dogma and peer pressure, and blatant indoctrination of young impressionable minds on Australian campuses.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/opinion/flocks-of-sheep-roam-our-university-campuses-5502834
******************************************************My other blogs: Main ones below
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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