I generally don't like Susan Estrich's columns. She
1. fawns over Obama like a love-sick teenage girl;
2. brags about her foreign travels;
3. bores readers with stories about her children, friends, childhood, etc.; snf
4. reminds me more of Oprah Winfrey than a law professor should.
Anyway, in this column, she points out how dumbing it down and teaching for the test has even drawn protests from some students. This is a healthy sign (for a change).
Public education in this country has almost always been a basket case because most of the folks with money and political power send their kids to private schools (e.g. the Obama girls) and only pretend to care about educating the rest of the population. Our current round of disasters can probably be traced to a "conservative" President, George W. Bush you pushed for "No Child Left Behind." The Texas legislature, like those in many states, has only compounded the problems. Cheating is becoming rampant and teacher morale is hitting bottom at many schools.
Estrich wrote "Technology is not an answer to everything. Talented teachers and attentive parents will always be key ...".
ReplyDeleteIMHO, high tech gadgetry has contributed heavily to the dumbing down of students. Ironically, public educators seem to allow or demand more PC distractions in the classroom.
Having served as a platform instructor with the Navy, a simple blackboard and worn chalk allowed for many productive learning sessions. Training aids are suppose to help participants' understanding. When costly electronic devices become a classroom hindrance, it's time to throw such wasted taxpayer funded crap out the window and get on with the lesson.
Agreed. I would put parents as the #1 problem and #1 potential solution.
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