We linked this piece from the Pittsburg Trib the other day. It compares American and Korean kids on their views of their math proficiency.
The American kids think they're good, but they aren't. The Korean kids think they're bad, but they aren't.
Their findings are consistent with my own observations. However, I am not sure whether it can be blamed on the schools. I have written many times about the ridiculous notion of "self-esteem," and the absurdity of the idea that this is something schools - or anyone else - should or could instill.
I think the differences might be plain cultural, though I do not mean to minimize the insidious reality of the "dumbing down" movement in education.
David Warren has a fine piece on The Date of Inversion. He thinks it was August 10, 1969. A quote:
At the end of the earlier school year, the old principal had been fired: he was a drill sergeant (literally, ex-military). The new principal was a "reformer": a nice guy, a sensitive guy. Overnight, Ontario’s Hall-Dennis Report had also swept through, with its smug title, “Living and Learning.” Half the subjects had become "electives": 300 pupils in Grade IX Latin, became four pupils in Grade X. The bottom had fallen out of educational standards that had already been slung very low.
My view of "lower education" is that it ought to try to instill humility about their ignorance, try to excite curiosity, and to provide the basic information people need to know to understand the basics of their history, their culture and the world, and to handle life.
To carry kids along as far as their talents, interests, drive, self-discipline, and abilities can handle requires plenty of structure, demands and expectations. I see LaShawn has recently written a piece on the self-regulation aspect.
Editor:
- David Warren responds to the attention given to his piece linked above, here.
- Right Wing Nation looks at the differences between what high school teachers consider to be good college preparation, and what college teachers consider good preparation
