Comments on: Student Ignorance of Civics Is Nothing New

By: Homeschooling Thoughts « Desiree’s Blog

Homeschooling Thoughts « Desiree’s Blog — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:13:18 +0000

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By: Marc Malone

Marc Malone — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:26:29 +0000

Bud – The answer is much simpler than a “Sputnik crisis”. Simply change the requirements for teachers. Many people could teach, but they’re not allowed to without a license. Gotta have the degree in Education. It’s a monopoly. Break the monopoly!

By: Bud

Bud — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:42:49 +0000

In any mid-ranked or higher university, the Education School is *ALWAYS* the intellectual laughingstock. When we allow the losers in the college brain race to define the race course in the elementary and secondary schools, we get these results. They are invariably going to dumb-down the curricula to keep from being shown up by their students.

Nothing is going to improve unless we get another “Sputnik” scare, which might provide enough political capital to break the power of the teacher’s unions. In the meantime, all we can do is ridicule the posuers that inhabit the faculty of the various Schools of Education in order to set them up for the takedown that is so desperately needed.

By: Ditto

Ditto — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:35:34 +0000

Marc Malone wrote:

Talk about missing the obvious. It’s not that private schools necessarily bring about better education. Their success is simply reflective of the character values of the students, and the parents who send them there. Involved parents produce good students.

That’s a good way to connect the dots of what I was feeling when I wrote that, Marc, thank you. Yes, in the foster home I was another mouth to feed and nobody really cared about anything but the extra money my presence represented.

The other connection is that the private school allowed my daughters to use the Internet or books or any other printed material they wished to use to answer questions on a test. They couldn’t use copies of the answer sheet obviously, but the idea is — are you bright enough to find the answers, think critically about the question, and provide an answer giving your own insights on the issue.

High school kids today cheat their way to college, go on to cheat their way to a diploma, and then we’re surprised by the lack of ethics of those who run our corporations. I know I don’t make my points as concisely or perhaps as elegantly as other commenters, but I think Marc kind of understood where I was trying to go with all that.

By: Waller

Waller — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:03:34 +0000

Teaching — The only profession that gets a raise with the promise they’ll do better in the future.(except maybe Congress).

By: Marc Malone

Marc Malone — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 08:52:38 +0000

Yes, Jeff… and the U.S. economy, except during the Carter days(!), has consistently outperformed the rest of the world, even now. Our economy slides, and so does the world’s. We are 30% of the world’s economy, or somesuch. Yeah, the Pubs are really screwing it up. Once again, get off the terrible economy meme. It’s horsescheisse!

By: Jeff

Jeff — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 03:36:29 +0000

You guys seem to forget that the Republicans hold the executive office 20 years out of the last 28 years. They also control Congress 6 years out of the last 8 years. The majority of the control within these past 28 years have been in the hands of the Republicans and this is the final verdict of our economy from all the years of Republican control. Democrats have only been in control for a brief amount of time within these past 28 years.

By: Wil

Wil — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:31:52 +0000

Marc

You had remembered it much better than I did and that was exactly was how it transpired . Thank you . I hate people trying to revise history in order to make their political candidate or ideology look good .

By: Marc Malone

Marc Malone — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:55:56 +0000

Thanks, BRMueller, for the support. It sometimes helps to have someone say someone else is right.

By: Wil

Wil — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 16:20:48 +0000

Jeff

The difference between the Clinton and the Bush I and II administration is this , the media were more than willing to give the Clinton administration a free pass on the economy and the two Bush administration especially the son , in a very negative light as much as possible . I am willing to hazard a guess that 10 to 15 years from now , economists , economic journalists , historians and especially politicians would question their predecessors on why did they portrayed the US economy as bleak during the time of the Bush administration when all data indicated the reverse was true with the exception of 2008 .