Why Can't We Accept That Our Society Needs Its Teachers to Teach for The Test?

[truedelphi]

13. My education was wonderful, as well.

I think that things started to get screwy for the younger generation in the 1980's. In first grade, my son actually had to learn to "act happy," rather than being excited about school subjects, when he was in the Palo Alto Calif school system.

Then when we moved to Marin, he was supposed to go back to being serious! So by the time he was in fourth grade, he had learned to adjust to two different styles of being a student.

And then came that "New Math," where memorization was frowned on, and that took over, until it was finally killed off. I never understood why "the experts" decided that it wasn't a good idea, to know your math tables and what not. The result has been an endless supply of young cashiers who can't give the correct change if a machine doesn't tell them what the right change is.

Doug Rushkopf hosted a Frontline TV program recently, in which he explored how High Schoolers are so enticed by becoming internet sensations. They are spending most of their time creating videos to show on YouTube. Critical thinking is apparently out the window, with a whole generation of young people not even able to answer Doug's question of what it means to "sell out." All that seems to matter is getting an endless supply of people to "like" your "Youtube." For that one in a half million youngsters who able to do a good job of presenting themselves through media, their future is secure, but the rest of the young people are avoiding school work and their lives will probably suffer as a result.