December 26, 2005
This doesn't surprise me
The front page of today's Seattle Times reports that "College grads' literacy skills slide; experts unsure why".
"Only 31 percent of college graduates can read a complex book and extrapolate from it. That's not saying much for the remainder."
I can only speculate, but I suspect the drop in literacy skills might be related to the lowering of standards for high school graduation as
imposed by the unionized public education industry . And then there is the lowering of standards at universities, as exemplified by such courses as the University of Washington's "
The Textual Appeal of Tupac Shakur"
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at December 26, 2005
11:17 AM | Email This
1. Just remember who becomes a teacher - the bottom of the class. And these losers just keep demanding bigger paychecks.
In the real world, when you fail to perform, you get fired, not a raise.
2. I'm not surprised. When bowing down at the altar of 'diversity', learning about the rain forest, and having homeowrk assignments like "draw a picture of a feeling" (a true story) becomes your priorities in public school, this is what you get.
3. I don't mind you beating on poor education standards, but your shot at Tupac was completely unnecessary and uneducated. Great poetry doesn't follow rules most of the time, it isn't about grammer or complex words.
Plese, just think of this: Would you have been beating on E.E. Cummings if you had been blogging at his time? Because he got beat on by the same cultural philistines that beat on Tupac and such artists now.
4. One mans artist is another mans hoodlum.
Look at my collection of garbage cans. They are all beat up and dirty. They show the decline of civilization, that is what I was trying to capture, being the artist that I am. You may now grovel for me. I belong on a pedestal myself, do I not? No matter what crap I put out, as long as I call it art, are you not required to worship me? By the by, if you wish to purchase one of my works of art the price is $3500 each. I expect the hollywood intellectual crowd to show up anytime so there might not be much left. It takes me around a year to make more of them.
5. A whole class on Tupac? And how much is the tuition? And how much could you have bought his works for? Come on! Once these kids graduate, no one is going to hire them for how much they understand of Tupac's works, except maybe a university. After many years as a decision maker in hiring, I can confirm that the college grads expected to come in at the top, and had not that much to offer in knowledge of how the real world operates or how businesses are operated, or customer service, or their responsibilities as an employee. The training curve and learning curve was enormous, as opposed to non-grads who had a little real world experience under their belts. In the last few years the investment required for a college degree in anything other than the sciences, law, or medicine far outpaces its worth.
6. Obvious question: what is the literacy level of the experts ? The answer may explain why these experts are unsure. How much are unsure experts paid, and where to apply ? There are a lot of things to be unsure about... like the textual appeal of Tupac Shakur. Looks like the UW may have this one answered... Lois Romano, back to school !!
7. Lousy public school system + lousy parents + lousy societal role models = uneducated and uncivilized children.
8. H Moul said:
"Just remember who becomes a teacher - the bottom of the class."
While this may have been true at one time, it certainly isn't now. My daughter and her boyfriend graduated at the top of their high school classes. They teach because they absolutely love it. What they don't love is the lack of parental involvement. My daughter originally wanted to be a lawyer but decided to teach high school English instead. Her boyfriend could have chosen a much higher paying job as a math major. He opted to teach high school math. Neither is complaining about their pay. They are thankful they have jobs.
In the real world there would be incentives for better teachers and the ability to fire the ineffective ones.
9. Good news here for the Lefist wingnuts. Their agenda of dumbing down America's youth appears to be working. The belief is that they won't question the lies and propaganda in the MSM and that they will be susceptible to be indoctrined with the socialist/pinko ideology such as; Government knows what is the best for spending people's money, KC Elections has an error rate any bank (in Guatemala maybe) would envy, and the list goes on ad nauseum.
Parents play into this equation also - political affiliation is uncorrelated. By not paying attention to their children, they leave the door wide open to having the Public School system babysit and indoctrinate them, per the leftist agenda by the NEA.
It also encourages them to embrace the hip-hop culture and rap by 50cent and Eminem and other dark side cultural figures who are a result of breakdown of the family and filling that void by Gangs (i.e.Crips and Bloods) and offshoots. This phenomenon could be decreased significantly if parents get a clue , pay attention and do something about bringing up their kids.
10. Last weeks Mallard Fillmore comic said it all when the kids answer to everything was "diversity".
11. And- The Queen-Gov. wants to dumb down the WASL.
12. As my good pappy used to say,
" Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach"
Kinda sums up the matter rather neatly don't ya think?
13. Jim L,
I am confused as to how this quotation "sums up the matter". Please provide me with some rational thinking rather than the ignorant words of another.
14. Stefan--it probably should be the other way around: the dumbing down of the universities preceded the dumbing down of high schools. Without the radical left browbeating their merely liberal deans and university presidents into accepting their unconditional demands in the 60s, we wouldn't be where we are today with concepts of education being based more on feelings and artistic/intellectual/political antinomianism than actual learning.
15. Teacher and Jim L: Way back when I went to college (in the 80's), many of those who "couldn't do" became teachers. People in the sciences could switch their majors to science education if they found the science curriculum too difficult. That way, they could still use the science credits they had accumulated and graduate on time with a declared major. They took fewer science classes and rounded out their degree with the required education classes. Needless to say, they were not particularly respected by the students who stayed the course and completed their degrees in biology, math, chemistry, etc.
On the other hand, some other schools required teaching candidates to first complete a major course of study and then add the education courses. These students likely became better teachers. Does anyone know how the system works today? I hope that the policy that was in place when I went to school has been eliminated. If not, it should be.
16. This is exactly like: "Bush gets re-elected President; experts unsure why."
The left and reality parted ways long ago. These people live in a Utopian fantasy land where WASL scores and Powerpoint presentations are shuffled over conference room tables without any connection to real students and real learning.
The silver lining here is that if you home school, private school, or rigorously supplement your public school kid's education, your kid will easily be light years ahead of most of the other students by the time they get to college which will provide access to all kinds of scholarships, great jobs, etc. There's a lot to be said for a system that creates uncompetitive dolts as long as you make sure that your family does not partake.
17. H Moul: "Just remember who becomes a teacher - the bottom of the class."
Sorry, but your stereotyping doesn't hold much truth. Most of the college teachers I work with (as a college teacher, of course) were not the bottom feeders you mention (you seem to be repeating the old cliche of "them that can, do; them that can't, teach.)
Cliff: "I don't mind you beating on poor education standards, but your shot at Tupac was completely unnecessary and uneducated. Great poetry doesn't follow rules most of the time, it isn't about grammer or complex words."
As a literature teacher, I argue that all great poetry has rules--and sometimes grammar and complex words do matter. I would argue that Tupac isn't a poet, but a popular songwriter. The two aren't the same thing.
"Please, just think of this: Would you have been beating on E.E. Cummings if you had been blogging at his time? Because he got beat on by the same cultural philistines that beat on Tupac and such artists now."
I happen to like e.e. cummings quite a bit. His stuff was controversial in his time, but not for the same reason that Tupac and his contemporaries are/were. The point is that not all poetry is good, and not all songs are art. Who gets to decide this? People who compare poets to each other over long periods of time. Cummings gets my vote over Shakur, not for "cultural philistine" reasons, but because Shakur just isn't that good.
In one of my English classes, we discuss a wide range of poetry--everything from dead white males to Victorial females to dead black gangstas. I try to point out that cultural relativism (the cry for diversity, and that everything is of equal value in the world of artistic expression) isn't a good yardstick to measure poetry by.
There is literature, and then there is derivative, narcisstic, formulaic lyrics laid down to sell records. Even the Beatles sometimes were guilty of both!
18. I heard the dread word... "WASL". EW!!!!
That thing SUCKED, and I graduated before it was going full steam. If you have a good teacher, it's dull, and-- hey! lookie!-- the grading is woefully inexact. Plus, it's open to far too many ideological tintings in how the questions are phrased, and what is a good answer.
I recal that at least one of the essays required you to break a half-dozen rules of the five paragraph essay to do what the instructions said. (Clunky reqired topic statement, can't recall the rest. I graduated in '01.)
19. Stefan writes:
I can only speculate, but I suspect the drop in literacy skills might be related to the lowering of standards for high school graduation as imposed by the unionized public education industry.
Perhaps you can "only speculate", but at least you could speculate intelligently. The (disgraceful) decline cited in the article took place from 1992-2003. You fail to provide any evidence that graduation standards decreased during that period, let alone that this has anything to do with unions (weren't there unions in 1992?).
Also, while a course called "The Textual Appeal of Tupac Shakur" sounds idiotic, did you actually read the story that you linked to? It appears that the course is not primarily about Tupac Shakur's writings, but rather that those writings are used to engage students. This criticism is especially ironic coming from a blogger who specializes in titillating headlines and plays on words to engage his readers. Admittedly, your prose is more clever than Tupac Shakur's, but still, perhaps this teacher is onto something.
20. My kids finished "while the gitten was good" to quote cowboys. But seeing what is going on is just pathetic. Teachers have a wasl to teach to while administrators are pushing a line of BS to "prepare the child to enter the work force".
BUNK. Most of these teachers couldn't perform in a work force. Hey teachers...ya have to put in more than 180 days for your wages. (It's the same as lawyers, the 90% give the other 10% the bad reputation) Also those "group project" that seem to always pit one individual that won't perform which ends up sinking the group. Real world would pull individual prior to end of project but that would be unfair to impose work ethics now wouldn't it?
If anything, WEA/dem teachers are preparing the students to work for the state, why with every month having a day off for one cause or another. Oh and find a private sector job where you get a whole day of "planning" without the interuptions of day to day business.
My favorite quote from one of the 10% of teachers mentioned above. "Diversity and tolerance is just a way to say our sorry ass' won't cut it but since we're on state pay-rolls, we get to stay afloat"
21. Yo Teach,
Though the statement of my pappy may be a generalization that lumps the good in with the bad,it is correct on the most part.
I dare to say that should the majority of professors and teachers be dropped into the work place not protected by unions and tenure, they would be part of Seattle's homeless population.
22. The idea of lowered standards is not new. Its been going on since the 60's. I remember taking chemistry in college 25 years ago. After an exam, the professor used to get so mad at the overall results, he would throw the exams in the trash and make us take the exam again (all 300+ of them). He complained, that today's youth lacked the drive to learn and are being replaced by foreigners (sound familiar?).
Lowering our education standards is slowly robbing our nation of its wealth. We are transferring our wealth to other nations and creating a two-class system. This is all part of the socialist design, a design we need to reject.
23. joer: RTFO!!!
24. No one here so far has noticed that the decline in performance and literacy at US colleges coincided with the surge of female college students to the point where they comprise 60% of all undergraduates.
With all too many of them choosing "gut" majors such as elementary education and politicized subjective garbage that I collectively place under the heading "critical queer studies", why would anyone be surprised at this development?
And don't forget how all along we were told that women had "superior" learning styles.
25. Howard Hirsch: Actually, there has been an increase in the number of female students in the hard sciences and math. When I was in college (it was a small school), I was frequently the only girl in the math or physics class I was taking at the time. At best, there might have been a couple of others! These classes were always predominantly male. That doesn't mean the study material was dumbed down to accomodate anyone. I just don't think the subject material appeals to that many women. What I discovered for myself was that when I really "got" a concept and saw how it related to other things I was studying it gave me a real rush - almost a runner's high, if you will! It made the learning experience addictive. I guess that's what they mean by a "eureka" phenomenon (even though my "eurekas" have come from discovering what other people have already established!)
I think more women would enter into the "hard" sciences if they got a taste of that experience. I don't think you can get it from the "gut" majors you mentioned.
26. Now now howard, let's not get into the battle of the sexes on this one. Though it's oft said that the men are fast becoming feminized and such, there's plenty of spineless testosterone free males teaching in the education system. And there's quite a few females that are shining examples of conservative view and real eduacation.
Since ince$t is outlawed, the way they found to legally dumb people down is the education system.
27. I just realized that I left an "m" out of accommodate. I feel the need to atone....
28. This may be slightly off topic but the debate on WASL may be looking at the problem from the wrong end of the telescope. We just don’t value education as in the past. I truly believe the education process starts and ends with parents. If parent don’t value a strong education, kids will follow suit.
Despite having lowered standards, our schools are prepared to teach kids Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. If a child wants to excel, there are college prep classes they can take. The curriculum is there, we just need to get more students enrolled. It starts with parents expecting more.
29. Joer: You hit on the head one of the complaints I have of our government and society. There needs to be more emphasis placed on national pride, civic duty and personal responsibility. In past times, most people were part of a church community that fostered the values and behaviors that produced people of character and conscience. It has diminished in influence, and with it has come the deterioration of the family unit and the decline of education.
Say what you will about the repressiveness of Catholicism, Catholic schools outperform public schools hands down. Removing Christianity from public institutions leaves a void that needs to be filled. The government has failed to address the important issues of integrity and moral character. It is removed entirely as a topic of instruction. Yet, there are certain "moral" constants that apply across the board, regardless of religion or race - I don't know of any society that outright condones and promotes,for example laziness, cheating, stealing, lying or murder. These behaviors are detrimental to the structure of any social unit, so they are important issues. Likewise, a sense of purpose and belonging is fundamental to the well being of most people and societies. The government does not foster a sense of national pride - and I believe this should be one of the prime responsibilities of our government!
Patriotism has become something of a dirty word. Yet, a sense of national identity that overrides our differences is essential to our survival. Blindly embracing government directives has become the left's definition of "patriotism", while questioning suspicion and protest are viewed as noble. It is a more complicated and thought provoking topic that should be given more attention - and yet the public schools do not do this.
Instilling some basic values and sense of pride would go a long way to improving educational performance.
30. Peggy U:
I agree with you 100%. I too came out of the Catholic school system. Very funny but the Nuns during my day were very much like the Nuns in the movie, ”The Blues Brothers”. They stood over us with a ruler and whacked us when we didn’t perform. Very good at teaching, very good at telling my parents when I wasn’t learning. Consequently, I went on to become a scientist (several university degrees) possibly because of those fundamental days.
31. joer: I actually did not attend parochial school, but I had friends who did. Their standards of performance were noticeably more stringent.
During high school, I had English and math teachers (brothers) who had graduated from Catholic schools. The English teacher made us LEARN grammar. This included diagramming sentences. One time, I had to diagram one on the chalk board in front of the class. It was about a paragraph long and contained every grammatical construct available! It was hard, and knowing that I might have to produce it in front of an audience made me work a little harder to learn. It helped that our English teacher also taught us Latin and etymology. He was strict, but everyone liked him.
His brother, the math teacher, was much more low-key. He was an excellent teacher as well. I feel as though I benefited from the education they got at the schools they attended.
32. But they have learned to put a condom on a banana by the time they are out of third grade.
33. I don't understand how teachers who are not literate can be expected to produce students who are. I have met more than a few teachers who just plain can't write. And, in fact, my sixth-grade son and I have made an exercise out of correcting misspellings, poor grammar and awkward phrases when we find them in newspapers, ads, etc. One plentiful supplier of material is the school system. We find errors in both lessons and correspondence. It's kind of sad that my son has better English skills than some teachers.
What I would like to know is this: How do these people get hired in the first place? Perhaps they have someone prepare their job applications for them. An essay test given at the time of the job interview would help to sort out the ones who can't write.
34. I'm disappointed that there hasn't been the usual seeding of emotional diatribe from some liberal or that more teachers haven't waded in on this topic. That speaks volumes. Perhaps they can't read??
My personal experience with my child in the Snohomish school district during her K-6 grades was very negative.
While in elementary school, I was notifed she had to undergo mandatory AIDs training, but that I could opt her out if I reviewed the material first. The viewing was convenieintly scheduled for the same evening as three of the districts elementary school concerts. Coincidence?
My child was subjected to a new, experimental grading system while in 4th grade, which, if successful, would be roled out across all of the elementary schools. Apparently using percentages, and the resulting A, B, C method was "Too ambiguous and subjective." It took into account factors like turning in homework on time" and "didn't really measure how a child performs". Needless to say, I nearly lost it. When I asked for more details at the introduction seminar, I was told "it was far to complex" to go over (and understand) but if I was really interested, I could request a personal meeting. Basically, the district was too inept to meet the mark of the old standard, so they tried to muddy the waters and cook the books... fortunately enough parents complained to cause this plan to be abandoned.
My daughter spent over a week in two consecutive years being immersed in local Native American culture, at great expense to the district (they inport native American consultants for this...)yet she had no exposure to American history.
Fortunately, she is now in middle school and free of the elementary teachers...
35. Actually, the people I would like to see weigh in on this are the ones who screen and hire teachers. I don't suppose there are any superintendents out there who could explain the hiring process? What is done if no qualified applicants are available to fill a position?
36. With sub standard testing like the WASL it doesn't surprise me!! The way It is taght doesn't always help either.
37. If our test was not so high stakes testing Yikes! And not designed to acurately measure students prgress should we expect any different!! A better test that does what needs to be done would go a long way to solve this & what happened to Phonics?! We need to concentrate on the basics and expand from there.
The new math is in need of an overhaul ect.