Deliberate Dumbing Down of America Public Education

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said.... …One of the plan’s goals is to eliminate spending differentials from district to district, ranging about $2,000 per pupil from highest to lowest in Maryland. “That means $50,000 more behind one classroom of 25 kids than another,” Hornbeck said. [Ed. Note: Did we understand Mr. Goldman correctly? “This follows years of massaging and reworking”? Why does one need “years of massaging and reworking a proposal” which sup posedly is in the best interests of the traditional American teacher and the children he or she teaches? Obviously, this proposal by Hornbeck was a radical one which would focus not on traditional education, but on producing or molding a “product,” your child—who is now being referred to as “human capital” by Hornbeck—your child, whose workforce skills and politically correct attitudes, values and beliefs would entitle him to a Certificate in Mastery in order to be hired by and able to increase the profits of a corporation. References to “special measures target those considered ‘at risk of educational failure’” are unsettling. If our children reject the “education” to which they are subjected, they will immediately be labeled “at risk,” thus subjecting them to the behavior modification programs and operant conditioning techniques normally used for special education. When Hornbeck says, “Society and the schools fail the kids,” are we to believe “It’s the environment, stupid”? Everything that goes wrong in our great nation is now blamed on the “environment”; from people’s choices to smoke or not to smoke, drink or not to drink, murder or not to murder, study or not to study. According to Skinnerian behaviorist think ing, since humans are to be thought of as animals, not having free will and, therefore, not being responsible for their actions, they would be incapable of making complex decisions, of deciding “yes” or “no.” We are on a slippery slope when we accept this “the environment is responsible” line of thinking. Hornbeck’s proposal parallels the 1999 passage of “choice” legislation in Florida, under Governor Jeb Bush’s direction. Delivery of failing grades to schools will be the trigger for fund ing for moving students to schools of their “choice”—including private or religious schools.] O N F EBRUARY 22, 1988 C LARENCE T HOMAS , CHAIRMAN OF THE E QUAL E MPLOYMENT O P portunity Commission (EEOC), who would shortly thereafter be appointed by President George Bush to the U.S. Supreme Court, signed off on an EEOC Policy Notice regarding protection from mandatory New Age training in the workplace. The Policy Notice explained: 1. SUBJECT: Policy statement on “new age” training programs which conflict with employees’ religious beliefs. 2. PURPOSE: This policy statement is intended to provide guidance in the handling of cases where an employee objects to participating in the training program because it utilizes techniques or exercises which conflict with the employee’s religious be liefs. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon Receipt. 4. EXPIRATION DATE: 5. ORIGINATOR: Title VII/EPA Division, Office of Legal Counsel. 6. INSTRUCTIONS: This notice supplements the instructions in #628 of Vol. II of the Compliance Manual, Religious Accommodation, and should be inserted after p. 1988