Deliberate Dumbing Down of America Public Education

285 What does all this really mean for our students? From the information gathered and rhetoric offered, perhaps the most significant was found in yet another ASCD Network con ference held the previous week, “Creating the 21st Century”; an example of a 21st Century Report Card [was presented].… We are seeing a major shift away from academics toward attitudes and values. The question is, who will determine which outcomes your child must have to graduate? If all this seems farfetched, one has only to read some of the information presented at the ASCD workshops: “Learners’ behavior must show... Learners’ attitudes must demonstrate... Learn ers will advocate for collaborative change.” Most enlightening was a session titled, “How to develop the ‘desired state’ for your high school.” A more accurate title may have been “How to manipulate teachers, parents and the school board to accomplish your agenda.” Among the suggestions: use teachers in these pilots that are the kids’ favorites; introduction of special education in the classrooms will help in overcoming the barrier of the closed door; how do you deal with people who sabotage your plan? Do little things to include them, give them power, let them be co-chairs. The Noxious Nineties : c. 1991 T HE G EORGIA P UBLIC P OLICY F OUNDATION , A STATE AFFILIATE OF THE H ERITAGE F OUNDA tion, published Reach for the Stars: A Proposal for Education Reform in Georgia by Matthew J. Glavin in October of 1991. 13 Excerpts follow: [Preface] The Georgia Public Policy Foundation wishes to thank the Hudson Institute for sharing much of their original research that constitutes the basis for this plan.... [Foreword] Reach for the Stars proposes step-by-step how we can take the education bull by the horns and steer it toward success. For parents, it means an end to excessive school taxes and the beginning of accountability on the part of the school system.... I urge you to read this report with an open mind and an eye toward change. If Georgia hopes to continue another decade of growth, it must begin preparing now. Reach for the Stars outlines the necessary steps to ensure Georgia’s future. As citizens, we can not afford to miss this opportunity. [Ed. Note: The introduction to Reach for the Stars quotes the late Al Shanker, long-time pres ident of the nation’s second largest teacher union—American Federation of Teachers—as if Shanker would be recommending any changes or restructuring other than that proposed by the Carnegie Corporation. The reader should refer to the 1986 entry which quoted from an article entitled “Carnegie Report on Education: Radical Blueprint for Change” which appeared in the June 28–29, 1986 issue of The Bangor [ME] Daily News . This article identified Shanker as a willing accomplice of Carnegie’s plan (the Marc Tucker/National Center for Education and the Economy plan) to restructure education.] In the following excerpts from Reach for the Stars the writer has related the statements to outcome-based education, education restructuring, school-to-work, site-based management, etc., all of which concerned parents and teachers have been led to believe are anathema to conservatives: William Bennett Former Secretary of Education October, 1991