Deliberate Dumbing Down of America Public Education

330 is the goal. We must benchmark nationally. Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) study on standards reflected these changes to be made: 1. Setting standards 2. New assessments—portfolios, authentic assessment Some industries are devising standards for school achievement. Queens Aviation High School, [Queens] New York, meets FAA standards. National Skill Standards Board is working on integrating comprehensive skill standards…. Manipulation of symbols is a skill used with computers rather than direct observation of information. This will affect how we teach reading. [Ed. Note: This last statement regarding reading should be considered very seriously. What changes in the teaching of reading have been promoted of late? Primarily, the “scientific, research-based, direct, systematic” Skinnerian behavioral approach characterized by direct instruction—and funded under The Reading Excellence Act in 1998. Is this emphasis an out growth of SCANS-related policies adopted by “partnerships” between government and busi ness interests at the expense of real educational opportunities for children? In 1981 Professor Anthony Oettinger said in a speech that “in the modern context of functionalism, they [comic books], may not be all that bad” for instruction. Comic books and Paul Cole’s “manipulation of symbols” have much in common. (See Appendix XI and XXV.)] P RESIDENT B ILL C LINTON SIGNED THE S CHOOL - TO -W ORK O PPORTUNITIES A CT OF 1994 ON May 4, 1994. This law provided seed money to states for development of local partnerships of busi ness, labor, government, education and community organizations to develop school-to-work systems. 3. System of credentialing 4. Curriculum frameworks T HE W ASHINGTON P OST CARRIED AN ARTICLE ENTITLED “T RYING TO C ATCH U P ON T HEIR Read ing: Tutors Find What Students Miss” in its May 25, 1994 edition. Excerpts from this article follow: Students are selected for the program by English teachers, counselors, and principals.... Sykes said the D.C. school system will establish “gates,” or assessments at grades 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9. There will be no student who will move beyond that gate unless they have shown mastery skills to move to the next level. Sykes said the school system also is developing a statewide reading curriculum that would alleviate the problem of students missing lessons when they change schools in the District. The students who are enrolled in the Sylvan Center [a private contractor which uses mastery learning] at Anacostia High School said they are proud to go there. There is no stigma attached to the program. In fact, they said, their friends want to know how to join them in a learning environment where the teachers pay close attention... and give them treats... don’t seem irritated when they don’t understand and congratulate them for every step of progress they make. “This program gives you confidence. It’s fun to learn like this. If you do good, they give you awards.” Tarenia Rogers, 15, a tenth-grader, said the program gives her something to look for ward to when she goes to school. “It’s like a job,” she said. “When you come in here and work, you get paid ” [emphasis in original]. When students score well or complete assign-