Deliberate Dumbing Down of America Public Education

347 performing a variety of community services. On any given school day, hundreds of Salem Keizer teens leave their classrooms to visit local businesses, nonprofit agencies and other community organizations or activities. The students aren’t on field trips—they’re visiting their service sites, where they perform a variety of community service work, also referred to as “service learning.” It is here that students are learning the meaning of citizenship and service. They’re also becoming more aware of their role in the community. “Service learning demonstrates the partnership between the school district and the community. Students learn firsthand about the needs and issues of our community—the homeless, the hungry, the elderly, and environment—while they work toward meeting those needs,” explains Pat Abeene, Volunteer Services coordinator for the district. Abeene said service learning takes various forms. These range from the district’s Youth Community Service Program—in which high school students get [selective or elec tive] credit for community service—to individual school projects integrated into the regular curriculum. Other service sites offered through the program include the Boys and Girls Clubs, nursing homes, the Humane Society, and Oregon state parks.... Another example of service learning was the McNary Area Service Learning Project. The successful project teamed eight Keizer schools in the collection of 6,000 recyclable milk jugs from area homes—a service currently unavailable through Salem-Keizer disposal companies. The Noxious Nineties : c. 1995 T HE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS WERE PUBLISHED IN 1995 IN THE M ARYLAND S TATE D EPART ment of Education’s MSDE Bulletin (Vol. 6, No. 3) entitled “Keeping You Current on Education Reform in Maryland”: SEEKING COMMON GROUND ON SCHOOL REFORM William Spady, a leading proponent of outcomes-based education, and Robert Simonds, head of a Christian group that has led the fight against OBE, made a joint presentation before the State Board in February to discuss their 10-months’ dialogue of reconciliation.... Early in their discussions, which began at a meeting last March of the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) the two men agreed that the public schools are essential to democracy and must be strengthened.... The two men have come to agreement on a set of components and principles for school reform, which Spady calls the “High Success” model. They agree that specific reform alter natives should include the following components:

* Quality performance standards * Future-focused planning * Extensive community involvement * Continuous improvement strategies * Challenging learning experiences * Advanced instructional processes * Real-life learning assessments

Both men had praise for Maryland’s reforms. Simonds said, “The Maryland Learning Outcomes are what parents want.”... Several education associations (including the Association for Supervision and Cur riculum Development, the American Association of School Administrators, the National