Deliberate Dumbing Down of America Public Education

A–148 I thought that was rather strange, but said nothing at the time.

One of our teachers, Sherri _____, had small children and was having a problem with adjusting the hours with baby sitters. Since her husband was a medical doctor, she could not depend on him for before and after school care. She asked if she could come late and leave early on some days. She was told no, and that it was her problem to work out. Somehow she did. On Monday when we arrived at the district office, we found our tables arranged in a U shape with Mrs. Currington at the head. We were never introduced to her, nor were any words of welcome extended. She started to teach, and I started to take notes. My supervisor told me not to take notes, that all the information would be supplied later. I thought this was a very strange arrangement, but I stopped taking notes for the time being. Two hours into the program I whispered to Sherri, “Just what in the [h— ] is this?” By this time they had handed out a massive workbook that made no sense whatsoever. Sherri pointed out that no method or philosophy was stated in the book and asked me if I thought this was strange. When we broke for lunch, I met one of our outstanding classroom teachers in the restroom and she was in tears. She said, “Ann, I don’t know what is wrong with me. I have never reacted to anything like this before.” I said, “Deanna, this is the worst thing I have ever been exposed to.” She said, “Me too. I just thought it was me.” Several teachers had lunch together and we were all very alarmed about the workshop. One old timer said, “This is just another program that we have to put up with—we have had one after the other for several years. We just learn one method and program, then they bring in another one. This will pass like all the rest.” Since two hours’ credit was being offered by UCLA at Davis, some of the teachers asked me if I was going to sign up for it. I said no, because I would not want such a thing on my transcripts. None of our teachers signed up for credit. Daily, more and more of the teachers were raising their eyebrows and my friend Mary _____ was beside herself. Finally, I said, “Look, Mary, we bought a pig in a poke and none of the teachers are buying this.” We were pressured to memorize the word-by-word directives and pass the proficiency tests on a daily basis. Each teacher taking her turn, we were required to follow each directive exactly as the students would. Finally, the teachers and aides started asking questions. Some became downright hostile toward the teacher-trainer. Our questions were deferred by intimidation. For example, when someone would question a portion of the teaching technique, the trainer would say, “Shame on you. Don’t you want to do what is best for children?” When Deanna pointed out that the program did not take into consideration the learning styles of individual children, Mrs. Currington said, “The group is more important than the individual and we should raise our children to be people pleasers.” That is when I really sat up to take notice. I recognized the philosophy right away, and I recognized this program as being political. Children were required to master each and every small step before moving on, and only perfect penmanship was to be allowed from the child. Mary asked about small children whose fine motor skills had not developed. Mrs. Currington said, “All fine motor skills have developed by the age of one.” Wow! By this time Sherri was laughing. At one point an administrator from the district office