jaylar
The kids are lined up for the first ‘heat’. They run. Those who come in the top three, go to the next heat. Those who do not leave the field. Sure, the slow runners may feel sad, but this is a race and the fastest wins.
Education used to be like that. Kids took the first test and those who scored in the top ten of their class go on to Advanced Class, those who come behind them go into Class Two, on and on until those who scored the worst are in Bottom Class.
Education is not like that anymore. To prevent the child in Bottom Class from feeling ‘bad’ there is no streaming, there is no top or bottom; everyone is ‘equal’.
And if you believe that, Bob Marley’s Statue is for sale.
So the classes are dumbed down so the least intelligent can grasp the concepts, the bright kids are made to feel abberations, ashamed of their thinking. Those who do not are drugged to turn them into zombies so that the class can precede at its painfully slow pace.
<a href="https://www.thinglink.com/scene/923623984564535299" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>
The removal of streaming from many schools in the West, (it is maintained in the East and various other countries where ‘political correctness’ does not exist) was not done for the ‘feelings’ of Dunce Pot, it was done to avoid the revolutions of the 60s/70s.
You can’t herd cats. You can herd sheep.
If you can create a population of sluggish intellects, who do not question, who do not even know how to question, it makes governance easy. The majority believes what they are told, and the minority, which catches the lie is either co-opted or discredited.
To make it obvious; there is no way a person as Donald Trump could have been elected in the 1960s/1970s. It is not until the effect of the dumbing down in the 1980s and 90s produced persons of limited reasoning ability that they could support a person of this ‘caliber’ and actually believe his lies.
<a href="http://mossdreams.blogspot.mk/2017/01/for-author-of-1984-truth-begins-with.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>
The reason so many people are reading and quoting 1984, written by George Orwell, today, is that those Baby Boomers who read it, and the handful of others who actually can read, and comprehend what they have read, have noticed the amazing parallels.
For example, the inauguration of Donald Trump had an extremely low turn out. This did not deter Trump from claiming he had ‘three times that of Obama’ (whom he hates because of his own racism) despite the photographic evidence.
<a href="http://www.snopes.com/2017/01/20/obamas-inauguration-crowd-larger-than-trumps/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>
That people believed Trump’s fabrication, and still believe it, proves the value of dumbing down a population. Of focusing on their prejudices and fears, using their inability to think, as the method to control them.
<a href="http://www.lovemeow.com/updates-on-caboodle-ranch-1608023388.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>
As previously mentioned, you can herd sheep, not cats.
My husband was drafted, went and he stills suffers.
Many people tried to stop the war. There was so many protests. Today? With Vets living on the streets in America how is it there is no protest?
The students not currently in the more equal system have a suicide rate that is 2, 3 and even 4 times the rate in the US and other weatern nations.
I think while your article presents arguments, you’ve missed the chance to present the best possible outcome. A system that takes the best of both and brings them together. It is not about dumbing down, it is about raising the floor.
People read 1984 (my sons are 19 and read it in their last year of high school) and see similar stories and story lines ever since the book was published in 1948. Apple famously created the why 1984 is not 1984 commerical in 1984.
Finally and with that I will leave you alone, if you expect politicans to be honest, then start in the country you are in first. I cannot name many global politicans that I would trust to be honest and provide anything other than a nusanced version of what they percieve to the the truth…
When a child is streamed properly, they can go as far as they can. When they are held back they develope a shoulder shrug style and don’t need to care.
I am amazed by the huge population of people in America who don’t know what is happening.
In my country we are very political.
Gov. went to introduce a Identification system, we objected, it was shelved. A number of politicians have been charged with corruption.
In those cases, they are fired or resigned.
We don’t cover up.
I would love to argue that Americans aren’t wrapped up in our own issues, but we are. The same is true where you live as well.
Every nation does that, it is part of what happens in the world around us.
The point I’m making is that we aren’t afraid to speak out.
Right now, that is the case all around the world. There are many people that speak out.
Do not fall victim to the one sided presentation of the world.
nice work
thank you
Some kids are not academic. Reality. Some are. In ancient days we had different schools which dealt with different needs. So, for example; my friend, (the one who was abducted by Dell) is dyslexic. Did bad in school, cause he can’t spell, but is absolutely brilliant. So, because he went into the Computer thing, he’s a raging success.
I.Q. and Aptitude Tests are vital. Yes, scrutinise the IQ tests to make sure they aren’t tipped in any direction, and make the aptitude tests very wide, so that people can be, (using your hated word) streamed.
So what happens in your perfect world? Do you only concentrate on the elite and give them all the best resources, particularly in terms of educational advancement? What happens to everyone else? And what size is your elite?
When I went to university in the 1970s I was among the10% of people in the UK who did so at the time – the percentage is now considerably greater, which means that the advantages I had have now been made available to far more people. Is this something to be regretted?
What used to be done is that the kids at the bottom were streamed into nurses aid, plumbing, electrician, secretarial, chef, etc. Various jobs they could manage. In Jamaica we had and to some extent still have a program called H.E.A.R.T. (can’t recall what it stands for and am too lazy to look it up) where kids who didn’t do well in High School would be taught trades.
Hotels pay for special courses at HEART for chefs, and the kids are hired as they graduate. The computer industry depends on HEART and many of the most successful computer engineers graduated HEART, (one was abducted by Dell and forced to live in the US and paid a trailerload of money… poor thing).
The fact is; Academics is not all there is. Those who are good at it, stream them into academia, those not good at it, stream in other directions.
I agree – there is a need for good education in practical as well as academic subjects, and university courses are not suitable for everyone. However, it is also important to leave as many options open for as many people as possible for as long as possible, and creaming off the elite at an early age is not the way to do that.
Children do not all develop at the same pace, and one size does not fit all. The education system must recognize that, and putting labels on kids when young is the wrong way to go.
Some kids are not academic. Reality. Some are. In ancient days we had different schools which dealt with different needs. So, for example; my friend, (the one who was abducted by Dell) is dyslexic. Did bad in school, cause he can’t spell, but is absolutely brilliant. So, because he went into the Computer thing, he’s a raging success.
I.Q. and Aptitude Tests are vital. Yes, scrutinise the IQ tests to make sure they aren’t tipped in any direction, and make the aptitude tests very wide, so that people can be, (using your hated word) streamed.