American's Slipping In Education

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

SLIPPAGE

 

Statistics on American education tell a dreadful story, the story of an advanced technological society slipping back to a state of ignorance and superstition. If that sentence seems extreme, consider these facts:

 

• The United States once ranked first in the world in high school graduation rates. We have slipped to 17th (The New York Times, Feb. 1).

 

• Respect for the free exchange of ideas is dimming among our young. USA Today, Jan. 31: "1 in 3 United States high school students say the press ought to be more restricted, and even more thought the government should approve newspaper stories before people read them." Which means that our Bill of Rights often is taught poorly or not at all – a very dangerous sign for the future of our liberties.

 

• The United States is 49th in the world in literacy (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004).

 

• We rank 28th out of 40 countries in mathematical literacy (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004).

 

• "Our students, a new report has found, are lagging far behind the pace set by scientific whiz kids in Europe and Asia, and the number of Americans choosing science as a career continues to dwindle" (Los Angeles Times, quoted in The Week, Jan. 14).

 

• Thomas L. Friedman reports "a mounting crisis" (NYT, Dec. 5, 2004). "Because of the steady erosion of science, math and engineering education in U.S. high schools, our cold war generation of American scientists is not being fully replenished. We've [been filling] the gap with Indian, Chinese and other immigrating brain-power. But ... many of those foreign engineers are not coming here anymore." He adds that many who had emigrated here have recently chosen to leave, and there aren't enough Americans with sufficient knowledge to replace them.

 

• One-third of our biology teachers support the teaching of creationism or "intelligent design" (NYT, Feb. 1). Creationism is religious dogma, contradicting literally tons of data. "Intelligent design" claims that the universe was created or designed by a higher order of intelligence – a claim that cannot be tested, and therefore is not science and doesn't belong in a science class. When scientists use the word "theory," they don't mean a hunch or supposition; the scientific use of the word, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is "a hypothesis that has been confirmed or established by observation and experiment ... accounting for the known facts." All science is incomplete because "the known facts" are incomplete. (Google a brilliant paper by Jolly Mathen, "On the Inherent Incompleteness of Scientific Theories.") There nevertheless are many known facts, millions of them, that demonstrate the evolution of life from simple to complex organisms over eons of time. Yet one-third of our biology teachers don't accept this – a willful ignorance among educators found nowhere else in the developed world. The result:

 

• "Only 35% of Americans accept Darwin's theory of evolution, while 45% prefer the creationist view" (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004).

 

• "In other industrialized countries ... 80% or more typically accept evolution, most of the others say they are not sure and very few people reject the idea outright" (NYT, Feb. 1).

 

• Sixty-one percent of Americans "believe the Biblical story of creation is literal truth" (ABC, World News Tonight With Peter Jennings, Jan. 18).

 

• Forty-three states have debated teaching evolution in the last three years (ABC, World News Tonight With Peter Jennings, Jan. 18).

 

• Surveys show that many high school science teachers simply skip lessons on evolution, even when the material is in their textbooks, for fear of controversy. This self-censorship is widespread, especially in the South, Midwest, and West (NYT, Feb. 1). An interesting note: Two popes, Pius XII and John Paul II, have stated that evolution and religion are compatible; the surveys found no dodging of evolution in Catholic schools.

 

• "Scriptural literalists are moving beyond evolution to challenge the teaching of geology and physics" (NYT, Feb. 1).

 

• Bill Moyers reports "nearly half the U.S. Congress ... 231 legislators in total ... are backed by the religious right. Forty-five senators and 186 members of the 108th Congress earned 80-100 percent approval ratings from the three most influential Christian rights advocacy groups" (AlterNet.org, Dec. 8, 2004). Republican Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, in a statement supporting "intelligent design," stated that evolution is one of the "big social issues of our time," equal to abortion and gay marriage (Newsweek, Feb. 7).

 

• The Christian right's influence in Congress is no doubt the source of headlines like this: "Money to Fix Space Telescope May Be Cut by House" (NYT, Jan. 23). The Hubble is our most successful space project to date. Many of its findings contradict biblical myth. The Hubble "established the age of the universe at 13 billion years. ... Every week, [the Hubble transmits] about 120 gigabytes of data. ... the equivalent of 36,500 feet of books on a shelf. More than 2,600 scientific papers based on these findings have been published so far" (The Week, Jan. 21). The Hubble will fall in 2006 if not repaired. That won't sadden the Christian right.

 

• Hostility to science exists at the highest levels of our government. "With rising intensity, scientists in and out of government have criticized the Bush administration, saying it has selected or suppressed research findings to suit preset policies, skewed advisory panels or ignored unwelcome advice, and quashed discussion within federal research agencies" (NYT, Oct. 19, 2004).

 

These stats combine to paint the portrait of a poorly educated people seeking to compensate for their ignorance with beliefs that spread such ignorance further – while the rest of the developed world laughs in pity or contempt, and leaves us behind.

 

For the record: I am deeply religious. I pray a lot. I believe one cannot claim to be a cultured human being without knowledge of the great religions, their histories, and scriptures. The Bible hit America's shores 300 years before the Constitution and no one unfamiliar with the Bible can claim to understand America (which disqualifies many so-called intellectuals). The great religions should be required study in every high school and college, if only because there is no greater historical force than religious passion. But religion should be taught as religion, not as science. To take the Bible literally, in opposition to confirmed scientific data, is mere superstition.

 

Hostility to science is spreading, like an infection, to history. The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History, by Thomas Woods Jr., "is being snapped up on college campuses and helped along by plugs on Fox News ... [soaring] to No. 8 on The New York Times paperback non-fiction bestseller list." The book features far-right revisions of the Civil War, the Marshall Plan, Jim Crow, and the New Deal (NYT, Jan. 26). It is "one of a wave of books like this." They include Michelle Malkin's In Defense of Internment, which claims that the World War II internment of California's Japanese-Americans was justified and benign; also, a booklet used in a North Carolina school called Southern Slavery: As It Was, claiming slavery to have been "a relationship based upon mutual affection and confidence." This isn't history. This is propaganda. (You don't justify old internment camps unless you hope to build new ones.)

 

The teaching of history is usually slanted one way or another, but not long ago the blatant distortion of science would have been unimaginable. The Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and Maoist China excluded or distorted whole branches of science that conflicted with their ideologies; not long ago no thinking person imagined it could happen here. But it is happening. On a massive scale. From the highest levels of government to the littlest rural school. Power-savvy factions are spreading an easy-to-digest but ultimately fatal ignorance. Poorly educated, well-intentioned, fearful people, craving order in a chaotic world, are eating it up. They're no more or less stupid than the well-informed, but they haven't the resources for research and they've no body of knowledge by which to weigh what they're told. The poorly skilled and scantily educated have nothing to judge information by except whether it satisfies their emotions. If it makes them less afraid, it must be right.

 

Sam Adams, like many of our founders, believed democracy would flourish "as long as education was extended to the masses." An ignorant people cannot remain a free people.

 

Source: OMG FAUXNEWSLOL2005`111111111

 

Pretty interesting, but I expect the standard response (not from this board, but in general) would be something like "HEY WE ARE THE GREATEST FUCKING COUNTRY IN THE WORLD DON"T MAKE US BOMB YOUR ASS!" Maybe some here don't care, but I think they'd be a little more eloquent than "FUCK YOU TOWELIE COMMIE PINKO FAG GOD BLESS AMERICA!" Heh, I guess most of you wouldn't find that funny, maybe you have to live outside of the country to get it.

 

Flame away.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Whoops, almost forgot the picture:

 

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

Wait, could U us tiny words. I can't wead.

 

In all seriousness, all schools should be privatized. The government, state and local, keeping funding big bueracries (now I can't spell!!). But what do I care? I went to private school and now I go to a private university.

[Special K 0]

We're FOURTY-NINTH IN LITERACY? Wowzers.

 

I think the creationim/intelligent design/evolution debate is not that applicable here. Nor is the liberal/conservative issue, besides right-wingers' refusal to admit there's any sort of problem with the environment.

 

It does seem that less and less people are interested in math, science and engineering in this country, which is a DEFINITE bad thing. you can't have an entire country of businessmen.

[The Czech Republic 0]

• Respect for the free exchange of ideas is dimming among our young. USA Today, Jan. 31: "1 in 3 United States high school students say the press ought to be more restricted, and even more thought the government should approve newspaper stories before people read them." Which means that our Bill of Rights often is taught poorly or not at all – a very dangerous sign for the future of our liberties.

I heard this a while ago, and that really frightens me that it's high schoolers who are suggesting this.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Republican Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, in a statement supporting "intelligent design," stated that evolution is one of the "big social issues of our time," equal to abortion and gay marriage (Newsweek, Feb. 7).

And people call Arlen Spector the "wacky" senator from PA.

[Guest Cerebus]

This is a dumb article in more ways than one. In 1950 we were 18 places higher than we are now in the literacy rankings, yet MORE people believed in biblical creationalism. What the hell does the Hubble have to do with education? The poorly defined "Christian right" wanted to get rid of scientific evidence? And what the fuck does evolution have to do with literacy? This is nothing more than jumble of facts thrown together to look like an argument against people the author doesn't like.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Republican Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, in a statement supporting "intelligent design," stated that evolution is one of the "big social issues of our time," equal to abortion and gay marriage (Newsweek, Feb. 7).

And people call Arlen Spector the "wacky" senator from PA.

Santorum, didn't he screw a dog or something

[Skywarp! 0]

Because of Santorum's stance on gay relationships, his name has gained popularity in becoming a commonly accepted sexual slang term. Santorum is the word which now refers to the "frothy mixture of fecal matter, semen and lube which is often the byproduct of anal sex".

[BUTT 0]

^That's hot.

 

• Sixty-one percent of Americans "believe the Biblical story of creation is literal truth" (ABC, World News Tonight With Peter Jennings, Jan. 18).

 

Blatantly untrue. The wonderful writings of Ann Coulter have taught me that liberals uniformly do not believe in God. And 48 percent voted for Kerry, who, if elected, possibly would have brought about the destruction of the republic. So I call bullshit.

[The Metal Maniac 0]

Because of Santorum's stance on gay relationships, his name has gained popularity in becoming a commonly accepted sexual slang term. Santorum is the word which now refers to the "frothy mixture of fecal matter, semen and lube which is often the byproduct of anal sex".

 

Have you actually heard people use this term, or did you just read it in "Savage Love" or whatever that sex advice colum is?

[Special K 0]

^

Search for Santorum on the net. It'll be number one or two. Dan Savage is awesome.

[Skywarp! 0]

Heard it only in Savage Love, but people regularly write in to him with letters he publishes about it slowly gaining ground in usage. I believe he has mentioned another site whose mission is to spread awareness of the term. I think it's called spreadingsantorum.com.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

That's fantastic. Another pearl of wisdom from Santorum was calling a gay marriage ban "the ultimate in homeland security."

[Guest Olympic Slam]

WOW that was a biased article!

 

Christianity, teachers, funding, democrats and republicans are not the reasons for stupid American kids. Its the sad fact today that the free market is raising our kids and NOT parents.

 

There's no market incentive in getting kids interested in science, math or education. The money lies in crap like music, sex, movies, sports or whatever is marketed heavily by the corporate goosesteppers.

 

Kids today have no priorities, moral guidance, or decent role models in the media. When was the last time a scientist was glorified by Hollywood? Instead they're fed sex, violence and base entertainment 24-hours a day. None of that stuff is of value, yet its the cool thing to be a part of.

 

In a nut shell: the 10 year old kid who watches Discovery Channel gets beat up. The 10 year old kid who watches MTV and knows everything there is to know about sex is considered cool. Kids want to be cool. That's what is wrong with education today------> no incentive because of moral breakdowns and flawed priorities.

 

What a sick world we live in.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

That's a pretty stupid response. So, the "popular culture" is the reason why our schools suck? OH EM GEE! YOU MEAN NERDS = NOT COOL?!!?

 

GET THE FUCK OUT OF TOWN!

 

The "market" has no interest in doing anything but satisfying those who buy their products. In fact, the "market" has an interest in actually getting these kids educated, not vice versa. That post just proves how little you actually understand the "market".

[SuperJerk 0]

Anybody want to know the 2 real reasons other countries (i.e. Japan and Germany) regularly kick are ass in test scores?

 

(1) They don't give the same tests we do.

 

(2) They only test their college-bound kids. We test EVERYBODY.

 

These two major differences give the U.S. an unfair disadvantage when it comes to raw scores.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

And people call Arlen Spector the "wacky" senator from PA.

 

I just call him wacky. And Santorum is a Jesus freak, but I voted for him before and I'll vote for him again (although if Casey Jr. runs against him in '06 he's in trouble).

 

Whoops, almost forgot the picture:

 

Looks like CronoT just found a new sig. Great...

[Guest Olympic Slam]

That's a pretty stupid response. So, the "popular culture" is the reason why our schools suck? OH EM GEE! YOU MEAN NERDS = NOT COOL?!!?

 

GET THE FUCK OUT OF TOWN!

 

The "market" has no interest in doing anything but satisfying those who buy their products. In fact, the "market" has an interest in actually getting these kids educated, not vice versa. That post just proves how little you actually understand the "market".

Um, our schools don't suck and our teachers don't suck. Kids are just going to school with the wrong messages (or none at all) in their heads. TV spends more times with kids than our parents. TV provides almost nothing of value when it comes to educating kids. Why would a kid care about learning the quadratic formula when TV tells him (indirectly of course) that he'll get more respect if he spends more time worrying about what kind of shoes he wears.

 

We need to make it legal for teachers to call kids "fucking idiots." Go back to the days when society actually shamed people for being morons rather than glorifying them. Screw the PC self-esteem crap. There are right ways and there are wrong ways to raise kids. Unfortunately America is raising a nation of simpletons who better learn how to say "yes sir" in Chinese.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

OK, Mr. Olympic Savage...

[SuperJerk 0]

"Only 35% of Americans accept Darwin's theory of evolution, while 45% prefer the creationist view" (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004).

 

Any guess what the other 20% believe?

[Guest Cerebus]

Also, the same people whining about testing in the other thread would be shocked about the kind of testing they subject kids to in Japan. There, suicides, stress induced ulcers, and stifled creativity come about during their testing. BUT they score better than Americans in math and sciences, and no wonder.

 

Basically you can't have it both ways. Either we need testing or we are going to see increasingly distressing statistics about the education of our children.

[SuperJerk 0]

BUT they score better than Americans in math and sciences, and no wonder.

They only test their college-bound kids. We test EVERYBODY.

[Guest Cerebus]

What's your fucking point? Most kids who go to school in Japan go to college which, for the most part, is a breeze compared to high school. Hell, to many of them its actually a semi-vacation after 10+ years of school. And it doesn't matter if they go to college or not b/c the schools are DESIGNED with the idea that nearly everyone they are teaching is going to go to college.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

I think his point was more that our test results are skewed downward since our test results are being reported for all students, not just college bound kids. Calm down.

[Special K 0]

I sometimes wish I was born in Japan. 6'4" and a standardized test master. (a skill you pretty much get to use ONCE in your life.) I would a demigod.

[SuperJerk 0]

What's your fucking point?

 

Comparing American test scores and Japanese test scores is like comparing apples and oranges because the testing sample is so different.

 

Most kids who go to school in Japan go to college which, for the most part, is a breeze compared to high school.

 

What are you basing this assumption on, exactly?

 

Hell, to many of them its actually a semi-vacation after 10+ years of school. And it doesn't matter if they go to college or not b/c the schools are DESIGNED with the idea that nearly everyone they are teaching is going to go to college.

 

They actually have a 2 track education system, one track for college-bound, and one for everyone else.

 

edit: I am incorrect on this point.

Edited February 25, 2005 by RobotJerk

[Guest Cerebus]

That would be from what my Japanese professor told us in my Asian politics class back in college (admittedly it was 3 or 4 years ago but I doubt its changed much).

[SuperJerk 0]

You're right.

 

Still, my point is that comparing the two countries test scores is like comparing apples and oranges since the cultures are so drastically different.

 

For example, when a kid fails in Japan, its the kid's fault for not trying hard enough. Here its the teacher's fault.

[Guest MikeSC]

I think his point was more that our test results are skewed downward since our test results are being reported for all students, not just college bound kids. Calm down.

I'd actually imagine the difference would be minimal.

 

I know my state always tries to state that our SAT scores are so low because everybody takes the SAT here, even people with no possibility of getting to college.

 

Studies have been done showing that even if we only tested our "elite" students, we're still in the bottom 5.

-=Mike