I heard the audio of this earlier today, and it goes to prove exactly what is wrong with education today:
This brings the key question, why can’t these students answer the questions correctly?
I think much of the problem stems from the fact that schools are spending too much time teaching to the state academics test (much like in the excellent 1989 bio-pic “Lean on Me“, where a core goal of the school principal was to get most of the student body passing scores on the statewide tests) and not on other subjects.
This means things like finances, civics, debate, and other life-long skills are being ignored in favor of being able to pass a skills assessment test.
That’s why, as I recall, the statewide tests when I was in school (1980’s) were only at specific grade levels – and not every year.
The fact that people born in the United States cannot name the capital of the state they’re living in, the current Vice President or who the candidates are for President goes to show that the United States’ position as tops in education is long in the past. Just the idea that the Government requires immigrants know this information to become a citizen, yet does not demand the same from its own is appalling.
Many wonder why interest in home schooling and private schools is growing. A broken public education system, I suspect takes the biggest blame, with the bureaucracy in Washington D. C. coming a close second.
It is long past time to end tenure, allowing bad teachers to stay while good new teachers don’t get a fighting chance. Then severely cut the Department of Education, if not completely abolishing it, and get the political bias out of our schools. Our education system used to work in this country, and it is going to take massive changes to restore it to the greatness it deserves.
[H/T: TheBlaze]
