Apparently, according to this CNET News article, 18-24 year old Americans are still hopelessly stupid… This time in geography.
I don’t find it sad that two-thirds can’t find Iraq on a map or that half can’t find New York- I find it downright pitiful and more than a touch shameful. This is the legacy that standardized testing will leave on the populace; people with limited knowledge, taught information simply to pass the FCAT or the SAT so that our government might feel its education policies have been successful, and certainly not educated to think critically or gain a rounded education.
Government isn’t the only culprit in the dumbing down of the populace, parents are as much to blame. Parents that don’t put in the time to help Dick or Jane with their homework, or parents that just don’t put enough emphasis on their children’s schooling. I certainly don’t fault the single mothers working two jobs to make ends meet, or those who acquired sub-standard educations themselves; however, that does not negate the fact that they should understand the importance of education to better their child’s lot in life.
Ultimately, we’ve taken education and the power to educate from the teachers on the front lines and have handed it to government… Old men who want to show statistically that kids are doing better (on a standardized set of skills and questions). Old men with no experience in education, only in law and the political rat race.
Call me crazy, but I don’t want a man who doesn’t read the newspaper and can’t pronounce nuclear setting the standards for my child’s education. Do you?
Well Put, Michael, Well put!