Teaching Children To OBEY With A "Diet Of Corporate Reading Programs & Standardized Tests"

[kpete]

Why the United States Is Destroying Its Education System
Posted on Apr 10, 2011
By Chris Hedges

...........

Teachers, their unions under attack, are becoming as replaceable as minimum-wage employees at Burger King. We spurn real teachers—those with the capacity to inspire children to think, those who help the young discover their gifts and potential—and replace them with instructors who teach to narrow, standardized tests. These instructors obey. They teach children to obey. And that is the point. The No Child Left Behind program, modeled on the “Texas Miracle,” is a fraud. It worked no better than our deregulated financial system. But when you shut out debate these dead ideas are self-perpetuating.

.............

“It is extremely dispiriting to realize that you are in effect lying to these kids by insinuating that this diet of corporate reading programs and standardized tests are preparing them for anything,” said this teacher, who feared he would suffer reprisals from school administrators if they knew he was speaking out. “It is even more dispiriting to know that your livelihood depends increasingly on maintaining this lie. You have to ask yourself why are hedge fund managers suddenly so interested in the education of the urban poor? The main purpose of the testing craze is not to grade the students but to grade the teacher.”

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The demonizing of teachers is another public relations feint, a way for corporations to deflect attention from the theft of some $17 billion in wages, savings and earnings among American workers and a landscape where one in six workers is without employment. The speculators on Wall Street looted the U.S. Treasury. They stymied any kind of regulation. They have avoided criminal charges. They are stripping basic social services. And now they are demanding to run our schools and universities.

more:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/why_the_united_states_is_destroying_her_education_system_20110410/

[fredamae]

1. bachmann's "re-education camps", perhaps?

[Locrian]

2. another simple tactic ...

Same old shit: all they have to do is wreck it. Then "privatize it" to suck the cash out of the public.

An additional bonus: a less educated and more cowed public. Hell, there aren't any jobs so who needs education?

The rich still have their private schools, etc so why give a damn?

[freshwest]

3. Nailed a good deal of it, but we can't give in.

[freshwest]

4. When will we finally call what these zealots are creating by its proper name, a fascist state?

Good find there, kpete.

One thing that will elude many and allow consent for this are those dissatisfied with public schools that are not funded well now. They will buy the bait and allow them to be removed from society, along with all the networking they and their employees supplied their communities.

I'm seeing this happening in 'liberal' strongholds while the for profit, schools, often staffed by non-degreed teachers and administrators, seek to re-invent learning.

But they purposefully leave out the history of anything but the dominant classes of society, don't question the authority of corporations, corporate governance, any of those things.

They are against progressive social and economic issues, not to mention open minded science. It's as if these things never existed.

They are a regressive force, intended to take the next generation to a third-world or almost feudal mindset. They are stealing our future.

[Zorra]

5. Here are some quotes from a prophetic film about the United States

that was set in the 26th century, but due to recent events pertaining to recent legislation by stupid republicans designed to turn our descendants into stupid republicans, experts now believe that Idiocracy will replace Corporatocracy as the basis of the American political system by the year 2035.

Narrator: The years passed, mankind became stupider at a frightening rate. Some had high hopes that genetic engineering would correct this trend in evolution, but sadly the greatest minds and resources were focused on conquering hair loss and prolonging erections.

Secretary of State: I'm Secretary of State, brought to you by Carl's Jr.

Pvt. Joe Bowers: ... "And there was a time in this country, a long time ago, when reading wasn't just for fags and neither was writing. People wrote books and movies, movies that had stories so you cared whose ass it was and why it was farting, and I believe that time can come again!"

Rita: You think Einstein walked around thinkin' everyone was a bunch of dumb shits?
Pvt. Joe Bowers: Yeah. Hadn't thought of that.
Rita: Now you know why he built that bomb.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/quotes