Why the World Should NOT Emulate American Education (But China and ...
Rarely have I run across an article on American education that hits so close to home as this one. This one almost perfectly describes my own reaction to it, upon finishing my master's degree, and why I fled to England to get away from the somersaulting boredom and insipidity of the typical American classroom, even at the graduate level, to pursue my Ph.D in an institution where one read for a degree, rather than majoring in a "subject", where one was expected to have a broad, inter-disciplinary knowledge and approach to questions and actual academic disciplines, rather than the nauseating dumbed down claptrap of schools of "education" and teacher certification, and able to think freely and clearly about them, and not parrot answers on a computerized, standardized .
America has a secret weapon in its arsenal of cultural kookery, and it's one I'm all for exporting to our putative "enemies" like China and Russia (no folks, I don't really believe that the Russians or Chinese are really our enemies, only that our elites tell us they are), and it's a weapon I wouldn't wish on our good friends (to paraphrase the Tom Lehrer song, our old friends like France and our really good friends like Germany and Japan [except for those minor misunderstandings called World Wars One and Two]). I will say no more here, other than to refer you to the following article, replete with the cute slogans of doctors of edubabble (trust me I know, I have one in my extended famdamnly):
No Wonder Johnny (Still) Can’t Read
Having experienced myself firsthand the quackery of teacher education certification for a full two excrutiatingly insane days before the goofiness got to me, I can attest that what Larry Sand is talking about in his article is not only true but far worse than he actually states. America isn't suffering a brain drain, it has no more brains left, they having been lobotomized by the Doctors of Edubabble, or, conversely, gone to work for the in-the-box-thinking elites of the Rockefailures or Rottenchilds. Someday I hope to write a book about all this claptrap.
In the meantime, folks, if you can, send your kids to Russian or Chinese or Indian universities if you want them to learn science or mathematics or biology or history or literature or philosophy, because they won't learn them here... it will in the long run be far more cost effective than the multicultural codswallop and educational "theory and pedagogy" of America's crumbling schools and doctors of edubabble. And the next time you talk to someone with Ed.D behind their name, thank them for doing such a wonderful job of teaching America's kids. The bottom line really is this: whether we like it or not, whether some of those Ed.D's are genuinely concerned with the problem, or even have any viable solutions, their "discipline" is fraudulent, and part of the problem. We need to get away from certification, and back to the idea we inherited from Europe, that only scholars within the disciplines can and should be allowed to teach the subjects which need to be taught. In short, the people promoting these educational fads, top to bottom, college to kindergarten, need to be fired. Nothing less will fix the system, because they are the ones responsible for it. If you wonder why Americans are so stupid, just ask an M.Ed. or Ed.D....he won't have the answer, but it will be abundantly clear in your "conversation" with him, why it is that our schools are failing.
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John Taylor Gatto rules with his theories of education!
Doc – I believe the term you’re trying to describe is the lack of a ‘renaissance education’ in America and that is why you decided that Oxford would do the job instead of any American university. Can’t blame you there!
There’s a select group of people that obviously appreciate your intellect. Unfortunately, there’s not enough folks ‘out there’ that are even remotely interested in your research – I mean, c’mon, the Superbowl was just on and Whitney Houston just died by an apparent drug overdose. We all know the routine by now – sports, celebrities, reality shows, beer, drugs, sex, gory video games, incessant chatter on social networks, yakking away into cyberspace (content free), ad nauseum.
Research on the topic of introversion and giftedness or even simply bright and serious students ALWAYS show that the American public education system is meant for LOUD people with constant activity instead of for these quiet ones – with no time whatsoever to reflect or discuss any one subject for any length of time. You’re right, Doc, there’s no brain drain – there’s very little brains left to worry about. All this by design, of course.
In other words, anytime a nation places its emphasis on physical attractiveness, sports, wealth and social standing, it is doomed to fail. Whenever I see tons of taxpayers monies spent on school sports stadiums and little thrown at budding geniuses, yep, it’s over.
On the positive side, I managed to get my children through the system with my involvement with the teachers (who admitted to me at times even they didn’t know what they were supposed to be teaching – such as the ‘new math’), and my insistence on self-discipline and homework – this did lead them to advanced placement classes but even in college, they do not feel intellectually challenged enough. Sports scholarships are handed out left and right, but trying to get an academic/merit scholarship is like pulling teeth.
I’ll never forget the ‘knowing’ I had in the early ’70s upon graduating from high school that the entire school system was falling apart rapidly. Whenever you’re forced to ‘get in touch with your inner feelings’, or ‘feel good about yourself just because you have a pulse’ instead of serious studying – and with us ‘nerds’ and ‘geeks’ being constantly ostracized – what we have today disguising itself as ‘education’ is no surprise at all.
The blissfully ignorant are spared the ravages of intelligence. It will be their demise. The good news is the nerds will one day rule the earth! 🙂
Mr. John Taylor Gatto says it all best in his book ‘weapons of mass instruction’. It’s all quite deliberate, quite comprehensively thought out (pardon the pun), and very very ‘prussian’. A cascading heirarchy of pedagogues adminsters the hatchlings at the corerect pitch of dreary soulless monotone to convince it that it wants nothing to do with learning ever again, but never the good stuff… they daren’t teach the fledgling profane about conflict resolution, and we all know why. Salvation from boredom, feelings of worthlessness and confusion? It lies a hop skip and jump away in your nearest mall-temple, snivelling brat. Now run along there, and don’t forget: when we say jump, you say ‘how high, sir? Got that? Good, now off you fuck.
…Some people have whirlwinds coming to them.
Those Marines Bought an SS Flag Without Knowing What it Was? Seriously? That’s Your Excuse?
Of all the really hard to believe excuses the military has made for the actions of military personnel, this one has to take the cake. Those Marines posing with a Nazi SS flag in Afghanistan just didn’t know it was an SS flag!
Link to full article :
http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=18518
Maybe J. Farrells books should become mandatory reading!!
I know that marines aren’t noted for their intelligence but surely they can’t be that dumb. SS stands for sniper scout indeed.
Just when you think you’ve seen everything:
the other day I saw two grown men playing with matchbox cars on a table top in a diner. Our species has definitely mutated.
If you want your kid to be a brainwashed, brain dead, hedonistic debt slave, then send them to an American college.
Well I began teaching Chris Dunn’s ‘Machine theory’ to my Year 11 Ancient History class here in Australia-beat that people 🙂
You wait until I have them translating Cuneiform…….deathstar here we come! I am in full agreement with Joseph, (de) education as a discipline is a crock of shit.
I have three degrees included a Masters in Ancient History and Archaeology. Ten years of University studying under Cambridge and Oxford scholars at Sydney University. Please tell me how some twit with a degree in Ice-cream making from Bathurst can tell me how to teach, when in fact my students top the State year in, year out……..dickheads.
Take your smart boards, Institute of (un)teachers, idiotic paper work and shove it up your arse-I refuse to join ISTAA .
Post Script: I have seen the top Chinese schools-they kick arse!!
Just finishing up Christopher Dunn’s book LOST TECHNOLOGIES of ANCIENT EGYPT. Excellent read and reference for further research. He really makes a case for a pre-deluvian advanced race. Your students are getting a head start.
Hey, Matt
I’m in Melbourne but my Daughter lives with her Mother in Port Augusta..
She’s in Year 11 this year (just started) and I have to say that the curriculum (although not as bad as some of the U.S curriculums I’ve seen) is far less composite and thorough than it was when I was in High School back in the late 70’s & early 80’s..Again I have to ask why?? We were doing Algebra & Calculus in year 8 and they’re not doing it now until Year 10???
Anyway, I have got her listening to Dr Farrell’s audio files on The Byte Show and when she’s done listening to about 50 hours of that I will buy her his books to read..Perhaps I will buy her some of Richard Hoagland’s and Christpher Dunn’s works also!! She is facinated by the Esoterical side of research and I hope it becomes a life-long learning experience for her..
Try Peter Levenda as well. His work is excellent 🙂
Without trying to be elitist, the issue you are seeing is a State Ed issue. NSW and Victoria have a far stronger curriculum for Secondary Schools than the rest of the states.
However, there is a push with the influx of ‘educationalists’ that are really failures in disguise. These people go on educational ‘junkets’ spouting all the theories and technological system-never heavy content or skill.
We are fortunate that our system still pushes assessments and not just simple standardised tests; ‘they’ are pushing though.
The latest influx of new teachers are being brainwashed with the ‘Institute of Teachers’ crap-mountains of paper for no actual pedagogical gain. Once again these organisations are run by failures in disguise-people who have little or no academic backgrounds and who cannot really teach.
The big GPS and private schools employ academic specialists, the state employs educationalists. That is why private will always beat public.
I try to teach my students to think, and to enjoy reading deeply and widely. I hate skim reading and will not accept essays without footnotes, bibliographies or that contain spelling mistakes. For me, a good argument should include a written standard-not just judging the ‘cognitive process’ (really an excuse for not marking the paper).
I am fortunate that the syllabi I work with allow me the chance to investigate the sources and the historiographical developments within an area of interest. The problem is that many History and Religion teachers do not have specific academic backgrounds.
The ‘rub’ as JPF often says, is that the students love hearing ‘off the beaten track’. I have kids reading Homer, Martin Bernal, JPF and Chris Dunn. They want to know!!!
I just have to make sure they understand the difference between speculation and ‘truth’.
Well Matt I wish you were one of my teachers at school.
Cheers mate.
I wish I was one of my teachers when I was a student as well 😉
I had an interesting conversation with one of my Year 11 Religion students. She has just returned from the U.S, she told me quite openly that she never studied, never did any assessment tasks or research task and received ‘straight A’s’ across her subjects.
Her opinion was that she could have done that if she were in year 9. I feel sorry for the U.S students.
Also, I have a student from Sweden in my Year 12 Ancient class; 95% (band 6) and very sharp literacy skills. He felt that the private sector in Aus was about the same as the standard in Sweden.
I should post some of my past student’s Extension Papers online and have the ‘GizaDeathstar community’ critique them 🙂
Brave new world sets up 1984…..Aldous Huxley died on Nov. 22 1963, some say America died that day too, it was also the end of the baby boomed generation….the big bangers who failed……….epic fail.
See all the pretty stuff there is to play with & keep the people (you) occupied? These are “Illusion.” You are Now Nearing the Eye of The VorteX… Straight Ahead. … The Life-Field has been DisToRteD, that the Harvesters of Awareness are kept Rich. This is A Prison Mining System…you are the slaves, Chained by your Ignorance & Innocence to “material unrealness,” that your Masters may Rape you & Collect, Concentrate & Distill (get it? Dis-Still? No?) your Richness, the Dual Silver & Gold Essences of Consciousness (FemiNine) & Awareness (MascuLine): The (Silver) Glowing Coat of Awareness & The Golden Broth of Essence, the Two Products of the Greatest Value In All Creation. Had you all been Taught to Look Within, That Which PreEXists would have Set You Free (Encounter The REAL Self) Loooong Ago. (-0,-1/ +1, +O). The Shell Crust & The Shell Membrane of your Energy/Power (magnetic & electric lifefield) have been Neutralized.. the Better to Eat (Consume) you (Your Egg & Seed). … Don’t know what I Am talking about? Of course not… it’s all “foreign” to the humanimal, busied with the “things” of life. No wonder they made that matrix movie (a real spoofer)… Children of Consumerism. … “Honey!” … “Yes, Dear?” … “Prepare Xtra; we have Guests Coming To Dinner!” … “Yes, I Know.” (“Ouch, what was that? Oh, it’s a Damned Sliver in my Heel! Pesky thing…”) … Yes, getchya a good education, for knowledge Halved is better than none at all… isn’t it?? … ? … The Old Woman & Old Man (Intuition & Reason, Body & Mind) support one-another, lest they Fall. … Poor Soul Substance & Stirring Spirit, never Aware of The Yoke (Yolk). … We Love You—You’re Delicious! (mmhzers, EggPlant!)
First, Doc, let me say once again thanks for contributing to my education. Words have always been my strong suit and this past year you have added more to my base. Today it is codswallop. A little checking told me we have the Brits to thank for that one.
Did you pick it up at Oxford?
A couple of recent personal experiences with the current state of our education system. One of my five granddaughters is in the second grade. That’s the year I learned the multiplication tables. My darling little girl had never heard of that nor did she know 2X2=4. Honest.
The second story is about a young man behind the counter of my local gun shop. He looked about 30 and knew of my military background. I was born in 1943 – midway through that war. “Johnny” asked me if I had been in World War 2, to which I replied, “do I look like I am 95?”
Knowing he had missed that one he followed up with, “well was it the Korean War?” No that began the year before I learned how to multiply, no, we didn’t have steam powered calculators back then, it was all memorization.
The point I’m trying to make is that the young man, bright that he is, has absolutely no grasp of history. And I don’t think it is “Johnny’s” fault.
What a codswallop!
Oh, and thanks for the 1932 John Wayne movie.
This is no accident, it is all intentional, imho.
As usual, can’t wait for the book!
This educational system is geared to the “corporate rights system”. This requires an unusual frame:
Life-value onto-axiology. Onto refers to ontology/”the philosophy of being”; and axiology refers to the theories of what is of value, truth being a primary value. Multiplied displinary divisions into fields and areas of speciality have, however, among other centrifical forces of the contemporary mind excluded any unifying principle of value at all, and has been a major incapacity of thought behind life and death and life-support system collapse across the world with no unified casual explanation or resolution in principle.
There is a mind-block, a steuctual disconnect of this era’s consciousness from the very groundof our lives. If one tracksits patterns, one sees the decoupling from life requirements at all levels has occurred. A life regrounding is utterly foreign to thecorporate-right reign now destroying life and life support systems. For instance…
For instance, the rights of corporate”persons” wholly invented by laware now far beyond fiction. Here is a connected derangement of society’s ruling syntax of value & meaning: Fictional human beings are constructed to rule real humans beings. Living persons are thus demoted to things or obediant cogs; while non-human enties are promoted to living person$ ruling over them. Hsthis dehumanization of the human and humanization of the non-human inverted our very structure of thinking in terms of rights? Locke anulled in the blink of an eye all rights to property by labor, non scarcity and non-waste by the rights of money to override all of them/the switch shell-game now over three centuries old. In “United Citizens” the corporate lobby won the “first amendment right to freespeech” for big oil/banks/military/pharmaceutical corporations to, in fact, drown out all the voices ofall living citizens and persons, dehumanization of the humans and humanization of the inhuman is the inner logic of the corporate rights system.
For instance, the rights of corporate”persons” wholly invented by laware now far beyond fiction. Here is a connected derangement of society’s ruling syntax of value & meaning: Fictional human beings are constructed to rule real humans beings. Living persons are thus demoted to things or obediant cogs; while non-human enties are promoted to living person$ ruling over them. Has this dehumanization of the human and humanization of the non-human inverted our very structure of thinking in terms of rights? Locke anulled in the blink of an eye all rights to property by labor, non scarcity and non-waste by the rights of money to override all of them/the switch shell-game now over three centuries old. In “United Citizens” the corporate lobby won the “first amendment right to freespeech” for big oil/banks/military/pharmaceutical corporations to, in fact, drown out all the voices ofall living citizens and persons, dehumanization of the humans and humanization of the inhuman is the inner logic of the corporate rights system.
Deprivation of living people’s rights under the cover of “fredom of trade” has long preceded the court’s decision – in fact, it has long been only unilateral rights of transnational corporations. By that I mean the deeper coded meaning istheir freeedom to displace all life and life-value by private commodities and profit – that is, to substitute the rights of the non-living over the living at every turn for corporate money gain. Locke’s money substitution for living labor, non-waste, and enough left over for others – the canonical justification of the 1688 bourgeois Revolution – rationalized the master cheat of the ruling money party since.
In conclusion, the rules and rights by which we live are a-priori ungrounded in life and life value, and the slow-motion collapse underneath of world life and life-support systems, signals this in every domain.
Famdamnly is my word for today Doc, that’s brilliant, yes, yes, to love one’s family is natural but liking them is an entirely different concept.
As for the state of education in most western countries, not just the US, let me just relate a story from my own personal experiences from my time at the drone factory in Australia. I well remember my Year 8 history classes and remember them rather fondly. Why? because I taught the class. Even at the age of 13 I knew far more about the Roman Republic, Principate and the Later Empire than the “history teacher”. Sad but true. I learned far more by studying outside of the drone factory than I did inside.
I once had dreams of being a history professor specializing in the Roman and ancient Greek civilizations. However after listening to many university lecture series and hearing the same old dogma regarding Greece and Rome, I decided differently. Needless to say I don’t agree with much of what is taught there and i don’t think that it would be appreciated if I didn’t toe the party line.
The state of education in the western world is an absolute disgrace. Most of the drones that come out of the factory today are semi-literate and are far too lazy even to speak in proper sentences or even to finish individual words. The whole system needs to be scrapped and begun again.
I remember the year my son’s second grade “gifted and talented” class had to meet in an open hallway due to lack of classroom space at the school; meanwhile, a 12 million dollar stadium was constructed down the block. (It was his last year of public ed.)
Johnny can’t read, but he can by god throw a football! After all,we have to concentrate on what’s really important in life – sports!
Sports are so much better than “book learnin,” – sports teach you how to follow orders, play the game according to other’s rules, perform for the masses, and entertain the elites. What more does a slave need to know?
Even back 40 years ago when I was in hoch schule, I was disgusted by the massive concentration of resources, time and energy on sports. The amount of money spent on those programs was ridiculous – one year they spent over $8,000 on wrestling mats, while my group couldn’t even get a few hundred dollars for those wanting to learn electronics.
My sports in high school were frisbee and fencing (swords, not wire and posts) – both self-funded extracurricular clubs, if you want to know.
It has been clear to me for decades that the primary things one needs to learn to “pass” the American school (stretching that term) system are:
Be on time.
Do what you’re told.
Don’t cause problems.
In other words, everything a good little worker drone needs to be a productive member of the hive. Just what John D. Rockyfailure wanted – a nation of workers, not thinkers.
I was fortunate in that I had a few renegade teachers who actually taught me to think outside the box, and that I was born smart enough to grease through the mediocre programs with very little effort.
One of the reasons I never wanted children was that I could not, in good conscience, subject them to this culture and its school system.
We see today an increasing anti-white narrative throughout the world. Massive immigration of non-whites into white countries, forced integration and strong encouragement of interracial mating. The end result must be the genocide of the white race.
Since the forces are strong which are orchestrating this, is there any evidence in ancient times that this same program or forces have been used to genocide a race of humans?
I would think there is something universal about this, something bigger beyond men that is trying to bring this about.
Are white people (unknown to white people) the enemy of something not visible to us?
I see Whites as the Palestinians of the future.
Palestine was snatched from under the people that lived there for thousands of years, within just 50 years, using massive illegal immigration.
The same is being done to all White countries and only White countries, except forced integration is also a requirement, because they want to mix and blend Whites out of existence.
TBH I blame the Baby Boomers and the so called Greatest Generation that raised them for all of it.
Ask a Baby Boomer Neocon about Israel and they will defend their right to exist to their last breath.
Ask a Baby Boomer leftist about the same thing and they will defend the the Arabs to the death..
Ask either about the future of their own children when they have no countries of their own and they will both shrug their shoulders and tell you it is not important, because only “naziswhowanttokillsixmillionjews”, care about the future of their OWN children.
Anti-racist is a code word for anti-White.
Fifty years of public education has done that do those once majority white people in the USA.
Of course there is deadly purpose behind this “educational” madnness. A Shakespearean Methodology, diabolical because of it’s proven track record of certainty: decay.
Or if you prefer a choicer cut/decadence.
It’s rotton to the core. It, for me, goes ‘hand n glove’ with the private monopolized issuance of currency vs. public/nation issuance.
An predatory/extractive-based economy/society vs. a commoners-based society/economy.
Read about 3 months ago. Excellent on the genesis American education. “The Leipzig Connection” by Paolo Lioni
http://www.amazon.com/Leipzig-Connection-Basics-Education/dp/0897390016
Of course it’s a ploy. The goal being to create a blend of races in White kids schools. It should have worked by now, but those racist,nazi, Whites kept trying to get away. Now there is no place left. The borders are open. Whites who care about a future for White kids have to face facts.
You sound like a ‘success’ story
Of course, it’s a deliberate ploy.
As a result the US government imports its scientists
and Russia is far ahead of US for scientific and
esoteric research.
Few teachers care, although some that do are
blowing whistles.
I have two such books I recently acquired on the
subject, but yet to read.
My daughter has no kids (thank god!)
but her friends do.
According to her, they are learning to
type on a keyboard but evidently not the use of
proper language.
I guess I just made it before it really took a dive.
My tests put me in a high achieving class.
I worked with my own kids, although my daughter
had been somewhat dyslexic and her teachers
never even caught on !
“although my daughter
had been somewhat dyslexic and her teachers
never even caught on !”
That’s because HAL838, I swear that most of the teachers these days are just as dyslexic.
Learning disabilities and types of autism are the
Johnny-come-lately creations of the species,
Homo Insaneous.
Yes, she was vaccinated.
Homo Insaneous, I like that HAL838, well done.
Maybe.
But you’re the one that made me laugh at it.
🙂