Education rant, please ignore.
This rant is headache induced and not exactly as coherent as I'd prefer, but I had to get it out. Cut to be easily ignored.
Alright, maybe I'm an idealist, but I don't understand the point of testing children going into kindergarten solely for the purpose of 'evening out the classes'. Teaching at the average only ends up with your smart kids getting bored and your challenged kids not getting it. You end up with all the kids losing out in the end.
Education should not be based solely on creating average students. We don't live in the world of Harrison Bergeron. We should be creating opportunities for gifted students and smaller, specialised classes for those who need additional help -- not stuffing all the kids into the same class where intelligence festers and aid is not specialised.
Truth is, the system is flawed, but some parents are contented to allow it to be so -- thinking it's for the better because it makes puts everyone on a level playing field. News to you folks, the playing field was never level to begin with. America is going to hell in a handbasket and no one gives a damn.
I'm jaded, I really am. I was introduced to Heinlein at 11 years old -- and if you've never read Heinlein, let's just say education is something he touted -- and it skewed my view of the world and how it should work. I don't understand stupid and the concept of continued stupid. Trying to understand it makes my head hurt because I am a 'not stupid', stupid does not compute.
Try telling that to a stupid, you'll quickly come to understand that a stupid does not understand, more oft than not, that s/he is stupid. They do not care to understand, nor do they care to remedy the problem. They will continue to be stupid until they die. To quote Heinlein, "Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim can't help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death, there is no appeal and execution is carried out automatically and without pity."
So stupid can't be cured, the best we can hope for is for it to weed itself out... I think we have a long wait.
Alright, maybe I'm an idealist, but I don't understand the point of testing children going into kindergarten solely for the purpose of 'evening out the classes'. Teaching at the average only ends up with your smart kids getting bored and your challenged kids not getting it. You end up with all the kids losing out in the end.
Education should not be based solely on creating average students. We don't live in the world of Harrison Bergeron. We should be creating opportunities for gifted students and smaller, specialised classes for those who need additional help -- not stuffing all the kids into the same class where intelligence festers and aid is not specialised.
Truth is, the system is flawed, but some parents are contented to allow it to be so -- thinking it's for the better because it makes puts everyone on a level playing field. News to you folks, the playing field was never level to begin with. America is going to hell in a handbasket and no one gives a damn.
I'm jaded, I really am. I was introduced to Heinlein at 11 years old -- and if you've never read Heinlein, let's just say education is something he touted -- and it skewed my view of the world and how it should work. I don't understand stupid and the concept of continued stupid. Trying to understand it makes my head hurt because I am a 'not stupid', stupid does not compute.
Try telling that to a stupid, you'll quickly come to understand that a stupid does not understand, more oft than not, that s/he is stupid. They do not care to understand, nor do they care to remedy the problem. They will continue to be stupid until they die. To quote Heinlein, "Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim can't help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death, there is no appeal and execution is carried out automatically and without pity."
So stupid can't be cured, the best we can hope for is for it to weed itself out... I think we have a long wait.