Re: Preaching or Teaching?

On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 04:32:27 -0600, Harlow Wilcox wrote:


Preaching instead of teaching might go a long way toward explaining why
in civics, math, reading, writing and geography, nearly a quarter of all
students leave high school with academic skills that are "Below Basic,"
the category the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) uses
for students unable to display even partial mastery of knowledge and
skills fundamental for proficient work at their grade level.

In science, 47 percent leave high school with skills Below Basic, and in
American history, it's 57 percent. I'd like for Jay Bennish's supporters
to explain how his indoctrination will help that.

Such a sorry attack demands that I defend Jay. The purpose of education
is first to defend democracy, second to provide the equality promised by
the Declaration of Independence, third to protect all citizens from the
demigods, confidence men, politicians, and other who make their way by
the lie, fourth to provide the training needed for the future. This is
accomplished by argument, not just by rote learning or teaching the test.
To involve the students, the topics must be selected to challenge the
common view; politics, sex, and religion are such subjects. To the
uneducated, those who don't question authority, think for themselves, or
read or analyze critically, this appear so foreign to what they have
been taught, that they mistake it for preaching. Reference: Socrates.

The above claim that education causes poor scores is rebutted by the
results of Minnesota schools where education still comes before creative
accounting.

--
Glenn

.