Sneak-privatization of public schools: attacking teachers, unions and standards

boing
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The campaign against public schools has a generally racist impact and also amounts to an attack on the rights of girls and women.

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[quote=“Mister44, post:10, topic:72038, full:true”]

[quote=“TheRizz, post:6, topic:72038, full:true”]
Because of the shift in schools to teaching “facts”, and the almost complete lack of teaching kids how to actually think for themselves and reason things out?
[/quote]Mmm - not sure that is it. Heck, ever see the memes about what kid had to learn around the turn of the century? You are like, wow, who knows all of that? But they focused on a lot of rote memory of facts.
[/quote]From what I know of those turn-of-the-century students, they showed the same problems as children now. They spent all their time memorizing things so they could show that their teacher had taught them things, but they didn’t necessarily know how to do anything with that jumble of facts.

If you want to go to the extreme on memorization, read Richard Feynman’s commentary on the education system of Brazil from Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! This is real-life proof that pushing memorization, standardized tests, and teaching specifically to the tests actually has a net negative effect on an education system.

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Students shouldn’t learn facts? How can they “think for themselves” or “reason creatively” if they don’t know anything?

Maybe if you are Feynman you can transcend the school system but I’m pretty sure that you aren’t. Not even close.

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Did you actually read that link? Richard Feynmann was referring to a culture of rote learning leading to people who don’t know how to “think for themselves” or “reason creatively”.

As you believe he was incorrect I would like to see your sources.

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[quote=“SuperiorIntelligence, post:23, topic:72038, full:true”]
Students shouldn’t learn facts? How can they “think for themselves” or “reason creatively” if they don’t know anything?[/quote]
Who ever said students shouldn’t learn facts? The problem is when students only learn facts, such as what happens when teaching to standardized tests becomes the norm. It ceases to be any useful form of education.

Knowing a jumble of facts whose only purpose is to prove that you know those facts is pointless once the test has been taken. What kids need for a real education is the ability to put what they know to work in real-world situations. Knowledge without understanding is not truly knowledge at all.

As Feynman puts it in the link above: “I finally figured out that the students had memorized everything, but they didn’t know what anything meant.” […] “they could pass the examinations, and ‘learn’ all this stuff, and not know anything at all.”

[quote=“SuperiorIntelligence, post:23, topic:72038, full:true”]Maybe if you are Feynman you can transcend the school system but I’m pretty sure that you aren’t. Not even close.
[/quote]I’m guessing that you’re trying to insult me here, but it’s not really that clear since half your sentence is nonsense about “transcend[ing] the school system,” and you don’t ever really make any kind of argument directed at me. All you do is point out the fact that I am not Richard Feynman, but you seem wholly inadequate at your tries to put that knowledge to use.

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Sort of like the gun nuts and the 2nd Amendment. They leave out the part about a ‘A well regulated Militia’ all the time.

I have been watching the attack on the schools and used to wonder what would happen to the US if it continued. Well, now we’re seeing it in action with Trump and Fox News and ‘birthers’ and ‘truthers’ and so forth.

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Dancing all the way!!! Yay Free Market!!!

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