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| A principle is a 'fundamental,
primary, or general truth, on which other
truths depend.' |
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— Ayn Rand |
Ayn
Rand on Education
By Michael S. Berliner, Ph.D. [ARI]
Education has a specially close relationship to
philosophy. Everything that goes on in a
classroom rests on philosophic premises:
education derives its goals from ethics, its
methodology from epistemology, and its
administrative policies and political status
from social philosophy.
Public Education is Not Accountable to Parents
by Glenn Woiceshyn (January 27, 2003)
Public education involves forcing people, via taxation,
to pay for public schools. Individual parents are
thereby denied the right to choose which school receives
their education dollars, i.e., the right to reward the
best schools for performance. This makes schools
directly accountable to politicians and government
bureaucracies -- not to parents.
Cognitive Child Abuse in Our Math Classrooms
by C. Bradley Thompson (October 26, 2002)
The central cause of our children's incompetence in math
is not the schools' lack of "accountability," but their
embrace of the whole-math approach, which undermines the
student's conceptual capacity.
High
Schools Flunk Science
by David Harriman (September 4, 2002)
Tragically, today's high school courses accomplish the
opposite: students leave with the impression that
physics is an incomprehensible hash of arbitrary
assertions. Such students may be well prepared for the
"multicultural" university professors who teach that
Western science is no better than voodoo or
witchcraft—but they are sadly unprepared for life.
The
Virtue of Individualism
by Rachel Patzer (December 23, 2001)
The committee gave me an ultimatum: change the speech
topic completely and write about what the committee
wanted me to write about, or "resign" from the speaking
position. I remained firm to my decision not to change
the idea of my speech.
The
Child Manipulators
by Robert W. Tracinski (July 9, 2001)
The suppression of the Stossel interview covers up the
real case of child manipulation: the environmental
indoctrination of children in our schools.
What
is a Classical Education?
by Susan Wise Bauer (January 29, 2001)
An excerpt from The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to
Classical Education at Home. A classical education is
language-focused, and it follows a specific three-part
pattern: the mind must be first supplied with facts and
images, then given the logical tools for organization of
facts, and finally equipped to express conclusions.
Grammar: The Engineering of Cognition
by Steven Brockerman (January 28, 2001)
Most people think of language primarily as a means of
communication. But before one can communicate clearly,
one must first think clearly. It is language that makes
clear thinking possible.
Johnny
Can't Think But He's a Great Guesser
by Chris Wolski (September 14, 2000)
As U.S. schoolchildren head back to their classrooms,
they will face a threat greater than drugs or thugs —
their school curriculum.
Freedom is the Solution for Quality in Education
by David Holcberg (August 3, 2000)
American parents have yet to realize that to properly
educate their children, they must entirely reject the
current state-controlled system.
U.S. Schools Have Abandoned Knowledge for Emotionalism
by Chris Wolski (January 8, 2000)
Bernstein blames John Dewey and his philosophy of
Progressive Education for the decline in educational
standards. Dewey believed that schools function not to
teach students knowledge but to "socialize" the child,
to maintain, as one Progressive school puts it, "a
balance between spontaneous behavior and conformity to
society's standards."
Modern
Education Kills
by Edwin A. Locke (August 1, 1999)
The modern educators' chickens are coming home to roost.
If they become dominant in our society it will perish.
What is
Wrong with Public Schools?
by Gail Withrow (March 21, 1999)
A neighbor once mentioned in passing that he thought the
purpose of school attendance was socialization. He was
right, but his idea of "becoming socialized" was not the
same as the government's.
Collectivism's Sacred Cow: Public Education
by Glenn Woiceshyn (April 14, 1998)
Public education throttles freedom. By doing so, it also
throttles education.
John
Dewey's Legacy To Education: Teen Violence
by Glenn Woiceshyn (February 1, 1998)
Fundamentally, schools must institute a radical reversal
of policy. What they need to teach is not
"socialization," but cognition.
Also of interest...
A
Choice Future for Students
by Jennifer Garrett (December 11, 2002)
The big winners on Election Day weren't politicians.
They were students. That's because many of the
politicians who won -- Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida and
Senator-elect James Talent of Missouri, to name just two
-- are vocal supporters of school choice.
Class
sizes and Academic Achievement
by Megan M. Farnsworth (November 23, 2002)
Some Florida taxpayers might accept an increase if they
can be assured that having fewer students in each class
will increase academic achievement. But unfortunately,
the effect of class size on student achievement hasn't
been proven.
Bilingual Education's Voluminous Failure
by Jeff Jacoby (October 5, 2002)
If I were Hispanic, I would be ashamed that so many
American institutions take it for granted that people
like me can't understand English.
Crusading to Keep Kids Clueless: Public Education
Monopoly Cracks Down on Home Schooling
by Michelle Malkin (October 2, 2002)
As I've said many times before, there's nothing like
stiff competition to bring out the worst in government.
Nowhere does this prove more true than in the battle
between home-schooling parents and public school
bureaucrats.
Poor
Language, Poor Thinking
by Walter Williams (September 28, 2002)
America's non-scholars would easily recognize that just
because blacks aren't proportionately represented in
some activity, we can't call the activity racially
segregated -- at least, in the historical usage of the
term.
Teachers Who Hate Tests: Part 3
by Thomas Sowell (September 7, 2002)
Our education establishment's objections to "teaching to
the test" are echoes of what was said and done in China
during the 1950s and 1960s, when examinations were
de-emphasized and non-academic criteria and social
"relevance" were given more weight. In 1967,
examinations were abolished.
Teachers Who Hate Tests: Part 2
by Thomas Sowell (September 6, 2002)
The education establishment's bitter opposition to the
testing of students by independent outsiders with
standardized tests is perfectly understandable for
people who do not want to have to put up or shut up.
Teachers Who Hate Tests
by Thomas Sowell (September 5, 2002)
Some states are trying to force teachers to teach
academic material by testing their students on such
material, instead of relying on the inflated grades and
high "self-esteem" that our schools have been producing,
instead of knowledge and skills.
Modern Academia: The Educational Equivalent of Fool's
Gold?
by Edwin Feulner (August 27, 2002)
It used to be, parents had to warn their college-bound
sons and daughters not to let frat parties and football
games interfere with their studies. Now they have to
warn them about the studies themselves.
Educational Vouchers
by Walter Williams (July 31, 2002)
Saving public education is not the same as, and may
indeed be exactly the opposite to, saving children.
Expanding Definitions and Suspicious Statistics
by Thomas Sowell (July 30, 2002)
One way of telling whether a given statistic is a fact
or an artifact is to ask whether the definition used
fits the thing that is being defined. Buried in the news
story about the children with disabilities is the fact
that the definition of "disability" has been expanding
over the years.
Voucher Backlash
by Thomas Sowell (July 24, 2002)
If those opposed to vouchers think that the money is
inadequate, then let them advocate that more money be
spent!
The
Problem of Public Schools: In Search of the "Certified"
Teacher
by Thomas Sowell (July 20, 2002)
It is a farce and a fraud when teachers' unions talk
about a need for "certified" teachers, when
certification has such low requirements and when
uncertified teachers often have higher qualifications.
When
did 'School Testing' Mean Testing Kids for Drugs?
by S.M. Oliva (July 13, 2002)
The court's decision is a disaster for individual
rights. It adopts a collectivist interpretation of the
Fourth Amendment that allows school districts—a
government agent—to deny rights based simply on a
person's age, status and decision to participate in
extracurricular activities.
Hillary's Silence on Education Fraud
by Michelle Malkin (July 7, 2002)
They're all for the needy, until their political
viability depends on the crooked and greedy.
A
World Without "F's"
by Michelle Malkin (June 23, 2002)
Whiny parents wonder why public schools have abandoned
standards, forsaken accountability and adopted
appeasement as their primary educational mission.
Strange Times at Santa Monica High
by Larry Elder (June 16, 2002)
Punishing students for politically incorrect thinking.
The
Thong Reaction
by Michelle Malkin (May 10, 2002)
School officials wouldn't be playing thong police if
parents were doing a better job at home raising children
-- instead of appeasing them.
"Good" Teachers
by Thomas Sowell (April 21, 2002)
A "good" teacher is not defined as a teacher whose
students learn more. A "good" teacher is someone who
exemplifies the prevailing dogmas of the educational
establishment.
See
Dick and Jane Weep
by Michelle Malkin (April 20, 2002)
Principals and teachers traded in phonics for
histrionics.
The
Cost of Academic Integrity
by Walter Williams (March 19, 2002)
College presidents and administrators have deaf ears and
closed minds to calls for academic integrity, but
there's nothing like the sounds of pocketbooks snapping
shut to open them.
Stifling Black Students
by Walter Williams (March 13, 2002)
Civil-rights leaders, white liberals and college
administrators seem to be more concerned with black
student enrollment rates and the heck with whether they
graduate.
For-Profit Schools: Profit's not a Four-Letter Word
by Ralph R. Reiland (February 22, 2002)
To say that profits are simply "not ethically sound" --
in any field, education or lumberyards -- is a stance
that puts ideology above experience, above the evidence,
and in the case of schools, a posture that places dogma
above student achievement.
The
Education Bill
by Thomas Sowell (February 18, 2002)
The compromise education bill just passed by Congress
and signed into law by President Bush provided some good
political theater and even a little humor, with the
president embracing Ted Kennedy. But what did it do for
American education?
Education Reform: Half a Loaf
by Krista Kafer (February 3, 2002)
Yes, the law institutes better testing and provides more
accountability, which will let parents know how well
their children -- and their schools -- are doing. But
this information means little if parents can't use this
information to move their children out of schools that
perform poorly
How
Best to Improve School Productivity? School Choice!
by George Clowes (December 26, 2001)
"If we are going to have [teacher] unions, then we need
to have competition."
Interview: The Well Trained Mind and Homeschooling
by George Clowes (December 20, 2001)
"If you ask a child to eat a strawberry for the first
time they almost always say 'No, I don't want to eat
that.' And so you make them eat it. And sometimes you
make them eat it for a couple of times, and then they
say 'Oh, this is really good.' A lot of learning is the
same way."
Education Fraud in Philadelphia
by Walter Williams (December 19, 2001)
Today's education expenditures are higher than in
earlier periods, when there was higher academic
achievement. In fact, if anything, there's a negative
correlation between education expenditures and academic
achievement.
Should Classes Be Smaller...or Simply More Orderly?
by George Clowes (December 8, 2001)
How little disruptions rapidly eat up classroom learning
time.
California to Punish Excellence
by Larry Elder (November 29, 2001)
University of California Regents recently voted to
change their admissions criteria.
What's Wrong with Education?
by Walter Williams (November 10, 2001)
Here are some test questions.
Investing in Public Education: Does It Add Up?
by Thomas Sowell (November 5, 2001)
In reality, tuition at many parochial and other
low-budget private schools will in fact be covered by
half of what the public schools spend per pupil in many
communities.
Education of Blacks in America: Do Facts Matter? Part II
by Thomas Sowell (November 3, 2001)
Facts about other successful black schools, past and
present, get very little attention from the
intelligentsia because the stories of these schools
would not forward the agendas of the left. In short,
history is treated as just the continuation of politics
by other means.
Education of Blacks in America: Do Facts Matter?
by Thomas Sowell (November 2, 2001)
When elite liberal institutions like Stanford, Berkeley
and the Ivy League colleges have been scenes of racial
apartheid and racial tensions on campus, have more
conservative institutions that have resisted quotas and
preferences been better or worse in these respects?
The
War Against Boys
by Thomas Sowell (October 21, 2001)
Too many parents have gone along when schools have
wanted their children drugged. When some parents have
objected, they have been threatened with charges of
child neglect for not letting drugs be used to control
their youngster's behavior.
Publik Skool Biggotz
by Michelle Malkin (August 10, 2001)
The snickering snobs of the education establishment
smear those who seek to protect their children from that
corrupted system as ignorant and intolerant
anti-government radicals.
Public
Education: The Department of Embezzlement
by Michelle Malkin (July 28, 2001)
If Beltway pols were truly interested in educational
accountability, they wouldn't be funneling billions of
dollars through a government bureaucracy that can't keep
track of its funds.
Inept
Teacher Training
by Walter Williams (July 14, 2001)
If we were serious about efforts to improve public
education, we'd shut down schools of education.
SAT
Spat Overlooks Real Admissions Barrier
by Lance T. Izumi (June 8, 2001)
In proposing to drop the SAT I from the University of
California's admissions process, UC President Richard
Atkinson implied it is the SAT that blocks most black
and Hispanic students from entering the UC system. But
even if the SAT I were dropped tomorrow, the vast
majority of black and Hispanic California high school
students would be no closer to entering the UC than
before.
Anti-Intellectualism Runs Rampant in U.S. Education
by George Clowes (May 29, 2001)
Why is it that we're constantly disappointed with the
schools? Why is it that we have this experience of
dumbing down in areas like history and literature? Why
do we have this ongoing battle about the seriousness
with which we view education?
We Are
All "Drop Outs"
by Thomas Sowell (May 15, 2001)
Studies indicated that it was not dropping out that led
youngsters into delinquency and crime but staying in
school after they had lost all interest in it and lost
all respect for it.
Look
Who's Supporting School Choice Now!
by Jennifer Garrett (April 30, 2001)
Now, if a third of the teachers and nearly half the
members of Congress pull their children out of public
education, what does that tell us about it?
Great
Job! You're Fired
by Thomas Dawson (April 29, 2001)
Companies are usually rewarded when they do a good job.
They make more money. They gain more customers. They
even win awards from their peers. But apparently that's
not the case when a company's business is improving
big-city education.
Not A
Good IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
by Michelle Malkin (April 12, 2001)
IDEA has failed to integrate the most severely disabled
students into regular public schools, redefined
"disabled" to encompass incorrigible troublemakers,
hamstrung school districts trying to enact effective
discipline and encouraged frivolous litigation.
Grade
Padding at Harvard University
by Edwin Feulner (April 11, 2001)
The padded grades they're giving out don't help our
students. They merely teach them that "the system" will
accommodate them so they can slide by. Their future
employers, however, won't "grade" them so leniently.
The
Other Education Crisis
by Megan M. Farnsworth (April 6, 2001)
As the recent school shootings in California,
Pennsylvania and Maryland show, there's a deficiency in
moral education that has to be addressed just as much
falling test scores.
Cultural Bias and the SAT
by Thomas Sowell (March 28, 2001)
If you are serious about wanting minority students to
have a better chance in life, then you need to start
years before they take the SAT. And you need to stop
deceiving them and the American people.
Humorless at Harvard: The Bastion of Academic Slavery
by Michelle Malkin (March 25, 2001)
Fong, a 19-year-old sophomore from Foster City, Calif.,
poked fun at himself and his peers in a satirical Sunday
essay titled "The Invasian." The very serious,
underlying topic: Self-segregation by Asian-Americans at
Harvard.
The
Fallacy of America's Education "System"
by Michael J. Hurd (March 18, 2001)
Although I believe there are universal principles which
apply to all people, there are many different methods
and styles of education which will work for different
children. Of all the things for the government to seize
control over, education is probably the worst of all.
The
Success Side of American Education
by Walter Williams (March 14, 2001)
Pretend you're a politician or high-level bureaucrat
seeking low accountability standards, as well as more
power and control over American lives. Which would you
prefer: ignorant and uninformed constituents, or ones
who are educated and informed?
School
Children as Political Cannon Fodder for "Social Causes"
by Thomas Sowell (March 10, 2001)
Why is our children's education was being sacrificed to
some teachers' and administrators' pet political
project?
Masking Education Fraud with Racist Propaganda in
California
by Walter Williams (March 2, 2001)
Those who argue that the SAT is culturally biased or
racially discriminatory do a great disservice to black
students. It amounts to telling blacks that the reason
they do poorly isn't because they're ill-prepared or
weren't serious enough about high-school work. Instead,
students are told the questions are racist -- hence,
poor performance is not their fault.
Criminalizing Sex Ed
by Paul Craig Roberts (February 1, 2001)
The intrusion into the parent-child relationship by
public authority is so extensive that by the time a
child reaches rebellious teen years, parents have very
little control to counter the influence of TV sex,
Internet sex, movie sex and music sex.
What
Non-Profit Colleges Hate More Than Academic Censorship:
For-Profit Colleges
by Thomas Sowell (January 7, 2001)
Much of the enormous costliness and irresponsible
self-indulgence of the academic world comes from the
fact that it has neither accountability nor competition.
The
Myth of "Emotional Intelligence"
by Michael J. Hurd (December 16, 2000)
The very concept of "emotional intelligence" is
preposterous. Your intelligence does not come from your
emotions. Your intelligence is a consequence of your
ability to think rationally, abstractly, and
conceptually.
Politically Funded Education Enshrines Mediocrity
by Michael J. Hurd (November 4, 2000)
In fairness to teachers, many of them tell me that the
real problem is with the educational methods, not the
students.
The
Politics of Education
by Thomas Sowell (November 3, 2000)
Schools are treated like a political pork barrel that is
divided up for the benefit of the various unions.
Democrats have no room to improve education because they
can't do anything that offends the NEA, like vouchers.
Teacher's Union Lies
by Thomas Sowell (October 15, 2000)
Many people hear only one side of the story of our
public schools, because only the teachers' unions have
both the incentives and the millions of dollars required
to produce sustained advertising campaigns about
education.
Freedom in Education: Pro Choice or Pro Monopoly
by Thomas Sowell (October 14, 2000)
Despite Al Gore's rhetoric at the Democrats' convention
in July about being against "powerful special
interests," there is no more powerful special interest
in the country -- nor one with more destructive impact
on more people -- than the teachers' unions.
Pay
For Your Own Day Care
by Michelle Malkin (October 4, 2000)
In San Diego, they've turned the public schools into
full-service baby sitters at a cost of more than $15
million per year. The program is called "6 to 6." Every
elementary and middle school student is eligible for
sun-up to sundown care. Well, why not? The kids already
get breakfast, lunch, Ritalin, and condoms in class.
Evolution and Public Schools
by Michael J. Hurd (March 16, 2000)
Liberals want to have their cake and eat it to. What
they fail to realize is that one cannot have a complete
separation of church and state, without having a
complete separation of education and the state.
Replace the SAT with a Lottery?
by Larry Elder (October 18, 1999)
Face it, the anti-SAT folks want the test eliminated. It
clutters the goal of the romantic, race- and
gender-proportionate, color-coordinated society.
Public
Education's Escape Through ADD and Ritalin
by Joseph Kellard (January 31, 1999)
If used properly, Ritalin can help people with certain
medical conditions. The problem with educators
encouraging it as a means to alleviate or cure "ADD" is
that the symptoms attributed to it are not necessarily
caused by a biological, medical "disorder" that renders
children unable to concentrate.
Education or Power Play?
by Thomas Sowell (August 8, 1996)
Maryland must be a very safe state, because it has time
to prosecute a mother who is teaching her daughter at
home. The little girl of 7 scores above the national
average on tests given by the Educational Testing
Service in Princeton, which leading colleges across the
country rely on. But that is not good enough for
Maryland prosecutor Andrew Jezic.
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