What should be the goal of education?

[Chuck Naill]

"In our culture our educational system has trained us to want it all laid out, because we’ve had to spit it all back on a test."
Dallas Willard.

Why did you post this? To agree with it? Disagree with it? Was that *your* experience in school? Your children's experience in school? Was that your college experience?

I found it interesting that a professor would say, Ted. I do tend to agree and posted something about it on a different thread.

For me, education has always, whether intended or not, been about becoming more.

[TSherbs]

My experience as a student (through graduate school) and as a teacher at three different schools, was that learning in those environments was about much more than *only* studying for tests. Entire books and education degree curricula are written about all the other factors and elements of learning, from pre-K through high school and beyond. Twice I was part of a team crafting the mission statement for my school: that document only partially focused on academic success. The rest of it was all about curiosity and character elements. Do some aspects of school accreditation get caught up in testing? Sure. But that is only part of the story, and only part of the time.

[TSherbs]

Here is an opinion column from Tampa on book removal efforts at public libraries:

https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/202...re-war-column/

This, to me, seems contrary to the purpose of "education".

[Chuck Naill]

There is a human practice of thinking those who we do not agree with are incapable of being good people. The Biblical story about being a neighbor is instructive. Jesus used a people who were not respected by the Jews. Today he might use a trans person or homosexual to depict a person. Some may call it the Story of the Good Drag Queen.

There has to be a delineation. There are books that are appropriate and activities that are appropriate depending on the age of the participant. When common sense is considered bigoted, there is a problem.

[TSherbs]

Ah, the fallout of having the Bible banned in some schools. And the hypocritical rats are showing their true purposes (and it's not community control).

I agree with this writer:
https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/2023/...banned-robert/

[dneal]

Back on topic…

To not end up with this. Well done Randi Weingarten.

[dneal]

This probably shouldn’t be a primary goal either.

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[dneal]

Probably not this either.

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[dneal]

At this point, schools shouldn't be able to do anything other than the basics unless all their kids are passing state tests.

Latest national test results show striking drop in 13-year-olds’ math and reading scores

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[dneal]

This sort of thing might be contributing to the declining scores.

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[dneal]

Woke Archie’s Ministry of Truth confirms falling student performance, so it’s ok to talk about it now.

NYT: What the New, Low Test Scores for 13-Year-Olds Say About U.S. Education Now
June 21, 2023

Full text for those who are scared of links and don’t know how to examine them before clicking.

What the New, Low Test Scores for 13-Year-Olds Say About U.S. Education Now
June 21, 2023
What’s New

The math and reading performance of 13-year-olds in the United States has hit the lowest level in decades, according to test scores released today from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the gold-standard federal exam.

The last time math performance was this low for 13-year-olds was in 1990. In reading, 2004.

Why It Matters: 13-year-olds missed a crucial time in their schooling.

Performance has fallen significantly since the 2019-2020 school year, when the coronavirus pandemic wrought havoc on the nation’s education system. But the downward trends reported today began years before the health crisis, raising questions about a decade of disappointing results for American students.

The federal standardized test, known as NAEP, was given last fall, and focused on basic skills. The 13-year-olds scored an average of 256 out of 500 in reading, and 271 out of 500 in math, down from average scores of 260 in reading and 280 in math three years ago.

Achievement declined across lines of race, class and geography. But in math, especially, vulnerable children — including Black, Native American and low-income students — experienced bigger drops.

A large body of research shows that most American children experienced academic struggles during the pandemic. It has also been clear that low-income students of color were most heavily affected by school closures and remote learning, which in some districts lasted more than a year.

The latest NAEP results are the federal government’s final major release of data on pandemic learning loss. The scores add to educators’ understanding of the challenges that lie ahead for children of different ages and demographic groups.

The 13-year-olds who took this version of the NAEP exam last fall were 10 years old — and in fourth or fifth grade — when the pandemic began. Many were old enough to participate in remote learning without minute-to-minute adult assistance, as younger children often needed.

But the ages of 10 to 13 are also a crucial period for mastering foundational skills, from multiplication to recognizing a character’s feelings in a short narrative passage.

“The bottom line — these results show that there are troubling gaps in the basic skills of these students,” said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which gives the NAEP exam. “This is a huge-scale challenge that faces the nation.”

Background: The test allows for comparisons across years.

In the highly decentralized American education system, NAEP is one of the few consistent tests given across states lines over many years, making the results easily comparable.

Scores on the exam do not result in any rewards or punishments for students, teachers or schools, making them especially useful for research purposes, since there are fewer incentives to cheat or teach to the test.

Still, some education experts believe there is too much focus on NAEP. They point out that the content of the exams, in many cases, has little overlap with the material that is actually taught in classrooms across the country.

What’s Next

A student survey given alongside the test turned up other interesting results that will keep educators buzzing. The percentage of 13-year-olds enrolled in algebra has declined to 24 percent from 34 percent in 2012. In some districts and states, notably California, there has been a push to equalize math education by placing fewer eighth graders into advanced math.

The percentage of 13-year-olds who reported reading for fun has also declined. Last fall, 31 percent said they “never or hardly ever” read for fun, compared to 22 percent in 2012.

[Chuck Naill]

This sort of thing might be contributing to the declining scores.

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I believe that many are afraid to speak out for fear of being ostracized.

This is from 2009. I read his material as far back as 2006. This is an abstract.

"If the disproportionately high rates of measurable harm manifested by homosexual
relationships were attributable exclusively or even primarily to societal “homophobia,”
then we would expect male-homosexual relationships and female-homosexual
relationships to exhibit the same high rates for the same types of measurable harm.
However, this is exactly what we do not find.
Homosexual males experience disproportionately high numbers of sex partners over
the course of life and of sexually transmitted infections, not only in relation to
heterosexual males but also in relation to homosexual females. The reason for this is not
difficult to imagine. On average men have 7 to 8 times the main sex hormone,
testosterone, than do women. That has an obvious impact on male sexuality, relative to
female sexuality, such that bringing together two men in a sexual union is not exactly a
recipe for monogamy. Incidentally, the polysexual character of male sexuality has been
shown scientifically to be not only a cross-cultural phenomenon but also, to a large
extent, a cross-species phenomenon."

http://www.robgagnon.net/articles/ho...lyAnalogy2.pdf

[TSherbs]

Christianity? :

The Bible is back in, in Utah...

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/21/us/ut...ies/index.html

[dneal]

Christianity? :

The Bible is back in, in Utah...

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/21/us/ut...ies/index.html

TSherbs seems to be as obsessed with Christianity as he is Trump.

[TSherbs]

Not sure what education is supposed to be at this school. It's clear that inspired poetic expression is not it....

https://www.splcenter.org/news/2023/...ceptance-class

[Chuck Naill]

Not sure what education is supposed to be at this school. It's clear that inspired poetic expression is not it....

https://www.splcenter.org/news/2023/...ceptance-class

Have you read the book? This isn't a book for accepting being trans necessarily. It is about not fitting into a stereotype. I have read some reviews. The problem might be to jump to conclusions like having a male child interested in Barbie Dolls means more than it does. Not all boys want to play sports. How many of us did things or couldn't do things because of our parents trying to force things down our throats?

[dneal]

I’m gathering evidence for a hypothesis for why reading and math scores are falling.

This seems to be related to both.

I don’t know why the ‘men’ have menstrual stains, or why it’s necessary to depict.

Maybe an English teacher could answer.

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[Chuck Naill]

Appalachian saying I grew up hearing my grandmother say, “they law”!

[TSherbs]

Interesting WaPo editorial on the importance of universities and colleges staying out of politics and avoiding taking political positions as institutions:

gifted: https://wapo.st/462RANm

[Chuck Naill]

Was reading yesterday of a Palestinian Christian who was not allowed to speak on American campuses. His point was anything that does not support Israel completely is being censored. If I find the link again, I will post. It was sincere and not anti-Israel.