The Age of Educational Romanticism

squeeze berry

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Nov 9, 2010
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This is the story of educational romanticism in elementary and secondary schools--its rise, its etiology, and, we have reason to hope, its approaching demise.

Educational romanticism consists of the belief that just about all children who are not doing well in school have the potential to do much better. Correlatively, educational romantics believe that the academic achievement of children is determined mainly by the opportunities they receive; that innate intellectual limits (if they exist at all) play a minor role; and that the current K-12 schools have huge room for improvement.

Educational romanticism characterizes reformers of both Left and Right, though in different ways. Educational romantics of the Left focus on race, class, and gender. It is children of color, children of poor parents, and girls whose performance is artificially depressed, and their academic achievement will blossom as soon as they are liberated from the racism, classism, and sexism embedded in American education. Those of the Right see public education as an ineffectual monopoly, and think that educational achievement will blossom when school choice liberates children from politically correct curricula and obdurate teachers' unions.

Many laws are too optimistic, but the No Child Left Behind Act transcended optimism. It set a goal that was devoid of any contact with reality.

In public discourse, the leading symptom of educational romanticism is silence on the role of intellectual limits even when the topic screams for their discussion. Try to think of the last time you encountered a news story that mentioned low intellectual ability as the reason why some students do not perform at grade level. I doubt if you can. Whether analyzed by the news media, school superintendents, or politicians, the problems facing low-performing students are always that they have come from disadvantaged backgrounds, or have gone to bad schools, or grown up in peer cultures that do not value educational achievement. The problem is never that they just aren't smart enough.

The Age of Educational Romanticism - Education - AEI

a criticism of the over-optimism of NCLB
 
It all goes back to you can put powdered sugar on a turd but you still have a turd...

People on here gripe about all the PC crap, yet this, which is the biggest nation-wide piece of PC crap ever invented, is never mentioned.

It's always those ignorant, lazy, commie, nazi, brainwashing teachers.

They love to prove it by babbling about how the U.S. is dropping in educational rank.

For the thousandth time--if we culled out our brightest and sent the rest to vocational schools where they will never take a standardized test our ranking would be good- but we don't.
 
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For the thousandth time--if we culled out our brightest and sent the rest to vocational schools where they will never take a standardized test our ranking would be good- but we don't.

Usually a liberal will blame the kids or parents, but you are being more creative in blaming the tests as if the social scientists who conduct the international tests have no idea what they are doing!! In fact, government liberal union schools work about as well as the USSR worked!!
 
"but you are being more creative in blaming the tests"

Can you comprehend the written word?

I'm saying other countries are selective in WHO IS ALLOWED TO TAKE THE TESTS where we ENCOURAGE ANYONE AND EVERYONE to take them.

[The caps are for the hearing impared]
 
What other countries are you talking about? All kids go to essentially the same schools in each of all countries until high school. In high school they can split off into different areas of study. This includes American schools, which have vocational training, college prep, home ec, and general studies.
 
"but you are being more creative in blaming the tests"

Can you comprehend the written word?

I'm saying other countries are selective in WHO IS ALLOWED TO TAKE THE TESTS where we ENCOURAGE ANYONE AND EVERYONE to take them.

[The caps are for the hearing impared]

Too stupid!!! the social scientists who devise the tests and report on the results are well aware that they must compare apples to apples!!

Are you the only Ph.D quantative researcher who has heard of apples to apples?? THe USA is the only county that lets everyone take the tests??? Really??
 

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