OMG!! I Find Myself Agreeing With Obama... But Only On ONE Issue!

The AP headline reads, "More school: Obama would curtail summer vacation", which is an excellent idea. Especially since it has no impact whatsoever on ME! I am on a permanent "summer vacation", having completed my requirement to spend seven hours per day in our public "education" system decades ago.

As I matured, and - hopefully - gained in wisdom, I have come to appreciate that which I learned under the tutelage of Miss Pease (my 1st grade teacher and first love), Mr. Robert Twitty (my 7th grade science teacher and assistant principal), and Ms. Clark (my 9th grade speech and drama teacher). After completing elementary school I was not a particularly responsive student during the rest of my basic education. (As I recall, I attended 5 different schools, and at the time took some satisfaction in "holding out" on the system. It was undoubtedly true that the only person I was hurting by coasting was myself... but, like most teenagers, I was the smartest person I knew. Also like most teenagers, I lacked sound judgment, which I demonstrated by "cheating the system" out of being dazzled by my genius.)

In the mid-1960's there developed an educational philosophy of augmenting (which immediately became replacing) increase of student knowledge with increasing feelings of self-worth... and this was before anybody had even heard of Dr. Phil. For a child to be labeled a failure was damaging to his/her ego, and was to be avoided at all costs!

TRANSITIONING FROM THE AGE OF EUPHEMISM
TO THE AGE OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

This is approximately the time when we replaced the grade of "F", for failure, with the grade of "U" for unsatisfactory. It was considered less blunt and less damning than the word previously used to describe a students inability - or lack of desire - to master the subject matter presented in our schools. Simultaneously, we began lowering our grading standards so as not to damage the ego of those who otherwise would be labeled as failures. The curriculum was also modified to support that end - replacing established and accepted facts with easier to remember information, and eliminating the less pleasant elements of history that some may find offensive.

As a result, the United States has slipped from world leadership in education, to somewhere around number three or four in science and mathematics. We have even dropped in our functional literacy rate... we have young people graduating from high school who can't read their diploma easily! What do we excel in? Texting, cell phone usage, XBox, PSP, long-boarding and substance abuse! These "abilities" are all absolutely worthless in the workplace.

CORRECTING A FAILING SYSTEM

We DO need longer hours and more days in our public education system... but ONLY if the system focuses on appropriate education, rather than political indoctrination. We need to insure that those students who wish to succeed in the real world master the basic lessons of elementary school before going on to middle or junior high school. Restore the schools ability to "hold back" a student who hasn't acquired the necessary skills to proceed to the next grade or level, and find alternative education for those who are less academically inclined - technical training. We need more workers than we need supervisors and managers - get those who are more "hands on" oriented prepared to enter the workforce at an acceptable entry level. Those who are neither academically or technically inclined will find plenty of work at McDonald's or Wal-Mart... or in politics!

On the other hand, students do need some free time to recharge. Sitting in a classroom all year long, for eight to ten hours a day, and then having homework would not be conducive to the good mental health of students. Children need some time to interact with their family members and peers to develop social skills. An eight hour class day, six days a week, for forty-six weeks with limited homework during the school year would probably be sufficient for us to recover the human resources we have crippled during the past fifty years... by 2040.

We do not need to be Draconian in educating our children, but we do need to return to the basics, restore a higher standard, and require our system to provide more student motivation.

Mich. High School Senior Aces ACT, SAT and PSAT

Talk about a supporting coincidence! Above is one of today's on-line headlines from the Associated Press, and the article begins -

"CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Willa Chen has a knack for tough tests. The Detroit News reported Saturday that the 17-year-old senior at southeast Michigan's Canton High School got perfect scores on the ACT — and the SAT — and the PSAT."

Miss Chen provides one specific example of the Asian-Americans drive for excellence in intellectual pursuits. Will she be accepted by Princeton? It would be foolish, bordering on criminal, to not accept her application. Luckily, she is not applying to the University of California.

New UC Admissions Policy Angers Asian-Americans

The above title is an Associated Press headline, and the issue is that the new standard "will greatly expand the applicant pool, eliminate the requirement that applicants take two SAT subject tests and reduce the number of students guaranteed admission based on grades and test scores alone. It takes effect for the freshman class of fall 2012."

Excuse me, but I apparently have failed to understand something here. Whatever happened to the requirements of :

SCHOLASTIC QUALIFICATIONS

and

MERIT

Are these archaic concepts now? Should our universities no longer accept those students who have proven their desire and ability to complete programs of higher education? Or, has the University of California Regents decided that it is easier to indoctrinate the less intelligent with the fervor of leftist philosophies?

The issue of Asian-American ethnicity aside, ethnicity of any kind should not be THE determining consideration in ones acquiring access to higher education. What should be the only consideration is the prospects proven ability to satisfactorily complete the course(s) of study leading up to a particular degree. The only way to do that is with a standard, and the only universally accepted standard is the SAT.

There is no entitlement to a university degree... the only entitlement is that each applicant has had an opportunity to compete for available placements. Permitting preferential placement, based purely upon ethnicity, eliminates "equal opportunity and treatment" from the academic culture, and deprives those in the category of "other than" from their rightful educational opportunity.

Asian-American students, as an ethnic group - and I know this is broad-brushing - are historically more academically inclined than any other ethnic group. There is greater emphasis and support within the Asian home and the Asian community for excellence in intellectual endeavors. The result is highly motivated students who perform better on the SAT than most others - hence, the unusually high attendance figures for Asian students on UC campuses.

The assignment of available spaces on UC, or any other campus, should go to those best qualified - period. If identical SAT scores are posted by multiple students then perhaps ethnicity should become a consideration at that point. To do otherwise is a disservice to the nation as a whole by diluting the meaning of a degree from the University of California.

As always, there is a chance I could be wrong about this. What do you think?