American Education becomes touchy-feely

Everyone agrees that our public school system needs overhauling, but why does each new reform only make matters worse?
"We are more than halfway through the most radical reform of America's schools this country has ever seen," reports Aldo Bernardo, director of the Empire State Task Force for Excellence in Education. "Unlike Clinton's failed health reform program, education reform has been kept under wraps so successfully that few parents are aware of it," Bernardo continues. "Yet its scope is such that few school districts or classrooms have remain untouched."

Writing in the current issue of The Education Reporter, published by the Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund, Bernardo warns of "the emasculation of the American educational system. The rigor, discipline, dedication, and persistence associated through the centuries with real learning are disappearing."

Educational achievement began to decline in the 1960s, and "reforms" instituted over the last three decades have only made matters worse. "The billions of dollars provided for education reform by federal legislation has attracted all kinds of self-proclaimed experts," Bernardo observes, citing William Spady as an example. Spady is the developer of Outcome-Based Education, which focuses on emotions rather than information and analysis.

Bernardo charges that the acquisition of "basic academic knowledge" has given way to "politically correct social, psychological, and globalist thinking." This sometimes subtle shift in pedagogical approach is often reflected in obvious physical changes. "Students no longer sit in rows of desks, but in groups of four or six," Bernardo observes; "the teacher no longer teaches, but serves as a 'facilitator' who visits the groups and provides help; students are encouraged to discover knowledge by working as a team on 'real-life projects' that combine several subject areas. This 'cooperative learning' process," he contends, "often leads to a 'group grade' that does not always reflect individual achievement."

Bernardo points to other drastic changes prompted by unproven new teaching methods: "Homework, memorization, standardized tests and grade results are discouraged; reading is taught without concern for phonics or spelling, and in some cases math is taught without concern for numbers; traditional classroom discipline is minimized; grade levels may combine several grades. . . ."

The dubious premise behind these changes is that "it is unhealthy, unnatural, and harmful to press book learning upon children too early. Schooling should avoid harsh discipline, hard work, and artificial stimulation or constraint," the thinking goes. "In the new job market, thinking skills will be much more important than specific information."

Bernardo refutes this fallacy. "Every field requires specific skills," he asserts. "Moreover, the dichotomy between content and skills is patently false. People can't think without facts and information. The more a mind is stocked with information, the better is the thinking process."

Having identified "two opposing approaches to education: one stressing knowledge that is demanding and challenging and with rich academic content; the other stressing social growth, sensitivity, feelings, emotions, values, behavior," Bernardo has no trouble determining which is better, and neither should you.