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  1. Roger Scruton on Modern Education

    January 25, 2024 by Tunya

    Roger Scruton on Modern Education

    In 2016, in an essay on Rousseau, Scruton wrote on “discovery” education, and traditional education in this 7830 essay https://www.roger-scruton.com/homepage/about/music/understanding-music/179-rousseau

    Three quotes:

    “Modern liberals tend to scoff at the idea of tradition . . . The traditional curriculum existed not because it empowered people, but because it contained an accumulation of social knowledge — knowledge of the human mind, the human character and the human heart — whose utility is obvious to those who have studied it, but inconceivable to those who have not. The modern Jean-Jacques, obsessed with inequality and social power, will therefore never understand the institutions which most offend him, and his relentless efforts to undermine them will deprive both him and everyone else of the knowledge required to put the damage right.”

    “Modern sex education is conceived as a ‘liberation’ from fear, doubt and disease – a ‘how to’ manual for children, which is also a form of vicarious paedophilia for their teachers.”

    “Even if it were possible to educate children in this way, one thing is certain: that each generation would know less than the one before. The labour of discovery would have to be endlessly repeated, and the process whereby knowledge accumulates would come to a halt.”

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  2. Parents Excluded – Gender Issues

    September 23, 2023 by Tunya

    Parents Excluded – Gender Issues

    Sept 20, 2023 Marches in Canada

    Tasha Kheiriddin: School ‘inclusion’ excludes parents. No wonder they marched
    (Title in hard copy of paper: ‘Inclusion’ excludes parents
    Wednesday’s protest is a symptom of deep dissatisfaction with schools
    Tasha Kheiriddin Sep 21, 2023 https://nationalpost.com/opinion/tasha-kheiriddin

    Tunya
    The One Million Marches 4 Children, Sept 20, ’23, are indeed a “symptom of deep dissatisfaction with schools”. As a long-time advocate for parent rights, I have noted with alarm how pervasive has been the growing trend to exclude parents from their biological duties.
    I think the Marches tell us we should really buckle down and ask WHY they ensued. And, why and how the counter-protests were so speedily and defensively organized.
    There obviously is a lot at stake for both sides in this momentous event.
    As an advocate for parents, I see this as an opportunity to examine why it is that parents are so much feared and deterred. Why have the criticisms about such things as illiteracy, poor math, absent civics lessons — and now the urgent matter of gender ideology — been dismissed?
    It was the philosopher Roger Scruton (died 2020) who commented on the current education methods this way: “ . . . one thing is certain: that each generation would know less than the one before . . .The teacher who loves his subject and cares about his students is concerned that the rising generation not know less than the one that preceded it.”
    This National Post article concludes: “For all their talk of inclusion, school boards merrily exclude one group who cares deeply about that [education]: parents. It’s no surprise that parents are mad. “

    • Reply by Susan Hirshorn. Reply to Tunya Audain

    The baby-boomer generation onwards has bought into the notion that governments and institutions (including schools and media) should rule our lives. This has eroded the authority of parents and with that loss of authority, their sense of responsibility for what and who their children should be exposed to. This trend, however, is shifting. The Parents March here, similar protests and parental rights legislation in some parts of the US are evidence of this. Personally I welcome the change.

    Reply by Tunya Audain. Reply to Susan Hirshorn

    Yes, the Marches are significant for several reasons. First — parents across Canada have voiced their concern about this issue of children being exposed to questions, materials and events that are age-inappropriate. Secondly — the Marches also raise the wider question of why parents accept the notion that government and institutions should rule our lives. Is this something that families have voluntarily bought into or is there a long-term process by which parents have gradually become excluded? If the latter, why and who are behind these moves to diminish parent involvement? Thirdly — equally important, is the matter of school choice. Should the state both fund AND provide public education that is uniform and prone to penetration from outside practices and ideologies that are not welcomed by the font-line consumers, the parents?
    Yes, these questions are more frequently dealt with in the United States where political policies and laws are being more frequently used — both for curricular matters and widening of school choices. This National Post article asks the question: What is the purpose of public education? These Marches should be a wake-up call for politicians, public and parents to address this question more directly.

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  3. Dumbing-Down Spreads

    June 20, 2022 by Tunya

    My response to Bruce Deitrick Price’s American Thinker article, K-12: The Knowledge Killers, sent by William Brown of ECC (Education Consumers Clearinghouse) June 15, 2022 https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/06/k12_the_knowledge_killers.html

    In his article, Bruce Deitrick Price says: “Locals nowadays don’t seem to care about the children in nearby schools being dumbed down”. He is so right! I wonder what it will take to notice the virtually morbid path this leads us on — both for students and society as a whole.

    The worst misfortunes that befall us are those we inflict upon ourselves. What’s really maddening is that often we have early warnings, which we neglect at our peril.

    Such is the state of education in our Western Democratic states. Increasingly, we are being warned that there is a general “dumbing down” of our people via the public-school systems — yet we neglect to pay heed. As the United States school achievement scores continue their slide, E D Hirsch quotes from the 1983 study — A Nation At Risk — “We have, in effect, been committing an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament”.

    Here is but a short list of dumbing-down books and note that there are 100s of books dealing with the topic, but not necessarily in the title:

    • Dumbing Us Down, John Taylor Gatto, 1992
    • Dumbing Down Our Kids, Charles J Sykes, 1995
    • The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America, Charlotte Thompson Iserbyt, 1999
    • The Feel-Good Curriculum: The Dumbing Down of America’s Kids in the Name of Self-Esteem, Maureen Stout, 2000
    • Cheats, Choices & Dumbing Down, Jerry Jarvis, Gary Ward, 2012 (UK)
    • Dumbing Down America, James R Delisle, 2014
    • Dumbing Down, The Crisis of Quality and Equity in a Once-Great School System, and How to Reverse the Trend, Magnus Henrekson, Johan Wennstrom, 2022 (Sweden) *

    (* This last book listed is an “open access” book, and can be ordered by mail or downloaded https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93429-3 It’s meant to be open for public discussion, though I have not seen any yet.)

    Does anyone have any ideas? This last Swedish book recommends a turnaround from “constructivist” teaching to “instructivist” teaching. That word, “instructivist” is from E D Hirsch’s latest book, How to Educate a Citizen. To confuse our minds, unfortunately, the Swedish book produces a great 3-page chart to show the difference between the two styles, but keeps using the long-winded term for the second style — “An alternative paradigm based on the classical view of knowledge” — not helpful. I like reading the book, but would like someone to distill the book to a form that people can discuss. The book describes the Swedish procrustean, legislatively imposed, authoritarian egalitarianism versus the same intent via the progressive stealth approach of the last 50 years in other Western nations.

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  4. GOOD NEWS: David Banks NYC Schools Chancellor

    December 14, 2021 by Tunya

    My comment to ECC, 14 Dec, in response to William Brown posting BCP on Letter from the trenches: Parent describes K-12 dystopia — my addition some GOOD NEWS

    Again, another whack at the education system! There seems to be no end to the stories about the school disasters parents and students experience. Some of us old-timers never questioned that our school days were all for the betterment of ourselves and society. It is such a horrible feeling to see current events pushing toward an END of civilization. It’s shameful to think that public schools contribute to this downfall.

    Thanks again to this ECC forum, and the regular contributors who do so much to keep us up to date. This latest story from Bruce just adds to our sorrow. Thanks, William, for this latest.

    To bring forward some GOOD NEWS, we read about the appointment of David Banks as Schools Chancellor in New York City, by the new Mayor, Eric Adams, effective Jan 1 in the New Year. From the news stories, here are some great promising quotes:

    • New York City education system is essentially flawed and needs to be fixed from the bottom up.
    • “We’re going to go back to a phonetic approach to teaching. We’re going to ensure that our kids can read by the third grade,” Banks said. “That’s been a huge part of the dysfunction.”
    • Banks says he’s thinking of establishing special schools for kids with learning disabilities, and he also plans to expand gifted and talented programs, and specialized high schools.
    • The mayor-elect [Eric Adams]is also vowing a laser-like focus on the Department of Education’s budget. He says right now, the money is not being spent properly and taxpayers are being shortchanged.
    • Mayor Adams said he wants to educate the whole child, and that includes making sure they have eyeglasses and healthy food if they need. He’s also committed to testing every child to see if they have dyslexia.
    Please watch the videos in these stories:

    Incoming Schools Chancellor David Banks On Why So Many Black, Brown Students Aren’t Reaching Proficiency: ‘They’re Teaching Wrong’

    Mayor-Elect Adams’ New Schools Chancellor David Banks Vows Change Is Coming To Dept. Of Ed: ‘We’re Going To Turn Over The Tables’

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  5. Family choice in education

    February 1, 2021 by Tunya

    It’s heartwarming to read American news about school choice. With the pandemic showing that health costs are going to be a priority for many years to come, other social spending costs are being probed for belt-tightening. Education is being examined — not only for efficiencies, but because alternative models of delivery are popping up and gaining favor at the legislative level.

    And the question is being asked: Should the government be the provider, in near-monopoly terms, of education to children? In such a top-down, bureaucratic system, each layer creams off their share before the beneficiary, the child, gets any benefit from the ed dollar.

    This latest article from Education Week notes progress on the school choice front.  https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/covid-19-may-energize-push-for-school-choice-in-states-where-that-leads-is-unclear/2021/01

    In the first weeks of 2021 one-third of American state legislatures are considering such moves as:

    – tax-credit scholarships
    – education savings accounts (ESAs)
    – increasing public charter schools
    – support for microschools (learning pods, pandemic pods . . .)
    – Covid special relief funds to assist families with computers, etc. for online learning

    In political science language we can see legislatures shifting to “governance” of education, which is funding, regulating, overseeing and auditing education providers. Through family choice provisions all kinds of new innovations can develop, good programs will thrive and poor programs will be defunded.

    Of course, there are detractors, including the militant Badass Teachers Association, not a union, but active in all states, with organizational capacity and reach. They oppose choice, accountability and testing.

    In Canada, we need more information on family choice in education and not be detracted by those who may rise in fervent, self-interested opposition.

    [posted on my Facebook, Educhatter post of 20 Jan ’21]

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