Chris Hedges wrote Forget Red vs. Blue -- It's the Educated vs. People Easily Fooled by Propaganda that contained the following excerpted comments that seemed to be defining --
There are over 42 million American adults, 20 percent of whom hold high school diplomas, who cannot read, as well as the 50 million who read at a fourth- or fifth-grade level. Nearly a third of the nation's population is illiterate or barely literate. And their numbers are growing by an estimated 2 million a year. But even those who are supposedly literate retreat in huge numbers into this image-based existence. ***A third of high school graduates, along with 42 percent of college graduates, never read a book after they finish school. Eighty percent of the families in the United States last year did not buy a book.
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The core values of our open society, the ability to think for oneself, to draw independent conclusions, to express dissent when judgment and common sense indicate something is wrong, to be self-critical, to challenge authority, to understand historical facts, to separate truth from lies, to advocate for change and to acknowledge that there are other views, different ways of being, that are morally and socially acceptable, are dying. Obama used hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign funds to appeal to and manipulate this illiteracy and irrationalism to his advantage, but these forces will prove to be his most deadly nemesis once they collide with the awful reality that awaits us.
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*** To me, this statement is truly distressing.
A strong case could be made for the threat declining educational quality poses to our nation's ability to compete. Maybe it's time to shut off the television?
1 comment:
As an educator, this information is particularly troubling. What has become frustrating is teaching to perform well on a statewide exam, but ignoring the importance of instilling a thirst for knowledge and intellectual curiosity.
Because I work in a neighboring community, I witness the lack of commitment by parents to their children's education. Many lack the time or are stressed by their financial situations and work long hours.
Others simply lack the education themselves and work in jobs that are threatened by the economic downturn. They lack the tools to assist their children to achieve. And they lack the understanding of what will be needed by their children to compete.
Much of this stems from a carefully concealed agenda to eliminate the teachers' unions and move forward with a voucher system for schools. The voucher system (by whatever name whether it's called Charter Schools) was intended to destroy public education as we have known it. Teachers are paid far less, are not always carefully screened and credentials are not carefully scrutinized. The remaining population in the public school system will include those children who need the greatest resources and appear disproportionately expensive.
What is needed is to de-politicize public education and restore its value.
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