I love getting good comments like these last few.
Tommy says: "I don't think that its the education our kids get that instills them to believe only what they hear, I think that they are lazy. Ask your average teenager what the ramifications of a new Supreme Court Judge appointment would have on the country. They won't care, they may know but it doesn't matter as much because its not important at the time."
(I'm not really speaking directly to Tommy here, just thinking out loud.)
I certainly agree that kids are lazier today than they used to be, but I'm not so sure the education system has nothing to do with that. I know there are thousands of factors in the laziness equation, like technological advances and such. But specifically with regard to how the government works, how can you not place a good portion of the blame for youth apathy on our schools? I really don't think schools are teaching kids to think for themselves. I think there are a lot of teachers who are trying to teach kids to think the "proper way," and it's not working. Kids don't respond to having things shoved down their throats. So rather than teaching kids to make their own choices about how they view government, the end result is that we're teaching kids not to care.
I know I'm running the risk of starting to sound paranoid, with all the writing I do on media bias and the like. I suppose I probably crossed that threshold a long time ago with some people. But I don't think it's paranoia to say that public schools, like the media, are also an overwhelmingly liberal environment. Before you dismiss that idea, consider for a second how long the teachers' unions have been endorsing Democrats. Teachers and other academic types, along with trial lawyers, are probably the biggest and most powerful liberal constituency in America. And we're supposed to believe that this doesn't affect our kids' educations? There are plenty of people who are seeing it. It's no coincidence that enrollment at private schools is way up, and that homeschooling numbers are going through the roof.
4 comments:
Greg,
Let me lead off by saying I’ll just casually mention to the Mrs. your assertion that, “Teachers and other academic types, along with trial lawyers, are probably the biggest and most powerful liberal constituency in America.” and let her take it up with you herself. On second thought, maybe I won’t. I’d like to collect on that bet sometime. Of course the Mrs. and her whole family don’t really fit into your average mold. What, with them being Hispanic and from south Texas and frankly being about as conservative as you can get. Excepting the last governors election, in which case they knew the democratic candidate (I forget his name, but he is from Laredo and my mother-in-law went to school with his wife and knew her quite well). Of course all this didn’t change the Mrs.’ vote just her mom’s and a few aunts.
There is actually a full repsonse to your post but it ran long so I decided to just go ahead and post it on my own blog which you can find here, http://rowdyrogue.blogspot.com/
Have a fun and happy Thanksgiving.
Greg's wife says, " I don't agree."
I agree that teachers unions are pretty liberal, but from my experience in knowing teachers(elementary and secondary educators), they tend to be more conservative in their lives. What they don't like is Bush's education plan. The whole concept of standardized testing sounds great on paper, but sucks when it enters the classroom. No longer are teachers able to teach to the best of their ability, because everyone is looking at the test results, which I think are bunk anyhow.
I, for one, was a student who did horribly on any scantron/fill in the blank test. There were plenty of times that I studied and new my stuff...probably could've written a book , but something about that type of testing didn't work for me. So, if I am a teacher and am under lots of pressure to teach to a test, I will vote for someone with a new plan because that is where the biggest difference can be made in my life.
Kids don't learn to think for themselves and don't respond to teachers because they are overprogrammed from birth (pretty sure that's mom and dad's doing), always having people telling them what to do. A teacher steps in and tells them to think for themselves and they can't. How do I know? I have spent 11 years working with school aged kids in Outdoor Education and Challenge Course environments.
The problem with schools is that so many kids come from undisciplined environments that teachers have to work too hard to gain control and not enough time teaching. Not all teachers are good teachers, but so many of them are.
And the other point about laziness...again, this starts in the home, not the school. Parents need to take the responsibility to teach their kids, discipline them and help guide them through life and not expect the schools to do it for them. The schools job is to teach basic subjects...math, reading, science. Instead they teach sex ed and how to take a test at the end of the year .... that is NOT real learning.
Think of our grandparents, an 8th grade education was far beyond anything most of us EVER experience. They knew about government and our country than we ever will...maybe it was just that they had less outside distractions...just something to think about.
--j.w.
Hey Greg, It's Beau Armstrong.
I just have a little to add to the subject of our youth.
It is my opinion that our teachers are not our problem. Yeah, there are a lot of liberal teachers out there--but there are a lot of conservative ones too. I think teachers have a tough job and I have a lot of appreciation and respect for what they do. I am not in support of the views of the teachers union.
Where do kids get their basis of reality? Television. Network news, CNN Headlines, MTV. . . ect.
Television is the problem. I am not saying that we need to get rid of TV, or even regulate it further--Hell, it's nearly four in the morning so I am not going to go way into it.
What is reality?--perception. TV has a huge influence on our youth's perception of reality.****liberal media******
tune in next week for words on the evils of rap music. ; )
. . . and yes, I am watching Fox News right now.
Thank God for FNC
Ok, I'll speak for myself... I woul dnever blame the teachers, those poor souls have a hell of a job. I heard one parent complain about their child's lack of manners, "What are they teaching them in school today?" Idiot!!! That's what P-A-R-E-N-T-S are for. MG and I worked with a group of 20-35 youth (7th-12th graders) at our old church, let me tell you its the parents' fault not the teachers.
These kids today are taught to only look out for themselves and care for no one else first. This isn't due to school, its due to parents not caring that their children grow up with real values. That is why they don't care about Supreme Court Justices', its not that they are dumb, some know exactly what the do. Its just that the facts have not been resented to them in a manner where they can see that these decisions will matter later in their lives.
MG and I told the kids to think about their own kids and grandkids, and what they wanted this country to be like when it became theirs. That is when our youths' minds started clicking. But that is not what our education system is for. **stopping now, need to get another glass of wine so bp will drop before I get too worked up**
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