Opus 2017-056: Tax Dollars at Work: Cutting Edge Education

I just received my latest copy of The California Educator, February 2017, and it is full of articles that give an insight into modern education.  If you were to ask, “What does education need to be concerned with,” I think you could come up with the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic.  In addition you might want skills that would prepare students to be productive citizens.  Let me give you a quick run down of the titles on the cover, saving the best for last.

First we have “Hunger on Campus, Solutions to rising food insecurity” on page 44.  Just when you thought that Michelle Obama’s remake on school cafeterias should be bearing fruit we find out that there is a new syndrome roaming our schools called “food insecurity”.

Then we have “Fighting Back Against Hate,” page 44.  What can I say?

Than we have “Most Innovative Apps” on page 52.  They feature names like Facebook, Google and Microsoft and it looks like all are designed to be used on expensive smart phones that the hungry, hate filled students are not supposed to have out or turned on at school.

Next is “Genius Hour:  A No-Brainer”.  My favorite quote of the featured educator:  “During Genius Hour, they study whatever they want to,...”, page 13.  That will certainly prepare them to be worthwhile employees or else to riot in the streets carrying signs saying, “Not my Job”.  “Work” becomes a trigger word.

But the highlight is an article titled “Riding the Wave, 8 Educators Raise the Bar for Students”.  Sounds good.  One librarian decided that libraries are “outdated”, page 23, and from the pictures turned them into a place where they can play with Lego type toys.  She says that circulation of books has gone up but the novice needs to understand that for educators “books” includes graphic novels which is jargon for comic books.

Another sample is a young black man teaching young black boys to be men, page 24.  It doesn’t say why he is qualified but it certainly is something that needs to be taught.

Another is a civil rights activist who is teaching the kids about the “Occupy movement and how it was spreading worldwide” and of course the Black Live Matter groups, page 26.  I will let you guess his approach.  The next is trying to entice minorities into teaching, page 27.  Then you have the one teaching them to garden and another to cook, pages 28-30.  The next is giving lessons that “are theatrical, culturally relevant, integrated with Next Generation Science Standards, and fun for the whole family,” page 31.  I wonder if that involves understanding the periodic table?

As you can see these students are being given the kind of skills that will prepare them to be the servants of the elitist upper class.  Not your dream for them?  This is education today.

And you are paying for it.

You will excuse me if I did not read every word of this issue.  I get enough of this in my weekly faculty meetings

homo unius libri