Doing a Texas Two-Step Around Education Reform
Watering down new high-school graduation standards will shortchange students, employers and the country.
By CHARLES COOK AND TERRENCE MOORE
For decades, policy makers have gone back and forth adopting the latest fads in school reform without any measurable improvement in learning. The latest trend in Texas is to de-emphasize the liberal arts and increase instructional time spent in math, science and technology.
As the Texas legislature convened last month, a coalition of anti-testing organizations, including Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment, promoted a plan to gut the state's tough new high-school graduation standards. Instead of passing 15 end-of-course exams, a student would graduate by passing two or three. More than 800 Texas school boards have adopted a resolution to water down requirements.
We disagree. States across the country are increasing graduation standards, and Texas cannot afford to water down its own. A proposal to eliminate exams in world geography and world history as a graduation requirement, for instance, is shortsighted. Ever-lower expectations lead to one predictable outcome: a profound ignorance of the world among young people in an era when international events and evolving fiscal and trade policies have a personal impact on communities, businesses and individuals in every corner of the U.S.
Who hasn't heard or seen the signs of this ignorance? To cite one of many now-familiar results, there is the 2008 report "Still at Risk: What Students Don't Know, Even Now" by Frederick Hess. It found that nearly 25% of 17-year-olds surveyed nationwide could not identify Adolf Hitler. More than 25% believed Christopher Columbus set sail for the New World after 1750. Forty percent could not place World War I as occurring between 1900 and 1950. Nearly 40% could not identify the Renaissance as the period in European history noted for cultural and technological advances.
Allowing young people to graduate as historical or geographical illiterates is myopic for another reason. Training them for getting jobs is not good enough; graduates of public schools are also citizens. Ask any physician today whether politics affects his livelihood.
We have a different approach to equipping students to face the future, one that has the weight of millennia of human experience behind it: a rigorous classical education. Such an education (called liberal-arts at the college level) does not shortchange math and science. On the contrary, those subjects are studied with more rigor than can be seen in today's public schools.
Students also learn the fundamentals of English grammar; American and world history through the reading of primary source documents; and the great stories of human struggle and yearning told by the greatest storytellers—Homer, Shakespeare, Milton and Melville.
They study the principles of liberty and self-government as articulated by the Founding Fathers and the ennobling beauties found in painting, sculpture and song. Yes, the children have to learn Latin, too, just as the Founding Fathers did, because that language gives the greatest insight into the vocabulary and grammar of our own tongue and the Romance languages, including Spanish.
Certainly America needs as many engineers and computer scientists as the country requires in the 21st century. But that does not describe what lies ahead for the vast majority of young people entering the marketplace. The most common complaints of American employers is that job applicant and recent hires lack communication skills and higher-level thinking skills. More plainly, many applicants cannot read a memo, they cannot express themselves in speech or in writing, they lack the ability to think through difficult problems.
We think that students who have been taught to write forcefully by studying Shakespeare and Tom Paine, who have learned to speak by studying the speeches of Cicero and Abraham Lincoln, who have learned to think through difficult problems by studying the Constitution through an analysis of the Federalist Papers, and who revel in the rigors of Latin grammar will have no difficulty in reading the boss's memo.
Training young people in the liberal arts and sciences also will better prepare them to become "the boss" when it is time for the present cohort of bosses to retire. Those on the front lines of hiring employees in this state see the need for a classical education. Now parents are increasingly demanding such an education for their children. We know this in part because the number of schools that have come to Hillsdale College each spring in search of graduating seniors to recruit as teachers of classical subjects has more than doubled in the past five years.
Before long, we will begin to see how well the approach works. Responsive Education Solutions (ResponsiveEd), the largest charter-school system in Texas, in collaboration with Hillsdale College, is providing students the opportunity to receive a rigorous classical education tuition-free. Founders Classical Academy is a public charter school that opened near Dallas in August 2012. The response has been almost overwhelming. The school initially started with 450 students and will educate more than 700 next year.
Classical-curriculum schools in other states, such as Ridgeview Classical Schools in Colorado, generally have waiting lists of over a thousand applicants. The graduates of such programs go on to college to study the liberal arts and sciences. Typically, the biggest complaint of these graduates is that their freshman courses were too easy.
As ResponsiveEd and Hillsdale College continue to open classical schools across the country, we want to see other schools, including noncharter public schools, brought up to a serious level of accountability as well.
Jobs do not create the human mind; the human mind creates jobs. As a result, the very best education—the kind the Founding Fathers had—is what will produce good workers and good citizens. The challenge for those who want to eliminate testing in world history and geography or other subjects in Texas is to explain how students are prepared for a global economy when they are not required to learn anything about either the globe or the economy.
Mr. Cook is CEO of ResponsiveEd, a charter-school district with over 60 schools in Texas. Mr. Moore is a Hillsdale College professor of history who advises the college's Barney Charter School Initiative.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324081704578233814190553202.html
Showing posts with label News article. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News article. Show all posts
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Arabic-speaking Christians generally
use the word "Allah" for the God of the Bible, but this curriculum
doesn't seem to be talking about Arabic-speaking Christians: it seems fairly
clear that it is trying to portray Islam in a benign and positive light, without
any reference to the violent texts and teachings that jihadis and Islamic
supremacists point to in order to justify their actions.
What a coincidence that this curriculum
would be in use in Texas, where Governor Rick Perry partnered with the Aga Khan
Foundation to develop a severely whitewashed, Islam-friendly curriculum. When Pamela
Geller and I broke the story of that curriculum in 2011, the reaction was
furious: one blogger demanded I stop linking him; another claimed that the curriculum material we had uncovered
was not really the curriculum at all, and tried to pass off one teacher's private notes as the real
curriculum; and former friends and associates denounced us with a cult-like fervor that I still
find hard to believe that a compromised nonentity like Rick Perry could have
inspired.
Now, lo and behold, we find that Texas
has a severely whitewashed Islam curriculum, just as we said. Today one of the
bloggers who was most furiously and frenziedly denouncing us last year for
daring to suggest that Perry was opening Texas schools to a biased and whitewashed
presentation of Islam posted this WND story without the slightest reference to
the Perry controversy, about which he was so spectacularly wrong. That's
chutzpah.
"Texas teaching 'Allah is the
Almighty God,'" by John Griffing for WND, December 13 (thanks to all who sent this in):
In
the 70 percent of Texas public schools where a private curriculum has been
installed, students are learning the “fact” that “Allah is the Almighty God,”
charge critics of a new online curriculum that already is facing condemnation
for its secrecy and restrictions on oversight.
The
program, called CSCOPE, is a private venture operating under the umbrella of
the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative, whose
incorporation documents state its independence from the State Board of
Education of the Texas Education Agency.
Other
reports previously have raised alarm over the curriculum’s depiction of the
Boston Tea Party as a terrorist act on par with the 9/11 attack.
According
to documentation that has leaked out, the program describes the Boston Tea
Party this way: “A local militia, believed to be a terrorist organization,
attacked the property of private citizens today at our nation’s busiest port.
Although no one was injured in the attack, a large quantity of merchandise,
considered to be valuable to its owners and loathsome to the perpetrators, was
destroyed. The terrorists, dressed in disguise and apparently intoxicated, were
able to escape into the night with the help of local citizens who harbor these
fugitives and conceal their identities from the authorities. It is believed
that the terrorist attack was a response to the policies enacted by the
occupying country’s government. Even stronger policies are anticipated by the
local citizens.”
There
also have been reports that the curriculum – contrary to recent Supreme Court
rulings – says the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the right to bear
arms, is limited to state-run organizations.
“The
collective right’s advocates believed that the Second Amendment did not apply
to individuals; rather it recognized the right of a state to arm its militia.
It recognized limited individual rights only when it was exercised by members
of a functioning, organized militia while actively participating in the
militia’s activities.”
Now
come concerns about what critics describe as a definitively pro-Islam bias.
The
critics say the studies border on proselytizing.
In
one scenario, students are asked to study the tenets of Islam, and critics say
the materials provided exceed impartial review of another faith, extending into
requirements of conversion and moral imperatives.
A
computer presentation utilized as part of a study of Islam includes information
on how to convert, as well as verses denigrating other faiths.
According
to excerpts, under the heading, “Who Is Allah?,” students are told:
“Allah
is the Almighty God.”
“Allah
alone is the Creator. He alone deserves our devout love and worship.”
Muhammad
is described as having become “disillusioned with the corruption in the city
and the growing gap between the urban dwellers and the Bedouins (nomadic
herders).”
But
there is no mention of his documented sex activities with a child or his
penchant for beheading entire indigenous people groups....
Posted
by Robert
on December 14, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
NAEP
results: students’ history knowledge in need of improvement
June 16, 2011
Earlier this week, the 2010 NAEP U.S. History results were released for our 4th,
8th, and 12th graders. Overall, the results were not very
encouraging especially at the 12th grade level. Our 8th
graders have made some progress over the past decade but overall scores at the
4th and 12th grade levels remained relatively unchanged.
However, as Jim Hull over at The
Edifier points out, Black and Hispanic students have made
tremendous progress since the mid-90’s at both the 4th and 8th
grade levels.
Yet, besides these bright spots
yesterday’s report point out our students are lacking in their knowledge of
this nation’s history. That, as the New York Times argues, there needs to be a
renewed focus on history. The first step in doing so is for Congress to
reauthorize ESEA so schools aren’t judged on math and reading alone. BoardBuzz
is excited to hear Secretary Duncan signal there is regulatory relief for school districts if
Congress doesn’t act this summer. Hopefully this will push Congress to develop
a fair and constructive federal accountability system that values the
importance of all subjects.For a full summary of the NEAP results check out NSBA’s Center for Public Education’s blog The Edifier. Also, for more information on what NAEP results really mean check out The Center’s The Proficiency Debate: A guide to NAEP Achievement Levels.
From: http://schoolboardnews.nsba.org/2011/06/naep-results-students-history-knowledge-in-need-of-improvement/
By
Many high school seniors may be old
enough to vote, but just one-quarter of them demonstrate at least a
"proficient" level of civics knowledge and skills, based on the
latest results from a prominent national exam.
That statistic, 24 percent, represents a slight dip from the proportion of 12th-graders scoring proficient or "advanced" in the subject four years earlier. (This was also reported by Answer Sheet blogger Valerie Strauss Wednesday.)
Meanwhile, the average fourth grade score rose in the latest administration of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, compared with both 2006 and 1998, the first time "the nation's report card" in civics was given. Twenty-seven percent were proficient or better in 2010, compared with 24 percent in 2006, according to the NAEP data issued Wednesday.
No significant change was seen for eighth graders, who have remained stuck at the 22 percent proficient-or-higher mark since 1998.
"Knowledge of our system of government is not handed down through the gene pool," retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said in a statement. "The habits of citizenship must be learned. ... But we have neglected civic education for the past several decades, and the results are predictably dismal," said Justice O'Connor, who has been promoting civics instruction in the United States.
One area of growth highlighted in the new report is the improvement over time for Hispanic students. At all three grade levels, the Hispanic test-takers had higher scores than in 1998, and scores have climbed for eighth graders since 2006, as well. In 1998, 44 percent of Hispanic eighth graders scored at "basic" or above, compared with 50 percent in 2006 and 56 percent in 2010.
In fact, the achievement gap between Hispanic and non-Hispanic whites was narrower than in both 2006 and 1998, though it was still sizable, at 23 points on the NAEP scale, which runs from zero to 300.
"We are encouraged by the gains in civics achievement being made by our nation's Hispanic students, who are an increasingly important voice in our democracy," David P. Driscoll, the chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for NAEP, said in a press release.
That said, even with the progress for Hispanic students, only 11 percent of eighth graders scored at the proficient level or above.
Further, relatively few students of all races and ethnicities reached the highest level which represents what the report calls "superior performance."
Only four percent of all 12th graders, for example, scored advanced, "a level we would hope our future leaders would attain," Charles N. Quigley, the executive director of the nonprofit Center for Civic Education, said in a statement.
Five percent of white seniors scored at the advanced level, compared with 2 percent of Hispanics and 1 percent of African-Americans.
The NAEP test in civics contains a blend of multiple-choice and constructed-response questions at each grade level. The questions tackle three interrelated components: civic knowledge, intellectual and participatory skills, and civic dispositions. The focus on civic knowledge tests, among other topics, students' understanding of civic life, politics, and government; the foundations of the American political system; and the role of citizens in American democracy.
Quigley said he was especially alarmed to see so many seniors performing poorly on the national exam.
"Many of our high school seniors are already eligible to vote, or they very soon will be," said Mr. Quigley, whose organization is based in Woodland Hills, Calif. "We would expect them to be better prepared to exercise the rights and assume the responsibilities of American citizenship."
It appears that the overall 3-point drop in civics achievement among seniors was largely the result of a decline among girls. The average scale score for girls dropped from 152 to 148, which was statistically significant. For boys, it declined from 150 to 148, but that change was not deemed statistically significant.
On the flip side, 4th grade girls scored higher in 2010 than four years earlier, posting an average score that was 7 points higher than the performance of 4th grade boys. Put another way, 30 percent of girls scored as at least proficient in 2010, compared with 24 percent of that population in 2006. Meanwhile, for 4th grade boys, the proportion scoring proficient or higher remained unchanged between 2006 and 2010, at 24 percent.
As part of the NAEP report, both teachers and students were surveyed to learn more about the extent to which civics instruction is delivered in schools. That instruction, however, didn't necessarily benefit the students, the data suggest.
At the 8th grade, 85 percent of students reported learning about civics in school, but there was no significant difference in the average scores of those who did or did not report receiving such instruction.
There also was no measurable change in the particular topics 8th graders reported studying. For example, 82 percent said they covered the U.S. Constitution, 78 percent Congress, and just 40 percent other countries' governments.
Nearly all 12th graders, 97 percent, reported studying civics or government during their high school years.
When asked more specifically about particular topics they had studied during the current school year, fewer said they had been taught about the Constitution than previously. Sixty-seven percent reported studying the document in 2010, compared with 72 percent in 2006. That, however, was the only content area out of nine specific civics topics students were asked about in which the difference between 2010 and 2006 was statistically significant.
The survey data for seniors also show that:
-68 percent said they had studied political parties, elections, and voting;
-66 percent studied Congress;
-61 percent studied how laws were made; and
-59 percent studied the president and Cabinet.
By far, studying other nations' governments (47 percent) and international organizations such as the United Nations (43 percent) were the two content areas that the smallest proportion of seniors said they studied.
Mr. Quigley said he was deeply troubled that so many seniors are apparently not spending time on those content areas.
"Ignoring those topics," he said, "is difficult to defend in an era in which our country is ever more deeply involved in the world — politically, economically, militarily, and in humanitarian efforts."
By
| 12:36 PM ET, 05/05/2011
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Mexicans Say SW U.S. Belongs to Mexico!
For Immediate Release June 11,
2002
New Zogby Poll
Mexicans Say Southwest U.S. Belongs to Them; Shouldn't Need Permission to Enter U.S. |
Americans
and Mexicans have widely divergent views of border issues, according to a new
poll by Zogby International. Zogby
found that a large majority of the Mexican population believes the southwest
territory of the U.S. rightfully belongs to Mexico, and that Mexicans should
have the right to enter the U.S. without first obtaining U.S. permission. By
contrast, Zogby's survey of Americans conducted within a few days of the
Mexican poll shows a large majority supports reducing immigration levels and
wants the military deployed along the border to protect the U.S. from illegal
immigration.
Zogby's poll
found that 58 percent of Mexicans agree with the statement, "the territory
of the United States' Southwest rightfully belongs to Mexico." Only 28
percent disagree, and 14 percent are unsure.
A similar
majority, 57 percent, agree with the statement, "Mexicans should have the
right to enter the U.S. without U.S. permission," while 35 percent
disagree. Seven percent are unsure.
The survey has a margin of error of 3.5
percent. The Mexico portion of the survey was conducted in Spanish between May
25 and May 26 among 801 adults chosen at random throughout Mexico. The poll was
commissioned by Americans for Immigration Control, Inc. (AIC), which advocates
increased restrictions on immigration.
"There is obviously a large and
significant gap between the attitudes of Americans and Mexicans," said
Robert Goldsborough, AIC president. "While most Americans want immigration
reduced, most Mexicans think they don't even need permission to enter our
country. The poll clearly shows there is less common ground for immigration
negotiations between Mexico and the U.S. than the leaders think. Support for a
porous border and a loose migration policy occurs only on the Mexican side, not
in the U.S."
Zogby's survey of American attitudes found wide
majorities of Americans also oppose amnesty for illegal aliens. The U.S.
portion of the survey was conducted of 1,015 likely voters in the U.S. from May
28 to May 30. It found that 65 percent disagree with the statement,
"foreigners residing illegally in the U.S. should be given amnesty."
Just 26 percent of likely voters support amnesty for illegals, while 9 percent
are unsure.
A large majority, 58 percent, agree that the
U.S. should "admit fewer immigrants each year." Only 6 percent want
"more immigrants each year," and 30 percent want to "keep
immigration at the current annual levels."
The single largest majority in the entire poll
was found among Americans supporting use of the military to guard the border. Fully
68 percent of those surveyed agree with the statement, "the U.S. should
deploy military troops on the border as a temporary measure to help the U.S.
Border Patrol curb illegal immigration." Only 28 percent disagree,
and 3 percent are unsure.
Monday, January 16, 2012
More Florida High Schools Earn A's While FCATs Fade
By: KENRIC WARD
Sunshine State News January 14, 2012
More Florida high schools are earning A's and B's while only 39 percent of 10th-graders are reading at or above proficiency levels on the state's FCAT exam, Department of Education records show. Some 78 percent of high schools scored either an A or B grade in 2011, up from 71 percent last year. A-rated schools receive financial awards from the state of up to $150,000 per campus.
Yet high school students' academic competence is flat or falling. The 39 percent of students reading at or above Level 3 "proficiency" was the same as it was in 2010. Though math scores were better -- 71 percent of 10th-graders were "proficient" -- that was down 2 points from 2010.
The 2011 high school grades were boosted by a new formula that factors in more than scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Graduation rates, as well as participation and performance in advanced-placement courses, now count toward a school's grade.
The FCAT writing battery, where 90 percent of students score at or above the "proficient" level, helps pad the scores.
"Reading and math scores may not improve. In fact, they can decline, but a school can still improve its score by achieving growth in the other benchmarks," said Jason Caros, president of the Florida Council of the Social Studies.
Amid indications of campus grade inflation, the state Board of Education last month voted to raise the "cut scores" that determine which pupils are passing and which are failing. It was the first time in a decade that the state approved tougher standards.
The state expects that many more students will be required to take remedial lessons as a result of the higher score requirement, which first applies to the class of 2014. The new system will kick in with exams taken this coming spring.
Amber Winkler, a senior researcher for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, said, "Florida should be lauded for raising its cut scores. Too many states are content to rest on their laurels, but Florida keeps raising the bar.
"Raising expectations now becomes even more important since Florida plans to implement new Common Core standards in 2015 -- which will require even more of students. There has to be continued pressure on the system to improve," Winkler said.
Meantime, the state Board of Education took another step to thin the herd of A-rated schools. Currently, a school must earn 525 points or more (on an 800-point scale) to earn an A grade. A final level hasn't been determined yet, but beginning in 2012-2013, if, for example, 75 percent of Florida’s high schools earn an A, an "automatic trigger" would raise the minimum threshold to 560 points the next year.
Jaryn Emhof, spokeswoman at Jeb Bush's education-reform think tank, Foundation for Florida's Future, hailed the state's moves. "The foundation has said standards need to be raised across the board," Emhof said.
Caros, an educator in Volusia County, says poor reading skills at middle schools and high schools are "a byproduct of the failure to teach core knowledge" in early grades. "Much of the reading elementary students engage in at school is fiction. While fiction is certainly important, a 2006 Stanford University study found that Florida’s failure to emphasize 'the acquisition of appropriate knowledge at each grade level' made comprehension of nonfiction texts very difficult for middle and high school students," Caros writes in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of the James Madison Institute.
Citing one example, Caros asks: "Why would it be bad for someone to meet their Waterloo?" Without broad background knowledge, readers will find it difficult to make sense of the many historical and literary allusions that appear in readings," Caros says in his article, "Why Johnny Can't Understand What He Reads."
Still, many teachers and administrators bridle at the tougher, upcoming cut scores. Maintaining that academic deficiencies begin at the lower grade levels, high schools are particularly concerned.
Orange County School District Superintendent Ron Blocker told the Orlando Sentinel, "There will be blood on the table."
"Adding more focus to an already flawed assessment process will not result in real learning gains in reading," Caros predicted in an article written for the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
But DOE Commissioner Gerard Robinson says the new standards will put high school students "on a pathway for colleges and careers in a far better way than we've ever seen before."
State officials say the whole testing system is being reformed as Florida replaces FCAT math, reading and writing exams with new “common core” exams in 2015.
Developed by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, a consortium of states that won federal Race to the Top funds, the new exams will likely include two tests per subject.
It is not yet known how the "PARCC" tests will stack up against FCAT, but education observers point out that continual changes in test regimens thwart any longitudinal, apples-to-apples comparisons. Skeptics say that's exactly the intent and objective.
Whatever assessment devices and scoring systems Florida uses, Bill Mattox, resident fellow at James Madison Institute, says, "We ought to be raising the bar, not lowering it. Hold everyone -- students, teachers, parents -- to higher standards."
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/more-florida-high-schools-earn-a-while-fcats-fade
Sunshine State News January 14, 2012
More Florida high schools are earning A's and B's while only 39 percent of 10th-graders are reading at or above proficiency levels on the state's FCAT exam, Department of Education records show. Some 78 percent of high schools scored either an A or B grade in 2011, up from 71 percent last year. A-rated schools receive financial awards from the state of up to $150,000 per campus.
Yet high school students' academic competence is flat or falling. The 39 percent of students reading at or above Level 3 "proficiency" was the same as it was in 2010. Though math scores were better -- 71 percent of 10th-graders were "proficient" -- that was down 2 points from 2010.
The 2011 high school grades were boosted by a new formula that factors in more than scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Graduation rates, as well as participation and performance in advanced-placement courses, now count toward a school's grade.
The FCAT writing battery, where 90 percent of students score at or above the "proficient" level, helps pad the scores.
"Reading and math scores may not improve. In fact, they can decline, but a school can still improve its score by achieving growth in the other benchmarks," said Jason Caros, president of the Florida Council of the Social Studies.
Amid indications of campus grade inflation, the state Board of Education last month voted to raise the "cut scores" that determine which pupils are passing and which are failing. It was the first time in a decade that the state approved tougher standards.
The state expects that many more students will be required to take remedial lessons as a result of the higher score requirement, which first applies to the class of 2014. The new system will kick in with exams taken this coming spring.
Amber Winkler, a senior researcher for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, said, "Florida should be lauded for raising its cut scores. Too many states are content to rest on their laurels, but Florida keeps raising the bar.
"Raising expectations now becomes even more important since Florida plans to implement new Common Core standards in 2015 -- which will require even more of students. There has to be continued pressure on the system to improve," Winkler said.
Meantime, the state Board of Education took another step to thin the herd of A-rated schools. Currently, a school must earn 525 points or more (on an 800-point scale) to earn an A grade. A final level hasn't been determined yet, but beginning in 2012-2013, if, for example, 75 percent of Florida’s high schools earn an A, an "automatic trigger" would raise the minimum threshold to 560 points the next year.
Jaryn Emhof, spokeswoman at Jeb Bush's education-reform think tank, Foundation for Florida's Future, hailed the state's moves. "The foundation has said standards need to be raised across the board," Emhof said.
Caros, an educator in Volusia County, says poor reading skills at middle schools and high schools are "a byproduct of the failure to teach core knowledge" in early grades. "Much of the reading elementary students engage in at school is fiction. While fiction is certainly important, a 2006 Stanford University study found that Florida’s failure to emphasize 'the acquisition of appropriate knowledge at each grade level' made comprehension of nonfiction texts very difficult for middle and high school students," Caros writes in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of the James Madison Institute.
Citing one example, Caros asks: "Why would it be bad for someone to meet their Waterloo?" Without broad background knowledge, readers will find it difficult to make sense of the many historical and literary allusions that appear in readings," Caros says in his article, "Why Johnny Can't Understand What He Reads."
Still, many teachers and administrators bridle at the tougher, upcoming cut scores. Maintaining that academic deficiencies begin at the lower grade levels, high schools are particularly concerned.
Orange County School District Superintendent Ron Blocker told the Orlando Sentinel, "There will be blood on the table."
"Adding more focus to an already flawed assessment process will not result in real learning gains in reading," Caros predicted in an article written for the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
But DOE Commissioner Gerard Robinson says the new standards will put high school students "on a pathway for colleges and careers in a far better way than we've ever seen before."
State officials say the whole testing system is being reformed as Florida replaces FCAT math, reading and writing exams with new “common core” exams in 2015.
Developed by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, a consortium of states that won federal Race to the Top funds, the new exams will likely include two tests per subject.
It is not yet known how the "PARCC" tests will stack up against FCAT, but education observers point out that continual changes in test regimens thwart any longitudinal, apples-to-apples comparisons. Skeptics say that's exactly the intent and objective.
Whatever assessment devices and scoring systems Florida uses, Bill Mattox, resident fellow at James Madison Institute, says, "We ought to be raising the bar, not lowering it. Hold everyone -- students, teachers, parents -- to higher standards."
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/more-florida-high-schools-earn-a-while-fcats-fade
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Ruling on ethnic students program splits Arizona community
Ruling on ethnic students program splits Arizona communityBy Casey Stegall January 14, 2012
Years ago, many urban school districts around the country created ethnic studies programs in an effort to help minority students succeed in the classroom and learn about their heritage. The Tucson Unified School District in Arizona was no exception, considering about 61 percent of
the student population there is Hispanic.
The courses first started being offered a little more than ten years ago but top education officials in the state say the program has spiraled out of control in recent years because of failed oversight.
Now the issue has a community divided. John Huppenthal, Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, says somehow the district's "Mexican-American Studies Program" went rogue because the curriculum, lesson plans and textbooks stopped being approved by the school board at some point.
The state's top school chief says that makes it in violation of state law because all materials being taught in Arizona classrooms must get the local board's seal of approval. In fact, his office launched an investigation that found that erroneous facts were being taught to the students and the classes promoted "racial resentment."
"We have no problem with a history class talking about historical injustices. It becomes problematic though when you take every historic event and you interpret it in racial terms, in a radical context and you use that to inflame a low income Hispanic minority against a white Caucasian majority. Then you're not talking about injustice. You're not talking about how each of us has individual rights and responsibilities for a better future. Now you're talking about getting even," Huppenthol told Fox News.
An administrative law judge in Arizona, Lewis Kowal, agreed with the investigation findings. The judge says teachers were presenting material in a biased, political and emotionally charged manner.
Kowal's 37 page ruling went on to say the course was "designed for Latinos as a group that promoted racial resentment against 'Whites' and advocates ethnic solidarity of Latinos." After
these statements were made, state education officials threatened to suspend millions of dollars in funding to the district unless the problem was fixed.
Supporters of the program have maintained the state's findings are bogus. They argue the classes are vital in teaching children about Chicano history, literature and social and justice. Teachers say they're insulted by the mere suggestion that they're promoting racism and students tell Fox the classes actually help them excel in their other mandated courses.
"We have the right to culture, history, affinity, language and education. We want an educational system where all cultures fit. Unidos we stand, divided we fall," one student says of the program.
The issue came to a head this week when the Tucson Unified School Board voted 4-1 to halt the ethnic studies classes for the time being. TUSD's Superintendent, John Pedicone, says ethnic studies teachers are already reverting to core curriculum. The courses are gone but the epartment still remains as the district works on creating new classes that will combine core curriculum and some ethnic studies lessons, all in compliance with Arizona law.
Hundreds of students, parents and teachers are outraged over the school board's decision and there were some tense moments at the meeting. "You're an autonomous board. You can
appeal this decision… this racist decision… this ignorant decision that was made by the state. Do the right thing! Stand up for something they way I was taught. That if I go and stand for something I'm going to fall for anything.
That's what you should have to do! That's what you need to do!" one teacher yelled.
More than 100 students also staged a march this week, walking from their charter school to TUSD headquarters in protest. A legal fight is already underway because of a federal lawsuit that was filed prior to this vote. Richard Martinez is a Tucson attorney representing the plaintiffs who says the state law could very well be a violation of the teachers' First Amendment rights. The American Civil Liberties Union has also expressed interest in helping appeal the school board’s decision. Supporters of Tucson's ethnic studies program say they're not going down without a fight and the issue certainly isn’t going away anytime soon.
To be continued . . . .
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/14/ruling-on-ethnic-students-program-splits-arizona-community/#ixzz1jUHEdkvO
Years ago, many urban school districts around the country created ethnic studies programs in an effort to help minority students succeed in the classroom and learn about their heritage. The Tucson Unified School District in Arizona was no exception, considering about 61 percent of
the student population there is Hispanic.
The courses first started being offered a little more than ten years ago but top education officials in the state say the program has spiraled out of control in recent years because of failed oversight.
Now the issue has a community divided. John Huppenthal, Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, says somehow the district's "Mexican-American Studies Program" went rogue because the curriculum, lesson plans and textbooks stopped being approved by the school board at some point.
The state's top school chief says that makes it in violation of state law because all materials being taught in Arizona classrooms must get the local board's seal of approval. In fact, his office launched an investigation that found that erroneous facts were being taught to the students and the classes promoted "racial resentment."
"We have no problem with a history class talking about historical injustices. It becomes problematic though when you take every historic event and you interpret it in racial terms, in a radical context and you use that to inflame a low income Hispanic minority against a white Caucasian majority. Then you're not talking about injustice. You're not talking about how each of us has individual rights and responsibilities for a better future. Now you're talking about getting even," Huppenthol told Fox News.
An administrative law judge in Arizona, Lewis Kowal, agreed with the investigation findings. The judge says teachers were presenting material in a biased, political and emotionally charged manner.
Kowal's 37 page ruling went on to say the course was "designed for Latinos as a group that promoted racial resentment against 'Whites' and advocates ethnic solidarity of Latinos." After
these statements were made, state education officials threatened to suspend millions of dollars in funding to the district unless the problem was fixed.
Supporters of the program have maintained the state's findings are bogus. They argue the classes are vital in teaching children about Chicano history, literature and social and justice. Teachers say they're insulted by the mere suggestion that they're promoting racism and students tell Fox the classes actually help them excel in their other mandated courses.
"We have the right to culture, history, affinity, language and education. We want an educational system where all cultures fit. Unidos we stand, divided we fall," one student says of the program.
The issue came to a head this week when the Tucson Unified School Board voted 4-1 to halt the ethnic studies classes for the time being. TUSD's Superintendent, John Pedicone, says ethnic studies teachers are already reverting to core curriculum. The courses are gone but the epartment still remains as the district works on creating new classes that will combine core curriculum and some ethnic studies lessons, all in compliance with Arizona law.
Hundreds of students, parents and teachers are outraged over the school board's decision and there were some tense moments at the meeting. "You're an autonomous board. You can
appeal this decision… this racist decision… this ignorant decision that was made by the state. Do the right thing! Stand up for something they way I was taught. That if I go and stand for something I'm going to fall for anything.
That's what you should have to do! That's what you need to do!" one teacher yelled.
More than 100 students also staged a march this week, walking from their charter school to TUSD headquarters in protest. A legal fight is already underway because of a federal lawsuit that was filed prior to this vote. Richard Martinez is a Tucson attorney representing the plaintiffs who says the state law could very well be a violation of the teachers' First Amendment rights. The American Civil Liberties Union has also expressed interest in helping appeal the school board’s decision. Supporters of Tucson's ethnic studies program say they're not going down without a fight and the issue certainly isn’t going away anytime soon.
To be continued . . . .
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/14/ruling-on-ethnic-students-program-splits-arizona-community/#ixzz1jUHEdkvO
Friday, October 21, 2011
AMERICAN YOUTH LOSING INTEREST IN HISTORY, CIVICS AND PATRIOTISM.
America Was Great Because We Were Good. Why Is American Greatness Now Fading?
“Failing Liberty 101”
By Walter E. Williams, professor of economics at George Mason University July 13, 2011
A recent Superman comic book has the hero saying, "I am renouncing my U.S. citizenship" because "truth, justice, and the American way -- it's not enough anymore." Though not addressing Superman's statement, Stanford University professor and Hoover Institution senior fellow William Damon explains how such a vision could emerge today but not yesteryear. The explanation is found in his article "American Amnesia," in Defining Ideas (7/1/2011), based upon his most recent book, "Failing Liberty 101: How We Are Leaving Young Americans Unprepared for Citizenship in a Free Society."
The National Assessment of Educational Progress reports that only 1 in 4 high-school seniors scored at least "proficient" in knowledge of U.S. citizenship. Civics and history were American students' worst subjects. Professor Damon said that for the past 10 years, his Stanford University research team has interviewed broad cross sections of American youths about U.S. citizenship. Here are some typical responses: "We just had (American citizenship) the other day in history. I forget what it was." Another said, "Being American is not really special. ... I don't find being an American citizen very important." Another said, "I don't want to belong to any country. It just feels like you are obligated to this country. I don't like the whole thing of citizen. ... It's like, citizen, no citizen; it doesn't make sense to me. It's, like, to be a good citizen -- I don't know, I don't want to be a citizen. ... It's stupid to me."
A law professor, whom Damon leaves unnamed, shares this vision in a recent book: "Longstanding notions of democratic citizenship are becoming obsolete. ... American identity is unsustainable in the face of globalization." Instead of commitment to a nation-state, "loyalties ... are moving to transnational communities defined by many different ways: by race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, and sexual orientation." This law professor's vision is shared by many educators who look to "global citizenship" as the proper aim of civics instruction, de-emphasizing attachment to any particular country, such as the United States, pointing out that our primary obligation should be to the universal ideals of human rights and justice. To be patriotic to one's own country is seen as suspect because it may turn into a militant chauvinism or a dangerous "my country, right or wrong" vision.
The ignorance about our country is staggering. According to one survey, only 28 percent of students could identify the Constitution as the supreme law of the land. Only 26 percent of students knew that the first 10 amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. Fewer than one-quarter of students knew that George Washington was the first president of the United States. . . .
Discouraging young Americans from identifying with their country and celebrating our traditional American quest for liberty and equal rights removes the most powerful motivation to learn civics and U.S. history. After all, Damon asks, "why would a student exert any effort to master the rules of a system that the student has no respect for and no interest in being part of? To acquire civic knowledge as well as civic virtue, students need to care about their country."
[Dr. Williams then editorialized as to the current state of American politics which was heavily partisan. These comments are not reprinted here.]
Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.
From: http://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2011/07/13/failing_liberty_101
America Was Great Because We Were Good. Why Is American Greatness Now Fading?
“Failing Liberty 101”
By Walter E. Williams, professor of economics at George Mason University July 13, 2011
A recent Superman comic book has the hero saying, "I am renouncing my U.S. citizenship" because "truth, justice, and the American way -- it's not enough anymore." Though not addressing Superman's statement, Stanford University professor and Hoover Institution senior fellow William Damon explains how such a vision could emerge today but not yesteryear. The explanation is found in his article "American Amnesia," in Defining Ideas (7/1/2011), based upon his most recent book, "Failing Liberty 101: How We Are Leaving Young Americans Unprepared for Citizenship in a Free Society."
The National Assessment of Educational Progress reports that only 1 in 4 high-school seniors scored at least "proficient" in knowledge of U.S. citizenship. Civics and history were American students' worst subjects. Professor Damon said that for the past 10 years, his Stanford University research team has interviewed broad cross sections of American youths about U.S. citizenship. Here are some typical responses: "We just had (American citizenship) the other day in history. I forget what it was." Another said, "Being American is not really special. ... I don't find being an American citizen very important." Another said, "I don't want to belong to any country. It just feels like you are obligated to this country. I don't like the whole thing of citizen. ... It's like, citizen, no citizen; it doesn't make sense to me. It's, like, to be a good citizen -- I don't know, I don't want to be a citizen. ... It's stupid to me."
A law professor, whom Damon leaves unnamed, shares this vision in a recent book: "Longstanding notions of democratic citizenship are becoming obsolete. ... American identity is unsustainable in the face of globalization." Instead of commitment to a nation-state, "loyalties ... are moving to transnational communities defined by many different ways: by race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, and sexual orientation." This law professor's vision is shared by many educators who look to "global citizenship" as the proper aim of civics instruction, de-emphasizing attachment to any particular country, such as the United States, pointing out that our primary obligation should be to the universal ideals of human rights and justice. To be patriotic to one's own country is seen as suspect because it may turn into a militant chauvinism or a dangerous "my country, right or wrong" vision.
The ignorance about our country is staggering. According to one survey, only 28 percent of students could identify the Constitution as the supreme law of the land. Only 26 percent of students knew that the first 10 amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. Fewer than one-quarter of students knew that George Washington was the first president of the United States. . . .
Discouraging young Americans from identifying with their country and celebrating our traditional American quest for liberty and equal rights removes the most powerful motivation to learn civics and U.S. history. After all, Damon asks, "why would a student exert any effort to master the rules of a system that the student has no respect for and no interest in being part of? To acquire civic knowledge as well as civic virtue, students need to care about their country."
[Dr. Williams then editorialized as to the current state of American politics which was heavily partisan. These comments are not reprinted here.]
Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.
From: http://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2011/07/13/failing_liberty_101
Friday, April 23, 2010
Making War Over History
Friday, April 23, 2010
by Suzanne Fields
Texas is big. Everybody knows that. Texans, who boast about their diversity and productivity, are usually big, too. Texas produces more beef and cotton than any other state. Texas has a lot of snakes and flowers, and producers of nearly everything everywhere are determined to make a market in Texas.
When the product bears on what children in the other 49 states learn at school, what Texas produces becomes our business. Textbook publishers long ago learned that publishing textbooks for Texas was an opportunity to hit a gusher, like Jett Rink's gusher of oil in the movie "Giant." With more than 4.7 million students and a school board that adopts textbooks for the whole state, Texas attracts publishers from all over to make pilgrimages to Texas to get drafts of their books approved according to Texas standards. It follows that this one-size-fits-all cuts the cost of textbooks for schools in the rest of the nation.
This year, the Texas Board of Education landed itself in the middle of the culture wars when it rewrote the social studies curriculum, inviting a debate that mirrors the values conflict between traditionalists and multiculturalists. With partisans on the right and on the left, it's the 21st century's "battle of the books." The argument is tilted a bit to the right, with 10 Republicans and five Democrats deciding on changes in the books.
"We are adding balance," Dr. Don McLeroy, the conservative leader on the board, told The New York Times. "History has already been skewed. Academia is skewed too far to the left. "
Counters Mary Beth Berlanga, a longtime Texas board member and Hispanic activist, "They are rewriting history." She complains that conservatives ignore Hispanics and want to portray a white America. She and her liberal friends accuse the board of "racist ideology" and spreading "capitalism propaganda."
Calmer observers suggest the changes are a necessary correction of liberal bias. Gilbert T. Sewall, director of the New York-based American Textbook Council, an independent research organization that reviews history and social studies textbooks used in the nation's schools, argues that "for two decades, multiculturalists have tried to supplant the older view of Americans as religious dissenters, pioneers and immigrants intent on making a freer and better life, a force for good in the world, a nation that regulated reform and advanced civil rights to all."
He describes American parents as shocked and dismayed to discover their children are reading history as "a setting for power struggles between groups, or as an unjust and patriarchal society whose rapacity -- from Jamestown to Vietnam -- needs exposure and explication." Columbus isn't a discoverer and explorer, he's an invader and exploiter. Harriet Tubman is a saint. Thomas Jefferson is a sinner.
Although the more than 100 changes recently adopted by the selection board tilt rightward, they are mostly only mildly corrective. The American experience of moving westward is to be described as "expansionism," not "imperialism." The "free enterprise system" replaces the negative connotations that have come to adhere to the word "capitalism" (as in "capitalist pig"). The goals of the Great Society will be broadened to include discussions of its "unintended consequences."
Students will actually learn about "the conservative resurgence in the 1980s and 1990s," including the way Phyllis Schlafly led the successful fight against the Equal Rights Amendment and Newt Gingrich succeeded with the Contract With America and the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in 1994.
These textbook controversies may soon become moot, as more schools rely on electronic books. Students would do a lot better to read different works of actual historians than the rehashed, reinterpreted history often written by hacks. Herodotus and Thucydides such hacks are not.
History, as the cliche goes, is always written by the victors, but a strange thing has happened to American education since the 1960s. Our triumphs have been trivialized and twisted, demonizing America with no celebration of what America stands for in the hearts and minds of the millions across the world.
Instead of emphasizing the abolition of slavery, the educationists encourage our children to wallow in the horrors of that "moral, social and political evil" before Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves, along with an enormous expenditure of blood in the Civil War. Instead of focusing on the courage of our ancestors, educationists obsess on what went wrong. They indulge the mindset that sneers at the tea parties as "rabble and racist," ignoring the growing aspiration to return to the smaller government as envisioned by the Founding Fathers.
Lord Byron scoffed that history was the "devil's Scripture." Arnold Toynbee defined history as "a vision of God's creation on the move." The textbook wars will continue, because they're too big even for Texas.
Suzanne Fields is a columnist with The Washington Times.
by Suzanne Fields
Texas is big. Everybody knows that. Texans, who boast about their diversity and productivity, are usually big, too. Texas produces more beef and cotton than any other state. Texas has a lot of snakes and flowers, and producers of nearly everything everywhere are determined to make a market in Texas.
When the product bears on what children in the other 49 states learn at school, what Texas produces becomes our business. Textbook publishers long ago learned that publishing textbooks for Texas was an opportunity to hit a gusher, like Jett Rink's gusher of oil in the movie "Giant." With more than 4.7 million students and a school board that adopts textbooks for the whole state, Texas attracts publishers from all over to make pilgrimages to Texas to get drafts of their books approved according to Texas standards. It follows that this one-size-fits-all cuts the cost of textbooks for schools in the rest of the nation.
This year, the Texas Board of Education landed itself in the middle of the culture wars when it rewrote the social studies curriculum, inviting a debate that mirrors the values conflict between traditionalists and multiculturalists. With partisans on the right and on the left, it's the 21st century's "battle of the books." The argument is tilted a bit to the right, with 10 Republicans and five Democrats deciding on changes in the books.
"We are adding balance," Dr. Don McLeroy, the conservative leader on the board, told The New York Times. "History has already been skewed. Academia is skewed too far to the left. "
Counters Mary Beth Berlanga, a longtime Texas board member and Hispanic activist, "They are rewriting history." She complains that conservatives ignore Hispanics and want to portray a white America. She and her liberal friends accuse the board of "racist ideology" and spreading "capitalism propaganda."
Calmer observers suggest the changes are a necessary correction of liberal bias. Gilbert T. Sewall, director of the New York-based American Textbook Council, an independent research organization that reviews history and social studies textbooks used in the nation's schools, argues that "for two decades, multiculturalists have tried to supplant the older view of Americans as religious dissenters, pioneers and immigrants intent on making a freer and better life, a force for good in the world, a nation that regulated reform and advanced civil rights to all."
He describes American parents as shocked and dismayed to discover their children are reading history as "a setting for power struggles between groups, or as an unjust and patriarchal society whose rapacity -- from Jamestown to Vietnam -- needs exposure and explication." Columbus isn't a discoverer and explorer, he's an invader and exploiter. Harriet Tubman is a saint. Thomas Jefferson is a sinner.
Although the more than 100 changes recently adopted by the selection board tilt rightward, they are mostly only mildly corrective. The American experience of moving westward is to be described as "expansionism," not "imperialism." The "free enterprise system" replaces the negative connotations that have come to adhere to the word "capitalism" (as in "capitalist pig"). The goals of the Great Society will be broadened to include discussions of its "unintended consequences."
Students will actually learn about "the conservative resurgence in the 1980s and 1990s," including the way Phyllis Schlafly led the successful fight against the Equal Rights Amendment and Newt Gingrich succeeded with the Contract With America and the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in 1994.
These textbook controversies may soon become moot, as more schools rely on electronic books. Students would do a lot better to read different works of actual historians than the rehashed, reinterpreted history often written by hacks. Herodotus and Thucydides such hacks are not.
History, as the cliche goes, is always written by the victors, but a strange thing has happened to American education since the 1960s. Our triumphs have been trivialized and twisted, demonizing America with no celebration of what America stands for in the hearts and minds of the millions across the world.
Instead of emphasizing the abolition of slavery, the educationists encourage our children to wallow in the horrors of that "moral, social and political evil" before Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves, along with an enormous expenditure of blood in the Civil War. Instead of focusing on the courage of our ancestors, educationists obsess on what went wrong. They indulge the mindset that sneers at the tea parties as "rabble and racist," ignoring the growing aspiration to return to the smaller government as envisioned by the Founding Fathers.
Lord Byron scoffed that history was the "devil's Scripture." Arnold Toynbee defined history as "a vision of God's creation on the move." The textbook wars will continue, because they're too big even for Texas.
Suzanne Fields is a columnist with The Washington Times.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Florida's Civics Bill Makes National Headlines
From: ncss-legis-bounces@lists.ncss.org [mailto:ncss-legis-bounces@lists.ncss.org] On Behalf Of Kristen Pekarek
Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 3:49 PM
To: ncss-legis legis; NCSS Affiliates
Subject: [Ncss-legis] Bill would require civics in Florida Schools
Dear Leaders,
I wanted to pass along some good news that was just sent from Florida concerning a Bill that would require civics in Florida Schools. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments at legis@ncss.org
The Associated Press
Published: April 21, 2010
A bill requiring middle school students to take a civics class and pass an end-of-course test is on its way to Gov. Charlie Crist.
The Senate voted unanimously for the (HB 105) today. It previously passed in the House.
Students would have to pass the final exam to go on to high school.
Lawmakers said the requirement is needed because many citizens don't know the difference between a state legislator and member of Congress or even who is president.
The bill is called the Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Civics Education Act after the retired U.S. Supreme Court justice.
Former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham and ex-U.S. Rep. Lou Frey joined forces four years ago to push for such a requirement.
http://flhouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=42220
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/apr/21/bill-would-require-civics-florida-schools/
Thanks,
Kristen
--
Kristen Pekarek
Program Assistant, External Relations
& Council Communications
National Council for the Social Studies
8555 Sixteenth St., Suite 500
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301-588-1800 ext. 107
(fax) 301-588-2049
www.socialstudies.org
Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 3:49 PM
To: ncss-legis legis; NCSS Affiliates
Subject: [Ncss-legis] Bill would require civics in Florida Schools
Dear Leaders,
I wanted to pass along some good news that was just sent from Florida concerning a Bill that would require civics in Florida Schools. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments at legis@ncss.org
The Associated Press
Published: April 21, 2010
A bill requiring middle school students to take a civics class and pass an end-of-course test is on its way to Gov. Charlie Crist.
The Senate voted unanimously for the (HB 105) today. It previously passed in the House.
Students would have to pass the final exam to go on to high school.
Lawmakers said the requirement is needed because many citizens don't know the difference between a state legislator and member of Congress or even who is president.
The bill is called the Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Civics Education Act after the retired U.S. Supreme Court justice.
Former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham and ex-U.S. Rep. Lou Frey joined forces four years ago to push for such a requirement.
http://flhouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=42220
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/apr/21/bill-would-require-civics-florida-schools/
Thanks,
Kristen
--
Kristen Pekarek
Program Assistant, External Relations
& Council Communications
National Council for the Social Studies
8555 Sixteenth St., Suite 500
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301-588-1800 ext. 107
(fax) 301-588-2049
www.socialstudies.org
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Colleges Get Failing Grades In Civics
by Dr. Richard Brake
(April 8) -- On this day 97 years ago, the 17th Amendment was ratified, changing the way we elect senators. Not that many college students would know anything about it, either when they get to college or when they graduate.
For the past five years, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute has tried to measure how well colleges and universities do in giving their students a basic understanding of America's core history, key texts, and enduring political and economic institutions.
The results aren't pretty.
Half of the 14,000 incoming freshmen tested failed the 60-question multiple-choice test, getting just half the questions right. Worse, they barely know any more when they graduate, with seniors scoring 54 percent correct. No school, not even Harvard or Yale, got above a 69 percent average among seniors. Worse still, in some schools, students did worse coming out than going in.
At right is a sampling of the questions. (You can take a more complete version of the test on our Web site.) Some of the most missed questions by students dealt with such fundamental American concepts as judicial review, George Washington's warning against "foreign entanglements," the Monroe Doctrine, "The Federalist Papers" and basic details of the Revolutionary and Civil wars.
Colleges like to pride themselves on preparing their young citizens to become the future leaders of the Republic, but how can you be an effective leader if you don't know the story of how our nation's past leaders grappled with the perennial challenges of governing a free people?
Here's the list of the top 10 schools that improved their students' knowledge of civics (the figures show the percentage point increase in scores between freshmen and seniors):
Rhodes College (Tenn) +11.6
Colorado State (CO) +10.9
E. Conn. State Univ. + 9.66
Calvin College (MI) + 9.5
Marian College (WI) + 9.44
Murray State U. (KY) + 9.12
Grove City College PA) + 9.0
Concordia U. (Neb) + 9.0
U. of Colorado + 8.9
St. Cloud State U (MN) + 8.59
Source: Intercollegiate Studies Institute
And here are the bottom 10 schools -- which saw their students lose the most ground (the figures show the percentage point decrease in scores between freshmen and seniors):
John Hopkins (MD) -7.3
Cornell (NY) -4.96
Yale (CN) -3.09
Brown (RI) -2.7
Duke (NC) -2.25
St. John's (NY) -1.87
Princeton (NJ) -1.7
Georgetown (D.C.) -1.2
University of VA -1.1
Rutgers (NJ) -0.93
Source: Intercollegiate Studies Institute
So, what should we make of this?
First, there's clearly room for vast improvement on the part of all colleges and universities when it comes to effectively teaching America's history and institutions. No school did terribly well.
Second, prestige doesn't necessarily guarantee quality and excellence. In fact, most of the schools on the losing side were in the elite category. And while schools like Johns Hopkins do a better job attracting smarter students, when it comes to actually doing the job that colleges are paid to do -- promoting learning -- little schools like Rhodes College and Murray State leave them in the dust. Clearly, exorbitant tuitions don't guarantee a curricula that ensures that students learn the basics about American history and government.
Finally, parents and taxpayers who pay the bills of American higher education need to start holding colleges accountable for the actual outputs of their academic programming and, if necessary, start demanding more transparency in terms of what is taught on their campuses.
From: http://www.aolnews.com/opinion/article/opinion-colleges-get-failing-grades-on-civics/19430737
Dr. Richard Brake is co-chair of Intercollegiate Studies Institute's National Civic Literacy Board. For more details regarding ISI's past and current civic literacy studies, and to take the test online, please go to www.americancivicliteracy.org.
(April 8) -- On this day 97 years ago, the 17th Amendment was ratified, changing the way we elect senators. Not that many college students would know anything about it, either when they get to college or when they graduate.
For the past five years, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute has tried to measure how well colleges and universities do in giving their students a basic understanding of America's core history, key texts, and enduring political and economic institutions.
The results aren't pretty.
Half of the 14,000 incoming freshmen tested failed the 60-question multiple-choice test, getting just half the questions right. Worse, they barely know any more when they graduate, with seniors scoring 54 percent correct. No school, not even Harvard or Yale, got above a 69 percent average among seniors. Worse still, in some schools, students did worse coming out than going in.
At right is a sampling of the questions. (You can take a more complete version of the test on our Web site.) Some of the most missed questions by students dealt with such fundamental American concepts as judicial review, George Washington's warning against "foreign entanglements," the Monroe Doctrine, "The Federalist Papers" and basic details of the Revolutionary and Civil wars.
Colleges like to pride themselves on preparing their young citizens to become the future leaders of the Republic, but how can you be an effective leader if you don't know the story of how our nation's past leaders grappled with the perennial challenges of governing a free people?
Here's the list of the top 10 schools that improved their students' knowledge of civics (the figures show the percentage point increase in scores between freshmen and seniors):
Rhodes College (Tenn) +11.6
Colorado State (CO) +10.9
E. Conn. State Univ. + 9.66
Calvin College (MI) + 9.5
Marian College (WI) + 9.44
Murray State U. (KY) + 9.12
Grove City College PA) + 9.0
Concordia U. (Neb) + 9.0
U. of Colorado + 8.9
St. Cloud State U (MN) + 8.59
Source: Intercollegiate Studies Institute
And here are the bottom 10 schools -- which saw their students lose the most ground (the figures show the percentage point decrease in scores between freshmen and seniors):
John Hopkins (MD) -7.3
Cornell (NY) -4.96
Yale (CN) -3.09
Brown (RI) -2.7
Duke (NC) -2.25
St. John's (NY) -1.87
Princeton (NJ) -1.7
Georgetown (D.C.) -1.2
University of VA -1.1
Rutgers (NJ) -0.93
Source: Intercollegiate Studies Institute
So, what should we make of this?
First, there's clearly room for vast improvement on the part of all colleges and universities when it comes to effectively teaching America's history and institutions. No school did terribly well.
Second, prestige doesn't necessarily guarantee quality and excellence. In fact, most of the schools on the losing side were in the elite category. And while schools like Johns Hopkins do a better job attracting smarter students, when it comes to actually doing the job that colleges are paid to do -- promoting learning -- little schools like Rhodes College and Murray State leave them in the dust. Clearly, exorbitant tuitions don't guarantee a curricula that ensures that students learn the basics about American history and government.
Finally, parents and taxpayers who pay the bills of American higher education need to start holding colleges accountable for the actual outputs of their academic programming and, if necessary, start demanding more transparency in terms of what is taught on their campuses.
From: http://www.aolnews.com/opinion/article/opinion-colleges-get-failing-grades-on-civics/19430737
Dr. Richard Brake is co-chair of Intercollegiate Studies Institute's National Civic Literacy Board. For more details regarding ISI's past and current civic literacy studies, and to take the test online, please go to www.americancivicliteracy.org.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Va. Ponders Eliminating Third-Grade History Exam
(FASSS members are currently analyzing state testing programs around the country and are unfortunately discovering many proposals to scale back social studies assessments. The reason most often cited for these cutbacks is the need to bring needed resources to Reading, Mathematics, Science and Writing. Despite this trend, Florida appears ready to move forward with proposals for end of course testing in all areas required for high school graduation except Economics.
Thanks to Jason for the article below, which once again serves as a reminder for the importance of passing the NAEP reform legislation currently filed for the FOURTH Congress. These proposals, quickly endorsed by FASSS and FCSS would begin to hold at least a 'few' states accountable for the civic mission of their schools. The lack of strong support for these measures over the last few years ought to be an embarassment to NCCE, NCSS, AHA, etc. Should anyone have documented position papers from these national groups in favor of these proposals, we would welcome receiving a copy.
Thanks to Jason for the article below, which once again serves as a reminder for the importance of passing the NAEP reform legislation currently filed for the FOURTH Congress. These proposals, quickly endorsed by FASSS and FCSS would begin to hold at least a 'few' states accountable for the civic mission of their schools. The lack of strong support for these measures over the last few years ought to be an embarassment to NCCE, NCSS, AHA, etc. Should anyone have documented position papers from these national groups in favor of these proposals, we would welcome receiving a copy.
Ed. comment -- JB)
By Michael Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, May 28, 2009
In the seven years since enactment of the federal No Child Left Behind law, students have spent ever more time filling in bubbles on high-stakes tests. But Virginia could soon join a movement to roll back testing programs, as it considers abandoning an exam that spans such matters as bartering, the ancient empire of Mali and pie charts.
Florida and Georgia have cut testing budgets, citing financial pressures. North Carolina might soon follow. And today, the Virginia Board of Education will take up eliminating the third-grade history test, a move state officials say would open up time for core subjects such as math and reading. But critics say they worry that ditching the test would hurt history education in the primary grades.
For 11 years, Virginia has given third-graders a Standards of Learning history test. Forty multiple-choice questions cover material from kindergarten through third grade, which state officials say puts an unfair burden on the memories of young children.
Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia I. Wright predicted that teachers and administrators would welcome the change.
"It's not just about money, and it's certainly not about diminishing social studies," she said. "This is about freeing up elementary teachers' time to be more creative. . . . I am the last person that will go out on a limb and start unraveling our accountability system."
But some educators say that without test pressure forcing history standards to be taught, class time devoted to the subject could dwindle.
"I view this as a frontal assault on the value of social science education at the early grades," said Ken Bassett, president of the Virginia Consortium of Social Studies Specialists and College Educators and director of social studies education in Prince William County schools. "What we've seen from all across the country is that in places where they don't have these tests, the amount of time devoted to social studies instruction diminishes significantly."
Wright said the $380,000 a year saved through elimination of the exam could be used to construct new kinds of questions for math tests, put fifth- and eighth-grade writing tests online and bolster elementary reading exams.
Last year, 93 percent of Virginia's third-graders passed the history exam, and 84 percent passed reading, which Wright said pointed to a need for more lesson time on that skill. She said that reading classes could incorporate history lessons and noted that the state would still test students in history four times before they reached high school. Wright also said the underlying teaching standards wouldn't be changed.
Under the 2002 federal law, states are required to test students in reading and math in grades three through eight and once in high school. The law also calls for more science testing. Virginia is one of a few states with a history testing program, and education groups praise its curriculum routinely. In a 2006 study of world history standards in the 50 states and the District, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a District-based education think tank, ranked Virginia second in the country, tied with Massachusetts and behind California. The District ranked 27th and Maryland 29th. But neither the District nor Maryland tests history.
Many Virginia history education proponents confess to a love-hate relationship with the tests. They often complain that the multiple-choice format emphasizes rote memorization over analytical skills. But they say they would rather have something than nothing. "In an environment where some subjects are tested and some are not, guess which lose out," said Bill Brazier, social science supervisor for Loudoun County schools.
Third-grade teacher Christina Hepner of Ball's Bluff Elementary School in Leesburg questioned whether it was fair to hold students accountable for material learned in kindergarten. She said that she teaches history with skits, writing exercises and games, and that her kids would not learn as much if the subject was taught with an emphasis on reading skills.
"Students can't just read it and connect to it," Hepner said. "A good lesson has to have more than one leg to stand on."
The state Board of Education could vote on the matter as early as today. Wright said a decision must be made within the next month or two if the exam is to be eliminated for the next school year.
By Michael Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, May 28, 2009
In the seven years since enactment of the federal No Child Left Behind law, students have spent ever more time filling in bubbles on high-stakes tests. But Virginia could soon join a movement to roll back testing programs, as it considers abandoning an exam that spans such matters as bartering, the ancient empire of Mali and pie charts.
Florida and Georgia have cut testing budgets, citing financial pressures. North Carolina might soon follow. And today, the Virginia Board of Education will take up eliminating the third-grade history test, a move state officials say would open up time for core subjects such as math and reading. But critics say they worry that ditching the test would hurt history education in the primary grades.
For 11 years, Virginia has given third-graders a Standards of Learning history test. Forty multiple-choice questions cover material from kindergarten through third grade, which state officials say puts an unfair burden on the memories of young children.
Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia I. Wright predicted that teachers and administrators would welcome the change.
"It's not just about money, and it's certainly not about diminishing social studies," she said. "This is about freeing up elementary teachers' time to be more creative. . . . I am the last person that will go out on a limb and start unraveling our accountability system."
But some educators say that without test pressure forcing history standards to be taught, class time devoted to the subject could dwindle.
"I view this as a frontal assault on the value of social science education at the early grades," said Ken Bassett, president of the Virginia Consortium of Social Studies Specialists and College Educators and director of social studies education in Prince William County schools. "What we've seen from all across the country is that in places where they don't have these tests, the amount of time devoted to social studies instruction diminishes significantly."
Wright said the $380,000 a year saved through elimination of the exam could be used to construct new kinds of questions for math tests, put fifth- and eighth-grade writing tests online and bolster elementary reading exams.
Last year, 93 percent of Virginia's third-graders passed the history exam, and 84 percent passed reading, which Wright said pointed to a need for more lesson time on that skill. She said that reading classes could incorporate history lessons and noted that the state would still test students in history four times before they reached high school. Wright also said the underlying teaching standards wouldn't be changed.
Under the 2002 federal law, states are required to test students in reading and math in grades three through eight and once in high school. The law also calls for more science testing. Virginia is one of a few states with a history testing program, and education groups praise its curriculum routinely. In a 2006 study of world history standards in the 50 states and the District, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a District-based education think tank, ranked Virginia second in the country, tied with Massachusetts and behind California. The District ranked 27th and Maryland 29th. But neither the District nor Maryland tests history.
Many Virginia history education proponents confess to a love-hate relationship with the tests. They often complain that the multiple-choice format emphasizes rote memorization over analytical skills. But they say they would rather have something than nothing. "In an environment where some subjects are tested and some are not, guess which lose out," said Bill Brazier, social science supervisor for Loudoun County schools.
Third-grade teacher Christina Hepner of Ball's Bluff Elementary School in Leesburg questioned whether it was fair to hold students accountable for material learned in kindergarten. She said that she teaches history with skits, writing exercises and games, and that her kids would not learn as much if the subject was taught with an emphasis on reading skills.
"Students can't just read it and connect to it," Hepner said. "A good lesson has to have more than one leg to stand on."
The state Board of Education could vote on the matter as early as today. Wright said a decision must be made within the next month or two if the exam is to be eliminated for the next school year.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Gerald Celente Predicts Revolution, Food Riots, Tax Rellions by 2012
A favorite reading of world history is the story of Nero fiddling while Rome burned. If history has seen fit to condemn Nero, what might it eventually say of our elected officials today?
Another dire prediction of the collapse of the U.S. bodes ill will for the future of the Republic. Without a common culture or sense of our past, experts continue to predict the U.S. will cease to be a unified national state in the very near future. To what extent does the lack of holding any state responsible for how well they imbue their students with civic and historical knowledge play a role in accelerating these predictions? FCSS has sponsored a bill in Congress for the last FOUR sessions—where it has languished without much national support—which would address the above possible national catastrophe. Clink here for more information on S659 and here , here or here for other predictions of our nation’s supposedly imminent collapse.
Former key legislators once before killed plans to have Florida students held accountable for understanding a common, unifying history of America's past by noting it is general practice to teach American history differently in various communities around the state. Rather than see a common state assessment as a means to provide a shared understanding of our national heritage, these adherents apparently believe it is more important to allow individual schools to celebrate unique views of America’s past. This is indeed a recipe for national disaster. Florida remains virtually the only southern state that refuses to hold its students accountable for historical and civic understanding. Noted historian David McCullough once commented that he more feared the consequence of the lack of understanding about America's past more than he feared Al Qaeda.
Is it any wonder that noted experts around the world are predicting our demise?
___________________________
By 2012 Trend forecaster, renowned for being accurate in the past, says that America will cease to be a developed nation within 4 years, crisis will be "worse than the great depression"
The man who predicted the 1987 stock market crash and the fall of the Soviet Union is now forecasting revolution in America, food riots and tax rebellions - all within four years, while cautioning that putting food on the table will be a more pressing concern than buying Christmas gifts by 2012.
Gerald Celente, the CEO of Trends Research Institute, is renowned for his accuracy in predicting future world and economic events, which will send a chill down your spine considering what he told Fox News this week. Celente says that by 2012 America will become an undeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts.
"We're going to see the end of the retail Christmas....we're going to see a fundamental shift take place....putting food on the table is going to be more important that putting gifts under the Christmas tree," said Celente, adding that the situation would be "worse than the great depression".
"America's going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for," said Celente, noting that people's refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis.
Celente, who successfully predicted the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis, the subprime mortgage collapse and the massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar, told UPI in November last year that the following year would be known as "The Panic of 2008," adding that "giants (would) tumble to their deaths," which is exactly what we have witnessed with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others. He also said that the dollar would eventually be devalued by as much as 90 per cent.
The consequence of what we have seen unfold this year would lead to a lowering in living standards, Celente predicted a year ago, which is also being borne out by plummeting retail sales figures. The prospect of revolution was a concept echoed by a British Ministry of Defence report last year, which predicted that within 30 years, the growing gap between the super rich and the middle class, along with an urban underclass threatening social order would mean, "The world's middle classes might unite, using access to knowledge, resources and skills to shape transnational processes in their own class interest," and that, "The middle classes could become a revolutionary class."
In a separate recent interview, Celente went further on the subject of revolution in America.
"There will be a revolution in this country," he said. "It’s not going to come yet, but it’s going to come down the line and we’re going to see a third party and this was the catalyst for it: the takeover of Washington, D. C., in broad daylight by Wall Street in this bloodless coup. And it will happen as conditions continue to worsen."
"The first thing to do is organize with tax revolts. That’s going to be the big one because people can’t afford to pay more school tax, property tax, any kind of tax. You’re going to start seeing those kinds of protests start to develop." "It’s going to be very bleak. Very sad. And there is going to be a lot of homeless, the likes of which we have never seen before. Tent cities are already sprouting up around the country and we’re going to see many more."
"We’re going to start seeing huge areas of vacant real estate and squatters living in them as well. It’s going to be a picture the likes of which Americans are not going to be used to. It’s going to come as a shock and with it, there’s going to be a lot of crime. And the crime is going to be a lot worse than it was before because in the last 1929 Depression, people’s minds weren’t wrecked on all these modern drugs – over-the-counter drugs, or crystal meth or whatever it might be. So, you have a huge underclass of very desperate people with their minds chemically blown beyond anybody’s comprehension."
The George Washington blog has compiled a list of quotes attesting to Celente's accuracy as a trend forecaster.
"When CNN wants to know about the Top Trends, we ask Gerald Celente."— CNN Headline News
"A network of 25 experts whose range of specialties would rival many university faculties."— The Economist
"Gerald Celente has a knack for getting the zeitgeist right." — USA Today
"There’s not a better trend forecaster than Gerald Celente. The man knows what he’s talking about."- CNBC
"Those who take their predictions seriously ... consider the Trends Research Institute."— The Wall Street Journal
"Gerald Celente is always ahead of the curve on trends and uncannily on the mark ... he's one of the most accurate forecasters around." — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Mr. Celente tracks the world’s social, economic and business trends for corporate clients."— The New York Times
"Mr. Celente is a very intelligent guy. We are able to learn about trends from an authority."— 48 Hours, CBS News
"Gerald Celente has a solid track record. He has predicted everything from the 1987 stock market crash and the demise of the Soviet Union to green marketing and corporate downsizing."— The Detroit News
"Gerald Celente forecast the 1987 stock market crash, ‘green marketing,’ and the boom in gourmet coffees."— Chicago Tribune
"The Trends Research Institute is the Standard and Poors of Popular Culture." — The Los Angeles Times
"If Nostradamus were alive today, he'd have a hard time keeping up with Gerald Celente."— New York Post
So there you have it - hardly a nutjob conspiracy theorist blowhard now is he? The price of not heeding his warnings will be far greater than the cost of preparing for the future now. Storable food and gold are two good places to make a start.
Another dire prediction of the collapse of the U.S. bodes ill will for the future of the Republic. Without a common culture or sense of our past, experts continue to predict the U.S. will cease to be a unified national state in the very near future. To what extent does the lack of holding any state responsible for how well they imbue their students with civic and historical knowledge play a role in accelerating these predictions? FCSS has sponsored a bill in Congress for the last FOUR sessions—where it has languished without much national support—which would address the above possible national catastrophe. Clink here for more information on S659 and here , here or here for other predictions of our nation’s supposedly imminent collapse.
Former key legislators once before killed plans to have Florida students held accountable for understanding a common, unifying history of America's past by noting it is general practice to teach American history differently in various communities around the state. Rather than see a common state assessment as a means to provide a shared understanding of our national heritage, these adherents apparently believe it is more important to allow individual schools to celebrate unique views of America’s past. This is indeed a recipe for national disaster. Florida remains virtually the only southern state that refuses to hold its students accountable for historical and civic understanding. Noted historian David McCullough once commented that he more feared the consequence of the lack of understanding about America's past more than he feared Al Qaeda.
Is it any wonder that noted experts around the world are predicting our demise?
___________________________
By 2012 Trend forecaster, renowned for being accurate in the past, says that America will cease to be a developed nation within 4 years, crisis will be "worse than the great depression"
The man who predicted the 1987 stock market crash and the fall of the Soviet Union is now forecasting revolution in America, food riots and tax rebellions - all within four years, while cautioning that putting food on the table will be a more pressing concern than buying Christmas gifts by 2012.
Gerald Celente, the CEO of Trends Research Institute, is renowned for his accuracy in predicting future world and economic events, which will send a chill down your spine considering what he told Fox News this week. Celente says that by 2012 America will become an undeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts.
"We're going to see the end of the retail Christmas....we're going to see a fundamental shift take place....putting food on the table is going to be more important that putting gifts under the Christmas tree," said Celente, adding that the situation would be "worse than the great depression".
"America's going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for," said Celente, noting that people's refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis.
Celente, who successfully predicted the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis, the subprime mortgage collapse and the massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar, told UPI in November last year that the following year would be known as "The Panic of 2008," adding that "giants (would) tumble to their deaths," which is exactly what we have witnessed with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others. He also said that the dollar would eventually be devalued by as much as 90 per cent.
The consequence of what we have seen unfold this year would lead to a lowering in living standards, Celente predicted a year ago, which is also being borne out by plummeting retail sales figures. The prospect of revolution was a concept echoed by a British Ministry of Defence report last year, which predicted that within 30 years, the growing gap between the super rich and the middle class, along with an urban underclass threatening social order would mean, "The world's middle classes might unite, using access to knowledge, resources and skills to shape transnational processes in their own class interest," and that, "The middle classes could become a revolutionary class."
In a separate recent interview, Celente went further on the subject of revolution in America.
"There will be a revolution in this country," he said. "It’s not going to come yet, but it’s going to come down the line and we’re going to see a third party and this was the catalyst for it: the takeover of Washington, D. C., in broad daylight by Wall Street in this bloodless coup. And it will happen as conditions continue to worsen."
"The first thing to do is organize with tax revolts. That’s going to be the big one because people can’t afford to pay more school tax, property tax, any kind of tax. You’re going to start seeing those kinds of protests start to develop." "It’s going to be very bleak. Very sad. And there is going to be a lot of homeless, the likes of which we have never seen before. Tent cities are already sprouting up around the country and we’re going to see many more."
"We’re going to start seeing huge areas of vacant real estate and squatters living in them as well. It’s going to be a picture the likes of which Americans are not going to be used to. It’s going to come as a shock and with it, there’s going to be a lot of crime. And the crime is going to be a lot worse than it was before because in the last 1929 Depression, people’s minds weren’t wrecked on all these modern drugs – over-the-counter drugs, or crystal meth or whatever it might be. So, you have a huge underclass of very desperate people with their minds chemically blown beyond anybody’s comprehension."
The George Washington blog has compiled a list of quotes attesting to Celente's accuracy as a trend forecaster.
"When CNN wants to know about the Top Trends, we ask Gerald Celente."— CNN Headline News
"A network of 25 experts whose range of specialties would rival many university faculties."— The Economist
"Gerald Celente has a knack for getting the zeitgeist right." — USA Today
"There’s not a better trend forecaster than Gerald Celente. The man knows what he’s talking about."- CNBC
"Those who take their predictions seriously ... consider the Trends Research Institute."— The Wall Street Journal
"Gerald Celente is always ahead of the curve on trends and uncannily on the mark ... he's one of the most accurate forecasters around." — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Mr. Celente tracks the world’s social, economic and business trends for corporate clients."— The New York Times
"Mr. Celente is a very intelligent guy. We are able to learn about trends from an authority."— 48 Hours, CBS News
"Gerald Celente has a solid track record. He has predicted everything from the 1987 stock market crash and the demise of the Soviet Union to green marketing and corporate downsizing."— The Detroit News
"Gerald Celente forecast the 1987 stock market crash, ‘green marketing,’ and the boom in gourmet coffees."— Chicago Tribune
"The Trends Research Institute is the Standard and Poors of Popular Culture." — The Los Angeles Times
"If Nostradamus were alive today, he'd have a hard time keeping up with Gerald Celente."— New York Post
So there you have it - hardly a nutjob conspiracy theorist blowhard now is he? The price of not heeding his warnings will be far greater than the cost of preparing for the future now. Storable food and gold are two good places to make a start.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
O’CONNOR: BOOST CIVIC EDUCATION
By KATHLEEN HAUGHNEY, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA, THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, April 7, 2009....
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor brought her campaign for civics education to Tallahassee Tuesday, addressing the Florida Legislature about the importance of teaching social studies in American schools. “It's about teaching students that one person can ignite political fires on the ground and those fires almost always begin with a very small spark,” she said in her address to the joint session of the Florida Legislature.
O'Connor, who was the first woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court in 1981, retired in 2006. Since her retirement, she has focused on pushing civics education, saying she became increasingly aware of the lack of knowledge many people had about government, particularly the courts.
In connection with Georgetown University and Arizona State University, she has launched http://www.ourcourts.org/, a site designed to promote interactive civics curriculum to students and teachers. She even touted the site on The Daily Show. O'Connor said she believes using an interactive site was a “powerful tool” that could educate students.
Her visit comes just as the House's PreK-12 appropriations committee is looking at a bill requiring an end-of-course civics assessment for all Florida students. The bill was previously scheduled for a committee vote, but pulled off the calendar so that a few tweaks could be made, said committee chair Anitere Flores, R-Miami. Flores said she cannot guarantee the measure will come to a vote because she is unsure if her committee will meet again before the end of the legislative session. However, she said she is hopeful that the committee will be able to take up the measure before the end of session. “It's very sad that we know that more people know about American Idol than about the President of the United States,” Flores said. “We need to have a concerted effort to curb that.”--END--04/07/09
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor brought her campaign for civics education to Tallahassee Tuesday, addressing the Florida Legislature about the importance of teaching social studies in American schools. “It's about teaching students that one person can ignite political fires on the ground and those fires almost always begin with a very small spark,” she said in her address to the joint session of the Florida Legislature.
O'Connor, who was the first woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court in 1981, retired in 2006. Since her retirement, she has focused on pushing civics education, saying she became increasingly aware of the lack of knowledge many people had about government, particularly the courts.
In connection with Georgetown University and Arizona State University, she has launched http://www.ourcourts.org/, a site designed to promote interactive civics curriculum to students and teachers. She even touted the site on The Daily Show. O'Connor said she believes using an interactive site was a “powerful tool” that could educate students.
Her visit comes just as the House's PreK-12 appropriations committee is looking at a bill requiring an end-of-course civics assessment for all Florida students. The bill was previously scheduled for a committee vote, but pulled off the calendar so that a few tweaks could be made, said committee chair Anitere Flores, R-Miami. Flores said she cannot guarantee the measure will come to a vote because she is unsure if her committee will meet again before the end of the legislative session. However, she said she is hopeful that the committee will be able to take up the measure before the end of session. “It's very sad that we know that more people know about American Idol than about the President of the United States,” Flores said. “We need to have a concerted effort to curb that.”--END--04/07/09
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
End of the United States?
DECEMBER 29, 2008 WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
As if Things Weren't Bad Enough, Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S.
In Moscow, Igor Panarin's Forecasts Are All the Rage; America 'Disintegrates' in 2010By ANDREW OSBORN
MOSCOW -- For a decade, Russian academic Igor Panarin has been predicting the U.S. will fall apart in 2010. For most of that time, he admits, few took his argument -- that an economic and moral collapse will trigger a civil war and the eventual breakup of the U.S. -- very seriously. Now he's found an eager audience: Russian state media.
In recent weeks, he's been interviewed as much as twice a day about his predictions. "It's a record," says Prof. Panarin. "But I think the attention is going to grow even stronger."
Prof. Panarin, 50 years old, is not a fringe figure. A former KGB analyst, he is dean of the Russian Foreign Ministry's academy for future diplomats. He is invited to Kremlin receptions, lectures students, publishes books, and appears in the media as an expert on U.S.-Russia relations.
But it's his bleak forecast for the U.S. that is music to the ears of the Kremlin, which in recent years has blamed Washington for everything from instability in the Middle East to the global financial crisis. Mr. Panarin's views also fit neatly with the Kremlin's narrative that Russia is returning to its rightful place on the world stage after the weakness of the 1990s, when many feared that the country would go economically and politically bankrupt and break into separate territories.
A polite and cheerful man with a buzz cut, Mr. Panarin insists he does not dislike Americans. But he warns that the outlook for them is dire. "There's a 55-45% chance right now that disintegration will occur," he says. "One could rejoice in that process," he adds, poker-faced. "But if we're talking reasonably, it's not the best scenario -- for Russia." Though Russia would become more powerful on the global stage, he says, its economy would suffer because it currently depends heavily on the dollar and on trade with the U.S.
Mr. Panarin posits, in brief, that mass immigration, economic decline, and moral degradation will trigger a civil war next fall and the collapse of the dollar. Around the end of June 2010, or early July, he says, the U.S. will break into six pieces -- with Alaska reverting to Russian control.
In addition to increasing coverage in state media, which are tightly controlled by the Kremlin, Mr. Panarin's ideas are now being widely discussed among local experts. He presented his theory at a recent roundtable discussion at the Foreign Ministry. The country's top international relations school has hosted him as a keynote speaker. During an appearance on the state TV channel Rossiya, the station cut between his comments and TV footage of lines at soup kitchens and crowds of homeless people in the U.S. The professor has also been featured on the Kremlin's English-language propaganda channel, Russia Today.
Mr. Panarin's apocalyptic vision "reflects a very pronounced degree of anti-Americanism in Russia today," says Vladimir Pozner, a prominent TV journalist in Russia. "It's much stronger than it was in the Soviet Union."
Mr. Pozner and other Russian commentators and experts on the U.S. dismiss Mr. Panarin's predictions. "Crazy ideas are not usually discussed by serious people," says Sergei Rogov, director of the government-run Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies, who thinks Mr. Panarin's theories don't hold water.
Mr. Panarin's résumé includes many years in the Soviet KGB, an experience shared by other top Russian officials. His office, in downtown Moscow, shows his national pride, with pennants on the wall bearing the emblem of the FSB, the KGB's successor agency. It is also full of statuettes of eagles; a double-headed eagle was the symbol of czarist Russia. The professor says he began his career in the KGB in 1976. In post-Soviet Russia, he got a doctorate in political science, studied U.S. economics, and worked for FAPSI, then the Russian equivalent of the U.S. National Security Agency. He says he did strategy forecasts for then-President Boris Yeltsin, adding that the details are "classified."
In September 1998, he attended a conference in Linz, Austria, devoted to information warfare, the use of data to get an edge over a rival. It was there, in front of 400 fellow delegates, that he first presented his theory about the collapse of the U.S. in 2010.
"When I pushed the button on my computer and the map of the United States disintegrated, hundreds of people cried out in surprise," he remembers. He says most in the audience were skeptical. "They didn't believe me." At the end of the presentation, he says many delegates asked him to autograph copies of the map showing a dismembered U.S.
He based the forecast on classified data supplied to him by FAPSI analysts, he says. He predicts that economic, financial and demographic trends will provoke a political and social crisis in the U.S. When the going gets tough, he says, wealthier states will withhold funds from the federal government and effectively secede from the union. Social unrest up to and including a civil war will follow. The U.S. will then split along ethnic lines, and foreign powers will move in.
California will form the nucleus of what he calls "The Californian Republic," and will be part of China or under Chinese influence. Texas will be the heart of "The Texas Republic," a cluster of states that will go to Mexico or fall under Mexican influence. Washington, D.C., and New York will be part of an "Atlantic America" that may join the European Union. Canada will grab a group of Northern states Prof. Panarin calls "The Central North American Republic." Hawaii, he suggests, will be a protectorate of Japan or China, and Alaska will be subsumed into Russia.
"It would be reasonable for Russia to lay claim to Alaska; it was part of the Russian Empire for a long time." A framed satellite image of the Bering Strait that separates Alaska from Russia like a thread hangs from his office wall. "It's not there for no reason," he says with a sly grin.
Interest in his forecast revived this fall when he published an article in Izvestia, one of Russia's biggest national dailies. In it, he reiterated his theory, called U.S. foreign debt "a pyramid scheme," and predicted China and Russia would usurp Washington's role as a global financial regulator.
Americans hope President-elect Barack Obama "can work miracles," he wrote. "But when spring comes, it will be clear that there are no miracles."
The article prompted a question about the White House's reaction to Prof. Panarin's forecast at a December news conference. "I'll have to decline to comment," spokeswoman Dana Perino said amid much laughter. [It’s no laughing matter, Ms. Perino – ed. Comment, JBovee]
For Prof. Panarin, Ms. Perino's response was significant. "The way the answer was phrased was an indication that my views are being listened to very carefully," he says.
The professor says he's convinced that people are taking his theory more seriously. People like him have forecast similar cataclysms before, he says, and been right. He cites French political scientist Emmanuel Todd. Mr. Todd is famous for having rightly forecast the demise of the Soviet Union -- 15 years beforehand. "When he forecast the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1976, people laughed at him," says Prof. Panarin.
Write to Andrew Osborn at andrew.osborn@wsj.comFrom: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123051100709638419.html
As if Things Weren't Bad Enough, Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S.
In Moscow, Igor Panarin's Forecasts Are All the Rage; America 'Disintegrates' in 2010By ANDREW OSBORN
MOSCOW -- For a decade, Russian academic Igor Panarin has been predicting the U.S. will fall apart in 2010. For most of that time, he admits, few took his argument -- that an economic and moral collapse will trigger a civil war and the eventual breakup of the U.S. -- very seriously. Now he's found an eager audience: Russian state media.
In recent weeks, he's been interviewed as much as twice a day about his predictions. "It's a record," says Prof. Panarin. "But I think the attention is going to grow even stronger."
Prof. Panarin, 50 years old, is not a fringe figure. A former KGB analyst, he is dean of the Russian Foreign Ministry's academy for future diplomats. He is invited to Kremlin receptions, lectures students, publishes books, and appears in the media as an expert on U.S.-Russia relations.
But it's his bleak forecast for the U.S. that is music to the ears of the Kremlin, which in recent years has blamed Washington for everything from instability in the Middle East to the global financial crisis. Mr. Panarin's views also fit neatly with the Kremlin's narrative that Russia is returning to its rightful place on the world stage after the weakness of the 1990s, when many feared that the country would go economically and politically bankrupt and break into separate territories.
A polite and cheerful man with a buzz cut, Mr. Panarin insists he does not dislike Americans. But he warns that the outlook for them is dire. "There's a 55-45% chance right now that disintegration will occur," he says. "One could rejoice in that process," he adds, poker-faced. "But if we're talking reasonably, it's not the best scenario -- for Russia." Though Russia would become more powerful on the global stage, he says, its economy would suffer because it currently depends heavily on the dollar and on trade with the U.S.
Mr. Panarin posits, in brief, that mass immigration, economic decline, and moral degradation will trigger a civil war next fall and the collapse of the dollar. Around the end of June 2010, or early July, he says, the U.S. will break into six pieces -- with Alaska reverting to Russian control.
In addition to increasing coverage in state media, which are tightly controlled by the Kremlin, Mr. Panarin's ideas are now being widely discussed among local experts. He presented his theory at a recent roundtable discussion at the Foreign Ministry. The country's top international relations school has hosted him as a keynote speaker. During an appearance on the state TV channel Rossiya, the station cut between his comments and TV footage of lines at soup kitchens and crowds of homeless people in the U.S. The professor has also been featured on the Kremlin's English-language propaganda channel, Russia Today.
Mr. Panarin's apocalyptic vision "reflects a very pronounced degree of anti-Americanism in Russia today," says Vladimir Pozner, a prominent TV journalist in Russia. "It's much stronger than it was in the Soviet Union."
Mr. Pozner and other Russian commentators and experts on the U.S. dismiss Mr. Panarin's predictions. "Crazy ideas are not usually discussed by serious people," says Sergei Rogov, director of the government-run Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies, who thinks Mr. Panarin's theories don't hold water.
Mr. Panarin's résumé includes many years in the Soviet KGB, an experience shared by other top Russian officials. His office, in downtown Moscow, shows his national pride, with pennants on the wall bearing the emblem of the FSB, the KGB's successor agency. It is also full of statuettes of eagles; a double-headed eagle was the symbol of czarist Russia. The professor says he began his career in the KGB in 1976. In post-Soviet Russia, he got a doctorate in political science, studied U.S. economics, and worked for FAPSI, then the Russian equivalent of the U.S. National Security Agency. He says he did strategy forecasts for then-President Boris Yeltsin, adding that the details are "classified."
In September 1998, he attended a conference in Linz, Austria, devoted to information warfare, the use of data to get an edge over a rival. It was there, in front of 400 fellow delegates, that he first presented his theory about the collapse of the U.S. in 2010.
"When I pushed the button on my computer and the map of the United States disintegrated, hundreds of people cried out in surprise," he remembers. He says most in the audience were skeptical. "They didn't believe me." At the end of the presentation, he says many delegates asked him to autograph copies of the map showing a dismembered U.S.
He based the forecast on classified data supplied to him by FAPSI analysts, he says. He predicts that economic, financial and demographic trends will provoke a political and social crisis in the U.S. When the going gets tough, he says, wealthier states will withhold funds from the federal government and effectively secede from the union. Social unrest up to and including a civil war will follow. The U.S. will then split along ethnic lines, and foreign powers will move in.
California will form the nucleus of what he calls "The Californian Republic," and will be part of China or under Chinese influence. Texas will be the heart of "The Texas Republic," a cluster of states that will go to Mexico or fall under Mexican influence. Washington, D.C., and New York will be part of an "Atlantic America" that may join the European Union. Canada will grab a group of Northern states Prof. Panarin calls "The Central North American Republic." Hawaii, he suggests, will be a protectorate of Japan or China, and Alaska will be subsumed into Russia.
"It would be reasonable for Russia to lay claim to Alaska; it was part of the Russian Empire for a long time." A framed satellite image of the Bering Strait that separates Alaska from Russia like a thread hangs from his office wall. "It's not there for no reason," he says with a sly grin.
Interest in his forecast revived this fall when he published an article in Izvestia, one of Russia's biggest national dailies. In it, he reiterated his theory, called U.S. foreign debt "a pyramid scheme," and predicted China and Russia would usurp Washington's role as a global financial regulator.
Americans hope President-elect Barack Obama "can work miracles," he wrote. "But when spring comes, it will be clear that there are no miracles."
The article prompted a question about the White House's reaction to Prof. Panarin's forecast at a December news conference. "I'll have to decline to comment," spokeswoman Dana Perino said amid much laughter. [It’s no laughing matter, Ms. Perino – ed. Comment, JBovee]
For Prof. Panarin, Ms. Perino's response was significant. "The way the answer was phrased was an indication that my views are being listened to very carefully," he says.
The professor says he's convinced that people are taking his theory more seriously. People like him have forecast similar cataclysms before, he says, and been right. He cites French political scientist Emmanuel Todd. Mr. Todd is famous for having rightly forecast the demise of the Soviet Union -- 15 years beforehand. "When he forecast the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1976, people laughed at him," says Prof. Panarin.
Write to Andrew Osborn at andrew.osborn@wsj.comFrom: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123051100709638419.html
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
Monday, November 20, 2006
FASSS STUDENT 'Celebrate Freedom Week'
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - November 2006
In September 2006, the Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors piloted a student poll to obtain information about students' knowledge and attitudes toward civic and historical understanding within the state of Florida. Despite intense lobbying for almost 30 years to be added to statewide assessment programs, Florida citizens still have no idea how well school districts are fulfilling their civic mission. The results of the draft survey of high school students included responses from 749 high school students. Teachers were to explain to students the need to be honest in light of the total darkness in which the state operates regarding civic knowledge among our youth. Some attitudinal questions were deliberately included because it was thought this might be revealing as opposed to the typical headline getting "Kids Can Identify the Long Dead 3 Stooges Better than Our 3 Branches of Government" material that other national surveys have resorted to. For this reason and to help eliminate 'guessing', the survey also included "I Don't Know" as an option for many of the questions. Moreover, in order to gauge the extent to which students might have been making light of the survey, two open-ended questions were utilized to which students could respond with any comment. These techniques helped to ensure that almost all students took the poll seriously.
The demographics of the Sample are not too far out of line with Florida's demographics at the high school level. Several indicators among the data give the impression that these were above average students. A summary of the results revealed that
• Whereas approximately 45% of the high school respondents said they themselves were knowledgeable and interested in history and politics only about 12% felt their peers were. (This may lead us to assume mostly academically rigorous or 'Honors' classes took the survey.)
• Less than half the students knew Condoleeza Rice was Secretary of State, despite her almost daily being in the news last fall before the national election.
• Only 16% of the students knew the U.S. House has 435 members.
• Only one-fifth knew the term of office for U.S. Senators.
• Only one-fourth could identify 'Roe vs Wade'.
• Less than one-fourth could identify the purpose of the Electoral College.
• Only about one in ten could identify the source of the phrase, "Government of the People, by the People, for the People".
• Almost one half thought Lincoln is best remembered for "promising as a Presidential Candidate to eliminate slavery." ( Less than 14% selected that he had "preserved the union" - the only true statement among those given.)
• Only about one-fourth knew FDR was President during WWII - about the same who thought T.R. was the correct response.
• Almost four fifths thought the philosophy "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" came from a sacred American document such as the Bill of Rights, the Mayflower Compact or the Declaration of Independence.
• Less than one-fourth could correctly identify the Emancipation Proclamation.
• Only one-fourth knew the correct quarter-century when the Civil War took place.
• Only 17 of 747 (2%) students could name BOTH of Florida's two U.S. Senators. (This was only days before Senator Bill Nelson stood for reelection.)
• Only 9 of 749 (1%) students could name, in any way, two U.S. Supreme Court Justices.
FASSS urges accountability for the civic mission of Florida's Public Schools!
(For more information contact Jack Bovee at boveeja@collier.k12.fl.us )
In September 2006, the Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors piloted a student poll to obtain information about students' knowledge and attitudes toward civic and historical understanding within the state of Florida. Despite intense lobbying for almost 30 years to be added to statewide assessment programs, Florida citizens still have no idea how well school districts are fulfilling their civic mission. The results of the draft survey of high school students included responses from 749 high school students. Teachers were to explain to students the need to be honest in light of the total darkness in which the state operates regarding civic knowledge among our youth. Some attitudinal questions were deliberately included because it was thought this might be revealing as opposed to the typical headline getting "Kids Can Identify the Long Dead 3 Stooges Better than Our 3 Branches of Government" material that other national surveys have resorted to. For this reason and to help eliminate 'guessing', the survey also included "I Don't Know" as an option for many of the questions. Moreover, in order to gauge the extent to which students might have been making light of the survey, two open-ended questions were utilized to which students could respond with any comment. These techniques helped to ensure that almost all students took the poll seriously.
The demographics of the Sample are not too far out of line with Florida's demographics at the high school level. Several indicators among the data give the impression that these were above average students. A summary of the results revealed that
• Whereas approximately 45% of the high school respondents said they themselves were knowledgeable and interested in history and politics only about 12% felt their peers were. (This may lead us to assume mostly academically rigorous or 'Honors' classes took the survey.)
• Less than half the students knew Condoleeza Rice was Secretary of State, despite her almost daily being in the news last fall before the national election.
• Only 16% of the students knew the U.S. House has 435 members.
• Only one-fifth knew the term of office for U.S. Senators.
• Only one-fourth could identify 'Roe vs Wade'.
• Less than one-fourth could identify the purpose of the Electoral College.
• Only about one in ten could identify the source of the phrase, "Government of the People, by the People, for the People".
• Almost one half thought Lincoln is best remembered for "promising as a Presidential Candidate to eliminate slavery." ( Less than 14% selected that he had "preserved the union" - the only true statement among those given.)
• Only about one-fourth knew FDR was President during WWII - about the same who thought T.R. was the correct response.
• Almost four fifths thought the philosophy "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" came from a sacred American document such as the Bill of Rights, the Mayflower Compact or the Declaration of Independence.
• Less than one-fourth could correctly identify the Emancipation Proclamation.
• Only one-fourth knew the correct quarter-century when the Civil War took place.
• Only 17 of 747 (2%) students could name BOTH of Florida's two U.S. Senators. (This was only days before Senator Bill Nelson stood for reelection.)
• Only 9 of 749 (1%) students could name, in any way, two U.S. Supreme Court Justices.
FASSS urges accountability for the civic mission of Florida's Public Schools!
(For more information contact Jack Bovee at boveeja@collier.k12.fl.us )
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