Define 'Failing.'

[jackofallgeeks]

In short, I do think that the American educational system is failing, though all I have is empirical evidence, not numbers like in this article.

And numbers, especially statistics, never lie.</sarcasm>

Reading through it, though, I get a distinct feeling of some kind of bait-and-switch, smoke-and-mirrors argument that the schools aren't failing, despite the masses of people in America that can't recount pertinent history, use propper grammar, or even really be bothered to care about things like 'learning' and 'knowledge.'

Comments

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

I had had a long reply but it seems my mail client doesn't process posting properly, so it was lost. I'll attempt to restate myself:

1. True, numbers are empirical. What I really meant was anecdotal, I suppose, I just didn't have the word. And you're right, anecdotal evidence is subject to certain phenomena. And I'll also concede that the NCES is probably very careful with their data and probably doesn't have anything to gain by bending it one way or another. That having been said, this article is obviously a persuasive one, meaning he wants us to buy what he's selling. That being the case, using a respectable source doesn't make one respectable, and he could be misdirecting us with valid data to come to an invalid conclusion. Like I said, I feel a bait-and-switch here.

2. I said proper grammar, not spelling. :p

3. This is probably the bait-and-switch feeling I'm getting. On top of that, I have to confess that I don't find "we're no worse than anyone else" very reassuring. It seems we ought to be less concerned about our test scores v. their test score and more concerned with how our students are doing v. how they ought to be doing. Of course, "how they ought" is rather difficult to nail down, I'm just saying...

[dikaiosunh.livejournal.com]

Fair enough, on all counts.

Incidentally, lest you think I'm an idiot, the * was originally supposed to go to a note that I was joking about Cleveland being the first president...

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

-laughs- I'm well aware. We all know it was Thomas Jefferson.