Well, Here's Something That Will Never Fly

[dr_pretentious]

Check out this astonishing article in the New York Times. Apparently our nation's illustrious Secretary of Education knows just what American higher education needs: federally mandated standardized testing for undergraduate degrees. Because, you know, No Child Left Behind has been such a rousing success in our nation's primary and secondary schools.

This quotation is especially mind-blowing:
“Too many Americans just aren’t getting the education that they need,” the report said. “There are disturbing signs that many students who do earn degrees have not actually mastered the reading, writing and thinking skills we expect of college graduates.”

And increasing the emphasis on standardized testing is so conducive to developing sophisticated writing and critical thinking skills, right? Nothing like filling in dots with a number two pencil to reveal a capacity for independent thought. And turning colleges into cram schools is sure to prepare our college graduates to compete in a global labor market.

Thank you, Secretary Spellings. Why didn't I think of that?

Comments

[vgnwtch.livejournal.com]

I had a tutor from the county council because I was off school so long - actually, I got 2 in succession. Unfortunately, though they were really into the subjects I was into, which meant we got good discussions on English lit and history, they weren't up to speed on sciences and maths, especially not at GCSE exam level. This wasn't helped by various members of staff at the school refusing to provide their syllabi or homework (aside from the maths teacher, who came and gave me some lessons out of the goodness of her heart), so that the tutors were grasping at what they thought was most likely to be workable. Add to that my amazing collapsible immune system (much worse then than the period of time you've known me), and it was all a bit of a cluster-fuck.

I think one on one teaching has to be the best; perhaps on on five at the most. It's something I regret about the infertility thing; I'd been looking forward to helping a child learn, but I have nephews and neices, and no doubt there will be friends with kids.