The Joke of Education

     The mother had arrived at school, mad and upset, because of something her daughter had said happened at school.  The teacher defused the situation when she said, "Mrs. Brown, if you won't believe what your daughter says happens at school, I won't believe what she says happens at home."
     There are thousands of jokes that center around the education system, but none of them compare to the joke of today's education, itself.  The education system is operating in a manner today that can only end in failure.  A generation ago a person received a diploma that announced, in so many words, "has successfully completed the course of study."  Others, who were not so successful, received a "certificate of attendance".  There was no stigma attached to the student while he was in school or after graduation.  For all practical purposes, when they entered the workforce there was no way of telling if they had received a diploma or a certificate of attendance.  No longer is this true.
     Today the school system has developed what is known as "special education."  Now most people would agree there is a need for a person to receive special aids and helps in order to achieve an education commensurate with their ability.  But, that does not mean the standard for education is to be lowered just so someone can receive a "diploma".
     It is possible, in many situations, that a student in special education can graduate with the same diploma as the honor students, having "completed" algebra I, algebra II and geometry, and they cannot even add, subtract, multiply or divide simple elementary math problems.
     Too often, once a child is labeled "special education", the school has established a pattern in which the child knows he does not have to measure up to the standard of normal educational levels,  they only need measure up to a standard established just for that student.  By the time the student reaches high school they understand the system and the difficulty the teacher has in giving him a failing grade.  They will boldly state, "You can't fail me!" The student actually becomes "special."  Rules and regulations are set for him in such a way that enables him to behave differently from other students.  Could that be the reason why there is a far greater percentage of "special education" students who create more discipline problems than the rest of the student body?  A special education student who has exhausted all disciplinary options the school may have, may be sent to the alternative education program.  I have seen cases where, accompanying the student to his new atmosphere would be the note, "will graduate in May."  Regardless of whether he passes an assignment, attends school, or behaves in the worse possible manner--"will graduate in May."
     Many special education students go on to college with financial aid.  Shall we continue the concept through college and graduate schools?  (I bet it would be a surprise to the heart patient if he were to find out his heart surgeon was a special education graduate from medical school!)
     Students who miss an enormous amount of days at school are given an opportunity to spend a few hours on the computer and recover those lost days.  Or, if they have failed a course over eighteen weeks of study, they can re-mediate that work in a few hours.  Did I say, Education is a Joke?  It is, and the primary jokester is the federal government.
     How about the government's innovation, "No child left behind?"  I am here to tell you, that is a program that is working.  Rest assured, no child is being left behind--we are leaving about thirty percent of the students back there with him.  The government operates under the misguided idea that everyone is equal.  As wise as Thomas Jefferson was, his statement--"all men are created equal", is totally wrong.  What about the blind man, what about the cripple child, what of those that are afflicted from birth with catastrophic illness?  Ask them or their parents if everyone is created equal.  You know the answer to that even though many a blind person has had a very successful life; many a crippled person have overcome crippling illnesses.  But, the government would handicap them to the extent that they could not succeed, and then destroy their will to succeed by making them dependent upon the state.
     The number one preoccupation in the school system today is the "test scores."  The current school is graded by how successful it is by the scores on the test material.  We are back to the notion that all of the students in all of the schools are the same; with the same opportunities.  What is wrong with the old fashioned idea that a school is judged, how successful it is by the productivity of the students which it sends out into society.
     The previous generation, without government interference, put men on the moon and brought them safely home.  The government is producing a generation that cannot even find the post office.
     Education is a joke, but no one is laughing.