Back in the 1980s, although the attitude that the people furthest away from the classroom knew everything about what was needed there while the teachers who interacted daily with students who were people they knew and not impersonal numbers or statistics was not new, there was a new manifestation of that which was referred to as the Self Esteem Movement.
Basically anything perceived as negative, perceived being the controlling word with the perception of those not in the classroom having precedence over the knowledge of those who were working in it, had to be avoided at all cost so that students would not be seen by themselves or others as being unable to succeed.
To that end a wrong answer to a question was no longer wrong, but not as correct as it could be, and if a student did not study for a test or simply chose not to do an assignment and should have failed, substitute tests and assignments had to be offered becoming progressively less challenging until it became impossible not to get a passing grade, and students learned that they neither had to prepare for a test or complete an assignment as it would be the teacher’s burden to design easier and easier tests and assignments until the student would simply pass by existing.
Students learned that they did not have to study or work as it only meant more work for the teacher not themselves,and that guessing had its advantages
This lack of learning from failure and not having to work to excel is best exemplified by the participation trophy that is blamed on coaches when no real coach ever advocated for that, but had to participate in that or face discipline for ignoring school district procedures.
Somewhere along the line the non-classroom “experts” decided that all students had to go to college, and that to acknowledge a student had a skill that could be nurtured for their success without having to attend college was tantamount to telling a student he or she was not smart enough to attend one.
This resulted in students who could have excelled as carpenters being forced to become low achieving and frustrated college students who may very well drop out without the skill they could have had to get gainful employment as school districts, on the advice of the “experts” and consultants who made money by convincing elected school boards who needed to appear remediating a problem that did not exist, closed shop classes to eliminate the trades as an option.
The theory was that having shop classes would attract students toward the trades and not college, and students whose talent was encouraged in that direction were being told the were not smart enough to get a degree.
Teachers fought this foolishness, but were ignored.
Now after a generation of students has been subjected to this foolish experimentation that resulted in an emphasis on testing, which eliminated thinking skills in favor of parroting back enough information to give the appearance of achievement, and all students being told they were qualified to attend college and needed to turn their backs on their innate skills and aptitudes, as people discuss bringing back jobs to the United States they are lamenting the lack of skilled laborers and bemoaning the exclusionary emphasis on college and the liberal arts.
Sadly, and ironically, those loudest in their lamentations are historically those who ignored the teachers, and who conveniently used the Phrase “our schools” so that teachers, who were ignored, are lumped in with those, the politicians, elected school boards, the people who dislike the working people, who do not want do now have accept their responsibility for creating a problem to appear as though they, and only they, could fix it, when in reality they cannot control their monster.
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It wasn’t “our Schools”. It was those who who played politics and ignored the teachers, the real experts, to create that which they now condemn.
And they will saddle the teachers with one remedy after another as if they are to blame.
They, the public should have listened to the teachers.
I personally would prefer a plumber who can fix my toilet to a lousy plumber who could discuss Marcel Proust.
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