From: Brian D Williams (talon57@well.com)
Date: Thu Aug 23 2001 - 09:33:54 MDT
>From: Mike Lorrey <mlorrey@datamann.com>
>Kids may be bright, but that doesn't make them literate. They need
>to learn literacy no matter how bright they are. It's not genetic
>to come out of the womb literate. The difference between my own
>education and kids of today is noticeable, and I'm not that old.
Good point.
>Even in those days, the poorest who dropped out of school
>typically did so with an education gained by the 6th grade that is
>roughly equivalent to the sort of education our teachers impart to
>our kids today by the 12th grade. Nor do those who are destined
>for non-degree jobs need to be able to quote Dostoyevsky or Homer.
>One of the big problems with education today is that vocational
>training has been removed from many high schools, it is treated as
>a post-secondary educational course, when prior to public
>education, kids could drop out of high school with more
>skills as machinists or draftsmen than many vocational graduates
>today. Not every kid needs a college prep education, but teachers
>seem to think they do.
I'm going to disagree with you on this and side with Mortimer
Adler.
The purpose of a true liberal (in the educational sense) education
is to create a citizen fit to live in a democracy. I oppose the
notion of a lesser education thereby deliberately creating an
underclass.
And non-degree jobs are scarce and getting scarcer.
Brian
Member:
Extropy Institute, www.extropy.org
National Rifle Association, www.nra.org, 1.800.672.3888
SBC/Ameritech Data Center Chicago, IL, Local 134 I.B.E.W
Disclosure notice: currently "plonked"
"Joe Dees" <joedees@addall.com>
"Party of Citizens"<citizens@vcn.bc.ca>
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