End of science curricula = end of US technologic supremacy.

[FormerRepublican]

OK, I'm late reading all the news, and I stumbled on this article talking about how schools are restricting the curricula in order to improve test scores for "No Child Left Behind". And what are they doing? Shutting down science curricula. WTF?

Link

What is this - some kind of back door entry for intelligent design? If science doesn't agree with your religious dogma, stop teaching science?

The US has depended on it's innovation and technology to compete in the world. But Bush, in his infinite "wisdom", has instituted a policy that makes teaching the subjects our competitiveness depends on impossible. What is this, the next phase in Bush's plan to create a theocratic 4th world country?

I've seen a lot of insanity from the top since Bush got in office, but THIS takes the cake. What WILL all his corporate cronies who depend on technology have to say about this... Oh, I forgot - they'll just up the H1b visas....

[LiberalPartisan]

1. More evidence of the dumbing down of the US

When your superstitions are threatened by truth and knowledge then ignore truth and knowledge.

[Iris]

10. About 2 months ago, there was a report that said parents felt like

their kids "had enough math and science" in their school curricula. They didn't think they needed that much because "they wouldn't need it that much to get a job."

[Jamison]

12. Well they are right when it comes to *'s economy.

You really don't need much math & science to work the drive-thru at Burger King, or stock shelves at Wal-Mart.

[Iris]

13. I did think that when I read the article!

But surely that's not the kind of job they want their kids to have.

[LiberalPartisan]

14. That speaks to a national character flaw

That we as Americans are somehow entitled to all that life has to offer by the simple fact of having been born here. Contrast that with the approach towards education by Indian parent and parents in other Asian countries.

We can learn an awful lot fom immigrants, legal and illegal, if we're only willing to.

[Iris]

15. An excellent point.

It's anti-intellecutalism at its worst. Did you know that in some school districts with a high Asian population, white parents MOVE OUT because of they schools are so tough and because there's not enough emphasis on sports?

[megatherium]

16. We get the education we deserve.

Teachers cannot push on their students because students complain (teaching evaluations are based in part on student evaluations of teaching) and because parents complain. God forbid anyone cut varsity athletics though!

[Iris]

17. I would never want to be a K-12 teacher today.

The expectations are ridiculous and the support is nonexsistent.

[liberal N proud]

2. We will outsource our scientific study too

Hell we will outsource everything and then all of America can become a fat and lazy people.

[Wapsie B]

3. Sounds like intelligent design/creationism to me.

These idolaters would love to send this country back to the dark ages.

[HereSince1628]

4. Rerun of the 1950's, I suspect. I hope when we get to fixing it

we do a better job than the BSCS, Modern Math and the Concept Based Learning.

May the muses have mercy on our souls.

[Daphne08]

5. No, I was educated in the 1950's (and '60s) and we studied

everything, including foreign language, music and art.

[bobbieinok]

6. even 2 years of LATIN!!!!!

[sam sarrha]

7. NCLB was a failed BullShit program in Texas to begin with, the faked the

results and hid the fact that 45% of the students in High School dropped out

[eppur_se_muova]

8. Typical Repug program...MAKE people meet the standards or be PUNISHED...

while doing absolutely nothing to HELP anyone. That's the difference between Dems and Repugs in a nutshell. Dems always push programs that give people choices, and ENCOURAGE them to think for themselves. Repugs always "set down the law" and then enforce it heartlessly -- usually making the solutions worse than the alleged problems.

In TX, they told teachers and principals to get the numbers up, or they'd lose their jobs. Guess what? They got the numbers up. They had to fudge the results to do it, which is what happens when people are desperate to keep their jobs. IIRC, students who should have flunked out of school were held back a year, so they showed up on the next year's statistics, keeping the numbes reported for % of students failing just under the "acceptable" limit. Then the following year, when no one was counting (funny how that legislation was written), they had a huge failure/dropout rate. It looked just good enough, just long enough, for ** to get some buildup as a pResidential candidate.

[sam sarrha]

9. CA didnt teach anyone to read for 17 years, 4 of 7 HS grads couldnt

read a news paper or fill out a job application. so they finally started teaching phonics again.. they quit doing it to save money in the schools

[immoderate]

11. It's a different world.

In the 50s, dropouts could find work. Menial jobs paid more and some had union protections. There were fewer visiting workers. Minority unemployment was ignored. A lot has changed.

The most important change is how little in the way of value is produced here. Even an education will be no help is all we do in America is serve each other with papers.

--IMM