Modern education theory is simply a rationalization that is used to avoid dealing with our real problems.

We’ve all heard about that proverbial portly dieter, the person who puts no-cal sweetener in his coffee and then uses it to wash down a piece of chocolate cake. It’s an eye-rolling image, but it speaks to a frailty of man’s nature. That is, while we occupy an "I’m OK-you’re OK culture," we still generally know that our problems are problems, not just “lifestyles.” We also generally find the feeling that we’re doing nothing about them, nothing to better ourselves, depressing; it causes emotional pain. Yet, what happens when we lack the discipline to endure the pain, emotional and/or physical, associated with effecting a true remedy? This is when we use cake-and-coffee coping mechanisms so that we can enjoy the illusion we’re doing something without actually doing anything.

This phenomenon partially explains many of today’s innovations in education. For example, consider the problem of tolerance for poor language skills. Professor Walter Williams addressed this in a recent piece, writing:

Today, high standards and expectations, at some schools, would mean trouble for a teacher. Teachers, as pointed out in one teaching program, are encouraged to "Recognize and understand the cultural differences among students from diverse backgrounds, and treat such differences with respect. Intervene immediately, should a fellow student disparage a Black student's culture or language." That means if a black student says, "I be wiff him" or "He axed me a question," teachers shouldn't bother to correct the student's language. What's more, should anyone disparage or laugh at the way the student speaks, the teacher should intervene in his defense. Correcting the student's speech might be deemed as insensitive to diversity at best and racism at worst, leading possibly to a teacher's reprimand, termination and possibly assault. 

We might think that this is purely a result of multiculturalism — and that is a big factor — but the reality is that this contempt for standards manifests itself across-the-board. I remember reading about an Outcome Based Education model that de-emphasized the importance of answering a math problem correctly. Instead, a student could receive credit simply for explaining the “strategy” by which he arrived at the answer. Perhaps the politicians will try to do this when the billions in bailouts don’t have the desired effect.

Then there is something called “Creative Spelling.” Under this model, children may be allowed to spell words however they sound to them. Now, I don’t know how much the educators advocating these schemes actually believe in them, but I have an idea for testing their sincerity:

Give them Creative Paychecks.

In other words, the amount rendered can be, oh (my creative juices are flowing), let’s say, one-quarter what was expected. Then, when they inquire about the discrepancy, you can explain the strategy by which you arrived at their pay.

Now let’s explore how this relates this to cake-and-coffee coping. When discussing the problems in education, people often complain that funds are too small, class size is too big, and the buildings and technology are too old. These are all rationalizations that distract us from the real issue. When education was far better years ago, classes were sometimes huge, far less money was spent even in inflation-adjusted dollars and there were no computers. As for schoolhouses, anyone who ever shopped for an apartment in New York knows that being able to advertise a building as “pre-war” is a great selling point. The kids’ problem isn’t old schools — it’s new curricula.

And a new curriculum is so often just another cake-and-coffee rationalization. It allows us the illusion we’re doing something without actually doing anything — constructive, that is. It helps us avoid dealing with the real problems. And what are they?

Just as with the proverbial dieter, one major factor is a complete lack of discipline. Applying discipline is necessary because without it there will be no obedience, a prerequisite for education. Why is it a prerequisite? Simple: A person cannot be taught by you unless he will first listen to you. Listening and learning go hand in hand.

I have seen this myself. In a previous incarnation, I was a tennis coach for many years. Being young and thoroughly modern when I started, I was very permissive with the children. Thus, like my colleagues, I’d spend a lot of time trying to cajole them into making necessary changes. This often meant that the move from A to B took so long that you’d never get to C.

Thank God, some wisdom came with age and I became quite the disciplinarian. It didn’t always sit well with some parents, of course, but it sure yielded results. If I told a student to do something, he did it. And we got to Z very quickly.

Now, unlike my classes, those of other instructors were chaotic — much like many schoolrooms today. Is this the teachers’ fault? Well, they are culpable, but let’s place the matter in perspective. A child many years ago had every reason to fear a bad report by a teacher, as it often meant the application of parental hand to hide. Today, though, if a teacher tells a parent that his child is being lazy and uncooperative, the onus is almost invariably placed on the teacher. The end result is that teachers are reluctant to tell parents the truth.

And the truth is that “obedience” is now a dirty word. In fact, some people will read this piece and think, “Wow, this all sounds so undemocratic, so medieval; Duke must be a walking, talking anachronism.” But am I 60 years behind the times or are the times 60 years too far gone?

The reality is that we don’t want to confront the real problems, so we rationalize. Actually forcing children to speak correctly, to learn proper math and spelling — or anything, for that matter — is difficult. So we tell ourselves that we’re not derelict in our duty, not at all. You see, we have this new diet we’re trying; it’s very promising. And what of results? Well, when your goals are to respect “cultural differences” and be “sensitive,” it’s hard to fail.

I don’t say that cake-and-coffee coping mechanisms are our only problems in education. But there’s no question that we’re a civilization in denial and have a habit of playing pretend. We pretend you can have discipline without the rod and learning without discipline; that is to say, true discipline, a quality with which modern man is wholly unacquainted. And since there will always be a new diet with a fancy new name — giving us hope and change — we can avoid reality for quite a long time. That is, until reality applies the rod, otherwise known as civilizational collapse.

Selwyn Duke is a columnist and public speaker whose work has been published widely online and in print, on both the local and national levels. He has been featured on the Rush Limbaugh Show, at WorldNetDaily.com, in American Conservative magazine, is a contributor to AmericanThinker.com and appears regularly as a guest on the award-winning, nationally-syndicated Michael Savage Show. Visit his Website.

 

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Live Ammo

February 12, 2010

74.101.168.85

Votes: +4

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Pointless Article

There is so much history about the undermining of our education to teach from John Dewey to the current government insanities imposed on our children. The UNESCO agenda of destroying our national culture and replacing it with a One World Culture is proceeding in all grades as is the advancement of homosexuality, feminism, political correctness, and denigration of our history. Why the fluff and hot air?

DDW

February 12, 2010

173.57.11.190

Votes: +9

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As ever and always

Mr. Duke is 100% correct and right on the money. When I was a boy, teachers and parents worked hand-in-hand. What's more, all the kids I grew up with were subject to the authority and/or correction of each others parents. No one of us ever lipped off to any one else's parents. There were definitely consequences for doing so. It was a very different world. There was discipline everywhere we turned. Frankly, looking at the generations that have followed, I don't hesitate to say that we're better off for the discipline we received.

Ten MegaBytes

February 16, 2010

24.0.39.249

Votes: +1

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the Whisler

9th grade shop class 1964: Act up and get paddled by Mr. Dunkle. 6'+ tall, and wood paddle had holes drilled in it for extra speed. We respected Mr. D. He was cool, but you knew he would take your a** out if provoked. It is the current problem with schools and international relations. No Respect.

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