Category: Education

Deceit And Coverup

Education, Marxists

Via Insty comes this latest bastardy, in Eureka MO just west of St. Louis:

Faced with complaints from parents about the indoctrination of children, an official in Rockwood School District, Missouri, instructed teachers to create two sets of curriculum: a false one to share with parents, and then the real set of curriculum, focused on topics like activism and privilege.

I should point out that the foul “educator” who sent out this loathsome message is, like First Lady Jill Biden, a Doctor in Education (EdD).

And the next time someone tells me that homeschooling is wrong for children, I’m going to punch them in the face.

Timeless

Anarchist thugs, BaconLettuceMayo, Education, Literature

A constant whine among stupid people — professors and students alike — is that Literature classes should no longer have to read Shakespeare because he’s “not relevant to today’s world” or some such nonsense.

Now I can understand why students whine about reading Shakespeare, because they’re ignorant and immature, and “that’s not English, dude” — IDK wht u sez LOL — as though if it’s not “modern” then it’s not worth learning.

I will also disregard the usual cant about Shakespeare being beyond the pale because he’s, like, old and a Dead White Male Patriarch to boot.

Over at Taki’s place, David Cole has written an absolute masterpiece on Aaron, the arch-villian in Titus Andronicus  (one of my favorite of all the Bard’s works, because if you think that Brian De Palma is the be-all and end-all of violent writing, Andronicus  has him beaten by a country mile).

What Cole proves (as though any proof were needed) is just how relevant Shakespeare is in today’s world.  And what Shakespeare proves is that when it comes to the human condition, there’s very little new under the sun.

Go there now and read it all.

And then read Titus Andronicus, for the full treatment of malevolence and violence.

Education Funding

Education

From Insty:

Among other things, education money should go to parents, not to schools.  Public schools should have to compete with private schools and homeschoolers for students and funds.

I know what happens when this kind of thing is proposed:  “ZOMG the parents will just spend the money on cigarettes / booze / [insert indulgence of choice] !”

And some would. But a vast majority wouldn’t — so once again, the many are punished for the stupidity of the few.

A better idea might be instead to lower tax rates so that people could keep more of their own money, and spend it on the education of the children.  Of all the baleful “benefits” first instituted by Napoleon and Otto von Bismarck, “free” schooling (subsidized by the State) is one of the worst.

No Comment Necessary

Education, Marxists

Best opening in a news article*:

This week, Matt Meyer did what many parents long to do. He dropped off his kid at school. That’s unusual in Berkeley, California, where he lives, because the schools there have been closed for a year, and the teachers’ union adamantly opposes their reopening. Parents like Mr. Meyer who can afford private schools, which are mostly open, send their kids there. His child has been there since last June. So he dropped off his child and drove off to his job.
His job is head of the Berkeley teachers’ union. His main task there is to keep the public schools closed for everyone else.

[insert “fucking hypocrite” joke here]

*so far.  “Barack Obama dies painfully” would beat it.

I’ll Take “1” For $500, Alex

Education, Marxists

Well now, isn’t this special?

A woke offensive has taken the nation’s schools by storm in the aftermath of the George Floyd fallout, but instead of the intended purpose of solving racial inequities it’s irritated parents of all persuasions.
In interviews with DailyMail.com, parents say they’ve been overwhelmed by education reformers seeking to impose anti-racist agendas on America’s schools. They describe the efforts as well-intentioned but often rushed, condescending, insulting and poorly timed, coming during a global pandemic when most families are just trying to get by.

Yeah, well, sorry folks, but this is anything but well-intentioned:  these assholes are trying to eradicate your history, your heritage and your culture.  Herewith one of the tools they’re using:

And the handy-dandy little crib sheet:

First things first:  someone needs to take this Barndoor Hissy out back and either horsewhip his sorry ass, or else apply the old Chinese Solution To Social Problems (which includes making his surviving family pay for the cartridge).

Or both.

In the meantime, let’s hear it for Whitey:

Helping Hand

Education, Homeschooling

One of the benefits of homeschooling is that parents can tailor the curriculum and teaching methods towards the individual child’s needs.  In our case, we improved Son&Heir’s reading level, for instance, by imposing a strict three-hours-per-day reading regimen — topic or authors of his own choice, of course — and inside two years he went from a three-grades-below-average level to twelfth grade level, at age 15. (His favorite authors were Daphne du Maurier and E.L. Salvatore, and by age 17 he’d read their entire works respectively — an enormous feat in the case of Salvatore, whose works are prodigious).

For #2 Son, who was high-functioning autistic, we improved his reading ability by letting him watch any TV show he wanted, as long as sub-titles were turned on.  This was prompted by the fact that being autistic, he dreaded loud noises — he’d clap his hands over his ears and become near-catatonic — which meant that he would have to turn the TV sound way down to avoid being startled by dramatic increases in the soundtrack volume, but which resulted in him not being able to follow the dialogue and plot.  The sub-titles enabled him to follow the story, and it improved his reading level by a similar degree to Son&Heir’s.  (At age 17, he was yelling at the TV adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo  for being a travesty of the original plot;  I wasn’t even aware that he’d read the thing, but he had.)

So when I saw this, I nodded with approval:

…simply because I’d proven it to be true in my own experience as a homeschooler.

If you decide to do this, though, be aware that while comprehension and reading skills will improve, you have to work really hard on correct pronunciation, if like in #2 Son’s case you also turn down the TV volume (the spoken word teaches that, of course, so you have to be patient, thorough and non-judgmental in your constant correction).   I and the other family members still have to work on this when we talk to him, even though he’s now in his 30s.  (For those who’ve known him, you may suddenly feel very old;  sorry.)

But to improve reading skills at pretty much any age, closed captions can be your friend.