The College Board announced last week that this years SAT reading scores were the "lowest on record." In fact, their scores in math and writing also went down. E. D. Hirsch, Jr. pointed out that the problem is that, instead of having students actually, like, read, they are being taught how to do well on tests, with the ironic result that they are doing worse on tests. Pretty soon, people will be so brain dead, they will all become education majors, where grade inflation is apparently worse than in every other academic discipline. Then they will then proceed on into the intellectual wasteland called the "education establishment" where they will implement stupid ideas--like teaching kids how to take reading tests instead of actually having them read.
But the systematic dumbing down of a whole generation of children will have one good result: they won't be able to read the Old Testament, which, unlike university education departments, says David Berlinski, "is the greatest repository of human knowledge and wisdom in the history of civilization, any time, any place." Fortunately, nobody is testing for knowledge and wisdom anymore, so there's no need to worry about it.
And if they could read, then they might venture to read the Times Atlas, where they would be told that that 15 percent of Greenland's permanent ice cover has melted, a figure, the Times says, it got from the NSIDC (which stands for "None Such Is Da Case"), which says that "While mass loss in Greenland is significant, and accelerating, the loss of ice from Greenland is far less than the Times Atlas indicates," giving us another instance of people who overstate the extent of global warming.
And then there's people who won't read. When literary critic Terry Eagleton accused atheist Richard Dawkin's of concocting "vulgar caricatures of religious faith that would make a first-year theology student wince,” to which Dawkins responded that he didn't need to read theologians. "To suggest he study theology seems akin to suggesting he study fairies," says the New York Times. “I’ve had perfectly wonderful conversations with Anglican bishops, and I rather suspect if you asked in a candid moment, they’d say they don’t believe in the virgin birth,” he says.
I rather suspect that if you asked in a candid moment, many prominent atheists would say they do believe in the Virgin Birth. You didn't read it here first.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
3 comments:
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'they won't be able to read the Old Testament, which, unlike university education departments, says David Berlinski, "is the greatest repository of human knowledge and wisdom in the history of civilization, any time, any place."'
ReplyDeleteThis statement by Berlinski might rank as one of the most amazingly inept comments ever. I note that you did not inlcude a value judgement of the statement in your post, Martin, but I hope you don't prescribe to this ridiculous notion.
Or are you honestly - honestly - going to tell me that if you had to pick exactly one book to survive a nuclear Holocaust and thus become the basis of human education thereafter it would be the OT rather than, say, any standard encyclopedia or history of science, philosophy, medicine? Heck, a high school science book contains more knowledge than the OT.
'...which says that "While mass loss in Greenland is significant, and accelerating, the loss of ice from Greenland is far less than the Times Atlas indicates," giving us another instance of people who overstate the extent of global warming.'
Yup. People sometimes overstate the effects of climate change. That doesn't mean it isn't happening and it doesn't mean humans aren't responsible for it. Just so we're on the same page here.
As to Eagleton: I guess that according to him, there's also no true Scotsman.
Of course, this is the actual point Dawkin's makes with his virgin birth satetement, but you unfortunately omit the operative sentence. I'm sure you're mortified at this little mishap, so here is the complete quote:
'“I’ve had perfectly wonderful conversations with Anglican bishops, and I rather suspect if you asked in a candid moment, they’d say they don’t believe in the virgin birth,” he says. “But for every one of them, four others would tell a child she’ll rot in hell for doubting.”'
It is pointless to debate the colour of unicorns when it first has to be established whether or not unicorns even exist.
I think it also important for the reader of this posting to read the whole NPR article that Martin posted which leads one to more possible explanation of why the score is lower (i.e. %44 of tested were minority and many qualifying for free testing). Is this the norm for SAT testing? Do they include these variables each year?
ReplyDeleteWhether or not, thank you for sharing the repor, Martin. The system continues to struggle, which I believe, was your reason for posting.
AL
I can state as a fact that my children who are in public schools
ReplyDelete(2 and K) are being given books to read by the school.