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I have been involved as an
education activist since the late 1980s when, as a teacher in middle
school, high school and university level classrooms, I observed
firsthand the large number of functional illiterates our schools were
producing. When nearly 60% of first time entering freshmen at community
colleges must take remedial reading and math it would appear obvious
that there is something wrong with the curriculum in public education.
When young people have no idea about who the Pilgrims were, where they
came from and the reason for their coming, the need for a readjustment
in our education system would seem evident. Knowing that the US
ranks 17 out of 30 developed countries ranked should make a revolution
in education imperitive. Dean Kunkel of Auburn once told me the current
education philosophy was based on "current wisdom" not fact based,
empirically proven methodology. The results are proof of this. There's an old story that goes something like this: A group of women were walking by a river when they saw a large number of children struggling in the current being swept downstream. The women formed a human chain pulling the children from the current, yet many continued to drift toward the falls. One woman broke away from the chain and headed back up the river. "Where are you going? There are so many! We need your help!" She responded, " I am going to find out who is throwing them in!" BETSY DEVOS, President Elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of the Department of Education, is that woman. She will look at education with a clear perspective untainted by the social engineering progressivism with which our colleges of education indoctrinate their students. (Surely you wonder why the street mobs "Protesting" are carrying out the instructions of their teachers. Some call it their homework.) The strength of the National Education Association has insured their political power and control of the Department of Education since its inception. Manifestos of their progressive philosophy such as the WHOLE LANGUAGE CATALOG are peopled by socialist heroes like defrocked Marxist priest, Paulo Frere, Jean Jacques Rousseau, who consigned his own illegitimate children to foundling homes in France, and others. Disturbed by the reaction on campuses and in the streets by young people after the election of 2016, I went back through some of the pages I had deleted from my education website and came across this from pages of the Whole Language Catalog, a manifesto of Progressive Education. Liberation Pedagogy is how these very influential educators see the process of teaching in their own words in the manifesto of the Progressive Education, the Whole Language Catalog. Paulo Freire is a defrocked Marxist priest who once advocated liberation theology in Nicaragua and is now a philosopher of whole language advocating liberation pedagogy. * Quoted from The Whole Language Catalog," he writes: "Politics is the soul of education" * "All instances of education become political acts." Michael Apple writes: * WL "self-consciously connects itself to political, economic and cultural issues," it is destined to come into opposition to "the political right of the United States " (Apple, 1991, p. 416). These are my thoughts and I'm not running for office. I can be as controversial as I like. Fixing schools doesn't take more money!
Progressive education has produced Jay Leno's sidewalk comics. It's time for radical redirection. We must not continue to listen to those who created the problem tell us how to fix it
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From my blog: FEMINISM https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2018/01/feminism.html If I Ruled the Schools https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2018/01/i-guess-it-is-because-it-is-new-years.html The Bigotry of Low Expectations: Profits, Position, Power, Politics Produce a Civil War in Education https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-bigotry-of-low-expectations-profits.html Common Core, Sylvia Plath, and Death Education https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/common-core-sylvia-plath-and-death.html Tales from the Crypt. True stories of our Dead Schools. https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/tales-from-crypt-our-dead-schools.html The Growing Irrelevance of Colleges and Universities https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-growing-irrelevance-of-colleges-and.html bay-district-schools-partner-with-pancare-to-add-clinics-in-two-schools WHY SHOULD YOU CARE? https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2018/01/bay-district-schools-partner-with.html The Truth about Phonics that will Help You Help Your Child! Whole Language: A Fraud Perpetrated upon Our Students. One of Many? https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-truth-about-phonics-that-will-help.html The Tragedy of the Math Mess and Another Way https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-tragedy-of-math-mess-and-another-way.html The Reality of Bay District Schools. Only Fifty Percent Read Proficiently. Is there hope? https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-reality-of-bay-district-schools.html The Four Period Day: Students as Guinea Pigs and Professional advancement for "innovators" https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-four-period-day-students-as-guinea.html The Tale of Last Hope for Local Control https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/a-tale-of-last-hope-for-local-control.html DEMONIC ROOTS TO COMMON CORE? VISIT YOUR CHILD'S THERAPEUTIC CLASSROOM. https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/demonic-roots-to-common-core-visit-your.html THE GENEALOGY OF COMMON CORE: BILL GATES/UNESCO/ROBERT MULLER//ALICE BAILEY/LUCIS TRUST https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-genealogy-of-common-core-bill-gates_5.html THE CHICAGO CONNECTION TO COMMON CORE https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/11/the-chicago-connection-to-common-core.html does anybody really believe anymore? does anybody really care? https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/does-anybody-really-believe-anymore.html Sounding the Alarm! Today's Therapeutic Classroom. What are you going to do about it? https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/does-anybody-really-believe-anymore.html Spalding Writing Road to Reading and John Winston of Parks Elementary Natchitoches, Louisiana https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/spalding-writing-road-to-reading-and.html RETARDING AMERICA THE IMPRISONMENT OF POTENTIAL https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2014/12/retarding-america-imprisonment-of.html NOTE FROM ROBERT SWEET OF THE NATIONAL RIGHT TO READ FOUNDATION https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2014/10/note-from-robert-sweet-of-national.html The DARE PROGRAM 20 years later. https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-dare-program-20-years-later-more.html Merry Christmas! Meet Alliwishus, The Elf Mother Met at the Battle of the Bulge https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/merry-christmas-meet-alliwishus-elf.html My Mother. My hero who won a Battle Ribbon at the Battle of the Bulge. December 16, 1944. A SCRAPBOOK LOOK FROM JEAN BRONSON GILLIS BURSON. https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/my-mother-my-hero-who-won-battle-ribbon.html LEONARD COHEN HALLELUJAH PROJECT AT BAY HIGH SCHOOL AND ESTABLISHMENT RELIGION, SECULAR HUMANISM, IN OUR SCHOOLS https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/leonard-cohen-hallelujah-project-at-bay.html WHY SHOULD CONSERVATIVES, CHRISTIANS AND THE THE FAITH COMMUNITY BE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS? SUBSCRIBE TO THE PANAMA CITY NEWS HERALD AND GET WASHINGTON POST FREE http://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/why-should-conservatives-christians-and.html PEACE EDUCATION? CONFLICT RESOLUTION? TEACHING TOLERANCE? COMMON CORE https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/12/peace-education-conflict-resolution.html TRADITIONAL OR PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION. DO YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE? HAS POLITICS AFFECTED YOUR CHILD'S MATH EDUCATION? https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/11/look-at-this-headline-and-now-according.html RETARDING AMERICA THE IMPRISONMENT OF POTENTIAL https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2014/12/retarding-america-imprisonment-of.html NOTE FROM ROBERT SWEET OF THE NATIONAL RIGHT TO READ FOUNDATION https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2014/10/note-from-robert-sweet-of-national.html DELPHI TECHNIQUE, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND THE EDUCATION ESTABLISHMENT CONVINCED A GULLIBLE PUBLIC TO BUY INTO COMMON CORE https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/11/so-what-is-thedelphi-technique-let.html COMMON CORE: PORNOGRAPHY 101 https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/11/common-core-pornography-101.html MIDDLE SCHOOL AGENDA FOR SEXUAL ORIENTATION AS A PART OF MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/09/middle-school-agenda-for-sexual.html BEHAVIOR MODELS ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-protest-at-busy-intersection-near.html CULTURE WAR AND COMMON CORE https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/11/culture-war-and-common-core.html MATH WARS. ONCE AGAIN INTO THE FRAY https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2014/06/math-wars-once-again-into-fray.html COMMON CORE MATH https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/11/common-core-math.html SOCIAL STUDIES AND COMMON CORE https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/11/social-studies-and-common-core.html TEACHERS AS LIBERATORS PRODUCE STUDENTS AS REVOLUTIONARIES: Whole Language Lives On! https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/02/teachers-as-liberators-produce-students.html RADICAL POSSIBILITIES: YOUR CHILDREN https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/11/radical-possibilities-your-children.html Response to AL.Com article "Alabama Superintendent Proposal to Raise Academic Standards." https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/11/response-to-alcom-article-alabama.html SECULAR HUMANISM IS NOW THE RELIGION OF OUR SCHOOLS https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/08/secular-humanism-is-now-accepted.html COMMON CORE: THE EMPEROR IS WEARING NO CLOTHES https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/11/common-core-emperor-is-wearing-no.html COMMON CORE=PETRI DISH FOR RADICALS https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/11/common-core-petri-dish-for-radicals.html REVOLUTIONARY PEDAGOGY https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2014/06/revolutionary-pedagogy-or-so-you.html Revolutionary Pedagogy: Or, so you thought reading, writing and calculating were why you sent your child to school? https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2014/06/revolutionary-pedagogy-or-so-you.html EDUCATION TODAY: Politics, Profits, Position, Power, and Prejudice published 1995 https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/02/education-today-politics-profits.html CAPSTONE EDUCATION (UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA) AND MY CONCERNS https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2015/01/capstone-educator-and-concerns.html CONFLICT RESOLUTION OR POLITICAL INDOCTRINATION? https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/02/conflict-resolution-or-political-and.html DELPHI TECHNIQUE, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, AND THE EDUCATION ESTABLISHMENT CONVINCED THE GULLIBLE NATION TO BUY INTO COMMON CORE https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/11/so-what-is-thedelphi-technique-let.html WHO DO WE HOLD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE FAILURE OF OUR SCHOOLS? https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/02/so-who-do-we-hold-accountable-parents.html PUBLIC EDUCATION SHOULD EMPOWER PARENTS https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/02/public-education-should-empower-parents.html CONSPIRACY THEORIES IN EDUCATION https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/02/conspiracy-theories-in-education-truth.html THE CIVIL WAR IN EDUCATION https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-civil-war-in-education-why-we.html SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2017/01/solve-problems-of-public-schools-hope.html TAKE A KNEE https://sharmanbursonramsey.blogspot.com/2016/12/take-knee.html ON THIS WEBSITE: American Educator An 18th Century Library owned by a Founding Father Behavior Models Attitudes and Beliefs (Pavlov in action) Books and Resources Boston University Boston University President speaks out on Three Rs Cat in the Hat Critique of the Alabama Social Studies Course of Study Conflict Resolution? Or New Age Religion? Teaching Tolerance? Conspiracy of the Left Difference Between Whole Language and Phonics Dothan Reading Scores Education An Historical Perspective Education Today Article From the Whole Language Catalog Help! Someone Has Stolen My Child How I Would Fix Our Local Schools Leftist Invasion of Reading Instruction by Dr. Patrick Groff Marva Collins Childrens' Reading List Math Notes and Websites Modeling attitudes and beliefs through Conflict Resolution My Credentials to Speak Problems in Education Reading list for adults a 2 centuries ago Testing Scores Thank You Whole Language Transformational Education What We Must Do to Fix Our Education Why Reading Instruction Must Be Addressed First! Who's Learning Disabled? Power Point: Why We Need Choice This is a download. You are welcome to use it. I truly hope you will read and study this yourself. This is critical to understanding how we came to this situation! If you are considering curricula for a Charter School, I highly recommend these websites: Right to Read Foundation The Case Against Block Scheduling Spalding Writing Road to Reading -- for reading, writing and spelling Review What is Common Core? Saxon Math (the curriculum that guided our oldest daughter into computer engineering, our youngest daughter into a Masters and a career as a marketing analyst, and our son to a Masters in Organization Management (and a career in making furniture). Though a favorite with homeschoolers, apparently Saxon Math has lost favor in public schools-- which might tell you something about its effectiveness. My computer engineer daughter cannot help her daughter with the new new math because it is so confusing to everyone. Open Court Readers Marva Collins rescued her Open Court readers from the garbage cans outside the public school where she worked in Chicago. Her students labeled Learning Disabled, ADD, etc. flourished with these books. Right to Read Foundation Review: "Amazon has the older versions of Open Court that what we recommend. The program has been modified and newer versions do not meet the standards for the “systematic phonics’ component of the five essential components of reading instruction. Search the web for earlier versions that are still available. Comment: I have been appalled to find school boards choosing book series that come with remedial materials. What does that tell you about the series? When I first begain looking at the book series our school system was considering, I noticed that Open Court did not come with remedial materials. I also noticed that the school systems in the state of Alabama that scored highest on national tests used the Open Court series. That was years ago before Goals 2000, Marc Tucker, David Hornbeck and Hillary Clinton through their power with the National Center for Education and the Economy rewrote the education bylaws for the education of our children. |