By One Test They All Fail

The Neocons declaim: "Why do Liberals hate America?" to which I ask "Why do the Neocons hate childhood?"

(SALEM, Ore.) - Stepping off a bus into a dark alley in just about any North American city would make me feel ill-at-ease, but when the alley was in city of Marrakesh and the continent Africa, my stress-o-meter darted into the red.

The members of our tour group spoke French, Portuguese, Spanish, Egyptian Arabic, and an assortment of other languages I couldn't identify. The few of us who spoke English did so with very different accents. We stumbled after our multi-lingual tour guide who assured us that wonderful Moroccan food awaited us at the end of our destination.

After we'd walked about five minutes through a series of twisting, narrow passages a group of a dozen or more boys descended on us in the darkness their hands probing our pockets. It was hard to judge their age by their size since Moroccans are smaller than their European or American counterparts. They were maybe ten to fourteen years old--possibly older.

We infidel-dogs didn't dare touch Islamic children even when their hands were in our Christian pockets, but reflexively I swept the boys' arms away. No one in the tour group was gullible enough to keep anything of value in their pockets, nevertheless the boys all but picked us clean. At last with a shout an Australian flashed a small pocket knife in the air, and the boys took off at a run.

Our guide wasn't aware of what had happened to her clients at the end of the line and didn't seem much disturbed by the news when she found out. She responded in French which someone translated as "Tomorrow you will see good Moroccan children." Although I hadn't decided to become a teacher at that point in my life, I guessed we would be visiting a school.

But the next day the bus pulled up in front of a carpet factory and not a school. We were introduced to the owner who proudly gave of us tour of his facility. He was careful to show us young girls, eight to ten years old, whose clever hands were busy working on rugs. These were the good Moroccan children we were promised.

Through our translator the owner explained that these girls were learning important skills and earning money for their families. How could this be a bad thing?

"What are they doing to these young people's childhoods?" said an Irish woman next to me in disgust.

Jacob Bronowski wrote in his grand opus The Ascent of Man: "Who am I to belittle the civilizations of Egypt, of China, of India, even of Europe in the Middle Ages? And yet by one test they all fail: they limit the freedom of the imagination of the young." Bronowski's message was that the greatest gift that western civilization gives itself is permission for its children to play. Play is the opportunity to explore and to learn, to pursue interests without the need to fulfill adult responsibilities. In the west this investment in play has paid enormous dividends in culture, business and technology. As in the case of Homer Hickam (author of Rocket Boys which was made into the film October Sky), your father may be a coal miner, but you may discover that your bliss is rocketry. Your talent as a rocket scientist is of greater value to society than your lack of talent as a coal miner. Children who feel the pressure of adulthood don't have the opportunity to discover what they are really good at.

A friend on special assignment as a consultant to the Oregon Department of Education during the 90's told me that calling someone "creative" was a put-down. And yet America leads the world not because we are good test takers, but because we are creative. America was born of revolution. We know when to break the rules. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, for example, are both Americans (and college drop-outs) who clearly know when to be creative and when to ignore the rules. Apple Computer's "Think Different" exemplifies this. It even breaks the rules by dropping the "ly" from differently the correct form of the word.

When I stepped off the jet into the muggy air of Morocco the first sound to reach my ears was not the murmur of the Arabic language. Someone unloading the plane had a portable radio cranked. The music? Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode." American language, American technology, American arts influence the world.

As I watch the implementation of No Child Left Behind grind into place, I have to echo the words of the Irish woman in the carpet factory. "What are you doing to these young people's childhoods?" Teachers under pressure to raise test scores cannot help but pass some of that pressure on to their students whether they wish to or not. The underlying message is: stop being a kid and perform like an adult. The Neocons declaim: "Why do Liberals hate America?" to which I ask "Why do the Neocons hate childhood?"

No Child Left Behind is an chillingly accurate description of a nation where there will be no children left behind--only small scale adults. We will find ourselves listed among the cultures which Bronowski counts as failing because we limit the freedom of the imagination of our young.

It is important for our children to learn. It is important for our children to be well-educated, but let's not let that education prevent them from developing the faculty which is of greater value than knowledge alone--imagination. Time magazine's "Man of the Century" (1999) Albert Einstein is best known for his formula E=mc2, but he is also remembered for these words: "Imagination is more important than knowledge." I will modify that slightly. "Imagination is more important than high test scores."

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Jefferson January 16, 2008 10:17 am (Pacific time)

Feldman can you possibly imagine how little I care about your assessment of any of my posts? Ditto for your legal interpretations. I find it rather amusing that you would boast about getting kicked off the SJ blog site...does that provide you with much needed self-esteem? My posts have been based on opinions, it is my view that irrational moonbats are so steeped in far left mythology that they cannot see different (read conservative) perspectives. An educational background doesn't always mean that the multi-degrees [some] people have are all that more competent than say some high school drop-out. But when that drop-out also has very limited life experience coupled with serious mental/emotional health issues then a rational debate is impossible. Have you had something like say a MMPI evaluation recently? It would be interesting to see those results. I'll pay!

Henry Ruark January 16, 2008 6:42 am (Pacific time)

To all: The ONLY issue is NOW and has ALWAYS been Jefferson's attempt at concealment (long ago penetrated) while he snipes and attacks. This proven by his obviously false and calamitous claim of fear of retaliation "not for myself".(Easy to prove by confidential provision of ID to Editor, with documentation of any such threat.) Does he really fear possible assassination for his neocon views ? Could be...command and control responsibilities might have forced such "cold work", again simple to document for Tim.) Wanta bet it will never happen ?? He is open to providing us all with comprehensive and documented statement of his views on any issue or problem, (including waterboarding !)--but he cannot escape the inevitable cost of behind-tree concealment, which is lack of any real credibility. Fact is he has been invited to do his OWN Op Ed(s) at least 21 times, right here. ANY communication, in ANY form, in ANY channel, demands receiver-knowledge of the source and its essential and impactful responsibilities, accountability and thus credibility. To operate otherwise is not only unwise, but in today's Internet climate is extremely foolish --as all those continuing warnings about Internet schemes and con-jobs surely indicate. They apply to political and all other issue-discussion, as well as to credit/card data !! Here "you pays your money" (!) and then had better "see with own eyes" and "use own brain" rather than put any credence in "specialized information" (read propaganda) from such as N-N and any other "anon"-neocons. Let 'em come out from behind tree, sign their stuff, and provide you with full source and link information for your own evaluation. IF they WON'T --BEWARE !! That's the standing rule for any channel or publication today. Try sending such "stuff", full of vituperation and personal/professional"attack", to any other publication and see what survives their own demanded self-protective surveilance, made essential by legal necessities. For the record, in Chicago, years ago, a similar situation taken to court brought me a settlement paying for my next year's office rental --and a new typewriter ! -story already on record with Tim/Bon as documentation for continued responses here.

Neal Feldman January 16, 2008 12:46 am (Pacific time)

Jefferson - Well for the record I do not feel as a group that disabled combat veterans are incompetent, impotent, irrelevant, ignorant, and delusional cowardly idiots. I just believe *you* are. As a group, except you of course, I feel they are deserving of the utmost honor and respect. And I think your posting history clearly supports the assessments I stated above regarding you. You have been invited many times to show otherwise but you just continue to support the initial assessments. Ah well...

Neal Feldman January 16, 2008 12:42 am (Pacific time)

James - Not surprising that someone as limited upstairs as you must be to support any of the tripe Jefferson spews would not comprehend, but there is a big difference between 'stating one's views' and slander/libel. (which term applies in this medium anyway?) While Jefferson is of course free to demonstrate what a dishonest and delusional whackjob he is with his ignorance and lies spewed vomited continuously in these comments areas, when he tells outright lies against people in a clear attempt to harm their reputation that is slander and not only is it criminal but it also is not protected in any way by the first amendment. Now the neocon nitwit might try and claim I slander him but there would be several problems with his claim... first he would have to show my statements as demonstrably false, which their being in fact truthful and accurate good luck with that. But even if he somehow managed to succeed in that Herculean task how is an anonymous psuedonym harmed? Can one who posts anonymously legitimately claim to be slandered? I do not believe the law supports such. I have no issue in general with Jefferson, you or anyone like you posting your comments as they are easy to disprove and show for what they, and you, are. Plus all sides should get a fair airing even the factless and clueless like Jefferson. But once they step over the line into slander they are done, and they should be... just like anyone who justs posts to disrupt (net.trolls) which Jefferson often nears the line of as well. But if this clown ends up getting himself banned it will be because he violated reasonable rules despite the editors bending over backwards to accommodate his BS. Trying to compare such to the censorious activities at the SJ is ludicrous as their bannings are often not even for rules violations, are done capriciously and with no consistency and therefore have no credibility or legitimacy. Clear on the concepts yet? Ah well...

Jefferson January 15, 2008 6:01 pm (Pacific time)

I don't take insults directed at combat veterans lightly either, and not just because I am also a "rated" combat disabled veteran and Henry/SFI is not, because my Vietnam brother's know very well would it's like to be demeaned. That is an opinion based on considerable experience about other's insensitivity and political posturing. So if I misread Henry/SFI on this topic, good, I hope I was wrong...

Editor: Thanks Jefferson.

Jason January 15, 2008 4:01 pm (Pacific time)

Editor: If you ban Jefferson, only your staff is left to post anything...???

No Jason, we have a lot of daily comment posters and we always get more. I say little, but Hank is somebody I have known for a long time and I will not have him slandered by anyone. The person stated something about Hank that is not true, it wasn't presented as just an opinion. If people want to use this as a character assassination platform they will be banned when they use false material. I post Jefferson's comments frequently and most are just fine and he has every right to his opinion.
He is not going to be banned as long as he doesn't suggest that Hank has a problem with disabled veterans, because it isn't true. Several people on this staff have actual combat experience in our lives, one is a disabled combat vet and another spent six months in the hospital recovering from war wounds and we do not take the subject lightly. Thanks for listening.

Jefferson January 15, 2008 3:51 pm (Pacific time)

For your information: The topic referenced below dealt with PTSD suffering combat veterans (something I know about quite well!) In each and every year Bush has been in office there has been an increase in VA funding. Though it is never enough, it has been that way going back to the 1960's. The funding rate was at it's lowest during the LBJ administration. While Henry insults conservatives with his misinformation and name-calling I am simply pointing out his vile methodology when he used combat veterans to make poltical hay, which I find utterly disgusting, which was pointed out by an earlier post. Henry Ruark:"To all: Dr. Levegue's striking personal and professional testimony is easily verified by anyone using simple "see with own eyes" methods via Internet search, and of course also by direct observation in any community with any group of vets. Dismal, dismaying record also exists in the published data covering Bush II slashes in every possible way on the budgets, at every level, set up for what was once fairly decent and fair care for the heros still in our midst. Striking fact also emerges in any dialog with neocons, with strong avoidance of this and similar issues from the realit of our national status on this very revealing segment of what society should be doing for itself and its coming generations." Jefferson: "People I will tell you from considerable experience the VA has done a horrible job going back to LBJ's Administration. In fact this was literally the worst period for returning combat veterans and why the "Post" of PTSD began it's long and painful sloth before treatment programs started to begin [earnestly] on a national level in the early 80's (during the Reagan Administration by the way). By that time the PTSD had so ingrained itself that treatment has been rather ineffective, and for most of these hero's, it will be a painful and lifetime malady (These are the veterans I personally spend the most time with, I am one, and I know what they are dealing with!). Suffice, the returning combat veteran's during the current conflict in both Afghanistan/Iraq are getting at least some recognition for the demons they bring back home with them. To affix current blame as Henry/TFI does at this time is simply his skewed ideology at work, the people with experience in this horrible condition are at least trying to find solutions. It's terrible when we hear of those who have fallen through the cracks, but at least we know much better now what is going on than we did with the Vietnam veterans who have truely paid a heavy price. I find it so disgusting when non-combatant shills of the far left use this for political reasons...do they really care about these Americans? I know the answer to that question, as do the large percentage of those who have served in combat. Shame on those who use this horrible by-product of war for furtherance of a twisted agenda.

James January 15, 2008 3:47 pm (Pacific time)

Excuse me, I thought we all had a nice long talk and laugh at the expense of the SJ the other day regarding their "ban" of people and points of view. Jefferson has every right to speak his mind about issues he supports or dislikes. Keep up the good work Jefferson, I wish you were on "staff" here rather than Feldman and Ruark.

Jefferson January 15, 2008 12:28 pm (Pacific time)

Henry/SFI is the embittered one. Calm down, you have lost the union fight, it will soon be over for these parasites. They have caused enough damage to our children (see below performance data putting Oregon at near dead last in state education evaluations) and to our economy (see what the unions have done to our manufacturing economy, especially the auto industry). Socialism does not work, those on the far left are simply too thick to get it, or they are trying to destroy America. I think for one that may be the case, why else would he demean combat disabled veterans to push his warped agenda. Truely a person of questionable character...

Editor's note: This is getting a little dicey, Henry Ruark does not and did not set out to "demean combat disabled veterans" and suggestions about his character like this could lead to a ban, please be careful and do not slander our staff.

Henry Ruark January 15, 2008 10:20 am (Pacific time)

To all: Neocon problem now, even as messenger for "government data bases", is that nobody in right mind still believes anyhing this neocon cabal can tell us ! Re messenger, never knew delivery boy to also deliver such vituperative and insulting Comment, laced with as allegiacal assertions as ever found anywheres. If by chance he now expressing frustration, and possibly even a bit of anger, so far so good...what if we got really, extensively, and deeply bitter-and-demeaning ? Can be done yet, if still needed to provide proper frame and surround for this pathetic old man, outmoded and desperate now demoted from Command and Control once in his grasp in "military life" --and anyone who has been there knows how barren and demeaning that is for such as he has shown himself to be... Arrogance has its own price, higher when self-inflicted and kicks-back...

Jefferson January 15, 2008 9:43 am (Pacific time)

People my below posts on the below, and other articles on this site that deal with educational issues, have incorporated various government databases, ergo, I have been the messenger. The below emotionally based vapid comments are nothing more than uninformed opinions. One of the below posters, is a high school drop-out , who the military essentially found a way to get rid of. Good move on their part! He has had serious problems his whole life with authority, shock! His entire existence has been a real hardship, I am sure that he has been worthy for this hardship existence...

Henry Ruark January 15, 2008 5:26 am (Pacific time)

To all: Again --should write "As always !"-- N/N tries to distort and pervert history. Here's what he wrote re unions and auto industry: "As the unions demanded more costly benefits coupled with more liberal based increases in taxes/fees, then corners got cut, impacting product quality, and now our world leading auto industry is sinking fast." Check for yourself in any reliable American history and you will find that the bargain struck between union and auto industry was then beneficial mutually, produced the great American middle class, made possible the "American Dream" of home ownership and purchase of multiple cars, trucks by the same workers, et al, et al, et al --and supported the New Deal, obviously better than the Bush cabal 8-year fiasco from which we now are suffering such intense pain. Our auto ndustry slipped into its current desperate situation via worldwide changes keyed in part by capitalist system, forced by heavy impacts of deregulation, privatization, globalization, brought on by Reagan era neocon policies by Cheney, Bush I, Wolfowitz,et al,et al. Pogo had it right, and the pages of history prove it so. We allowed it to happen via our irresponsibilities in choosing "leadership" by movie actor playing President, and by falling victim to longtime GOP "noise machine" re size and responsibilities of our governance system, once the envy of the world. Documentation profuse and in depth; "see with own eyes" at Wikipedia and other easycheck Internet sources. Many of participants have now told the story straight in their own "confessions"; list available by ID to editor.

Neal Feldman January 15, 2008 12:28 am (Pacific time)

Jefferson - Ah yes, now in addition to being the self-proclaimed greatest military mind of the age, the most esteemed expert on the planet on the subject of homosexuality and the holder of doctorates in every field of human endeavor is it any surprise to anyone that the cowardly neocon nitwit now makes the claim (unsubstantiated as usual) that he is the greatest expert the world has ever seen regarding education as well. I think in addition to delusional we have to add megalomaniacal to your resume. LOL. Ah well...

Neal Feldman January 15, 2008 12:23 am (Pacific time)

Jefferson - more projection on your part as the only one here using "excuses and demeaning childish comments" is YOU. Nothing new there though. And just because some 'organization' says something does not make it true. But just like you to support any organization's statements so long as you think the statement supports your ill-conceived preconceived notions. And you accuse Henry (falsely) of cherry-picking? LOL! Ah well...

Neal Feldman January 15, 2008 12:18 am (Pacific time)

Glen - I see your point regarding the weasel coward neocon (am I being redundant? lol) Jefferson but his kind just loves having an uncontested forum for them to spew their lies. If it is 'playing into his hands' to show his idiocy and cowardice for all to see and to disprove with ease every lie he posts so be it. I have more time than he does. LOL. Ah well...

Neal Feldman January 15, 2008 12:15 am (Pacific time)

Jefferson - LOL! One of the signs of delusional dementia is redefining and renaming things to fit your abnormal and disassociated world view. Thank you for once again, through your practices and actions, conclusively proving your delusional mental state as well as your deep seated cowardice. You are the typical neocon, that is for sure. And you continue to play the part of the prancing fool so well. Do keep it up. You bring great mirth to your enemies which only proves how ineffective, impotent and ignorantly idiotic you truly are. LOL! The only one around here that is entirely 'irrelevant and nonsensical' is you. Your delusional projection clearly at work again. Ah well...

Henry Ruark January 14, 2008 6:23 pm (Pacific time)

To all: Wonder what union person caught N-N at "it" --whatever "it" was !--and thus plucked his string so hard it has him still on dead-run to kill all unioneers. Re teaching since 60's, h..., I was out of 3-yr normal school in '37, Real Depression days in Maine, teaching in sawmill town where mill had burned, 95 percent of town on welfare, only two groceries run by two families (other 5 percent) on school board, kids fainting in classrooms from hunger, no medical assistance within 30 miles...town so bad we had to live 20 miles away and commute. We got paid about 1/3 of time, by bank running town finance after town went bust. Somehow doubt if he had any such "starting" experience; and if he had, would never have understood it all anyhow. IF he started teaching in '60s, missed Depression nicely, insulated by family easing way through all for him, ending up with military career where command/control were lifestyle and key to any success... Allathat now soured and still seething within pathetic old man still so contemptuous of all he cannot do Comments on story content but must slip into serious and demeaning kill-any-opponent attitude demanded in military lifestyle also denoted by relation to waterboarding as simple method to extract what's demanded from victim --no matter whether truth or not. Listen-and-learn applies to pathetic old man whose every word now digs hole just that much deeper...

Jefferson January 14, 2008 3:53 pm (Pacific time)

Glen you continue you to make the point that literally millions of us realize, i.e., public education has taken a nosedive, and unions have essentially promulgated this sad situation. Glen I taught my first class in the early 60's, then went on to a more challenging career, but I have always been involved in the teaching profession. Several of my children (as well as other family members) are currently teaching in Oregon and the NW. One is in the union, and will be leaving for a private school next fall. She has frequently brought associates of hers by for some very frank assessment talks and these talks always end up about discussing their distaste for the different unions that impact them. Suffice, the quality of teachers has been dropping for quite some time now, and I think you know why Glen?! I simply see you as grossly misinformed or you enjoy carrying water for the union thugs. When you point out the difficulty of teaching students who come to school with a wide array of problems, well guess what, that's been a fact of life since long before you were born. How come Oregon is almost dead last in the below national appraisal? Other states have far worse socio-economic conditions that impact their students/schools? You strike me as someone who probably does not know much about the history of Oregon public education. At one time my state was in the top three, now we're number 49 in the nation. Schools will always have their high achievers, regardless of the educational environment, but the majority of our public school students simply are not getting the quality education that we are paying for. It's simply a matter of providing a good rigorous assessment of teacher's and gauge their fitness to teach...what's the problem with that Glen? Why would that bother any rational person. Well people, this is the reason: For years now the colleges/universities have been putting out utterly inferior teachers. Think of the auto industry and what has happened there. As the unions demanded more costly benefits coupled with more liberal based increases in taxes/fees, then corners got cut, impacting product quality, and now our world leading auto industry is sinking fast. The same thing is happening in public education, but with far more serious consequences. The unions served a purpose at one time, now they represent a clear and present danger. Those who support these parasites can only call us neocons or point out our grammatical errors, that's all they can do...think about it. P.S. Without nationally based tests, how do you compare? How do you remedy those failing districts? We live in a global economy, of course we need to assure that all our students have a fair chance to succeed by seeing that they are properly assessed. Excuse making for not taking standardized tests comes from those who have something to hide, e.g., poor quality, union dues paying teachers need to be protected from exposure

Jefferson January 14, 2008 3:40 pm (Pacific time)

Please note the cherry-picking via Henry/SFI. People a professional organization ranked Oregon 49th out of 50...2nd to last in performance! That is serious folks, very serious. It means that there has been a very serious failure in Oregon's public educational system and the blame goes to many, but the school unions have been the ones to fight having our teacher's properly evaluated. I guess all those who want our kids to have the best possible chance in life via a good education are "weasels" as per Glen. Yeah I can live with him calling me names, as will all the people out there who want accountibility. Note: There will always be high achievers regardless of the educational environment, but it's the average student that is getting the short straw via this incredible incompetence that is constantly being exposed. Time to dissolve the unions and get back to teaching our kids with teachers who know what they're doing. Oregon use to lead the nation in student performance people, but it was a long time ago. We have a template to use in the short term...people like Glen use excuses and demeaning childish comments. That's all they know! Or gee, let's blame the neocons...pretty weak pablum he and others are handing out...

Henry Ruark January 14, 2008 2:29 pm (Pacific time)

To all: See below latest outrageous flat lie-in-teeth by N-N. No doubt that's why all those kids just starting college, in and out of Oregon, have now been refused admission and are STREAMING home, in large numbers, screaming and crying in frustration as the come...odd thatmy grandson, now at OSU, is reporting things calm and ongoing well there. What happened, N-N ? Get those little bottles with pills mixed up somehow ? Here's what he wrote: "...points out the utter failure of the school unions, as applied to Oregon public education."

Henry Ruark January 14, 2008 2:15 pm (Pacific time)

To all: Now we know he needs such review himself, unless he proposes to do so for all politicians, parents, school board members, and any other consenting colleague. Small matters such as Constitutional rights mean nothing in this geek's book, obviously. Wonder if he plans to use waterboard on any non-consenting teacher or other person participating ?? Leaving aside for moment who will select those giving the exams, and on what criteria, method, process or plan ? Might make small difference, don't you think, in who gets to choose arbitrarily on that matter ? I hereby nominate myself for that top post -before he can ! "...reviewing the teacher's emotional and mental stability."

Glen January 14, 2008 2:13 pm (Pacific time)

Jefferson. Your arguments are full of non-sequiturs and weasel words. You've proven no connection between the problem of education and unions, you ignore me when I point out your fallacies, yet you rage on like a mad despot. You are a troll with a tiny mind. You may comment to your heart's content, but I will no longer waste my time reading them or responding. I would advise others here to ignore you as well.

Jefferson January 14, 2008 1:19 pm (Pacific time)

Joseph you are right on regarding your assessment. I find that those on the far left can do little more than provide excuses and demean those who point out their childish behaviors. Below is a post I did on another of Glen's articles that points out the utter failure of the school unions, as applied to Oregon public education. Actually I view Glen as simply a poorly trained (not his fault!) neophyte, and people like "judgement-proof" feldman, their absence of qualifications are obvious. Something I now label as Feldmanian, i.e. , irrelevant and nosensical. "1/10/08 "NATIONAL EDUCATION PERFORMANCE" report?! People please note that my criticism (see below posts) of Oregon public education coupled with the national/local union stranglehold over this state's educational process was posted before the below national report (if you need a link just ask!). Oh, one more thing, for some reason Glen appeared to be avoiding the issue of the incredibly poor educational results here in Oregon (over decades!) by shifting that topic, for whatever reason, by writing that UTAH had the highest suicide rate in the nation. Why he brought this up seems rather "FELDMANIAN", i.e. irrelevant and nonsensical. For your information, Utah's suicide rate is less than Oregon's rate, in fact approximately 8 other states are higher. Suffice the below report places Oregon at the bottom in national educational performance, only one state is worse, Idaho. Washington DC (large city school district) is at the very bottom for a large city, and in below posts I pointed out via comparative analysis that money (DC get's the highest funding per student and has the lowest teacher-student ratio in an urban environment) just doesn't seem to ameliorate poor performance (lots and lots of evidence!). The below report is very timely people...also besides having yearly evaluations of individual teachers' performance we should make sure that these evaluations also includes reviewing the teacher's emotional and mental stability. Currently there is a national database that lists over 25,000 teachers that have been punished for a wide array of reasons, we need to not only educate our children but also protect them from unbalanced teachers that no doubt exist in large numbers! Maybe you have observed some lately in your day to day life? "Education - Oregon gets a D-plus in Education Week's performance evaluation Thursday, January 10, 2008 An annual state-by-state report card on public schools issued Tuesday by the national education newspaper Education Week ranks Oregon as having the second-worst education policy and performance in the nation. A major reason Oregon got an overall grade of D-plus, worse than every other state except Idaho: The state does little to ensure teachers are qualified when they start teaching and, after that, does almost nothing to make sure they get the monitoring and on-the-job training they need to get better, the report says. Unlike most states, Oregon has no systematic way to evaluate teacher performance, mentor new teachers, reward teachers for strong performance or ensure they get training that helps them do better, it says. Oregon is the only state that the report gives an "F" for its "efforts to improve teaching." "

Glen January 14, 2008 12:44 pm (Pacific time)

Joseph: I use the term neo-con defined by John Dean as a loosely connected group of social-conservatives, fiscal conservatives, religious conservatives, etc. which he means to distinguish from Goldwater conservatism. Thus the "neo" part. You know the name of John Dean, of course, and have read at least some of his books. I admire him, although I don't always agree with him. The topic of technology in education is an interesting one with promise. More about that another time.

Neal Feldman January 14, 2008 12:37 pm (Pacific time)

Joseph R - Neocon is accurate. There is nothing pejorative about it. You simply dislike it because what it accurately describes is so failed and offensive. That does not make the term or its usage wrong, it makes the policies you clearly support wrong. Ah well...

Neal Feldman January 14, 2008 12:35 pm (Pacific time)

Henry Ruark - I disagree when you say I 'miss the complexities'. I see no reason to overcomplicate the issue. Those in the education industry you have quoted who overcomplicate things do not seem, to me at least, to have improved a thing by so doing. So why continue the practice? Right? Ah well...

Henry Ruark January 14, 2008 10:58 am (Pacific time)

Glen: Re-reading yrs re sons (great habit here !)now realize that most, if not all, of your very cogent points strike directly on what Goleman et al have been teaching us for decades. I find myself now plunging into books read years ago, finding more now than ever, and then seeking still further from where these point... Thanks for your insights, bound to help many further into precisely the same predicaments...learning more allatime, and at heavy costs to old ideas, habits, concerns and way-of-life... !!

Henry Ruark January 14, 2008 10:44 am (Pacific time)

Glen et al: Yrs re sons on summer break make this one, pointing to "emotional intelligence" and what little we ever do with what we know if it... Daniel Goleman'a '97 volume is still among the best on this discovery, probably because he made it and has continued to amplify it ever since, insisting that there ARE "multiple intelligences" to which we MUST, sooner or later, pay very strict attention to teach and learn. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Why it can matter more than IQ; ISBN 0-553-37506-7. What he and other cognitive scientists (Pinker, Chomsky in particular) propose we install in education seem more in tune with 21st Century needs than we have yet had the sense and funding to install in our system, now under attack for failing to provide precisely what these new approaches can furnish, esp. when coupled with new teaching/learning technologies already commonly used across major corporations but not in our schools, such as instant access to Internet informational sources.

Henry Ruark January 14, 2008 10:34 am (Pacific time)

Joseph R.: Written like a real neocon, to whom nothing matters except the mundane, and especiall any tied to dollar-power. BUT life is larger than that; see next Comment.

Glen January 14, 2008 9:47 am (Pacific time)

Neal, Jenn and Hank: thanks for your comments. One of the interesting things about summer break was watching my sons go through the "phases of summer." The first week or so they stayed up late and slept in, played with their friends. Then maybe they had structured activities like soccer or scouts. Then the next phase was "I'm bored. I don't know what to do." I replied, "Excellent! Now that adults are done telling you what to do and how to spend your time, you can find out what YOU are interested in." Within a week or so they started finding things that they wanted to do: reading or drawing or learning to play guitar. If we don't give kids time to explore their interests they'll never be life long learners. They will wait for someone else to tell them what to do, be bored when they don't, and pay enormous amounts of money to be entertained. You won't find your bliss (Joseph Campbell's term) unless you look for it. School is just a starting point. It gives you skills, building blocks. It teaches you how to learn, how to find out about the things you are interested in (hopefully). It should launch you into adulthood hungry to learn more than you ever did in a classroom. School is a failure when it doesn't do this. I never took a history class after sophomore or junior year in high school. And believe me, that was a long time ago. Yet when I took my exams to get accepted into the teaching program at Willamette University, my history scores were some of my best. Why? Because I read history books all the time. I'll take a decade and pull it apart until I get a sense of how the people thought. I inherited this from my mother, though. She never finished her formal education, yet she tells me that when she goes to bed at night and can't sleep she names the Kings and Queens of England in order and reviews the scandals they were involved in. At the age of seventy-six she reads a book a day. Mostly history, but fiction, too.

Joseph R January 14, 2008 9:45 am (Pacific time)

This article is an embarrassment. Only people who are inner circles of left wing politics use this perjorative intended "neocon" term. It does not belong in a serious discussion's headline, let alone a news source. The real answer to good education is use of computers to accelerate education, private competition and shutting down a public system that can never get enough money.

Henry Ruark January 14, 2008 9:33 am (Pacific time)

Neal et al: As in everything about education, your points are proper but perhaps miss some of the complexities learned from long face/to/face contacts with learners: WHAT you teach, and HOW WELL they "learn" it as mirrored on ANY test, is only part of the process demanded. HOW you teach it, with what method, manipulation, examples and even images,(as in learning media) can make or break some of objectives some approaches consider demanded, and some neglect altogether. "Morality" is one such area, which is why I linked new Pinker-findings for those here really interested. That particular part of ANY 2st Century curriculum now surely demanded is entirely missing in neocon approach, process, plans and future, which is one reason we are now in such predicament re general funding for education refused so deeply damaging by neocon cabal --as you point out, re NCLB, which in reality is new disguise for neocon control of whole process in our impacted educational system. See previous Op Eds re last point, made intensely over past two years.

Henry Ruark January 14, 2008 9:10 am (Pacific time)

To all: For more than past two decades, cognitive science has been adding definite findings indicating precisely what Glen points out here. For latest, see "The Moral Instinct" by Steven Pinker, one of leaders in this work, in NY TIMES Magazine 1/13.

Neal Feldman January 14, 2008 9:05 am (Pacific time)

I am no fan of NCLB. It is nothing but planned mediocrity as well as being one of the most massive unfunded mandates to come down the pike. It was promised to be fully funded. So much for the promises of Washington DC. But where I diverge from the opinions here is that you can have education as well as imagination. Not only do kids have at least two thirds of their school days and over half of the days of the year not involved in school where they are free to be as imaginative as they like there are also aspects of school where imagination can prosper as well. As for the importance of test scoresthey are important for one purpose... to gauge whether a student has successfully learned to a certain point so they are prepared for the next lessons. Under NCLB most kids are just taught how to pass the test... they are not taught the material thoroughly enough that it makes a good foundation for future lessons and those whose abilities are above the mediocre are held back so as to not let their classmates look bad by comparison. So the best and brightest see little purpose to school. It is reminiscent of the concept of the "Handicapper General," a position in the Vonnehut story "Harrison Bergeron" (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Bergeron ) We should be giving these kids every ability and avenue to excel, not holding them back. And holding the most mentally limited child and the most mentall gifted child to the same standardized test is stupidity worth only of a very few.. Shrub chief amongst this particular brand of moron. Ah well...

Henry Ruark January 14, 2008 6:40 am (Pacific time)

Glen et al: Can only say once again to Glen "right on !" target AND realities. Will add only that the kinds of learnings our children need now, in a rapidly-changing world, are never achievable while we "starve the beast" of essential governance with the very resources demanded for sustenance and development of our coming generations. Neocon philosophy, by its own definition, must revolve around the two elements of "Least government is ALWAYS better" and "Less tax is ALWAYS better, too !" --no matter what the long-range practical outcomes may be, nor the very extremely damaging consequences they inevitably bring with them. Nearly 50 years of now-very painful experience in this nation prove up precisely the points Glen continues to make here, and in his intriguing "cartoon"-series, one of best uses of that media-format I have yet encountered.

Jenn January 13, 2008 6:54 pm (Pacific time)

Einstein has a point there. Thank goodness some people understand that we are not robots, it's not all about whether or not we test well! It's not fair to be thrown away if you're not good enough, like so many students feel happens. We all need to have a chance to be kids, to get to know what we have to offer the world.

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