Most Americans Really Have No Cluea « Better in their words…

Most Americans Really Have No Cluea

October 16 | Posted by mrossol | American Thought, Critical Thinking, Education

5 HOURS AGO

Here we are, well into World War III (and losing badly) — and the biggest concern of a lot of people — and a major basis for who they will vote for — is the price of gas. That is insanity!

Since “short memory” is a common ailment, here is a little perspective on gas:

But the much more important perspective is how trivial such issues like gas prices are when we get a Big Picture understanding of what else is going on societally.

We Don’t Get It — #1

There is almost no hope for anyone to win a lethal challenge when they have little understanding of the strategy being used against them — like in this case.

The Left’s strategy is quite simple: They are playing the Long Game. Here is a short, powerful video that conveys that message to those paying attention… {Please click on the upper Left-hand arrows to see it in full screen. Note #17.}

They are not hiding anything regarding their strategy. Instead, they are counting on the fact that we are too immersed in our phones, or other relatively small-potatoes daily activities, to see that this is the death knell of America. The 100% applicable analogy is turning up the temperature in the lobster pot 1 degree at a time. That seems innocuous, but IT WILL BE FATAL.

We Don’t Get It — #2

They are not coming for us; they are coming for our children.

Again, they have publicly stated it, but we shrug it off. (E.g., see Lenin’s quote.) Read the story about the Pied Piper — which was actually based on a true story. We all know it, but we are allowing it to happen TODAY!

We Don’t Get It — #3

What is happening in K-12 is horrifically bad — by any standard — yet we just complain about it and then go about our business.

Fifty States have a Department of Education focused on providing the best education product. All told, there are over 4 MILLION U.S. K-12 education professionals (teachers, administrators, etc.). Even though many of these are good, committed people, we continue to go downhill.

Clearly, they are lacking productive, constructive leadership. Not a single state has a top-quality K-12 education program — yet we are going to give them more power and money! That is simply mind-boggling…

Here is a short video of the type of students being produced by our K-12 education system. {Click on the upper left-hand arrows.} These are our next generation parents, doctors, lawyers, legislators, etc. Get it now?

We Don’t Get It — #4

There are easily a dozen major issues with US K-12 schools. Despite the enormous number of K-12 education professionals, none of them have published a competent list of what all these issues are. How can we solve this mess when there is no national agreement as to what the problems are?

We Don’t Get It — #5

As a physicist, I am used to dealing with complex problems. One time-tested strategy is applicable here: PRIORITIZE the list! Since there is zero agreement as to what the TOP K-12 problem is, we have literally millions of people spending time, money, and effort on secondary matters.

A good example of this is all the time, money, and effort that has gone into School Choice. It is a worthwhile effort but nowhere near the #1 problem.

We Don’t Get It — #6

You’ve heard it here before, but evidently it hasn’t registered. There is NOTHING more important in our K-12 system than Curriculum (i. e., WHAT our children are being taught). The Left knows this, and has aggressively taken over almost every K-12 subject curriculum.

A good example is what has happened with Science — 49 States (!) have adopted all or most of the NGSS, which is beyond bad. I spelled it out very clearly, but like with the Titanic, the band plays on…

How many readers have written to their State Board of Education (SBE: the people who are in charge of curriculum) and objected to the NGSS? Exactly.

We Don’t Get It — #7

There are a few who have taken the time to dig into the terrible content being taught to our children (e.g., in History, where America is portrayed as the oppressor). Thank you. Unfortunately, their response is almost always “Let’s fix what is being taught in History/Science/etc.”

In a different world, that would make some sense. However, the reality is to meaningfully fix any of these subjects (which would have to be done through the State Board of Education), it would take a decade or more. Is that practical?

We Don’t Get It — #8

Understanding that reality, hopefully you will appreciate the power of my suggestion: do an end run around these failing bureaucracies.

My suggestion is to have one (1) mandatory, full-year high school course that teaches students to be Critical Thinkers. The strategy here is simple: rather than try to fix multiple courses, add just one new course that gives students the ability to see through the propaganda they are being fed.

If that isn’t a sufficient reason, teaching students to be Critical Thinkers has a LIFETIME of MAJOR other benefits. For example, it will give them the ability to make better decisions regarding their health, their relationships, their financial choices, who they vote for, etc., etc. (See here for more.)

The Bottom Line —

Such a class should be socially acceptable. Very few educators or parents will object to teaching students to be Critical Thinkers.

FYI, if you read each State’s Education Department’s mission statement (etc.) — I have ! — MANY of them state that their objective is to graduate Critical Thinkers! However, not a single State has a formal course to do that. ZERO.

The reasons why they don’t are almost entirely administrative. First, every subject MUST have a written set of Standards (that outlines what needs to be taught at each grade level). No one has ever produced Standards for a K-12 Critical Thinking Course. I have! (And it’s free for any SBE member.)

Second, every subject MUST have a quality student Textbook (that reflects what is in the Standards). Since there are zero Standards for such a course, there is no Textbook. I have (just this week) finished a 300+ page Textbook!

Third, every subject MUST have a quality Teacher Handbook (that reflects what is in the Standards). Since there are zero Standards for such a course, there is no such Teacher Handbook. I will have this done next month!

In plain English, I want our school systems to change from teaching children “WHAT to think” to “HOW to think.” Simple but profound.

The brief, understated summary of this situation is that we have a 5-alarm fire. So you decide: are you going to allow America to lose WWIII — or are you going to speak up and act to make sure that does NOT happen?

PS — An example of action proportionate to the threat is the email I received from a college Science professor. He teaches in Texas and has conveyed to me the deplorable state of incoming freshmen. I told him that I was starting with TN to get them to mandate a year-long Grade 9 class. He wrote me back:

“I think this is very important, and it is great that Tennessee might be the vanguard of a transformation of the United States educational system.

“If it would be useful for me to move to Tennessee to be on your team to spearhead this effort, I would consider quitting my job and doing that.”

Better in their words…