Many of my friends are teachers – some high school, some junior high, a couple in primary/elementary education. Lately, they have alerted me to a very disturbing trend: in Canada, students are no longer allowed to fail. Students don’t repeat grades anymore. This is causing a serious problem.
Some high school seniors lack fundamental skills. While this is probably no surprise, the specific skills I’m talking about may not be the ones you’d expect. Specifically, they don’t know how to read or follow directions.
Let me say this again.
An alarming number of high school students cannot read.
An alarming number of high school students cannot follow directions.
Oh yeah, they know the alphabet and can read a few notes, but they lack the ability to comprehend an essay or story written at their grade level. They can’t read an article from a newspaper let alone a scientific study. Perhaps worse, even if they can read directions, they can’t follow them. And I’m not talking about building a BBQ here, I’m talking about “use a pencil.”
I don’t think I can overestimate the effect this is having. The entire high school curriculum is essentially an exercise in verbal masturbation if the students can’t read or follow directions. What the hell are literature, history and geography if you can’t read? How do you teach math to someone who can’t follow directions? How can you teach science to someone who can’t read the problems or follow the directions for solving them?
So what’s left? Gym?
If students are allowed into high school without a minimal set of fundamental skills, high school is a waste of time. You can’t learn algebra if you don’t know how to add. You can’t learn about irony and symbolism in Shakespeare if you can’t read. You can’t learn about critical thinking if you can’t read the texts you’re supposed to critique. You can’t learn history if you can’t read historical analysis. These are strict prerequisites. You can’t just skip stuff.
Students must be allowed to fail and repeat grades, or be doomed to years of nonsense before being released into a world they’re incapable of succeeding in.
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@Kavan – “in Canada, students are no longer allowed to fail. Students don’t repeat grades anymore.
What, are you fucking kidding me? Trend? Who started and who is perpetuating this trend?
The kids are, well, fucking kids and will (in many cases) do as little as you let them get away with. If it’s the teachers and school administration, well, that doesn’t say much for the education system they went through.
It’s been well documented that the education system in the US has serious problems, but what you’ve described sounds like giving up. At best, it’s indifference (to student failure), and at worst it’s encouraging failure.
Like George Carlin said in his “Life is Worth Losing” show about dumb Americans regarding more education, more schools, better tests, etc:
“Well we tried all of that, but the kids still can’t pass the tests. Oh don’t worry about that, we’ll just lower the passing grades. That’s what they do in alot of these schools now. More kids pass, the school looks good, everybody’s happy, the IQ of the country slips another two or three points and soon all you’ll need to get into college is a fucking pencil.”
Humanity is just getting dumber. Simple as that.
@Rick,
I believe it started with a philosophy of inclusiveness in education research and the corresponding indoctrination of new teachers in education programs. It’s ‘no child left behind thinking.’ I believe there have also been studies that showed the the stigma of repeating grades as more destructive than letting a weak student continue with their peer group. There are two problems with this. First, you can address the stigma by making failure part of the learning process, instead of just passing everyone. Second, this ignores network effects. By allowing weak students to continue, future classes are slowed down for the lowest common denominator – the weakest child. This makes it impossible for the average child to get a good education and, in the absence of accelerated programs for bight children, it destroy their chances of realizing their potential.
@H,
Ironically, the have to adjust the IQ tests every year because the average intelligence keeps rising. It’s called the Flynn Effect. Confidence is also on the rise. I think what’s decreasing is not ability, but motivation and determination. Call it the pussification of the populace.
Well Kavan, do not feel alone. The latest headline in the US is that one in seven Americans cannot read above the fifth-grade level. Oops! sorry about that. I forgot that Canadians are also Americans;-)