Memorization, Standardized Tests, and Official Policy
By Jack Blatherwick, PhD
Dec 29, 2006, 13:17
Teaching answers to standardized tests should not be called “education,” especially when problem-solving will be the most important tool for a generation of students destined to inherit the incredible problems we will leave as our legacy.
To repeat the answers we feed is at best, preparing future “patriots” for greater acceptance of official policy. The consequences of this blind trust have become painfully apparent. Our government spent millions of dollars on propaganda to sell a peace-loving populace on an illegal invasion of a sovereign country.
Of all the multiple-choice reasons for this invasion, the one remaining is that Iraq sits in a strategic position for our military to control Asian oil. Imagine the mark this answer would have received on a government-generated standardized test.
In our name, and with our unwitting approval, the United States has aggressively squandered a peace that was earned by the blood of generations before us. We the People unknowingly “agreed to” torture of prisoners, non-compliance with international treaties, destruction of the environment, and proliferation of a nuclear arsenal that was already excessive for its insane, outdated, imaginary purpose. We’ve widened the gap between the wealthy and the less-fortunate; denied affordable access to health care, and – to avoid any sacrifice – we’ve left our children with the tab.
Read the rest here.
