I Just Read: "We’re Stupid and Irrational, so Why Should Palin’s Popularity Shock Us?"

The following is quoted from Brittanica Blog post, you can read the entire article HERE.  The added emphasis is mine.

["Bookshelf", 2008, JAVanDevender, Yes... I really do read N. T. Wright]

Many claim to be disturbed by Palin’s popularity in the face of ever-more evidence that she is out of her depth in discussing world affairs.  If they truly are it means they haven’t been paying attention.  Surveys over the last half century have consistently demonstrated that voters simply do not know much about politics nor care about it.  A majority of Americans cannot name the three branches of the federal government.   Only one in five know we have 100 United States senators.  Most think a president’s veto of legislation is final and that the Congress cannot override it. A near-majority—49 percent—believe the president can legally suspend the Constitution. 

What do Americans know? 

As citizens of our 21st-century consumer’s republic they know the price of a gallon of gas or the cost of a fast-food pizza.  And they are experts in pop culture. While only one in four can name more than one of the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment, a majority can name at least two members of the cartoon Simpson’s family.   If I may:  We need more Lisa Simpsons, the brainy one in the cartoon bunch, and fewer Homers.  Alas, just as Lisa is outnumbered by the lovable dolts in her family, so are well-informed voters in the real world.

OK - is anyone ready to truly reform our educational system?  Maybe it's time to actually start doing math drills (1+1 = 2, 2+2 =4, etc.), history drills ("the three branches of constitutional Federal government in the United States are: the legislative, judical and executive), science drills, etc.  Anyone familiar with "Classical Education" knows that the first step is "grammar", the acquisition of facts in each particular discipline - hence, math "grammar", science "grammar", etc.  The American educational experiment, dreamed up by fanciful "educationists" over the past half-century has entirely discounted this idea.  Schools are not educational institutions, they are education "facilitators" wherein the students are provided materials, introduced to concepts and the parents are supposed to teach the kid in two hours of homework what the school spent eight hours "introducing." 

Stupidity is rampant, parents are burnt out and we scratch our heads and wonder why the local sales clerk cannot make change from a five dollar bill without the aid of a computerized cash register.

Bah, humbug.  Throw the bums out.  It's foolish to decry the literacy of the general population in articles such as this one without addressing the root causes.

Comments

[Arch Van Devender]

I did focus on the first part of your response because the second part was irrelevant. It was an over-response to a single line in the original post. As far as the challenge to stand behind a cash register, I've been there done that... way back when cash registers were mechanical things. The pressure of business always increases the possibility of mistakes - however the answer given by a "smart" cash register is only as good as the input into the machine. The pressure of business also increases the tendency to make input errors. This line of argument goes nowhere.

My comment on the original post did not dwell on the political choices people make. Ill-educated people are not more inclined to vote one party over the other as a class. There are ill-educated people on both sides. My point had only to do with the statistics quoted. If you want to go research the current state of education in the US and then attack the reports then that is a perfectly valid tactic. Perhaps, in light of the "no-child left behind" policies of the current administration, the situation has dramatically altered in the last few years. If so, I will gladly alter some of my statements. However, please ensure that the surveys distinguish between public education and private/home school sources. The last info I had was that the private sector was producing a higher level of education than the public one across the board although each has a continuum of performance.

The JHU reference was to a specific individual in my church. He chose JHU from the list of Universities which offered him superb scholarships.

[Mrs. TeaQuaffer]

You did touch a nerve! I also see that you focused on the first part of my response. I suppose that I would have to read the book to learn about these "surveys" because the article does not mention any details (maybe they surveyed 100 people - 2 per state). According to the article there are two problems - in general, people don't understand how their governments work and (in general) people would rather vote based on a candidate's personality rather than on their resume. I suppose that how people vote could follow from their understanding of the government but not necessarily. If the public schools were educational institutions and not educational facilitators then they would be turning out graduates that, when it comes around to electing officials and approving amendments, prepare themselves by discovering the candidates resumes and their general histories relevant to the jobs that they want. Don't get me started on what I think of JHU.

[Gadfly]

Sorry if I touched a nerve. I made no universal claims in the article and inductively a single instance does not disprove a general thesis unless it is a universal claim. I did not say that no child can be educated under the current system.

So, we are left with the data point of your own experience. If it is representative of the general efficacy of state mandated, NEA regulated education in this country, how do you explain the general condition indicated and reported in the main article - that the general population is unable to do that which you did in the 10th grade? Why is it that compared to international standards, US students consistently perform not only poorly, but abysmally - especially in the "hard" sciences?

So, I remain convinced that, though there are exceptions... though there are young men in our churches who graduate at the top of their class in public school and qualify for near full scholarships at prestigious universities like JHU .... that the general condition of education is sorely lacking because of a fundamental shift in educational philosophy - away from "traditional" or "orthodox" teaching principles and toward an emphasis on "social engineering", the inculcation of "values", and a conscious intent to create a hedge against what is perceived as a parentally perpetuated dogmatic ethic which is counter to that which the so called "educationist" philosophy seeks to promote.

Thanks for your post.

[Mrs. TeaQuaffer]

I am a graduate of the public school system in this county and I had to pass a 'citizenship test' in the tenth grade in order to graduate. On this 'citizenship test' were questions such as those that you mention in the article. I certainly hope that they still make such a requirement in the AA Co school system. If I remember correctly, a 'passing' grade was rather high (higher than 85%). So, I have a hard time believing it is as bad as all that. I actually have the test in a box somewhere in my house - they let us keep them. I'll see if I can find it.

I challenge you to stand behind a cash register with a stranger who first hands you a $5 bill and then says, "Oh, no, wait." and then digs around in their pockets for loose change while a line of impatient and probably rude people sigh at them and at you and then, after they hand you the change, subtract the subtrahend from the minuend in less than 5 seconds. Pretend also that you've been doing that for at least 5 hours on your feet. I wonder how well you would fare. I am not good at doing math in my head especially in front of strangers. I am shy and I get very flustered; I need to concentrate when I do math in my head; I hate being watched. However, I understand what subtraction is and I am quite quick and capable of doing it with a pencil and paper. Being able to do math in your head, in my opinion, is not a measure of intelligence. It just means that you are gifted in being able to concentrate and visualize "in your head" a bit better than most people (I congratulate you for being one of them). The cash register is there for efficiency and speed and not as a substitute for thinking as you suppose. Imagine how much longer your wait could potentially be without it. But, what do I know? I'm just an ex-store clerk.