Sept. 21

No God Left Behind — Why Not?

The secretary of education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education unequivocally advances the notion that the “business” of colleges and universities — defined primarily in the final report as “preparation for the work force” — is best advanced by the disclosure of data allowing institutions to be compared to one another, particularly in measurements of student learning. Standardized testing of all college students would be required to produce those comparative quantitative data. Such universal application of testing is forwarded as the guarantee of accountability for what this American democracy requires most essentially from its higher-education institutions. In other words, what has already been applied with mixed success to pre-collegiate education is now to be applied to higher education. In addition to the No Child Left Behind Act, we are to have what might be called No College Left Behind.

I suggest, for example, that a federal commission propose an accountability initiative for those of faith (not such a wild notion as an increasing number of politicians are calling the traditional separation of church and state unhealthy for the nation). This effort should be titled No God Left Behind. The federal government would demand that places of worship, in order to be deemed successful, efficient and worthy of federal, state and local tax-support exemption, provide quantitative evidence of the effectiveness of their “teaching.” (Places of worship are not unlike colleges and universities in that they are increasing their fund-raising expectations — their form of “price” — because of increasing costs.) The faithful, in turn, would be required to provide quantitative evidence of the concrete influence of their respective God upon behaviors within a few years of exposure — say four years.

And in keeping with the Commission on the Future of Higher Education’s suggestion that one test would be appropriate for all types of higher-education institutions regardless of mission — liberal-arts colleges, private research universities, public research universities, community colleges, for-profit-online universities, vocational schools — a standardized test would be applied to a person of faith, whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindi or other “approved” religions. Additionally, a pre-test would be given to the faithful upon initial engagement with their respective God and place of worship, and would be followed by a post-test after four years to assess “value added.”

Of course, I really don’t think No God Left Behind is a good idea. The reasons why also are applicable to No College Left Behind and No Child Left Behind. Most people of faith, I believe, would argue that this quality lies beyond mere human quantitative measurement to validate its worth, that it exists in a variety of forms (only the most radical would argue for the exclusion of faiths that fail a test), and that its effects on human beings may not be immediately evident. None of these assertions, of course, makes faith for believers any less real as a source of improving the quality of human life.

My case for faith continuing to flourish for those who wish it, without proof through standardized testing, shares critical affinities with my argument for higher education not being universally subject to quantitative assessment. There are at least four inter-related issues that confound the Commission’s absolutism towards quantitative measurement to solve the imagined knowledge deficit and lack of contribution to the nation by American higher education.

First, quantitative testing, to be of application, must have as its subject that which can be empirically assessed. Such limitation leaves out critical areas of human knowledge, meaning and definition that are not readily subject to immediate empirical assessment during the course of instruction but are, nevertheless, very real: the development of character thorough trial and error in a residential setting, an appreciation of the arts and aesthetics; a literary and poetic sensibility; a recognition of the responsibilities of citizenship; an appreciation of liberty and freedom; a spirit of business entrepreneurialism; and creativity and inventiveness in the sciences (and I am not talking solely about the short-term acquisition of cultural, historical and political “fact” in these areas).

The commission’s recommendations — with their focus on workforce preparation — might well reduce the scope of what is taught and discussed in those institutions to only those areas that can be indisputably measured by a test. An abiding respect for learning, which is not so obviously technical and thus not measurable through standardized assessment, is rooted deeply in the intentions for a distinctively American higher education by our country’s founders. Indeed, Benjamin Rush, a patriot, signer of the Declaration of Independence and founder of several colleges, to include Dickinson, proclaimed this distinctive American relationship among advanced knowledge, abstract concepts and the future well-being of the nation when he said, “Freedom can exist only in a society of knowledge. Without learning, men are incapable of knowing their rights.” The intent of a liberal education is thus defined.

Both propositions are based not on the quantitative assessment of the merely technical, but rather the confidently ambiguous power of existing in a “society of knowledge,” one that would influence learners to a much desired and critically important ideal — democracy and the diversity of perspective that it secures. There exists in Rush and his co-conspirators, in founding a distinctively American higher education after the end of the revolution, a mature appreciation of the complexity and variety of the instruction necessary to advance a democracy.

Second, and closely related to the perspective of Rush, is that education in America was not intended solely to provide young people for “the work force” through the empirically demonstrated mastery of a limited set of practical skills. Fundamental literacy, numeracy and scientific knowledge were more properly the task of the grammar schools and the academies (high schools). American higher education historically builds on this “technical” accomplishment and engages students in a democratic way of life through both advanced technical and speculative (creative) learning.

Third, students in the United States at all levels of formal education already are the most “tested” by standardized measurement in the world. Yet, we still seem to be in a position of deficit in improving what students actually know and need to know to function productively in society. Do we truly believe that more testing will lead to improved teaching and learning? Are we so convinced that “to test is to learn” despite so much evidence to the contrary?

Fourth, are we oblivious to the fact that, like the flourishing of spirituality only in societies that are generously supportive, the acquisition of knowledge only advances in political entities for which this activity is esteemed and generally valued? A society and government in which only practical, technical knowledge is lauded and that which is more abstract is derided — such as the long-term, arduous education for the appreciation of democracy, liberty and freedom — have little chance of moving a people to take the enterprise seriously.

I have no doubt that Secretary Spellings, the Commission members and the chairman, Charles Miller, intend an American higher education that offers the nation and the world graduates who can confront, with knowledge, skill, creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit, the challenges and the opportunities that the world demands. My caution — and it is a pointed one — is that in our rush to secure excellence thorough the simplistic and misguided notion of increased quantitative assessment of workforce skills, we will destroy the historic distinctiveness of American higher education.

Derek Bok, in Our Underachieving Colleges, cites numerous commentators over the last few decades alarmed at the perversion of American higher education as it progressively leans to practical and technical knowledge at the expense of more generous, less immediately focused ambitions. For example, Diane Ravitch, an education analyst who has frequently criticized the college establishment, states, “American higher education has remade itself into a vast job-training program in which the liberal arts are no longer central.” And Eric Gould in 2003 observes negatively that, “What we now mean by knowledge is information effective in action, information focused on results. We tend to promote the need for a productive [emphasis added] citizenry rather than a critical, socially responsive, reflective individualism.”

We must never forget that a distinctively American higher education, using a wide variety of internal and external assessments already in place, aims to increase competencies and literacies established prior to college (although far greater public transparency is certainly needed). This ambition the United States shares with the rest of the world. American education, however, infuses this globally shared agenda with something extra, something that has secured its distinction for centuries — to extend beyond factual and technical knowledge and to introduce its students to what Derek Bok describes as, “more ethically discerning … more knowledgeable and active in civic affairs” — and that cannot be captured through standardized testing at the moment of introduction, for it unfolds over time and with experience.

Lose this ambition and American higher education has lost permanently its distinction as a democratic society of knowledge.

William G. Durden is president of Dickinson College.

Comments

Yup — readin’, ritin’ is hard

Yes, some assessments border on the absurd. How does one assess in soft-side academia? What comprises “acceptable speech?” How does one assess appropriate responses with a wide variety of theoretical approaches? What are they looking for?

Well, in financially-struggling, non-private education, we are talking about remediating students who do not have basic skills in reading, writing, and math.

Like grammar. Like algebra. Like the basic overall discipline to sit for hours, read, and take notes.

Why? Lax parents? Bloated public school bureaucracies? Teacher unions? Society? Hasn’t Harvard come up with a solution yet?

Start by assessing the basics. That alone should take five years.

B.D., Engineering Faculty at Small public college, at 5:25 am EDT on September 21, 2006

Immeasurable unquantifiable educational objectives

Twenty-five years ago, at the beginning of the political movement to eliminate all educational enterprise which does not issue in merchandise, weapons, or profit by demanding that every academic objective be stated in such a way that it can be measured and quantified, my friend Billy, an English teacher at two-year college, somehow managed to persuade his colleagues and administrators to include in official college documents — statements of mission, purpose, objectives, goals, and core values — also the statement that the fundamental principles, values, and goals of education are immeasurable and unquantifiable. For this he deserves the Nobel.

Bob Schenck, Teacher, at 7:10 am EDT on September 21, 2006

NGLB

And silly me, I thought tech schools are where to go for job training. Well, now about this No God Left Behind, let’s have those ‘em prove up. let’s have some statistics beyond a reasonable doubt, p<.o5 anyway. (I’m not a fanatic!) Then we could thereby determine which god is best and all gain the benefits of conversion, which would certainly be available via EOE/Affirmative Action, regardless of previous creed, if any.

Bystander, at 8:10 am EDT on September 21, 2006

Been there, done that...

More than a century ago, the British polymath Francis Galton conducted a study of the life expectancies of categories of people who were the subjects of nation-wide prayer campiagns that were organized by the Anglican Church. (These people were usually noblemen and -women or other famous figures who had fallen ill.) He found that their lives were no longer than those who were not the beneficiaries of prayer campaigns. In short, the prayer of millions of compatriots made no difference. The point? Just because *some* aspects of an activity seem resistant to quantification doesn’t mean that they *all* are. If one can quantify even a few important functions of a given activity, then one has a handle — imperfect though it may be — on its success. Rejecting a useful exercise just because it is imperfect is unreasonable (and is usually the product of some other agenda). That people are suspicious of what governments — especially this gov’t — will *do* with post-secondary testing data in understandable. Nevertheless, it is not to be doubted that we could learn something from finding out, say, that a lot students aren’t learning the basic stuff of their chosen areas of study; in short, that some “colleges” are not delivering even the basic goods that students and their parents are paying for. Would you accept that from, say, your neighborhood grocery store?

Historian, at 8:10 am EDT on September 21, 2006

AMEN!!!!

RM, at 8:15 am EDT on September 21, 2006

Qualitative methodologies make sense too

As Aristotle taught, take from a subject only so much as it can admit. Not all questions can or should be handled through quantitative research and evaluative methodologies (recall Michael Walzer’s “Spheres of Justice"). Hence, qualitative research methodology is to be preferred, and it can yield reliable, valid measurements without settling for what my research design prof. once called ‘anecdotal crap.’ I think he was too harsh in his own evaluation, but he was no slave to numbers either. He still respected some measure of narrative and story-telling.

Ross Miller, at 8:15 am EDT on September 21, 2006

“Left Behind"?? More like “Left Out"...

Nevertheless, it is not to be doubted that we could learn something from finding out, say, that a lot students aren’t learning the basic stuff of their chosen areas of study; in short, that some “colleges” are not delivering even the basic goods that students and their parents are paying for. Would you accept that from, say, your neighborhood grocery store?

As an administrator at a small community college, I have been involved with “pre-college” level studies (GED preparation, other Adult Basic Skills programming, remedial college-level student populations); it is not just the colleges that are failing to deliver the “basic goods” as the poster ‘Historian’ so eloquently put it—our public school systems are not developing students who are ready for even introductory-level college programming. The question asked is whether we would accept such substandard quality from our neighborhood grocery, but as taxpayers we are essentially accepting it from our school systems.

Quantitative data from standardized tests makes people happy only when the numbers prove out their desires (i.e., that school district ABC is top-notch because it has maintained satisfactory academic progress and 95% of the students are showing at or above proficiency in all subjects. Sure.), but numbers can be manipulated and tabulated to show the best possible information. Quantitative data can provide much more of the story, as the post by Ross Miller mentions: perhaps the system has not quantitatively shown proficiency across the board, but the students are showing their skill in other ways, like through poetry or even classroom discussion; ethnography and other, more immersive research methodologies can show the value under the numbers. We cannot negate that value or every student will ultimately be a part of another category: Left Out.

So-called traditional educational paradigms seem to be less popular as more and more individuals seek out alternatives that better suit learning style. I myself am a doctoral student at Fielding, a distributed learning institution. I cannot imagine sitting in a classroom at this point in my adult life, considering how much I disliked doing it as a child; in fact I often tell my students and colleagues now that I hated school all the way through a master’s program because the strict time schedules and so forth did not suit my learning style. However, the quality of education I recieve is not compromised because my doctoral program is subject to the same quantitative review and accreditation demands of those ‘brick and mortar’ institutions. As traditional modes of education delivery move over and share the platform with innovative modes, shouldn’t assessments be developed that are also innovative in approach?

Andree’ Robinson-Neal, Graduate Student at Fielding Graduate University, at 8:55 am EDT on September 21, 2006

Luddites United Against Rational Measurement

Doesn’t this newsletter have editors? Do they have to publish everything that comes their way? Such “anti-everything” drivel as this article once again reflects the fear of being found out—that students may not be learning what the lofty institution claims in its slick PR pieces. The only way to satisfy valid constituents is to provide evidence of student learning. Data can be skillfully utilized for this purpose, within limits. Continuous improvement cannot take place without repeated measurements. The only reason the constituents are taking action is that we have failed to meaningfully measure ourselves and be honest about the outcomes.

Have a happy day!

Cal, at 8:55 am EDT on September 21, 2006

You’re Missing the Point

You are falling into the age-old trap of trying to quantify what can’t be quantified. You can almost hear the angelic chorus: “We can’t measure learning because it’s not tangible!”

The real issue in American higher education isn’t whether we should SOLELY focus on utilitarian education versus education based in the liberal arts. In our ingenuity, we solved that problem in 1828 when we dealt with the debate over curriculum by building more diversified institutions.

The real issue is this: ACCOUNTABILITY. There’s a reason why we have institutions with such a diversity of missions—the fact that Joe Q. Student can go and ponder Shakespeare at one institution and Jill Q. Student can study mechanical engineering at another is the basis for our democracy. I don’t think anyone is questioning the value of having artists, philosophers, thinkers, and the like in the company of scientists, mathematicians, and doctors. (Lawyers, on the other hand...)

The question to me isn’t about what or how students are doing, because you’re right—we have among the most tested students in the world. The question is: HOW ARE OUR INSTITUTIONS DOING?

As a taxpayer, I want to make sure that the money I “donate” every time I get a paycheck goes to sustaining our democratic society. Are colleges and universities taking responsibility for ensuring that students are learning something—anything, really—that will allow them to positively contribute to our democracy? How do we know? Am I supposed to blindly trust that sending my student off to college will imbue him with the knowledge (and more important, the skills) he needs to succeed in life and be a productive member of society?

I’ll gladly pay for a student to sit under a tree and ponder the meaning of life in college. But I *would* like to know that he actually did so during the 4, 5, or 6 years he spent there.

AC, at 8:55 am EDT on September 21, 2006

An Omission

In his eloquent articulation of traditional academic cant, President Durden failed to note one important difference between faith-based institutions and colleges and universities. Unlike the former, the latter, both public and private, absorb large quantities of public money. That is certainly a valid basis for public demands for accountability.

Don Langenberg, Chancellor Emeritus at University System of Maryland, at 9:50 am EDT on September 21, 2006

President Durden’s main objection to standardized tests for college graduates is his argument that many of the objectives of a college education cannot be empirically tested: literary and poetic sensibility, for example; appreciation of the arts and the duties of citizenship.

Yet, oddly enough, President Durden’s college, Dickinson, insists on empirical tests for its admissions, its students, and its financial managers. Its website proudly advertises that incoming freshmen (they call them “first-years") have S.A.T. scores averaging 1324 and lists divisions between the math and verbal portions. Dickinson’s website advertises that 54% of its incoming freshmen earned grades in the top tenth of their high school classes, grades they presumably earned by passing tests. Since Dickinson reports that 37% of its students graduate with honors, they apparently are tested in their classes there. Since Dickinson’s Treasurer notes that the college’s endowment increased by 29.8% last year, the college must be quantifying the performance of its investment managers. Apparently, President Durden believes that college applicants, collge students, and college endowment managers should show objective evidence of their knowledge—but not college graduates.

His proposal to subject churches to objective tests in the same way as colleges is of course facetious but he doesn’t follow his own proposal to its logical conclusion. You don’t have to pass any exams to enter my church. Our two Sunday services are open to the public, as is our Sunday School. It doesn’t cost anything, either, in marked contrast to the $42,000 a year it costs to attend President Durden’s college. We welcome contributions, of course, but we teach that a thief who died on a cross next to Jesus got into heaven, not merely a college or a church, free of charge. And, while President Durden objects to having to prepare his students for a post-baccalaureate examination, we do our best to prepare our parishioners for their postmortem Last Judgement. The analogy he has facetiously drawn just doesn’t go very far.

Jack Olson, at 10:26 am EDT on September 21, 2006

If universities are going to be held “accountable,” they should make sure that whom they are accounting to is the appropriate crowd. Certainly legislators, CEO’s and pundits are going to favor business and citizen training, and they do have a stake in the process. But I see a huge lacuna in this matter: no one takes into account what the graduates of our institutions think. If a B. A. in philosophy has paid $80,000 to sit under a tree and think about life, and if she’s OK with that, then external expectations about what kind of citizen she will become, or what kind of wage-earner she will be, are of minor importance, and are no more the state’s business than who her God is. If her tuition costs are defrayed by tax dollars, the question which the state should be asking is not “What did she do in college?” but “What will she become in the years after college"? If she ends up being an effective thinker in her job, and an ethical person in her community, then the state is “getting what it paid for.” Public money for education, after all, has the ultimate (and unmeasurable) design of keeping vitality in the marketplace of ideas. Whether a college produces accountants, marine biologists, or engineers, or editors, lawyers and professors, its ability to serve that design should be the chief focal point of the state. Whether a person’s college experience has been effective or not should rely on the percentage of graduates who say they are satisfied with their educations.

Duke, at 10:45 am EDT on September 21, 2006

Look at the bigger picture.

I both agree and disagree with the opinion set forth by Dr. Durden. I would argue that the attributes that he mentions as critical outcomes of education are entirely quantifiable. Creativity, an appreciation of liberty and freedom, character, aesthetic appreciation and civic engagement are all, ultimately quantifiable variables. I also believe that institutions, such as Dickinson, must have a fundamental understanding of those attributes and the ways in which they can be engendered in individuals attending institutions of higher learning. We are not asking for people to simply have “faith” in the belief that we will give their children these characteristics based on some abstract notions, but rather that we have carefully crafted an environment and a set of experiences that knowingly foster these outcomes. That said, individuals are so varied in their experiences and intellectual make-up that any standardized way of assessing these attributes is, at best, absurd. Assessment and reflection are critical parts of education and need to be built into the American education system in realistic and valuable ways and they need to be under the control of those who truly understand the objectives of the education being undertaken. As someone trained both in the liberal tradition (as a 1993 graduate of Dickinson) and in the science of the design and assessment of educational systems (ABD in Instructional Systems Technology through Indiana University) I see the need for all American educational institutions to “catch-up” with the current intellectual demands needed to meet the changing society that we live in. Education, in general, has not changed significantly in more than 200 years, while our society (and most social institutions) has advanced radically. Our education system does not currently “work” because it is built on, and is still a slave to outdated modes of thinking rooted in the industrial revolution. Why, for example, are students required to progress in lock-step through the system at the prompting of bells and whistles? This system is primarily in place to prepare them to be docile servants in factories. The industrial revolution has largely passed, but our education system clings to its trappings for fear of change. Dr. Durden is right in his belief that there is more to education than the work readiness that commission report would have us believe and a wholesale rethinking of the education system is well overdue.

Justin Marquis, Doctoral Candidate, Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University, at 11:00 am EDT on September 21, 2006

Jack doesn’t knwo Jack!

Quick response top Jack Olson’s post above.

Dickinson does not require SAT scores for entrance. Each student’s application is reviewed holistically by a committe that looks at many variable (standardized testing being one, if students choose to submit those scores). You seem to be conflating testing and standardized testing in your “argument". Standardized tests are those designed and administered outside the confines of a particular educational institution (such as the SAT which is administered by ETS), tests, in general are given by the persons actually performing the instruction within an institution. They knwo the students and the subject matter and are much more qualified to assess their students than is a vague exam developed for the masses by some arbitrarily selected organization, such as ETS. The biases inherent in these “standardized” tests, which cannot be catered to diverse groups, are one of the reasons that institutions such as Dickinson and other, more enlightened colleges and universities, have ceased requiring them of their students.

1993 Dickinson Alumnus

Justin Marquis, at 11:15 am EDT on September 21, 2006

Thank you, Jack.

Jane, at 1:40 pm EDT on September 21, 2006

Money, Money

“[Durden’s] proposal to subject churches to objective tests in the same way as colleges is of course facetious but he doesn’t follow his own proposal to its logical conclusion. You don’t have to pass any exams to enter my church. Our two Sunday services are open to the public, as is our Sunday School. It doesn’t cost anything, either, in marked contrast to the $42,000 a year it costs to attend President Durden’s college.” ——————————————————————-Your church, sir, is subsidized by the various goverments of the country by being freed from the burden of paying taxes. So, one could argue—beyond facetiousness—that testing of church outcomes is a responsible way to determine the use or misuse of what should be money paid into the public coffers for the general good of the people.

normalvision, Prof. of English (ret.), at 4:05 pm EDT on September 21, 2006

Bring on the external examiners!

I strongly support having external examinations for students— and holding students accountable for their performance.

This is the system in some other countries and it works just fine. Employers and graduate programs look at the quality of students’ degrees as determined by external examiners and make decisions accordingly—freeing faculty to devote their time and energy to teaching rather than acting as pre-screening agents for employment and further education.

This system would take the pressure to avoid grade inflation of us, and free us from the hassles involved in grading. So BRING IT ON!!!

H. E. Baber, Professor at University of San Diego, at 9:55 pm EDT on September 21, 2006

‘No God Left Behind”

Hey, Cal! Whazzup, dude. And tell me the difference between ‘outcomes’ and results. Why, Oh why, do we use such really big words to say so very little? Does the academy—expecially the educationist and socially scientific wings—lack the self-confidence to use plain, simple English? Where is George Orwell when we need him? Jeremiah

Jeremiah, MWSCC, at 5:35 am EDT on September 22, 2006

As a parent, grandparent, and teacher, I find it appalling that so many of our students cannot comprehend what they read, analyze beyond the literal level, or think beyond the immediate moment. We cannot solve this problem by having them take another test. It does not make sense to spend millions on testing students to discover what we already know. Our students are failing.and all the institutions who have accepted the responsibility for educating them are failing. We don’t need yet another multi-million dollar assessment program to prove it. E-mail and chat room exchanges typify the language proficiency of many American students. Sadly, this is the same mediocrity that they bring to classroom exchanges, oral and written. Compare their thinking and writing to the letters written by “uneducated” Civil War soldiers. The comparison is enough to make us weep for ourselves, our children, and our country. The gap is so wide that surely no one could seriously contend that another set of tests can heal the deep wounds to our children and our educational system.Accountability? No test has ever made an administrator, teacher, or student accountable. We learn accountability before we even enter pre-school. So if you want to impact education and help our children become productive citizen who are compassionate, intelligent, and responsible, spend the millions on programs like Head Start. Intervene early and with all the resources we have. Change the first five years; change the future.

Terry, Human Being: Twenty-First Century, at 11:31 am EDT on September 22, 2006

No God Left Behind?!

Mr. William J. Durden...if you want to find out why students haven’t the eloquence and erudition as noticeable also in educators and students from the middle school level and beyond, I’d suggest you find time to do some research and poll parents and students who have lived the past 45-50 years. Teachers can’t spell nor write a sentence nor know a topic sentence if they saw one nor know how to develop paragraphs. Unions have made sure these somewhat illiterate “educators” hold on to their jobs. Check out the language arts skills in a chat or blog or a myspace to find out how the students writing doesn’t transpose to their school work; they just can’t seem to make the transition. These teens have told me they are going to be the doctors and other professional people we will be dealing with in the future if their schools continue socially passing them through! The colleges hold their hands with repetitious 3 “R’s” classes which they may or may not ever pass. These young people are not stupid. Many are very mature and bright when they WANT to be or are motivated to be so. I’ve seen many nursing students fail out before they even take their core classes for their chosen field of study. This is community college. Heaven knows how these students make it to the 4 year or Ivy League Schools!

I can tell you that the baby boomer generation learned the 3 “R’s” or failed the grade until they made it or were passed on by taking easier classes to graduate or didn’t graduate at all. Their parents had to take Latin and did quite well at it. If their generation didn’t need to be at home to “help out the family” many of them would have been high school graduates and college graduates as well. Education was valued pre-baby boomer. Education was something that generation wanted for their baby boomer kids. Many were the first in their families to ever go to college. That’s the first set of problems.

Times changed in the 1960’s onward. We were bombarded with the British socialization experiment of drugs, God is Dead, the Mahareshi, free love, rock n roll (I love rock.)and social upheavals that lead to today’s generation of not caring what they say or do unless their parents and grandparents make the difference in their lives by being there and being totally committed to them including their education. I remember as a young child being scared to death when Russia’s Premier Nikita Krushev stood at a podium in our country on t.v. pounding his fist saying to us, “I will bury you!” Most people believed that was so naive. After all, we HAD the nuclear capabilities. What the adults didn’t get was what I did at such a very young age! It took me time to realize the college campus riots, abandoning our values and morals for secular humanism and values clarification, and the imported professors at colleges knew what to teach and how to reach their goals....bury us within! It’s not a MaCatharyism idea. I am not against Russian or Brittish people as I have family from both countries. If one can’t beat another with weapons, one utilizes as in our country’s situation, the minds of the youths to their parents and onto the younger generations.

Today we have so many children abused, neglected, not knowing their daddy, murdered in the womb (i.e.-Lacy Peterson), killed by their mothers for being in the way of them not finding another guy or one who doesn’t want to raise some other guy’s kids, raised by grandparents, and leaving these children messed up. The kids know they are throw-aways, and you will find so many kids labeled dysfunctional placed on mind altering drugs. Those medications have been linked to suicidal ideation and/or anatomical abnormalities. Many parents receive social security for their children; they don’t want to lose that check and other benefits from the government paid by we taxpayers. I’ve heard the middle schoolers and high schoolers use “their label” to describe themselves! It seems that once the children leave elementary school, they are forgotten by their parents where the peer group takes over. I have certainly learned a lot about that in all my education and psychology classes in college.

As to the Ivy League colleges....the original purpose of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc., was to educate men for the propagation of the Gospel ("good news") to become ministers and/or missionaries. Even Ted Turner of CNN left that vocation and Harvard for the world.

“Separation of church and state” is something I am sick and tired of hearing. It’s NOT in the United States Constitution! It’s in the “Communistic Manifesto” by Karl Marx. Matter of fact, there is a revival of communism and its literature where it was once gone. Our Constitution states that we are NOT to have just ONE church. Turkey has sold out of their 100,000 copies of “Mein Komf” and needs more due to the popularity and sales records.

It’s time to look around oneself and realize what is going on in this world. A good example is the presence of Iran’s leader in New York speaking before the United Nations (another story and big joke debating society which should only permit countries in it with democracies)and Hugo Chevez from Venezuela (owner of Citgo) in an African American Church spouting his ilk calling the President of the United States “diablo".... and crossing himself like a good Catholic does! (Would ANY of our Presidents ever have gotten away with that in their countries or when Hitler... at one time a good Baptist!...was in power?!) These above mentioned characters just met a few days before with Castro in Cuba! They are going to build an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico just 45 miles from Florida! WE aren’t permitted to do that! It will be Iran (Persia), Turkey, Russia, perhaps Sudan, and a few other countries taken over by radical Muslims (not the peace loving ones) who have sleeper cells in our country who will strike the U.S. worse than what we had on 911. It’s time for people to stop believing the media and late night time comedians and Hollywood as the place where a great majority derive their “facts” and news from. We need to read, again, and not just those views of people we believe in or is politically correct. We need to show our children the value of reading and reading opposing views for errors and truths. If we are not being an example of that, then they won’t. Well written books contain all the language arts necessary for learning. Throwing money at a school system well equipped with current technology and a safe building doesn’t need more money thrown at it; it doesn’t work. I make sure when I give many young children and teens gifts for their special day or Christmas that it is something they like, jewelry I make, a book approved by the parent or guardian, a card, and some other popular item they enjoy but is educational.

Dee...Educator/Author/Expositor

Dee Williams, Entrepreneur/Author, at 6:00 am EDT on September 23, 2006

Church and State and weighing a pig

Well, in response to Dee—the constitution also doesn’t specifically say “freedom of speech” does it? The concept is not absent just because certain catch-phrases weren’t used. But more to the point, as they say in my home state of Kentucky, “you don’t make a pig fat by weighing it.” I’ve responded to the “quanititative assessment” mandates by developing technology that permits me to analyze statistically all of the details of our students’ oral presentations, and to benchmark our scoring against that at other institutions—measurements that some think aren’t even possible. The effort requires days’ worth of my time per year, and while there have been improvements in teaching as a result, they’ve been relatively tiny. We’ve spent hours weighing the pig, and dollars on better scales, but we’ve failed to provide time to tend to the goal by providing care and quality feed.

TR Ruddick, Associate Professor at a midwestern community college, at 10:10 pm EDT on September 25, 2006

If only...

Would accountability really be such a focus if the country hadn’t spent $350 billion on the Iraq War?

Also, I wonder how much strain the additional $200 billion Iraq War financing Bush requested for fiscal years ‘07, ‘08, and ‘09 will put on higher education, and other federal programs not related to war.

Of course, the money “wasted” by our colleges and universities is much more important than the money we pour into war-mongering and the pockets of Halliburton.

FJS, at 4:35 pm EST on February 2, 2007

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