Public Schools Can Waste 12 Years of Your Child’s Life

Written by Joel Turtel


For over fifty years, public-school officials and politicians have tried one education fad after another. They have all failed. Children should not be turned into victims and educational guinea pigs by public-school authorities.

Here's why public schools can waste 12 years of your children’s lives and destroy their love of learning:

1. These schools teach children to read withrepparttar whole-language method, which cripples children’s ability to read. That is why after 12 years, millions of graduating high-school students have poor reading skills, and some students can barely read their own diplomas.

2. Public schools teachrepparttar 144047 “new” or fuzzy math which can cripple a child’s ability to do math and destroy their self-confidence. A child who is afraid of math won’t haverepparttar 144048 confidence to pursue a career in science, computers, or engineering, thereby cutting them off from these rewarding careers.

3. Because these schools cripple children’s ability to read, they must force children to read dumbed-down textbooks in English, History, and many other subjects. These textbooks are geared torepparttar 144049 slowest learners inrepparttar 144050 class and water-downrepparttar 144051 subject matter. These dumbed-down courses therefore waste children’s time.

4. Most “teaching” in public-schools consists of students having to memorize facts from dumbed-down textbooks, only to regurgitate these same facts on dumbed-down tests. John Holt, in his book, “How Children Fail” points out that most students forgetrepparttar 144052 facts they memorized within a few weeks afterrepparttar 144053 test. So most children learn little from their classes except how to cram their heads with useless facts which they soon forget. This goes on for 12 years.

5. Public schools force children to study subjects they hate, can’t do, will never use in their lives, or which bore them. For example, many schools force students to study geometry and trigonometry, French or another foreign language, or world history. Children should be studying subjects they love and are good at. When they have to study subjects that bore them,repparttar 144054 only thing children learn is to hate learning.

How Public Schools Lie to Parents and Betray Our Children

Written by Joel Turtel


Underrepparttar "No Child Left Behind Act," public schools whose students consistently fail standardized tests can now be shut down. To protect their jobs, teachers and principals are now under intense pressure to cheat — to fudge test scores and report cards to fool parents and school administrators.

How do public schools deceive parents? Joel Turtel, author ofrepparttar 144046 new book, "Public Schools, Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie to Parents and Betray Our Children," lists some ofrepparttar 144047 ways public schools can “cheat”:

1. Poor students are excluded or discouraged from takingrepparttar 144048 tests.

2. Teachers assign tests as homework or teach test items in class.

3. Test security is minimal or even nonexistent.

4. Students are allowed more time than prescribed by test regulations.

5. Unrealistic, highly improbable improvements from test to test are not audited or investigated.

6. Teachers and administrators are not punished for flagrant violations of test procedures.

7. Test results are reported in ways that exaggerate achievement levels. (from Myron Lieberman's book, "Public Education: An Autopsy")

In December 1999, a special investigation of New York City schools revealed that two principals and dozens of teachers and assistant teachers were helping students cheat on standardized math and reading tests.

Andrew J. Coulson, in his brilliant book, "Market Education: The Unknown History," cites an example of how public schools deliberately lie to parents about their children’s academic abilities:

“Consistently greeted by A’s and B’s on their children’s report cards,repparttar 144049 parents of Zavala Elementary School had been lulled into complacency, believing that bothrepparttar 144050 school and its students were performing well. In fact, Zavala was one ofrepparttar 144051 worst schools inrepparttar 144052 district, and its students ranked nearrepparttar 144053 bottom on statewide standardized tests. When a new principal took overrepparttar 144054 helm and requested thatrepparttar 144055 statewide scores be read out at a PTA meeting, parents were dismayed by their children’s abysmal showing, and furious with teachers and school officials for misleading them with inflated grades.”

In 1992,repparttar 144056 scholarly journal Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice publishedrepparttar 144057 results of a national survey about teacher cheating. Janie Hall and Paul Kleine,repparttar 144058 authors ofrepparttar 144059 report, asked 2256 public-school teachers, principals, superintendents, and testing supervisors if their colleagues cheated on tests. Forty-four percent of those questioned answered yes. Also, 55 percent ofrepparttar 144060 teachers surveyed said they were aware that many of their fellow teachers changed students' answers, taught specific parts of tests prior torepparttar 144061 tests, and gave students hints during tests. Today,repparttar 144062 pressure for teachers and principals to cheat is even greater because ofrepparttar 144063 No Child Left Behind Act.

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