Sunday, November 18, 2012

A Series In: The "Dumbing" Down of America

After watching many conspiracy videos of the "dumbing" down of America, or as it's correctly known: The United States. I find myself more and more intrigued by this topic, especially because it's relevant to me as a Dewey student. I am the product and I am under the banner of one of the biggest and most corrupt public educational systems, the infamous New York City Department of Education, or as it is more commonly known: NYCDOE. Well, I am not shocked that this is the current state of our public education. Many people believe the U.S. is becoming more of an oligarchy, and let me tell you, I think so as well. It's always a handful of elites controlling our every move, and every aspect of modern life. Education is just icing on the cake. Even though "dumbing" is not a word, I am compelled to use it because it plainly describes in one nonexistent word, what's really going on.


THE FACTORS THAT CAUSE THE "DUMBING" DOWN IN THE UNITED STATES:

- Poverty (inevitable as well...)
- The No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
- Standardized Testing (Yes folks, this includes the NYS Regents!)
- Corruption (inevitable, it seems so...)
- Bureaucracy (don't even say it!)


Poverty

I'm a die-hard conspiracy theorist, guys. From the books to the videos. I thank the Dewey library for helping me supply my dose of conspiracy. Anyway, to the point. Why has our education fallen back so much? That is the question. We're suppose to be the leader in this world! Other countries laugh at our education reforms that fail miserably. Prior to being a Dewey student, I had no idea I was in this mess. I was just a mere oblivious junior high school student. But boy, let me tell you, my junior high school was terrible. The reading and math scores were ridiculous; they staggered around 20% out of a 100%. Can you believe it? I was shocked, but I moved on, after all, my district was known for having sub-par schools. However, I didn't choose to live here, did I? No. My parents lived in a not-so-good school district because it was cheaper, however, due to gentrification, my school district is getting heavily populated with more whites. Keep in mind, I became a product of the NYCDOE in 2001; from 2001 to 2012, my school district has improved, but it's still sub-par, and most of the whites that move here send their kids to private schools or even home-school them, because they know that my district (the district they live in as well) has sub-par schools. What is the outcome? Higher rent prices, higher monthly payments... Causing the poorer who make lower annual income to move out and head forward to terrible neighborhoods that are crime infested. Sad reality.

The problem with poverty is that it's a vicious cycle. I liked President Reagan's beliefs on government support for the poor, he believed that it shouldn't exist as profoundly as it does, because it causes people to become lazy and unreliable. The approach was thoughtful, but contentious, obviously the American people were not supportive. But he was right! Poverty is like mixing batter, over and over, it continues. You never get out of it, and if you do, you're the exception. These people live in such terrible conditions, or in very small rodent infested apartments with little resources and educational backgrounds. They live in "projects" also known as Section 8 housing. Most of these people don't make education their top priority, there's no rule of conduct for them. They become leeches, and it's unfortunate. Their kids end up going to terrible neighborhood schools, and of course, end up going to terrible high schools, mainly remaining in the neighborhood. Again, I reiterate, that is the poverty cycle aforementioned above. These kids don't have any idea what the SHSAT is, or what the top high schools in the city are. Am I right? So they stay there. Eventually, when they have kids, they'll copy their only role models, their parents. They will also find it convenient to rarely work and become yet another leech. Poverty decimates and segregates public education—because you'll be damned lucky if you find a white kid in one of those schools. Never ever, unless they're trailer trash of course.

Of course, I may sound cruel and generalizing, but it's the truth. Now, I am not saying ALL of them will end up like that. I know there are exceptions, sticking out of the filth. But I have no optimism for poverty, I think it'll always exist. It's painful to say that. The "educational reformers" laugh at them, because they don't care. You hear them say "...But it's for the kids!" haha, no, it's NEVER for the kids. It's for the money. Yup.

No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

How quaint that one of the worst presidents in history signs one of the worst acts to ever be introduced and enacted. It enrages me to even think of the NCLB. It's trash. It's revolting. Not only does it subtly segregate public education, it creates this notion that in order to be gifted, you have to be a great test taker and go to a school that meets AYP (adequate yearly progress), and lets keep in mind, John Dewey High School was about to get closed by the NYCDOE because it did not meet AYP. John Dewey High School was 85% minority in 2009, 2010 and in as well. A large portion of students in Dewey are Asian, coming from families who just recently immigrated to the United States from China, Burma, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Now tell me, is it Dewey's fault for accepting these unbelievable amounts of minority students? No. The NYCDOE purposefully plotted and squished all these students in the school because they had no where else to go! One study done at Harvard University mentioned Racial Equity of public schools in California and Illinois under the NCLB, noticed that schools with high percentages of minority students did not make AYP, but schools with a very low percentage of minority students DID make AYP. Common sense. You don't expect minority students who just came to this country to magically speak and write essays in English like it's their natal tongue, right? DUH!

The worst part that after just five years of a school not providing AYP, the DOE has the authority to take over the school and do whatever it wants to it. Either close the school, hire a private company (that will do nothing but suck the funds!) to "supervise" the school, or whatever have you. It's a sick practice that is just for the money. A school that consistently and forcefully accepts minority students because the DOE says that every school has to have "their share of minority students" doesn't make AYP. It's so obvious. It's just another way to justify school closures, and create more charter schools. Another controversial doing, where parents do a lottery to get accepted into a charter school because they claim it's better, and corporate elites support it. They (y'know the DOE and all) like the idea of destroying large comprehensive schools. American public education will never be the same. But the spotlight not only goes to the minority students, but to the students with disabilities as well. It has been noted that schools that make AYP are reluctant to accept students with disabilities, you know why right? Yup! Because those students will make their numbers go down. They feel that, like the minority student, they're incapable of passing a typical standardized exam that holds the school's fate depending on the percentage of students that pass. It's shameful and sick.

But remember, if you're a minority student, or a student with a disability reading this, don't feel bad. Really. Whether a school makes AYP or not, it doesn't make it a bad school. And whether you can pass a standardized exam or not, it does not define your IQ or level of intelligence. It's all about testing, which I will get to next. Keep in mind, they manipulate these tests to make them confusing so they can close and "reform" more schools. Being an open minded, caring person in this society is way more significant than being able to solve arithmetic problems on a test.

Standardized Testing (including NYS Regents, Texas TAKS, etc.)

All these fancy-schmancy standardized tests that signify whether you'll be able to graduate high school or not, that signify the future of the school, whether it'll remain open next year or not, whether it'll become a charter school backed by corporate elites or not, whether the school will make AYP or not. Yup. All of this on your hands, because of a standardized test that you have to take right in front of you. Mhmm, how do you feel with all this responsibility? Overwhelmed? I know I do. I have always been bad at math, I loathe it. I have always been (I don't mean to toot my own horn here) exceptionally good at English though. I failed my math regents repeatedly. I hate that my diploma depends on the passing of that exam or not. These tests have no relevancy, nor do they teach me anything. They are just a constant reminder that I am bad at math. These standardized tests make people go crazy, stressed out, they increase drug intake among adolescents, and create so many other complicated scenarios. Speaking in third person for a moment: You'll be damned if you fail this standardized exam! So will your school! So pass, pass, pass! Study your eyeballs out. After all, we don't care if John Dewey High School's robotics team won the championships beating The Bronx High School of Science and Stuyvesant High School (both which also require a standardized exam to get in—and they're considered the best high schools in NYC), or was named one of the Best High Schools in America in 2007, all we care is about the standardized test numbers! Numbers, numbers, numbers. They determine the future of Dewey.

See where I'm getting at? Our nation would have a much higher graduating rate, and a much lower drop out rate if we removed those damned exams! A standardized exam does not signify your intelligence. Many people get left out and stuck behind because of a standardized exam they failed, ironically, this goes against the name of the reform that instituted these standardized exams: No Child Left Behind. I thought we weren't leaving any children behind? Apparently, we are. What do these exams do for our kids? Absolutely nothing. Millions of dollars are being wasted, and trees are being wasted as well, to print out these treacherous exams. And you have to take them over and over and over until you finally pass them! These millions could be used as funding for schools. Of course, no one ever listens to me. They only think their ideas are correct. Evidently not! But it's okay, they know themselves that their tactics and reforms are failures. Bloomberg has even skewed numbers so his small schools can seemingly show higher passing rates. Haha, talk about pathetic. It just doesn't work.

Corruption (including the Billionaire Bloomberg Administration)

Oh, corruption. You've existed since the beginning of time. Corruption is everywhere, from large powerful companies to small independent. Corruption even lurks in the educational aspect of our society. Basically, from everything aforementioned, that's blatant corruption. But it gets worse. I'm always on the lookout, and I hate to remain oblivious, even in the smallest things. It is my goal to become aware. I'm always aware. I'm also aware of the trash the NYCDOE inflicted on my high school, my beloved John Dewey High School. Their plan is to fire all the elder, more experienced teachers, and hire rookies who are clueless. Why, you ask? Well it's because teachers who have been teaching for decades are more expensive. Once again: It's not about the kids, it's about the money. Inexperienced, young ones are clueless and under-payed. This saves the DOE a lot of money. I can't believe it. If they want to save money, then stop printing those trashy exams that serve no purpose! It's twisted. The BBA (Billionaire Bloomberg Administration) has existed since 2002, when Michael Bloomberg officially became the mayor of New York City. Since that year, he has placed teachers, schools, parents and students in agonizing pain.

He is a borderline dictator, he really made it blatant when he decided to ban large soft drinks over 16oz in NYC because he felt we were "fat" and like experimental rats, we needed to be controlled. He even extended the traditional mayoral two terms, to three! He makes his own rules, and he gets whatever he damn pleases. Over the years, I've seen other schools suffer thanks to him. I was never directly hit by his corporate seed of destruction until I reached high school. Since 2002 he has closed HUNDREDS of schools throughout the city. Then, since 2010, the BBA tried and tried to [unsuccessfully] close 33 schools, then in early 2012 that number dropped to 24. Until the union, United Federation of Teachers (bless them) took this to court. The arbitrator saw himself that this was ridiculous and unethical. He stopped the school closures from happening. The corruption continues on today, it starts off when nearby schools close, and then those schools received an influx of unwanted kids... then the receiving school's numbers (it's all about the numbers) begin to plummet, then the BBA targets that school... and so the corruption and vicious cycle of the destruction of public education in the United States continues.

I swear sometimes I should become the next Diane Ravitch or something, maybe even the biggest conspiracy theorist in history in educational matters.


Bureaucracy

The biggest kiss-asses in the world exist in bureaucracy. They follow their bosses, which are seemingly like a North Korean dictator. Do what I tell you, or you will get executed! Well... not really, but y'know, fired. Yup. The kiss-asses have to swallow their pride, even when they know it's wrong. Trust me, they leak so much in the DOE. I remember they were in John Dewey High School, trying to explain their plans, so miserably the kiss-ass (that I will not name) failed. I'll address the person with she. She was getting red, so bright and gleaming with sweat. It was at a conference where students, staff, and parents came together to address the plan for John Dewey High School in the future. She claimed this school would help the school, as if it were a lost baby who needed to be spoon fed. It enraged me, and it even enraged me more that she was from California and taught at Edward R. Murrow High School, the high school that exists THANKS TO JOHN DEWEY HIGH SCHOOL.

They all knew this would be ineffective, and God heard my prayers when I asked him to spare this annual batch of schools the BBA tried to unsuccessfully close. I can't wait still that old scum takes his billions and leaves office. It is truly unfair that he has circumvented the rules, and no one can stop him. Why? Oh, because of bureaucracy. The kiss-asses don't care as long as they get their big fat checks. No. It's wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

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THIS ladies and gentlemen, is the "dumbing" down of America. Our educational system is flawed and corrupt. We should take countries like Finland as an example. They used John Dewey's pedagogical beliefs to improve and make their education top notch. In Finland, there is no such thing as a certain specialized high school where you have to take an admissions test to get in, there are elite high schools ALL OVER the place. I should teach in Finland, because if I ever became a teacher in the United States, I'd lose my mind.