Lower The Bar!

Report on the news this morning....

"The news isn't good regarding the writing results from the latest round of F-CATS. The grades have dropped significantly. Things are so bad, in fact, that there's an emergency conference call scheduled for today by the State Board of Education to consider reducing the passing grade."

Why is this a concern?
This is exactly why the government should have nothing to do with education. If the children can't meet the standards, have an emergency meeting and lower them? Don't address the problem, lower the bar.

Perhaps if the children are having trouble communication with a paper and pen it's a sign our teachings are lacking. Nope, it's just like when there is a murder. The person didn't cause the event, the weapon did. Therefore we should ban all weapons, because evidently weapons are evil. This is how our government thinks, and since they ignore one of the "four essential principles of knowledge," should they really have a say in our children's education?

The principle I'm referring to is the law of causality. The simple definition is "every effect must have a cause." Here the effect is a lack of performance on an exam. The cause is a lack of understanding, which is a cause of the teaching method not reaching the student. The cause is not that the standard is too high, the cause is (once again) a lack of understanding. The pencil doesn't cause bad spelling, the lack of knowledge does.

So the proper response is to review how, and what, is being taught in our school system. The improper response is to lower the standard. Why should every child be cheated out of a proper evaluation when it's simply a matter of bringing a few up to a level of competence? It's illogical to allow our youth to slack on the written word. How is society in the future to communicate if the basic skill of communication is permitted to deteriorate? If one has trouble breathing, do we lower the oxygen requirements, or simply clear the airway?

The question here is, how much longer are the responsible parents of this nation going to allow the inefficient bureaucracy of government dictate the education standards? They've proven they cannot. When a problem arises, rather than solve the problem, the solution is to lower the bar, so the government doesn't look embarrassed. Who does that serve? Education is best handled at the lowest level of government possible. Are the needs of Miami the same as the needs of Arcadia? Why are they handled the same under a state wide control? Local boards should fund and oversee local communities.

God Bless!
Capt. Bill