Okay, liberals, everything's cool. The New York Times -- preeminently, Bob Herbert -- has endorsed all the points I've been making the last many years. You may have thought these were extreme perspectives. Not at all! I and the New York Times speak with one voice on education. You can now enjoy my articles with abandon.
I've been saying for years that American public schools are dysfunctional, married to mediocrity, and far below what we could easily achieve. Did you doubt it? Herbert says, "The problem is that today's young Americans are not coming close to acquiring the education and training needed...to increase our standing in the world. They're not even in the ballpark...That is beyond pathetic" Exactly. My thoughts to a T.
I've been saying for years that our Education Establishment is primarily responsible for our decline. Herbert tries to dish a little dirt on parents and students, but basically he sees the light. He blasts "the educational establishment, government leaders, the news media and on and on." That's the Big Dumb Three right there: Education Establishment, government leaders, and the media. Exactly. I'm so pleased to hear him indict the Education Establishment. In my opinion, these loopy ideologues are deliberately dumbing-down the country. Clearly, that is also Herbert's view.
There is of course some irony here that Herbert seems to miss. The news media he blames are mainly the New York Times and its liberal clones. This seem to me like a man who sets a town on fire, and then laments that the fire department responds slowly. As long as there have been progressives undermining public education, the liberal New York Times has provided flank support. Even today, when a lifelong Communist dies, the Times obituary will call him a peace activist. There's a lot of covering up, a lot of spin, a lot of pretending that crazy America-hating liberal educators are actually mild-mannered moderates. Not.
Oh well, let's not be picky. Let's celebrate this great convergence: the New York Times and me. Herbert says, "Instead of exercising the appropriate mental muscles, we're allowing ourselves to become a nation of nitwits." Exactly. Nitwits is an excellent characterization for the people in charge of public education. That's the sorry spectacle, nitwits churning out more nitwits.
I have to confess I've enjoyed my maverick status. What will it be like, this new life where the fashionably pink New York Times agrees with me? Oh well, we have to do what's best for the country. And that is to fire off a 21-gun salute in honor of Bob Herbert's newfound conservatism. He is of course conservative in wishing a return to traditional, commonsense education. In all my articles, there is hardly a splinter of interest in way-out theories or abstractions. I'm interested in only one thing: what works. That attitude is, I submit, the essence of conservative thinking. It seems to me Herbert is fully on board with exactly that sort of practical approach. Again, hurray!
I feel confident that Herbert would agree with me up and down the line. We need to return instantly to an emphasis on facts, basics, knowledge, mastery, and memory. Simultaneously, we toss out all the gimmicks, such as Whole Word, Constructivism, Reform Math, Self-Esteem, Authentic Assessment and dozens more that are pulling down the country's children.
Coda: Just to be fair, other Times columnists have migrated into my camp. For example, Thomas Friedman announced in 2009 that "today, educationally, we are a nation in decline." Exactly! Paul Krugman said: "Until now, the results of educational neglect have been gradual — a slow-motion erosion of America's relative position. But things are about to get much worse..." Exactly! Seriously, folks. If liberal columnists can see all this, isn't it time to take drastic action? Google "38: Saving Public Schools" for what to do next.
(Bruce Price writes about education and culture on his site
Improve-Education.org and many other sites.)