Book: Real Education - Charles Murray

[thibodeaux]

One of the authors of the infamous The Bell Curve, Murray posits 4 truths about education "for bringing America's schools back to reality."

1. Ability varies.
2. Half of children are below average
3. Too many people are going to college
4. America's future depends on how we educate the academically gifted.

The first two are surely incontrovertible. #3 I admit is a judgment call, but I think we'd all agree it's probably true.

However, Official Education Policy in this country is that premised on 1, 2, and 3 being false. Four words: no child left behind.

At this point, I'm of the opinion that mandatory publicly-funded schooling is a mistake and should be scrapped. But it won't be. The primary function of the education, like the rest of the government, is to employ liberals and their unionized minions. Since one of the fundamental tenets of leftism is that We Are All Equal (except red-state religious hillbillies), there's no way that any changes to the system can be premised on the fact that we are NOT all equal.

[GORDON]

Bullshit. You're just clinging to your guns and religions and fear of people who aren't like you.

[TheCatt]

However, Official Education Policy in this country is that premised on 1, 2, and 3 being false. Four words: no child left behind.

You left out #4.

I'm ok with public funding, if they give us gifted people more $, and just have some baseline education for the rubes.

[thibodeaux]

I don't have an opinion on #4, although it likely has the most chance of Something Being Done. But the fact is that being smart correlates pretty highly with being not being poor, so the smart people can more or less fend for themselves.

[Malcolm]

However, Official Education Policy in this country is that premised on 1, 2, and 3 being false. Four words: no child left behind.

You left out #4.

I'm ok with public funding, if they give us gifted people more $, and just have some baseline education for the rubes.

When I was 14, I would've killed for a pamphlet that read thusly, "To get a free ride to [insert public university/college name here] for [insert major here], you need to achieve the following academic milestones according to the following schedule..."