Knowledge is Power

In all the comments I see left on internet articles about education, two themes dominate:

1) The first is, average Americans have no idea how bad the public schools are. The Education Establishment has done a brilliant job at PR and misinformation. They have tried to deceive the public; and the public is deceived. Unfortunately. So here are several quotes from some of the smartest, most successful people in the USA, people you should trust completely. And they are saying that educationally speaking we are now having a near-death experience:

“When I compare our schools to what I see when I’m traveling abroad, I’m terrified for our workforce of tomorrow.” Bill Gates, founder, Microsoft Corp.

“If companies were run like many education systems, they wouldn’t last a week.” Thomas Donohue, president, US Chamber of Commerce

“Our record at fixing our K-12 education system is virtually unblemished by success.” Norman Augustine, former CEO of Lockheed Martin

“If you don’t solve (the K-12 education problem), nothing else is going to matter all that much.” Alan Greenspan, former Chairman, Federal Reserve

Scared? You should be.

2) The second common theme is that the public seems to have no idea that the sabotage of the public schools (and thus our economy) was started long ago, 75 years or more. All the wonderful new methods discussed in your daily paper are the same old dreck from your grandparents’ day. The ideas were bad then, and still are today. (Typically, progressive ideas stress sociological and psychological abstractions, but there’s no mention of actually learning anything. So-called educators actually say such nonsense as, “It’s not important that children know historical facts as long as they can think historically.”)

Probably John Dewey’s quote from 1898 sums up the assault best: “ I believe that we violate the child’s nature and render difficult the best ethical results, by introducing the child too abruptly to a number of special studies, of reading, writing, geography, etc., out of relation to this social life.” That is, don’t teach them anything.

I’ve recently read a book called “So Little For The Mind” by a Canadian educator writing in 1953 (Canada being entirely under the spell of American ideas). This brilliant author, Professor Hilda Neatby, tells us how barren the educational landscape already was SIXTY YEARS AGO:

“Probably many Canadian parents would at least understand the attitude of the man who said, ‘Nowadays the school seems to be doing the job of the homes, and the home has to do the job the school was supposed to do. They spend their time teaching my son to wash his face; when he comes home I have to teach him to read and write.”

“For all his talk of democracy, the educator is generally authoritarian and dogmatic. Teacher-training institutions in general exist to indoctrinate; their task is not to discover truth, but to convey ‘the truth.’…[Future teachers] complain that whatever lip service may be paid to them, ‘logical self-expression, problem solving, and creative thinking’ are the very last things the college wants to develop in its students.”

“Whereas in the elementary school the child learned critical thinking, and in the junior high school, critical and independent thinking, in the senior high school he learns critical reflective thinking.” (Sarcasm, of course. Today, every day, we hear chatter about critical thinking. Look how far Canada had taken the same racket 60 years ago!)

All the dopey ideas that progressive educators had unloosed upon kids circa 1950 are still the latest thing today. Our so-called experts have moved forward with new names and terms, new propaganda and PR. True story: schools got ever dumber, the public was robbed in plain sight.

Many people are in despair and say the public schools cannot possibly be saved. Bruce Smartt in his wonderful book “The Harsh Truth About Public Schools” states his thesis that everyone should homeschool their kids, that public schools are a hopeless brew of left-wing politics and raw greed. People influenced by Smartt say we should close down the public schools. I’m not saying it’s a bad idea; I just don’t see this happening. So what are we to do?

One reason I’m more optimistic is that I think even the people inside education know how rotten it is. These phonies have created 50,000,000 functional illiterates. How do they live with that?

My hope is that more people get involved, get informed, and get indignant. Find out why Sight Words don’t work, Constructivism is nonsense, or New/Reform Math are hoaxes. You’ll never trust the Education Establishment again. That’s when we’re going to see progress.

My site Improve-Education.org explains such underlying issues. For example, see “42: Reading Resources” and “36: The Assault on Math.”

Bruce Deitrick Price is the founder of Improve-Education.org, a high-level education and intellectual site. One focus is reading; see “42: Reading Resources.” Another focus is education reform; see

U.S. voters elect 435 House of Representatives, 37 senators and most of the governor, state senators and representatives and state department heads. The Democratic Party suffered defeat, losing the House majority, could barely more than half of the Senate. 37 seats in the Senate election, the Republican Party swept 23 seats, the Democratic Party had only 10 seats, along with their original 38 seats with no election, and two independent members of the Democratic Party tend to stand, the Democratic Party barely continue to control the Senate. House of Representatives, the Republicans also made big gains ahead. Gubernatorial elections, almost dominated by the Republican Party, according to the latest statistics, the hands of Republicans from the Democrats, more grab a seat on the governor, is central Iowa, a total of nine states sweeping changes. Democrats can only seat in the California governor, take it over from the hands of rivals.

Power two years later, Obama will have become the “lame president?” The answer is not necessarily.

Peculiar American political reality is that most of the opposition parties control Congress, but will the president’s policy position. Prior to the Democratic Party hold for both administrative and legislative initiative, and must shoulder the ultimate responsibility for the problems. Thereafter, but no longer have such a burden. President Truman in 1948, the Democratic Party is not high reputation, but also face the Republican controlled Congress, he has skillfully portrayed the Republican Party to impede progress, and then win the election. By 1994, Clinton is also a mid-term election defeat, out of the entanglement of the liberal forces within the party, so that the policy more flexible. The Democratic Party was defeated in this election, but will help the Obama campaign for re-election. If the Republicans win the House and Senate, Obama Mashun Li will raise the chances of re-election. If the Democrats hold both houses of Congress will be hovering around Obama, the relative compression of his room for this.

Since Barack Obama became president, so far, has been gradually pushed the United States similar to the European-style socialism: its purpose is to expand the jurisdiction of the people the government authority, especially in health care, education, social security benefits, the uneven distribution of rich or poor, large nationalization of enterprises, protection of labor rights and other fields, the government is duty-bound, should spare no effort to monitor people’s normal life. But we all know, the United States over the past century the country strong and rich people is built on top of the free economic doctrine: the point is that government authority should be limited to the jurisdiction of national defense, foreign affairs, infrastructure construction, natural disasters relief, maintenance of environmental protection, health care and other areas to promote . In addition, allowing the free development of all. Today, freedom of the people are gradually being convinced that development of American socialism, Obama and the Democratic Party control of Congress to erode. Look at them after taking office, has done to change the future direction of the U.S. generous? Regardless of the opposition Republican Party and the majority of the public, Congress and the President signed forced through the health insurance reform bill, forcing the size of trade and industry and the general government to join the direct supervision of the national medical insurance schemes; to increase the rich, middle class and the size of the industrial and commercial tax rate; strengthening supervision of the financial sector and the lessons to special tax; into a lot of money to save the collapse of the crisis, General Motors Corporation; implementation of the $ 800,000,000,000 plan to revive the economy, but the return rate of no gain, so far the economy remains depressed. National unemployment rate has been high, abnormal slow economic recovery, and even further into the possible economic depression. Obama the above measures, and it would cost the state finance 1 trillion U.S. dollars without any income at all. Now, the U.S. Treasury has long been empty, all of the 1 trillion U.S. dollars and the mad from the issue of government bonds by printing money, the result is that future generations are more heavily back the bonds. Even worse, discontent everywhere, requiring the expenditure of government debt crunch, by repealing the Obama health insurance reform bill, continue to back Bush’s tax cut bill and a free economy such as the voice of Marxism, resounding. Republicans called for under the banner of the size of industrial and commercial sectors, the financial sector and state voters have joined the anti-Obama camp.

United States Constitution gives the Congress the right to control the national purse. If Congress does not grant this, Obama can not implement their own health insurance reform bill. Mid-term elections will determine the country toward the future: to continue to move towards American-style socialism, Marxism, or return to the embrace of the free economy? Its importance, nature is a glance.

Obama recently said he expected after the election, it can be compared with the Republican Party to establish relations of cooperation. He said: After the election, Republicans may consciously heavier responsibilities.

If the president can give full play to the hands of administrative resources, Obama is still promising. He can for the economy, energy, education and other topics, try to compromise with the Republican Party, or can be labeled as the other constraints of the opposition everywhere, as Bill Clinton 15 years ago the then House Speaker Gingrich treatment.

After November 2, Obama must learn to deal with the situation on Capitol Hill: Obama will have to further ventured alone, into the Republican “instigation” some members “defection” to make their own medical and financial push reform bill was Republican controlled House passed. This will be a difficult task, since Obama took office, the Republican members of Congress on the Democratic president has adopted a “lack of cooperation” attitude; Unless a miracle happens, Obama deadlocked or otherwise entangled the two parties being more likely.

The Democratic Party lost the midterm congressional elections, Obama would face possible “lame duck” fate, but he can choose not to “lame duck” sworn promises to restore the “inter-party cooperation.” For Obama and Democratic Party, lost the opportunity to reverse the mid-term elections there, but how to achieve the unity of ideal and reality, to re-capture voters trust the next two years is the biggest problem.

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Every couple of years, we have seen both good and bad politicians enter public office. Most would claim to be miracle workers who strive to enhance the quality of life of their voters. But the real tests comes on how well they keep their promises and how they effectively manage political issues when they’ve won their seat in parliament. Cheri DiNovo is a Canadian social democratic politician who has been referred to as “the new female power [in politics]” by journalists. Her climb to politics has been a series of turnabouts which makes for a very interesting story.

Cheri DiNovo is a Toronto born native and a mother of two girls. Through a series of tragedies including her mother’s death, she made it her goal to help transform the lives of others for the better. Becoming an ordained minister of the Emmanuel-Howard Park United Church was her first platform to achieving that goal. In fact, Cheri performed the first legalized same sex marriage in North America before the law changed in 2001. She also works actively to fight for the human rights of marginalized communities including women, the poor, LGTB individuals and the homeless.

After 12 years as an outspoken minister, Cheri decided to run for public office as she believed that she can do more good for the poor, and dispossessed in politics. In 2006, she represented the New Democratic Party. The election process went on an ugly turn when her opponents decided to use the controversial components of her life on the streets against her. This became known as the worst public smear campaign of the 2006 election year. The tactic however, backfired and Cheri was elected to Queen’s Park on September 14 to represent the provincial riding of Parkdale-High Park. She was also then re-elected as a member of the provincial parliament in 2007.

Today, Cheri continues to fight for a wide range of Canadians ranging from small business individuals to those below the poverty line. Cheri also continues to pursue various poverty related issues including the increase in the minimum wage rate and welfare rates in the province. She also persists for more affordable housing and introduced policies to end the government tax on the federal child benefit supplement.

Her two major campaigns to end poverty in Ontario were the Living Wage Bill and Payday Lending Bill. The Living Wage Bill aims to increase Ontario’s minimum wage rate to $10.25 while the Payday lenders Bill deals with licensing and capping interest rates charged within the various industries. These policies have received strong support from the media and millions of residents across Ontario. In fact, Cheri DiNovo Facebook page increased in viewership throughout her various campaigns. It makes sense since during her movement to get the bills passed in 2007, one million Ontarians were making less than the $10 rate. It was hard fought battle, one that was rebuffed and then later approved by the McGuinty government in 2010 where the minimum wage rate was raised to $10.25.

Cheri DiNovo is a wonderfully articulate, educated and well informed MPP who strives to enhance the lives of millions of Ontario residents. In a technology driven society, her Cheri DinNovo blog and Cheri DiNovo Twitter account provides detailed information of ongoing campaigns and as a medium to get opinions across. As a woman who struggled, fought and thrived through life, you can expect nothing less from her at Queen`s Park. It might be worth it to follow her through her political journey, good and bad.

As a political leader in the limelight, Cheri DiNovo Facebook page offers citizens of Ontario daily updates on her most recent campaign to repeal breed discrimination. Visit the Cheri DiNovo blog for easy access to news feed and more.