Unionized Rhode Island Teachers Refuse To Work 25 Minutes More Per Day, So Town Fires All Of Them
Congratulations to Badda for coming closest in Wednesday's 4th Grade quiz. (Yes, I know he was the only entrant, but kudos anyway on doing an excellent job.) In case you're curious, you can still bypass the rest of this piece and check out the quiz.
For the rest of you, here are the answers:
On the original quiz on I've Got a Secret, Bess Myerson and Henry Morgan tied at 70% each, as did Badda when he took the test. How did you do? How would today's fourth graders do?
In case you're wondering, Sam Levenson does return later in the IGAS run with another quiz, and we'll bring it to you when it happens.
Regular readers will remember that we're suckers for the grade-school quizzes that humorist (and former teacher) Sam Levenson would occasionally present on I've Got a Secret. In previous apperances Levenson had given the panel typical questions that fifth and sixth graders would be expected to answer; earlier this week, GSN replayed the May 24, 1965 show in which Levenson attempted to stump the panel (and, in all likelihood, most of the viewers) with a fourth grade quiz. Remember as you attempt these questions that these were written for fourth graders in 1965; do you think today's fourth graders could answer them?
Ready? Here we go:
1. Name the longest river in the world.
2. "Big" and "large" are called synonyms. "Hot" and "cold" are antonyms. What are "wood" and "would" called?
3 & 4. There are four oceans in the world. Name two of them besides the Atlantic and Pacific.
5. Which of the following was not one of the original 13 colonies: Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, or Georgia?
6. What do you get when you add one gallon, two quarts and four pints?
7 & 8. There are five major circles of latitude: the Arctic Circle, the Equator, the Antartic Circle, and two tropical circles. The answer to question #7 is the one is above the Equator, the Tropic of ________; the answer to question #8 is the one below, the Tropic of ________.
9 & 10. There are three classifications of rock. Igneous is one, name the other two.
As always, no Googling, no encyclopedias, no cheating. Answers later this week.
You remember that was the mantra of Howard Cosell - telling it like it is. (You do remember Howard Cosell, don't you? Or am I showing my age?)
At any rate, if you really want someone telling it like it is, check out Bernard Goldberg's comments as quoted by Richard Deitsch yesterday at SI.com. That's right - it's the same Bernard Goldberg that we know and love for books such as Bias, 110 People Who Are Screwing Up America, and Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right. Goldberg is known for turning the harsh light on the phonies in media, politics and culture, and now he'd like to turn it on the scandal known as "college athletics."
Not having HBO, I had no idea that Goldberg was a correspondent for their Real Sports series, hosted by Bryant Gumbel. (Talk about phonies - but that's another story for another day.) At any rate, Goldberg talks to Deitsch about ideas he has for future stories:
Goldberg says one of the future stories he'd like to tackle is the corruption of the university. "Not the corruption of college sports but the corruption of the university itself, accepting people into the college who really should not be accepted into the college," says Goldberg, who worked as a producer and reporter at CBS for 28 years. "When some of my colleagues bemoan the fact that so and so only played one year in college and then wet to the pros, I say he should not have gone to college at all.
"I interviewed Father (Theodore) Hesburgh of Notre Dame once and he had a very good line. I said, "What about the argument that these kids are better off at Notre Dame then they would be on a street corner in Newark or someplace? He said, "Let me tell you something: This is not a gymnasium. This is a university." And he's right. As a journalist I find it interesting how university presidents will sell their soul for a winning football team, how they will look the other way. And if we're lucky, they are just looking away. Otherwise, they know what is going on and they simply don't care."
The following originally appeared as a comment under Mitchell's recent piece, but due to popular demand (OK, due to Badda's request) we're reprinting it here in it's own right.
*****
There is obviously no respect or excellence in public schools. I was forced into them in high school because of threats to my life in private school (fondling of breasts, bleach thrown into my eyes, repeated attacks) that my grades dropped.
In some cases they started using Klansman language.
What I didn't know then was moving to a worse school killed me schoolingwise, and also I had faced the generation that did not know anything right from wrong.
Now we have a generation where emotions from the major pop psychology figures (including the New Age) is replacing the fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic, the idea of "global warming" replaces real science (note the new light bulb regulations, the new fuel-economy standard that will force everyone into 2-seat 45-CID minicars with no protection, and "global warming" as religion), and self-esteem means more than winning. Think of it now that instead of learning of the wars in World War II and the numerous victories of the Allies, they learn instead anti-war legislators and famous losers, and support Communists instead of patriots. The great works in literature are removed because they are "dead white males," and the same goes with music.
Modern "church" is built around the same emotions as in school thanks to the recent development of "megachurches" such as Willow Creek and Saddleback, where their learning is on the same principle as in schools today. In music, instead of learning to sing sacred choral works, is learning to dance to the latest pop tunes, some of which includes the false theology of the "prosperity gospel".
One kid told me Wednesday in an interview that the Bible was "passed down generation to generation and there are mistakes in it." That is the type of postmodern teaching they learn in the teachers union-run schools today.
They believe in mediocrity instead of excellence, losing instead of winning, that when I watched Toyota win Sunday in Hampton, Georgia, I thought of Grantland Rice when I wrote after the Toyota victory, "An atomic bomb was dropped in Hampton, Georgia Sunday. The Americans quickly surrendered, and the former State of Georgia was surrendered to the Japanese. It is now the Georgia Perfecture of Japan." I thought of the complexities of Grantland Rice, and history, when I wrote that line.
For 40 years the environmentalist movement has destroyed education and the American industry. When the Japanese and Chinese Communists take over much of our industrial production, we have suffered under them. When the Europeans are winning the contract to build US military tankers, something is deeply wrong. Have we lost our way?
Saturday's Congressional election showed the Left's increasing power that supports the immoral lifestyles and the idea that America must have gobs of self-esteem and must lose, instead of going for the win. It seems Hollywood's infiltration of their values has shown victories everywhere when real leadership is no longer permitted, but instead Hollywood puppets are in control.
When people do not know our Presidents of the United States, but know the characters from the latest MTV series, and when people know American Idol but not the history of the Quiz Show Scandals of the 1950's that affected (production company) Radio Television Luxembourg's predecessors in the United States, what is happening?
Last week we offered a sixth-grade test that had appeared on a 1963 episode of I've Got a Secret, and we invited you to take a stab at the ten questions. Did you take the challenge? For those of you who did, here are the answers:
So how did you do? I'll tell you, you'd have to go some to top Hadleyblogger Bobby, who scored 9 out of 10. The top scorer on the I've Got a Secret panel was Bill Cullen, who got 8 of 10.
We are, of course, forced to ask why it seems that the tests back then were tougher than they are today. There are many who link the collapse of public education to the rise in power of the teachers' unions, and, frankly, it's difficult to disagree with this. Some have suggested that the education establishment has done more damage in this country than terrorism. I will mention, on a personal note, that from my 20 years in political life I have not one good thing to say on behalf of teachers unions. Not one.
Now, this isn't meant as an indictment of individual teachers, many of whom are asked to perform above and beyond the call by a system that cares more about putting forward a liberal political agenda than teaching basics to children. However, if I had a child of school age I'd do just about anything humanly possible to keep that child out of public school - homeschooling, if I could. But one of the ultimate tragedies of American society is the total destruction of our education system by an invidious ideological monster, and if there is any justice in the hereafter, as I belive there is, there will be a special place in hell for those who have done so much to distort and misshape helpless young minds for their own craven purposes.
You may recall that a while back, we reminised about an appearance by Sam Levinson on the 60s TV show I've Got a Secret in which he asked the panel questions that the average fifth grader in New York's public school system of the 1960s would be expected to know.
Well, last week GSN ran the IGAS episode from June 24, 1963, and Sam Levinson is back with another test for the panel. This time, the questions are from sixth graders at Brooklyn's P.S. 249 and the F.E. Bellows School in Mamaroneck, New York. If you liked the fifth grade test, you'll love the one from the sixth graders; as Levenson said, a high school test would be out of the question. Ready? No checking with Wikipedia - this is not an open Internet test.
Question 1: We all know George Washington was the first president and Abraham Lincoln the 16th. What number was John F. Kennedy? (Who was president at the time of the program.)
Question 2: What was the first permanent English settlement in what was to become the United States?
Question 3: As of 1963, what was the biggest city in Africa?
Question 4: Divide 50 by 1/2 and add 3. (Not a trick question, but a tricky one.)
Questions 5, 6 and 7: Name the three major parts of an atom.
Question 8: What is the lowest geographical point on Earth?
Question 9: Translate the Roman numeral MDCIX.
Question 10: Identify the geometric shape seen below:
A reminder: no cheating. We'll have the answers later this week.
As you may recall, on Monday we offered a quiz that had been given on a 1964 episode of I've Got a Secret - questions that were from a fifth grade test given to New York's public school students. As promised, here are the answers:
Questions 1 and 2: I warned you that this question was tricky, and most of the panelists on I've Got a Secret fell into the trap, naming Harry Truman as one of the five Presidents who had not been elected. But the key word here was "ever," as in becoming President without ever being elected to the office. Truman, of course, succeeded Franklin Roosevelt in 1945, but was elected to a term in his own right in 1948. Only Bill Cullen avoided the trap, naming John Tyler and Lyndon Johnson as two of the five. The other three were Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson and Chester Arthur. LBJ, of course, was elected to his own term later in 1964, but his place in the answer has since been taken by Gerald Ford, who became President after Richard Nixon's resignation but failed in his bid for reelection.
Question 3: In the mathematical equation 17-9=8, the number 17 is called the minuend.
Question 4: Iron Oxide is also known as rust.
Question 5: Many of the panelists named Peter Stuyvesant as the man who brokered the sale of Manhattan by the Indians to the Dutch, but the correct answer was another Peter, Minuit. I didn't realize the name Peter was so popular among the Dutch.
Question 6: The first capital of the United States was New York City, where George Washington took the oath of office as the nation's first President.
Well, how did you do? Were you smarter than a 1960s fifth grader? Do you think fifth graders would know these answers today?
Congratuations to everyone who played, and as a lovely parting gift we have the home version of the Our Word and Welcome to It game for all our contestants.
Last night on the GSN black-and-white overnight block, right after What's My Line?, was an eposide of I've Got a Secret dating back to 1964. For those of you too young to remember the premise, I've Got a Secret featured a celebrity panel who tried to guess the secret of a contestant based on simple questions and answers. In addition to contestants from everyday walks of life, each episode also included a celebrity guest who would try to stump the panel.
On this particular episode, the celebrity was Sam Levenson, a former teacher who had become a successful humorist, author and television personality in the 1950s and 60s. His secret was not really a secret as much as it was a test: in particular, a test similar to that taken by the average fifth grader in New York's public school system of the 1960s. There was time for only six questions; the panel did - well, actually, let's see how you do on this fifth grade quiz from the 60s. If you behave, we'll have the answers for you tomorrow:
Questions 1 and 2: Five men have become President of the United States without ever being elected to the office. Name two of them. (Read this question very carefully.)
Question 3: In the mathematical equation 17-9=8, 9 is referred to as the subtrahend and 8 as the difference. What is the number 17 called?
Question 4: Iron Oxide is the chemical term for what common substance?
Question 5: We were all taught (at least back then we were) about how the Dutch bought Manhattan Island from the Indians for $24. Name the man who negotiated the sale (or swindle, as Levenson fairly accurately puts it). This may seem like an extremely archaic question, but in fact the answer was well-known in history books of the time.
Question 6: Name the city that served as the first capital of the United States.
No looking in Wikipedia. We'll be back tomorrow with the answers. See if you can do better than a fifth grader of the 60s - or for that matter, if a fifth grader of today could do as well as fifth graders back then.
Over at NRO, Peter Robinson struggles with his five-year-old daughter's announcement that, after two days, she's had it with kindergarten. In response, Fr. George Rutler, one of my favorites, comes up with this (dryly humorous) opinion:
I'd encourage your youngest one to abandon kindergarten altogether. Almost everything I learned was learned outside the classroom, and school itself interrupted my education. Moreover, school locks you in with your peers. That is a mistake. One's social circle should never include one's equals. From my earliest years I found children uninteresting and always preferred the company of adults. This was an advantage, because I got to know lots of folks who are dead now whom I never would have known if I had waited until I was an adult. - So I have a collective memory - and oral tradition - that goes back to the eighteenth century, having spoken with people who knew people who knew people who knew people who lived then. - The only real university is the universe and a city its microcosm. That is why an expression like "New York University" is foolish. New York City is the university….Instead of school, children should spend some hours each day in hotel lobbies talking to the guests. They should spend time in restaurant kitchens and shops and garages of all kinds, learning from people who actually make the world work….One day spent roaming through a real classical church building would be the equivalent of one academic term in any of our schools, and a little time spent inconspicuously in a police station would be more informative than all the hours wasted on bogus social sciences. Formal lessons would only be required for accuracy in spelling and proficiency in public speaking, for which the public speakers in our culture are not models, and in exchange for performing some menial services a child could learn the violin, harp, and piano from musicians in one of the better cocktail lounges, or from performers in the public subways….So I urge you to keep your child out of kindergarten, because kindergarten will only lead to first grade and then the
grim sequence of grade after grade begins and takes its inexorable toll on the mind born fertile but gradually numbed by the pedants who impose on the captive child the flotsam of their own infecundity.
Wonderful stuff! It's very hard for me to disagree with any of it. Fr. Rutler may be speaking humorously, but I think at the same time he's trying to make a serious point about education - not just here, but everywhere.
I never liked school. Not from the first day of kindergarten to the last day in college. I wouldn't pretend that it was because I was too smart for my classes (although this does date back to the beginning of the "lowest-common demoninator" style of education), nor would I say that there were any particularly traumatic experiences associated with school.
No, in my case it was pretty much a case of being bored with the classroom. Like Fr. Rutler, I found much of my education outside of school (I learned more about American history from Alistair Cooke's America and my own reading than anything I was taught), particularly the freedom to develop and pursue my own intellectual interests. Some will say that school is necessary to broaden your horizons, but I think that, if this was ever true, it is surely false today. Instead, school often serves to stunt the imagination, kill intellectual curiosity, and teach conformity to a false standard. One only has to look at the inane "zero-tolerance" policies put in place by foolish administrators and school boards, and how teachers' unions habitually kill any real hope of education reform, to see how a lack of discernment and critical thought, a sacrificing of intellect in favor of PC-mumbo-jumbo, permeates every level of the system.
Also, like Fr. Rutler, I preferred the company of adults during my youth. I can't pretend to have associated myself with such varied and esteemed company as he did, but I can't complain about it, either. There was something about adult company that gave one an adult sensibility - again, people may suggest that this atmosphere forced kids to grow up too soon - didn't leave enough time for "kids to be kids." Back then, growing up too soon meant you might be engaged in adult conversation about politics, religion and the world, instead of romping around in the back yard, tossing the football; you might be thought of as too "serious," or even be called "precocious." Nowadays, it means drugs, sex, dressing like a pimp or a slut. I don't know about you, but I still think I got the better of the deal. Better to be precocious than promiscuous, I always say.
My contempt for the public education system in this country is pretty much complete (perhaps the single most damaging institution in our society today), and based on what I've read there are a lot of private schools that aren't much better. (However, I base this mostly on my own experience, public grade and high school, private college.) But I don't think that we can say education elsewhere is immune from that which has so damaged education in this country. There were, as I recall, schools in England that were going to stop making Churchill a mandatory part of their curriculum (in defending this position, a spokesman said that these were merely guidelines, that it wasn't meant to be inclusive as to what would be taught in the classroom, which shows more confidence in teachers than I'd be willing to have.)
(And actually, at this advanced age I wouldn't mind going back to school; I think I'd be emotionally and intellectually ready for it, seeing it as something to augment my education, rather than provide it entirely. However, what with modern economics and the need to make a living, I don't see it happening any time soon.)
The inflated importance attached to the acquisition of a college degree is yet more evidence of this; it's a mark of how far we've fallen into a service mentality that a sheepskin is valued so much more highly than a useful trade. I don't suggest you can lay the blame for it all at the feet of the education system, but you can enough of it. The growth of homeschooling is one of the great education movements we have; like anything else, it's not perfect, but I think it's a darn sight better than the mess we have now. And it's nice to know that there's at least one person out there who just might agree with me.
