It seems the “let’s coddle childrens’ self-esteem” movement is not limited to the U.S.:

Head teachers have demanded an end to the mandatory national testing in England which one described as an “annual torture” that amounted to “a crime against children”.[...]

[According to these teachers] The Sats – Standardised Assessment Tests – amounted to “Senseless Activities for Traumatised Students”.

Two thoughts: First, it seems appropriate that England’s largest teachers’ organization, the National Union of Teachers is known as the Nut. The choice of this name is indicative of the intelligence-level of those in charge of the educational system.

Second, these granola-munching, kum by yah, “I’m Ok, You’re Ok” types are overlooking the logical conclusions that flow from their anti-testing, anti-grading position.

They all grew up with the very things they say are detrimental to a child’s self-esteem. So did you and I. If these tests are detrimental for today’s children, the same must be true about today’s adults who grew up subjected to these tests.

And that means that every single one of us – every single one of us – who took standardized tests, who received letter grades ranging from A to F, who read books using phrases like “Founding Fathers” and “postman” and “mankind” – we’re all damaged, too! We all have bad self-esteem, we are all handicapped challenged as a result of those traumatic events. And so are those teachers.

By definition, if everyone has the same condition, that makes the condition “normal.” And isn’t the goal to raise kids to become “normal” adults?

Just a thought. Albeit, a Venomous one.

Monday, May 5th, 2003, 9:11 am   |   Blog bites  |  RSS feed Comments and pings are currently closed.