Lexicographer review — Page 15 of 37 S2

If I were to ask a sample of American parents , “ Do you wish the elementary schools to encourage creativity in your children ? “ the near-unanimous answer would be , “ Yes , of course . “

But what do we mean , specifically , by “ creativity “ ?

No one can say .

In practice , it ends up being equated with a “ self-expression “ that encourages the youngsters ' “ self-esteem . “

The result is a generation of young people whose ignorance and intellectual incompetence is matched only by their good opinion of themselves .

If I were to ask a sample of American parents , “ Do you wish the elementary schools to encourage creativity in your children ? “ the near-unanimous answer would be , “ Yes , of course . “

But what do we mean , specifically , by “ creativity “ ?

No one can say .

In practice , it ends up being equated with a “ self-expression “ that encourages the youngsters ' “ self-esteem . “

The result is a generation of young people whose ignorance and intellectual incompetence is matched only by their good opinion of themselves .

If I were to ask a sample of American parents , “ Do you wish the elementary schools to encourage creativity in your children ? “ the near-unanimous answer would be , “ Yes , of course . “

But what do we mean , specifically , by “ creativity “ ?

No one can say .

In practice , it ends up being equated with a “ self-expression “ that encourages the youngsters ' “ self-esteem . “

The result is a generation of young people whose ignorance and intellectual incompetence is matched only by their good opinion of themselves .

No one can say .

In practice , it ends up being equated with a “ self-expression “ that encourages the youngsters ' “ self-esteem . “

The result is a generation of young people whose ignorance and intellectual incompetence is matched only by their good opinion of themselves .

The whole notion of “ creativity “ in education was ( and is ) part and parcel of a romantic rebellion against disciplined instruction , which was ( and is ) regarded as “ authoritarian , “ a repression and frustration of the latent talents and the wonderful , if as yet undefined , potentialities inherent in the souls of all our children .

It is not surprising that parents find this romantic extravagance so attractive .

In this sense , a teacher can be compared to one 's family doctor .

If he were brilliant , he probably would not be a family doctor in the first place .

If he is competent and conscientious , he serves us well .

Our teachers are not an important factor in our educational crisis .

Whether they are or are not underpaid is a problem of equity ; it is not an educational problem .

It is the kind of libel the teachers ' unions do not mind spreading , for their own narrow purposes .

It is also the kind of libel politicians find useful , since it helps them strike a friendly posture on behalf of an important constituency .

But there is not one shred of evidence that , other things being equal , salary differentials result in educational differentials .

If there were such evidence , you can be sure you would have heard of it .

If we wish to be serious about American education , we know exactly what to do -- and , just as important , what not to do .

They should see to it that their kids do not play truant ; they should make certain that the children spend enough time doing homework ; they should scrutinize the report card .

If parents are dissatisfied with a school , they should have the option of switching to another .

-- “ Community involvement “ is an even worse idea .

Here , the experience of New York City is decisive .

Locally elected school boards , especially in our larger cities , become the prey of ambitious , generally corrupt , and invariably demagogic local politicians or would-be politicians .

The latter are modish , trendy , often downright silly , and at best insubstantial .

They are based on dubious psychological and sociological theories rather than on educational experience .

One of the reasons American students do so poorly in math tests , as compared with British , French , German or Japanese students , is the influence of the “ New Math “ on American textbooks and teaching methods .

Anyone who wants to appreciate just how bizarre this situation is -- with students who ca not add or subtract “ learning “ the conceptual basis of mathematical theory -- should read the article by Caleb Nelson ( himself a recent math major at Harvard ) in the November American Spectator .

-- Most important of all , schools should have principals with a large measure of authority over the faculty , the curriculum , and all matters of student discipline .

The latter are modish , trendy , often downright silly , and at best insubstantial .

They are based on dubious psychological and sociological theories rather than on educational experience .

One of the reasons American students do so poorly in math tests , as compared with British , French , German or Japanese students , is the influence of the “ New Math “ on American textbooks and teaching methods .

Anyone who wants to appreciate just how bizarre this situation is -- with students who ca not add or subtract “ learning “ the conceptual basis of mathematical theory -- should read the article by Caleb Nelson ( himself a recent math major at Harvard ) in the November American Spectator .

-- Most important of all , schools should have principals with a large measure of authority over the faculty , the curriculum , and all matters of student discipline .

Anyone who wants to appreciate just how bizarre this situation is -- with students who ca not add or subtract “ learning “ the conceptual basis of mathematical theory -- should read the article by Caleb Nelson ( himself a recent math major at Harvard ) in the November American Spectator .

-- Most important of all , schools should have principals with a large measure of authority over the faculty , the curriculum , and all matters of student discipline .

Study after study -- the most recent from the Brookings Institution -- tells us that the best schools are those that are free of outside interference and are governed by a powerful head .

With that authority , of course , goes an unambiguous accountability .

Schools that are structured in this way produce students with higher morale and superior academic performance .