Word: mayers
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...kind hearts are not enough to waken young minds. That job takes deep knowledge of a subject and the ability to translate it. On both accounts, says Mayer, U.S. teachers score low. In part, this is the legacy of progressivism's pseudo science of "educational research," which insists that children not learn ahead of schedule. Emphasis on curiosity, says Mayer, "has simply disappeared from educational literature...
...read. But Johnny can't read at 4½ because "research shows" that "reading readiness" comes at 6½. Even when he gets the chance, it may not be worth it. The fatuous "basal reader" with its Oh-Oh-Sue-said trivia destroys all joy in words. Mayer calls this "the most serious single criticism that can be made of the schools...
Since about one-third of all U.S. children fail to achieve "minimum standards" in first grade, one result is the "relaxed" second grade that goes little beyond repeating first grade. Mayer describes a second-grade class at the Mill School, Whittier, Calif. The kids are writing, "and everybody wants to write," but the bell sounds. " 'It's recess time,' calls the teacher. 'Oh, NO!' cry the youngsters. 'You just put your work down, and don't forget your idea,' Mrs. Mullen says with her endless cheerfulness. 'We'll come right...
Spaghetti & IQ. Such underestimation, says Mayer, is appallingly prevalent. The Denver school system, for example, officially "does not expect 'knowledge of order of alphabet' until junior high school." In general, the junior high seventh grade is deliberately easier than sixth grade so that everybody can "catch up." Sample class plan in New York City: "Industrial arts. Boys and girls wear aprons and hats; prepare spaghetti luncheon and eat it." As for bright children, grade-skipping is widely disapproved on grounds of "mental health." The approved practice is "enrichment"-not real digging at math or mythology but puerile "current...
Even worse, says Mayer, is the "general agreement" that "only a small fraction of children are truly educable on the secondary level." This is an illusion, owing to overreliance on IQ scores, which in fact can be raised by training. An example is New York City's "Higher Horizons" program, which has raised low IQs among "culturally deprived" children simply by inspiring them to aim for college (TIME, Oct. 12, 1959). Mayer suggests that U.S. education's test craze is largely a crutch for inadequate teaching. Good teachers take IQs lightly. At Louisville's Manly Junior High...