Lessons Rarely Learned In School

In 1996, Milwaukee-based radio talk show host Charles Sykes published the mildly controversial book “Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves But Can't Read, Write, or Add.” While the subtitle was obviously an overstatement, Sykes’ scathing criticism of government-run schools and the emphasis on "feel-good learning" over realistic demands for solid work continues to deserve serious consideration. As a self-styled libertarian, Sykes had no qualms calling for the abolition of the U.S. Department of Education as an important step toward less bureaucracy in America’s “system” of public schools.

Sykes bemoaned that we have too many youngsters with unrealistic expectations of life, and that therefore we are setting them up for failure in the real world. He offered a list of eleven rules that he believed American students may not have learned in school:

Life is not fair--get used to it.

The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.

You will not make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice president with a car phone until you "earn" both.

If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure.

Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger-flipping: they called it opportunity.

If you screw up, it's not your parents' fault. So don't whine about your mistakes. Learn from them.

Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning your room, and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. So before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Your school may have done away with winners and losers but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades, and they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblance to anything in real life.

Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off, and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

Television is not real life. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.”

Even if Sykes’ criticism of American schools may have been exaggerated for some of them, we would do well to face up to the lack of discipline and efficient learning that besets too many schools, particularly in economically deprived communities. Is it true that there is too much coddling and to little competition in too many classrooms?

Having been a teacher in America’s schools for the past 55 years, I often wished candid cameras could show the public the idling, the boredom, and the chaos that all too often wastes the preciously short time students can spend in school, public or private.

To make the school experience more productive, the answer is usually not more money. Graduation rates and achievement scores nation-wide remain flat, while spending on education has increased more than 100 percent since 1971.

In the name of equal treatment for all racial, ethnic, and economic segments of society, we too often tolerate mediocrity. That will only change if we demand that none of the nation’s young people are excused from facing and overcoming the difficulties that are part of everybody’s life.

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Wolf D. Fuhrig	Home	06-10-07
Lessons Rarely Learned In School
In 1996, Milwaukee-based radio talk show host Charles Sykes published the mildly controversial book “Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves But Can't Read, Write, or Add.” While the subtitle was obviously an overstatement, Sykes’ scathing criticism of government-run schools and the emphasis on "feel-good learning" over realistic demands for solid work continues to deserve serious consideration. As a self-styled libertarian, Sykes had no qualms calling for the abolition of the U.S. Department of Education as an important step toward less bureaucracy in America’s “system” of public schools. Sykes bemoaned that we have too many youngsters with unrealistic expectations of life, and that therefore we are setting them up for failure in the real world. He offered a list of eleven rules that he believed American students may not have learned in school: Life is not fair--get used to it. The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself. You will not make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice president with a car phone until you "earn" both. If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure. Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger-flipping: they called it opportunity. If you screw up, it's not your parents' fault. So don't whine about your mistakes. Learn from them. Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning your room, and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. So before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your own room. Your school may have done away with winners and losers but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades, and they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblance to anything in real life. Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off, and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time. Television is not real life. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs. Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.” Even if Sykes’ criticism of American schools may have been exaggerated for some of them, we would do well to face up to the lack of discipline and efficient learning that besets too many schools, particularly in economically deprived communities. Is it true that there is too much coddling and to little competition in too many classrooms? Having been a teacher in America’s schools for the past 55 years, I often wished candid cameras could show the public the idling, the boredom, and the chaos that all too often wastes the preciously short time students can spend in school, public or private. To make the school experience more productive, the answer is usually not more money. Graduation rates and achievement scores nation-wide remain flat, while spending on education has increased more than 100 percent since 1971. In the name of equal treatment for all racial, ethnic, and economic segments of society, we too often tolerate mediocrity. That will only change if we demand that none of the nation’s young people are excused from facing and overcoming the difficulties that are part of everybody’s life.

Wolf D. Fuhrig

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06-10-07

Lessons Rarely Learned In School