They haven't talked to any children lately award

THE HAVEN’T TALKED TO ANY CHILDREN,
VISITED ANY SCHOOLS LATELY AWARD:
MARC TUCKER
AND THE NEW COMMISSION ON THE SKILLS OF
THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE.


Commenting on this commission’s recommendations, Washington Post reporter and
columnist, Jay Mathews observed that the commission included “some of the giants of
American education,” but “like hundreds of powerful and brilliant people who have
participated in well-intentioned commissions before them, they let themselves be talked
into wandering through dreamland, rather than the real world.”

Dreamland, indeed. Perhaps the goofiest, most Orwellian double-speak statement in the
report occurs in the description of Step 1 of a 10-Step program. It describes a set of
“Board Exams” that most students would encounter at age 16. Performance on these
exams would determine what kind of educational experiences were open to them later.
“Students could challenge these Board Exams as soon as they were ready, and they could
keep challenging them all their lives, if necessary. No one would fail. If they did not
succeed, they would just try again.” Yeah, right. Try substituting “High School Exit
Exam” for Board Exams. Doesn’t change the meaning, does it?
Gerald W. Bracey
Read the entire Rotten Apples in Education Awards, 2006. By researcher Gerald W. Bracey. Here
http://www.america-tomorrow.com/bracey/EDDRA/rottenapples2006-final.pdf