Scattershots on Cultural Change (updated 6jan14)

George Rebane

I am a child, student, and defender of Western civilization.

Today I mourn.  Stanford JD Heather MacDonald of the Manhattan Institute informs us all how ‘The Humanities Have Forgotten Their Humanity’.  I mourn more deeply because it is at my alma mater where the coup de grace is being delivered.  UCLA has been the home of one of the nation’s flagship departments of English, but that has come to an end with a progressive and narcissistic turn of curriculum that today requires its majors to study not one whit of great English literature from the likes of Shakespeare, Chaucer, or Milton.  Instead, the students will now be exposed to “alternative rubrics of gender, sexuality, race, and class.”

MacDonald confirms that in present day humanities “the contemporary academic wants only to study oppression, preferable his or her own, defined reductively according to gonads and melanin.”  Displacing the classics will be the mandate that UCLA English majors instead will take three courses from the areas of –

-    Gender, Race, Ethnicity, Disability and Sexuality Studies;
-    Imperial, Transnational, and Postcolonial Studies;
-    Genre studies, interdisciplinary studies, and critical theory;
-    Creative writing.

What has been the distinguishing meter of western learning, giving rise to the most advanced cultures on earth, has been “this constant, sophisticated dialogue between past and present” that became “a defining feature of Western civilization, prompting the evolution of such radical ideas as constitutional government and giving birth to arts and architecture of polyphonic complexity.  And it became the primary mission of the universities to transmit knowledge of the past, as well … to serve as seedbeds for new knowledge.”

And today, as polarized “politics grow ever more unmoored from reality, humanist wisdom provides us with some consolation.  There is no greater lesson from the past than the intractability of human folly.”

On the other side of university campuses all across the country, schools teaching STEM majors will be seeing ever more American high school graduates who have been submitted to the new politically correct K-12 curriculum called Common Core.  Dr Sandra Stotsky, former member of Common Core’s Validation Committee, adds to the growing evidence that ‘Common Core Doesn’t Add Up to STEM Success’.

Stotsky argues that “students who study under these standards won’t receive anywhere near the quality of education that children in the US did even a few years ago.”  As for mathematics, the basis for all STEM learning, CC’s leading math standards writer Jason Zimba explained that the curriculum “is to provide students with mathematics to make them ready for a nonselective college – ‘not STEM’”. (emphasis mine)

Heads of mathematics associations have all fallen in line, not wanting to put their government grant pipelines in jeopardy, and endorsed a curriculum that clearly delivers a math-weakened body of graduates to our colleges that guarantees a declining enrollment in STEM majors.  Stotsky asks, “Why leaders of these organizations would endorse standards that will not prepare students for college majors in mathematics, science, engineering and mathematics-dependent fields is a puzzle. But no educational reform that leads to fewer engineers, scientists and doctors is worthy of the name.”

From this educational disaster in the making we segue to China – our global creditor, competitor hegemon, second largest world economy, and fast becoming the foreign sovereign nation-state to own the most of American industries and employ the most American workers.  China has already eaten our breakfast, is now eating our lunch, and has eyes on our dinner.  If you want the current details on China’s ascendancy and the price we are paying for it, please read this piece by Michael Snyder (H/T to reader) that no media outlet (lamestream or otherwise) wants to broadcast.

Snyder details the major acquisitions China has made in American media, natural resources, agriculture, and manufacturing industries, not to mention technology companies with which it intends to soon become the dominant player in the big three of nanotechnology, genomics, and machine intelligence.  Snyder suggests that learning Mandarin would not be a bad idea for today’s younger generation.

[6jan14 update]  Here's an updated piece by Dr Stotsky on Common Core.  Thanks to comment by reader Gregory.

Comments

[Joe Koyote]

The UC system has always prided itself on being on the cultural cutting edge. This is just another example of a changing world and what one group of people deem important or not. If students don't like it, they can always enroll in a school that better suits their needs. Perhaps the marketplace will respond via lowered enrollment in the English program or increased enrollment as the modern student seems to be more globally oriented than previous generations. Time will tell.

[fish]

If students don't like it, they can always enroll in a school that better suits their needs.

True enough....Physics/Maths/Engineering do a pretty good job at maintaining the wall of separation between Grievance Studies and useful knowledge. And JoKe is probably right that after 3 or 4 graduating classes find out that they were stuck hard for 225K this is likely to be self correcting. I've seen engineering students mouth back the lefty platitudes with as much skill as a master Shakespearian actor. They ain't buying it!

[Gregory]

In the case of the so-called "Common Core State Standards", it's a bit hard to opt out. In all, thanks to Federal Education department bribes (a thumb on the scale for Federal grants if they went along) 45 states agreed to throw out their own standards (California and Mass. had better math standards) before the CCSS were even available for inspection. They weren't finished yet!

While the CCSS math standards are imperfect, the biggest problem with them is the curriculum churn and they are being accompanied by the usual darling of Education departments... a constructivist orientation that values talking about math over actually doing it. Students discovering principles on their own chatting in groups. The Socratic method, without Socrates. Just the "learners".

[George Rebane]

Re JoeK's 255pm - This viewpoint seems to say that for over half a millenium there were no generations of 'modern students' wise enough to reject what the greats of centuries past had to teach about the human condition. And today, Voila!, we have finally a generation of modern students who have a sufficient global orientation to kiss good-bye to what their civilization has to teach them.

I would say that that is a limited perspective. For over six hundred years we have had students who were always at the cutting edge of their own civilization, i.e. the then 'modern students'. But they were always wise enough to stand on the shoulders of their intellectual forebears. Today the progressive wisdom is to dispense with the higher view and get back down to slog in the mud. I guess we call that bottom up learning and wonder what wisdom will they then teach their own children. Cutting off your past comes with a cost, sometimes a terrible cost.

[Gregory]

"And JoKe is probably right that after 3 or 4 graduating classes find out that they were stuck hard for 225K this is likely to be self correcting."

Especially after finding not only can't they pay it back, it can't be discharged by a bankruptcy court even when it becomes clear it really can never be paid back. Indentured servitude owed by a generation of young who were convinced by their school's sales department that they'd be able to pay it off.

Congress will eventually make much of it go away. Maybe an executive wave of an extra-legislative magic wand will do the same thing.

[Account Deleted]

"If students don't like it, they can always enroll in a school that better suits their needs." Ahem - there is the small matter of we tax payers footing the bill for this BS. How about they learn their 'cutting edge' blarney on their own dime? Oh, that's right - they don't have any money of their own and have no marketable skills to obtain any.

[Russ Steele]

When any nation has to depend on a potential enemy for critical weapon system parts they
are in more trouble than they really know.

The Pentagon repeatedly waived laws banning Chinese-built components on
U.S. weapons in order to keep the $392 billion Lockheed Martin Corp F-35
fighter program on track in 2012 and 2013, even as U.S. officials were
voicing concern about China's espionage and military buildup. According
to Pentagon documents reviewed by Reuters, chief U.S. arms buyer Frank
Kendall allowed two F-35 suppliers, Northrop Grumman Corp and Honeywell
International Inc, to use Chinese magnets for the new warplane's radar
system, landing gears and other hardware. Without the waivers, both
companies could have faced sanctions for violating federal law and the
F-35 program could have faced further delays.

ARRA had a buy America clause that had to be waved for the broadband construction, there
was no US manufacture of critical radio components. We cannot build wireless networks with
out foreign manufactures, specifically Japan, Korea and China.

[Account Deleted]

Don't worry, Russ - China is completely dependant on the US for vegan lesbian chicana social justice systems. It's all cutting edge stuff - not available in backwards countries in Asia.

[MikeL]

The problem with what JoeK said is that the liberal studies departments will demand that the chemistry, physics, engineering and mathematical students take there useless courses in order to graduate. In fact this is happening now.

[Gregory]

"In fact this is happening now."

Where? My son graduated from Cal's College of Chemistry two+ years ago and, as far I I can tell, wasn't forced to take *any* "useless" liberal studies classes; he chose his own electives. Many of his general ed requirements were covered by high school AP classes with acceptable exam scores.

[Gregory]

I'd like to highlight a passage from the post up top..."As for mathematics, the basis for all STEM learning, CC’s leading math standards writer Jason Zimba explained that the curriculum “is to provide students with mathematics to make them ready for a nonselective college – ‘not STEM’”.

The so-called CCSS don't align with the math you need in high school to arrive at a good college ready to study math, physics, chemistry or engineering. Depending on the college, it may also fall short for biology.

[MikeL]

Gregory,

Here is a link to the Chico State "Pathways" GE requirements.
http://www.csuchico.edu/ge/students/transitioning.shtml

These used to be called "theme" requirements when I attended college. As an engineering student I found these classes to be useless and a waste of my time for my intended goal. I would have rather taken additional engineering classes.

Oh course "useless" liberal studies classes are in the eye of the beholder. Your son may not have considered taking ethnic studies or history of transgender oppression or any similarly name course to be useless since it was required to graduate and given the fact that he has a brain inherited from you, probably an easy "A" as well.

[Gregory]

I stand corrected ML, without a doubt, a left-liberal indoctrination.

[Gregory]

George, here's a link to fresh piece by Dr. Stotsky...

http://www.lowellsun.com/opinion/ci_24852823/states-substandard-math-standards

I'd say it's worth an update up top.

[George Rebane]

Gregory 231pm - Done, thanks Gregory.

[Bill Tozer]

"If the students don't like it," they can sue.

http://watchdog.org/122324/california-students-sue/

[Russ Steele]

This could have implications locally, when NU Students arrive at college and have to take remedial courses.

Nine California students have launched a lawsuit against the state, arguing that current law and entrenched practices they see as pro-union actually short-change the poor and the minority communities on their education.
Students Matter, the group driving the suit, said in a press release, “Ineffective teachers are entrenched in California’s public school system. The superintendents of many school districts affirm that their districts are beleaguered by grossly ineffective teachers and attribute the continued employment of these teachers to the challenged statutes.”
The trial is set for Jan. 27, Watchdog.org reported. Legal minds think the results could reverberate around the nation — especially in states with union strongholds.
“I think any time that you see a genuine reform in California, you empower reformers everywhere in the country who realize if you can actually fix something like that in California, you can fix it anywhere,” said Ed Ring, the executive director of the California Public Policy Center.
The plaintiffs argue that too many communities in the state aren’t living up to basic education standards, which they say is partly the fault of state laws that protect teachers and are driven by the unions.
The California Teachers Association is opposing the suit, Watchdog reported.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/6/california-students-sue-state-ineffective-teachers/#ixzz2pjtH1w47

[George Rebane]

RussS 1042am - Thanks for that very relevant information Russ. Please keep us apprised as this and similar initiatives to counter CC develop. To me it's as if the whole thing comes together again under the prescient Agenda21 objectives which call for an America that is compliant to the coming world order. But for that to happen, we must first transform our economy and military to that of a second rate country. National implementation of CC would sure take us a long way toward that progressive objective.

[Bill Tozer]

As the old saying goes, "Where to I do to get my education back?"