Stupidity-The Intentional Dumbing Down Of Modern Society

[thirdcup]

A little movie called Idiocracy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBvIweCIgwk depicts this. Some are even equating the Trump era to it http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/donald-trump-for-president-idiocracy-is-coming-true/.

Seen it. It's a farce but it's uncomfortably familiar. Especially when they talk about electrolytes to make the plants grow.

As for using sports to distract people, the same thing was done in ancient Rome when whey fed Christians to the lions. The more things change...

 

[Johnny Utah]

Yet our government in Ontario recently announced that they are looking to eliminate streaming in schools.

All in the name of "equity".

I get that. Problem is, life isn't always equal. You need to work with what you've got. Dumping a pile of brainers in with a pile of nosomuch brainers is nice in theory, but not in practice. I just see all the kids getting frustrated.

In my day, there were 4 streams. In High School, there were 3 streams - general, college, university. (I can't remember what they exactly called it, but general was anyone could take it, college was middle of the road and university was the most advanced. Not to say you didn't have kids out of where they should be, or criss crossing, or who knows what. Then you had a fourth stream, which was "vocational school, which was an entirely different school and they taught kids that were really not going to be doctors any time soon something in line with their talents.

This is ironic, claiming equity as a reason. Equity is meeting somebody’s needs in order to level the playing field so that they can succeed.

Why would destreaming and unifying one type of class promote equity? It’s equality if you want to treat all students the same. Shouldn’t educators distinguish between the two? Have they been dumbed down?

How does putting students who struggle with abstract concepts and teaching them that very thing in a room of other students who have an easy time with it, fair for those students that need different supports and extra time?

Facepalm for this new “initiative” that was the standard decades ago before destreaming was the bright idea and now we are going back to this?

Wtf.

 

[basketcase]

Look at high school class averages now..on my daughter’s report card, there are many courses where the class average is above 80. Back in the day, I recall averages in the 65-75 range. ...

It all evens out though. University admission requirements have gone up at the same rate since it's till the same number of kids fighting for the the same number of spots. Whatever number they want to describe abilities with, it still remains a fact that half the class will be below average.


p.s. I also find it amusing (having seen their posting history) that certain people complain about the intelligence of others.

 

[basketcase]

Yep. Soooooo much worse than fads in the 50s and 60's like playing chicken with cars.

 

[basketcase]

If the Fiberals want to be serially re-elected,... its a good game plan.

Or Trump.

 

[basketcase]

Absolutely. The McGuinty government revamped the high school curriculum implemented by the Harris government saying it was too difficult and leading to a higher dropout rate.....

Under the Harris government there was still the no-fail policy in elementary and schools were still pushed to pass kids ando make their stats look good. I finished school just before Harris and we would always laugh at how easy the curriculum became, specifically with math where Harris' government essentially eliminated calculus as they cut a year out of high school. Harris didn't make schools better, he just tried to make them less expensive.

...

I found that even with OAC's I wasn't fully prepared for 1st year university courses as much as I should have been. It was a bit of an awakening for me.

Do you think Harris making it 4 years helped with that?

 

[basketcase]

Yet our government in Ontario recently announced that they are looking to eliminate streaming in schools.

All in the name of "equity".

I get that. Problem is, life isn't always equal. ....

I agree with the stated intent as I had friends who were put in general level courses because they were shits in grade 8 but could have made more of their lives if there were higher expectations and goals presented to them. I knew more people though that used to get suspended regularly because they couldn't handle the advanced or general level courses and kept blowing up on teachers. I also seem to recall that they tried this like 20 years ago and decided it wasn't a good idea.

 

[canada-man]

 

[basketcase]

A propôs streaming and the trades: At the end of the '50s I was streamed out of Grade 8 ....

Damn you are old Jones!!!!


One thing that hasn't changed is what parents want and what kids want aren't always the same thing. Probably more options for kids now but that is what some people consider 'dumbing down'.

 

[basketcase]

This is ironic, claiming equity as a reason. ....

It is true that black kids and black boys specifically (especially poor kids) are far more commonly pushed into lower level classes by their elementary schools. I doubt that these plans are going to change much though.

 

[thirdcup]

Hey folks, check this out.
https://futurism.media/is-technology-making-us-dumb

 

[Johnny Utah]

It is true that black kids and black boys specifically (especially poor kids) are far more commonly pushed into lower level classes by their elementary schools. I doubt that these plans are going to change much though.

I don’t deny that, but the use of the word equity in that context is not correct.

Regarding what you wrote, the first 8 years is not streamed. Your path and skills are largely formed prior to high school.

Parents and students have 100% control of their own streaming if no other special circumstances take place. By the time you are 14, you should have a wee bit of understanding of your own skills and direction.

Guidance makes course changes when you want and they are not dictators. In this world of self-absorbed millennials and helicopter parents, do we really think the schools dictate the students paths?

This is more than likely a misunderstanding of correlation.

There is a higher tendency for minorities to be poor, come from rougher areas, and single parent families. There needs to be targeted efforts to remedy that rather than destreaming and claiming it is because of that and guidance.

Make no mistake, minoritites are choosing the stream that will most likely lead to graduation and job prospects. University is not the end all and be all to education and I am sure most here can attest to that.