Nexus - 0222 - New Times Magazine-pages

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given the chance to take the initiative and ‘that there is a predetermined correct _ it's called in Pennsylvania. Some places assumé leadership for group action as answer for each choice—and it is proba- call it the "educational special unit” or well as lend support to group efforts as bly not the one the average parent would —_ something like that. Other states call it by followers.” expect. The possible responses foreach different names, but it all amounts to the Apparently, according to government _of the choices above are "yes", "no" or —_ same thing, bureaucrats, "responsibilities of citizen- "maybe". For choice (a), the state-desired The "intermediate unit” is a van, and it ship" has more to do with collectivist response is a suprising “yes”. The reason carries these materials from one school activity than with an ‘understanding of the _ for an affirmative answer here, according _district to another, and even to private US Constitution. In fact, if you analyse to the scoring mechanism booklet, is that — schools that accept federal funds. what the educators will be testing in order _it demonstrates a "willingness to honour to determine whether or not the student _ self-made commitments to individuals or SCANS has achieved the desired goal, you will groups”. Thus the student gets one point There is also the matter of SCANS, the see that they have a very strange idea of for an affirmative answer and a zero for Secretary's Commission on Achieving what citizenship is all about, "no"—the answer that supports an ethic | Necessary Skills. The Secretary in this The Pennsylvania Department of against vandalism, case is not the Secretary of Education, but Education says: "The display of responsi- For situation (b), the state-desired the Secretary of Labour. One of the ways ble citizenship behaviours like honesty or response is “yes” again. This answer the psycho-educators have been able to integrity are most often situational." In demonstrates conformity to group goals,a recruit support from big business for other words, there is no absolute standard bowing to group consensus, and makes it +Outcome-Based Education and school of honesty or integrity. The document _ the preferred response. restructuring is by promising to turn out continues: The oddly-phrased choice (c) is an _ well-trained students for the workforce. "A person's display of good citizenship _ attempt to find out whether the child will In other words, the federal government behaviour under one set of motivating obey if punishment is expected to result will become involved in training students conditions tells us little about the way he from disobedience, In other words, can _ for specific jobs based on the needs of the or she can be expected to act if those con- this child be controlled through reward economy, which is what the Communist ditions are altered. The context in which and punishment? If punishment from any government of the Soviet Union did in the the behaviour is elicited therefore authority figure (including the state) is _ past. becomes at least as important in deter- incurred, will the child obey? That may In order to earn a Certificate of Initial mining the outcome as the predisposition sound positive, but put in the context of | Mastery, the student will be required to of the individual involved." the other test questions, a somewhat trou- learn specific skills for a specific job. What kind of questions are asked in _ blesome picture emerges. Which means that for most American stu- such an assessment?’ The document con- The responses of all the children in the dents, public education will become a tinues: district to the test questions are tallied and form of job training, with little emphasis "Fifty-seven items measure willingness compared with the state-desired respons- on the academic skills and knowledge to exhibit good citizenship in many social es. From this will be determined the areas _-which traditionally were considered to be situations under a variety of motivating of ‘weakness’ for each school district, and the most important aspect of education, conditions. Social contexts are given by curriculum will be adjusted accordingly. public or otherwise. 19 situations, each posing a problem and These are the kinds of psycho-questions Data from the student's computerised suggesting an action predefined as good that will be asked and tabulated by all of record will be used to create a Résumé or poor citizenship. Each story has three these expensive computer data collection summing up the student's workplace com- items which list positive or negative con- systems, Our government will be spend- _petency, personal qualities, academic sequences resulting from the action. _ ing billions of dollars to collect this ‘infor- _ courses, extracurricular activities, etc. In Students are asked to decide whether to mation’ so that our socialist educators can _ other words, each student will be under take the action for each consequence.” determine what kind of brainwashing is total administrative control by the educa- “Sample question (grade 11): needed to create the new socialist man, tional and labour bureaucracies, guided, There is a secret club at school called trained, and brainwashed by the psycho- the Midnight Artists. They go out late at How Are Attitudes Corrected? educators to behave in a manner accept- night and paint funny sayings and pic- The way in which it is done is by what —_ able to the powers that be. tures on buildings. A student is asked to are called “strands”. And these are, I Is that what people want from their join the club. In this situation, 1 would guess the best way to put it is 'minicours- public schools? Probably not. But join the club when I knew: és’, ‘mini classes’ which are inter-discipli- whether or not they do anything about it is (a) my best friend asked me join; nary in nature. They are spread out _ still to be seen. co (b) the most popular students were in through the subject areas; all subject (Sources: (1) Sam Blumenfeld, The the ciub; areas—English, History, whatever. And tf i tion Letter, vol. 9, no. 5, (c) my parents would ground me if they they're brought in at opportune moments. May 1994, PO Box 45161, Boise, ID 83711, found out I joined.” They consist of films sometimes. USA. (2) Beverly K. Eakman, Educating for The assumption is made that the child Sometimes it's just a social type of exer- the ‘New World Order’, Halcyon House, 199] wouid join the organisation under some _cise, like a lifeboat exercise which I'm (PO Box 8795, Portland OR, 927207-8795, circumstance, It is the duty of the testers sure a lot of you have heard about. USA; phone (503) 228 6345; fax (503) 228 | to find out what that circumstance might Various things like that, And they're 3961). (3) Gary Null interview with Beverly be. brought in through what is called the Eakman, People’s Pacifica Radio Network, What is more significant, however, is “intermediate unit". Atleast that's what Station WBAI-F'M, New York, USA) 26 ¢ NEXUS OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 1994