The complete work of Charles Darwin

The complete work of Charles Darwin: "This site contains every Darwin publication as well as many of his handwritten manuscripts. All told there are more than 50,000 searchable text pages and 40,000 images. "

Whether you agree with his conclusions or not being able to look at the source documents is an amazing thing. This is something only accredited historians usually get to look at. This allows anyone to look at some of the most influential documents out there.

Failing to teach them how to handle real life - Sunday Times - Times Online

Failing to teach them how to handle real life - Sunday Times - Times Online: "After studying 25,000 children across both state and private schools Philip Adey, a professor of education at Kings College London confidently declares: The intelligence of 11-year-olds has fallen by three years worth in the past two decades."

This is disturbing. But the question you have to ask is:"Is the drop because of the educational system or is it something in the water/food?"

Personally I tend to think that the educational system is failing and is falling apart and it is getting more apparent all the time. Even parents that say "I'm a product of public schools, and I'm doing okay." are beginning to be leery of what is going on in schools today.

Study: Most College Students Lack Skills - Yahoo! News

Study: Most College Students Lack Skills - Yahoo! News: "More than half of students at four-year colleges and at least 75 percent at two-year colleges lack the literacy to handle complex, real-life tasks such as understanding credit card offers, a study found."

It is obvious to anyone else that the public education system is falling apart. Do you really think that the government will be able to pay Social Security with workers who can barely drive a car.

Most people think, "But I got through public school okay?" How do you define "okay?" Eyebrow deep in debt, paying minimums and siting in a cube all day? Is that really okay or is it not okay?

Economic View: What's the Return on Education?

Economic View: What's the Return on Education?: "This academic year, the better part of $1 trillion will be spent on education in the United States. That's an awful lot of spending, approaching 10 percent of the overall economy. But what exactly is the return on all of that money?While the costs are fairly simple to calculate, the benefits of education are harder to sum up."

The previous post showed us that literacy is on the downward slope.

How well you're socialization is won't help you with feeding a family.

Literacy of College Graduates Is on Decline

Literacy of College Graduates Is on Decline: "'It's appalling -- it's really astounding,' said Michael Gorman, president of the American Library Association and a librarian at California State University at Fresno. 'Only 31 percent of college graduates can read a complex book and extrapolate from it. That's not saying much for the remainder.'"

Are those in charge of education Fools or Fiends?

If fools then maybe we are seeing an extreme form of the Peter Principle. If fiends then they are actively trying to destroy world civilization.

Either way you have to teach your children the basics and then they can survive and prosper.

Leave No Gifted Child Behind

Leave No Gifted Child Behind: "Many gifted students, of course, continue to shine on standardized tests regardless of the level of instruction they receive. But whether these gifted students -- who are capable of work far above their grade level -- are being appropriately educated to develop their full potential is not shown by looking at test scores measuring only their grade-level mastery. Nor do test scores indicate whether these students are being sufficiently challenged to maintain their academic interest, an issue of particular concern in high school. Shockingly, studies establish that up to 20 percent of high school dropouts are gifted."

They say the students that do best are those that have involved parents.

What is really happening is these involved parents are doing the actual teaching and the school are just providing something to talk about at home.

If you're involved and doing most of the work anyway why keep them in school?

Stanford - Learn

SCPD - Learn

I got a postcard in the mail from Stanford showing they have free courses online. Free is good.

Is TV okay?

APS Observer - Watch and Learn: "A few years earlier, the Department of Education had granted Children's Television Workshop $8 million to create educational television programs that would prepare young kids for school. The workshop was given a two-year lead time to develop a show curriculum and test the show's effectiveness before it was broadcast. The opportunity for trial, error, and retrial was an industry rarity. Traditionally, producers had created shows based on sellable ideas that could be ready to air quickly. Consultation with educators, if it happened at all, occurred after much of the groundwork had already been done. The workshop, however, had gathered a mixture of scientists and television people. Working in close collaboration on all aspects of production %u2014 from story ideas to scripts to the color of Big Bird's plumage %u2014 the team figured out how to get kids to Sesame Street, and how to keep them there."

Is watching television okay for kids? That is a very good question. The American Psychological Society looks at the question and some of the history.

We let our daughter watch a fair amount of TV, actually videos really, and we won't let her have a TV in her room. I did and we know many parents that do, but I would rather have her read more books then anything else.

Is TV okay?

APS Observer - Watch and Learn: "A few years earlier, the Department of Education had granted Children's Television Workshop $8 million to create educational television programs that would prepare young kids for school. The workshop was given a two-year lead time to develop a show curriculum and test the show's effectiveness before it was broadcast. The opportunity for trial, error, and retrial was an industry rarity. Traditionally, producers had created shows based on sellable ideas that could be ready to air quickly. Consultation with educators, if it happened at all, occurred after much of the groundwork had already been done. The workshop, however, had gathered a mixture of scientists and television people. Working in close collaboration on all aspects of production %u2014 from story ideas to scripts to the color of Big Bird's plumage %u2014 the team figured out how to get kids to Sesame Street, and how to keep them there."

Is watching television okay for kids? That is a very good question. The American Psychological Society looks at the question and some of the history.

We let our daughter watch a fair amount of TV, actually videos really, and we won't let her have a TV in her room. I did and we know many parents that do, but I would rather have her read more books then anything else.