Arthur E. Sowers is a resident of Harbeson.
The recent letter titled “‘Urgency and discipline’ needed to fix reading scores,” by Michelle Parsons, was well meaning and may have presented a worthy goal. Parsons’ letter made reference to the “Mississippi Miracle” as part of her pitch. Sometimes, however, there is a “counterstory” about claimed miracles, and, sure enough, an internet search found plenty. For example, have a look at Diane Ravitch’s article, “There Was No ‘Miracle’ in New Orleans,” to get another point of view. Even more important than that is the Wikipedia article “Diane Ravitch,” where you can get a short but very powerful lesson in education politics and education history. I read one of her many books and was very impressed.
To learn “why are kids’ standard test scores so low?” you should just type that keyword string into the address bar of most, if not all, web browsers. I used the Google search engine. What I got back was an artificial intelligence summary, as well as a large number of links to many internet articles about the low test scores. Many factors are not at all connected to the teachers, the school, the curriculum or whether the school is private or public.
“Screen time” is now a recognized term for distraction from schoolwork while on a cellphone or smartphone. New policies are beginning in some areas to limit or ban these devices during school hours. A separate internet search showed me that a surprising number of today’s students show up to school while high on drugs or inebriated by alcohol. Absenteeism is another problem. Another internet search showed me that some kids are bringing various weapons to school, including knives and loaded firearms. In addition, bullying is getting worse, and this affects the mental health of well-behaved kids. It is understandable to me that poverty, hunger, disengaged parents, kids’ preoccupation with various social media, peer pressure, texting, sexting, catfishing, deepfaking, gaming and gang activities can also be distractions. Also, school mass shootings generate anxiety in kids, as well as in adults. Free public access to AI is leading to more cheating on homework, new kinds of crime and what I will call “messing with your brain.” Some cases of mental illness and suicides have AI as factors.
Don’t just look at the kids. Some surveys show that 30% of adults never read a book after high school. And about 50% of adults have a reading level around sixth grade. A vast majority of adults cannot recognize fallacies in what politicians talk about.
A study that came out years ago found that Fox News viewers were less informed than people who didn’t watch any news channel at all. The downloadable 2011 Fairleigh Dickinson University report on this finding can be found by searching for this keyword string: “Some news leaves people knowing less-FDU.” It was widely discussed when it came out. It may be insulting to further suggest it, but we all are much less smart and knowledgeable than we think we are. To prove that, see the report, “The State of Critical Thinking 2020.”
Another article shows how information can be presented to you in a way that affects your thinking: “Fox News’ 7 Deadly Sins: How the network hooks viewers on envy and fear.” The idea of brainwashing is about shoving garbage into your brain to push you to preferentially think in certain ways. Jen Senko’s website is about the brainwashing of her dad. For more context, there is a Wikipedia article titled “Jen Senko.” I watched a documentary she put out years ago, and I think you can still get it.
Another point is media bias. Everyone has to figure that out, but websites such as this one can help: “Media Literacy Guide: How to Detect Bias in News Media.”
And my final point is to not forget reader bias, and that means you and me. This article may be helpful: “Misinformation, Disinformation, and Bias.”
I do not mean to be negative or pessimistic or partisan. Rather, we should all try to see as much as possible of the whole problem instead of a small part. At least, if we find some parts that we can work on, the more likely it is that we will improve the whole picture. Above all, we should recognize that learning is a lifelong necessity. Learning should not stop at graduation at any level.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
