http://www.boston.com/news/education...lax_mcas_rule/

There is a good reason for the test, a test that is ridiculously easy, if you can't pass then it is quite obvious you didn't learn enough in school to earn your degree. If you can't answer the question "Joey mows lawns after school, he charges $10/lawn and earned $100, how many lawns did Joey mow" then you quite clearly don't deserve a diploma. This is an actual question by the way.

The rest "some people don't do well under pressure" is just smoke and mirrors. Welcome to life, there is pressure involved every day in the workplace and otherwise. Time to stop coddling kids and preparing them for life. That means education, testing, etc.

Three cheers for Romney for threatening to pull funds.

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All you need to know about the energy crisis:
ANWR Exploration Republicans: 91% Supported. Democrats: 86% Opposed.
Coal-to-liquid R's: 90% YES. D's: 78% NO.
Oil Shale Exploration R's: 90% YES. D's: 86% NO.
Outer Continental Shelf Exploration R's: 81% YES. D's: 83% NO.
Increased Refinery Capacity R's: 97% YES. D's: 96% NO

SUMMARY: 91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of America’s own oil and gas. 86% of House Democrats have historically voted against.

Well, so long as they don't drink cokes and know how to use a condom, that's all that really counts.

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"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."
Winston Churchill

Competition is the basis of our Western capitalist society. And it's been that way since its foundations in Ancient Greece (hell, even their great plays were written for drama competitions). Awarding people for not even accomplishing simple goals undermines our entire society. It sounds alarmist, I know, but just think about it. In the real world, consumers don’t buy an inferior product just because a company “tried and put up a good fight and faced a lot of stress.”

Kids need to learn this early on.

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Proudly a "South Park Republican"

...trying to ruin our country with this non-competitive BS, how dare they try to make us a socialist country.


My question is; how did they get so stupid in the first place? Must be those republican run schools, and those rupublican teachers union.

Oops, I think I got it backwards.

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Cheney is the second executive officer to shoot someone in the face and chest. Clinton was the first.

It's not alarmist if it's true. Rewarding mediocrity only gets you more mediocrity. I blame a lot of this foolishness on the self-esteem movement in public education. This is the same movement that has actually done away with red ink in schools (because it is "frightening")...

http://www.boston.com/news/education...seeing_purple/
Unfortunately children are our future, and many of our schools are now designed to turn out individuals who...

1) Have few makertable skills.
2) No concept of personal responsibilty, since they have been shielded from the consequences of their actions.
3) An over-inflated sense of self-worth, since they have been taught they can do no wrong.

Interestingly enough, there is a specific demographic that tends to match all three of these characteristcs very well: criminals.

Criminals have marketable skills. They'll have an advantage over these kids.

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"Man lives in the sunlit world of that which he believes to be reality. But unseen by most is an underworld, a place that is just as real... but not as brightly lit... A DARK SIDE!"
-opening from Tales From the Darkside

Ideally, society would reward effort. If one person, because of genetics, has an I.Q. twice as high as another, they will likely achieve more than twice as much. All people are inherently equal, so that is unfair. On the other hand, if standards are lowered for all, then the person with the higher I.Q. will have less need to use it. If only there were some way of measuring effort...

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"I am a Tory Anarchist. I should like every one to go about doing just as he pleased- short of altering any of the things to which I have grown accustomed." (Max Beerbohm)

Actually ideally people with the most talent and interest in each field should perform and succeed most in that field. Also ideally everyone should have their basics taken care of and suffering should be minimized as much as possible.
Over all we are on the right track with our capitalist/welfare society. We only need to fine-tune it. This diploma thing is silly and almost seems like a farce. It will only make it harder for competent people to get into the positions that need them and entrepreneurs to create more positions. Without those requisites being met, how can we expect to provide a living to all of our society and alleviate suffering?
As I've said before, capitalist countries take care of the people who don't work. Communist countries tend to starve people.

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"Man lives in the sunlit world of that which he believes to be reality. But unseen by most is an underworld, a place that is just as real... but not as brightly lit... A DARK SIDE!"
-opening from Tales From the Darkside

Good one, Barney!!!

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"This is a time for a national imperative not to fail in Iraq." Condoleeza Rice, January 11, 2007

As an educator I have three comments.

1] Every generation, since Socrates, people have tallked about the children of their era, and how they are going to grow up and be the fall of their civilization. Every generation, those cries of wolf turn out to be greatly exaggerated.

2] The way NCLB (no child left behind) is set up, there are serious disincentives for school districts to fail students. It is in their economic and social interest to pass students at all costs. It revolves around the complete importance of Standardized test scores and drop out rates. So, right or wrong this is one of the factors that contribute to passing unqualified students.

3] Parental involvement a plays a large role in passing failing students. When students perform poorly or get bad grades as a reflection of... parents call up harass and threaten to sue until grades are changed. The parents of all these ill equipped students scream and holler until their children pass. A lot of blame belongs on the parents of over protected students.

3]