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Dumbing-down of the educational system?

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IainB:
In a post here: Re: Thermageddon? Postponed! @Renegade referred to the dumbing-down process in the US (education system). I read the links/references he provided with interest.

Coincidentally, I was reminded of this when I read this comment on the Cartesian Product blog about the Maths "A" level papers in the UK, where a comparison is made between "A" level papers from 1982 and modern-day:

* Maths ‘A’ level: now for a tough one
* Maths ‘A’ level dumbing down: the proof
"A" ("Advanced") level exams in the UK used to be amongst the hardest exams a student might face until his/her 2nd or 3rd year at university. Not any more, it seems.
Presumably science (chemistry, physics, biology) and liberal studies are all getting the same sort of treatment. This could probably help to explain a lot.

CORRECTION: 2012-10-17
CORRECTION:
Oops. More haste less speed required on my part. Looks like my speed-reading might have crashed into a full stop and killed Comprehension in the process. Sorry.
In the post linked above (see Opening Post), the author doesn't state that he has proven that dumbing down has occurred, but that he has "dumbed down". I missed that bit - all I saw was the headline that he had provided "a proof".
He has corrected me in his blog: The great dumbing down debate
-IainB (October 16, 2012, 09:01 PM)
--- End quote ---

Renegade:
I recently found an excellent set of interviews:

https://theultimatehistorylesson.com/

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL463AA90FD04EC7A2

They are more of these videos where they put them out for free, and ask people to buy DVDs to help support the producers, etc. etc. Lots like that out there.

The guy there walks through a phenomenal amount of history on issues related to education. It's quite long, but a very eye-opening treatment.

Now, for the part that will blow you away...

Everything is referenced. Everything. You can download transcripts along with indepth footnotes/endnotes on the topics and references in the interview.

These guys did their homework~! :D


Probably the most important thing that I can say about the interviews, is that I need to go back and watch again. They're simply too packed with information, and not something that you can absorb all of very quickly. Definitely a 10 lb steak meal there. None of that nancy-pansy 12 oz salad nonsense~! :D We're talking MEAT~! :D Get your intellectual carnivore hat on~! :D

Renegade:
Coincidentally, I was reminded of this when I read this comment on the Cartesian Product blog about the Maths "A" level papers in the UK, where a comparison is made between "A" level papers from 1982 and modern-day:

* Maths ‘A’ level: now for a tough one
* Maths ‘A’ level dumbing down: the proof
"A" ("Advanced") level exams in the UK used to be amongst the hardest exams a student might face until his/her 2nd or 3rd year at university. Not any more, it seems.
Presumably science (chemistry, physics, biology) and liberal studies are all getting the same sort of treatment. This could probably help to explain a lot.
-IainB (October 14, 2012, 07:43 PM)
--- End quote ---

Errmmm... yeah... humbling... I've not done that kind of math in quite a while, and really need to brush up...

Good to be humiliated every now and then. :D

TaoPhoenix:
I can't understand all that stuff. There's so many words !
(Joke!)

ewemoa:
https://theultimatehistorylesson.com/
-Renegade (October 14, 2012, 11:09 PM)
--- End quote ---

When looking into this a bit, came across:

  What You've Been Missing

A special episode of that may be?


There's a youtube link on that page to the first episode which resulted in something about the video not being available due to copyright reasons... :(

Ironically, when searching for an alternative, came across:

  GNU MediaGoblin

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