the dumbing of america

it is becoming increasingly harder to have standards in school or life. The reason seems to be that someone's feelings might get hurt if they can't achieve the standard.

Or some such P-C thoughts. . .

we (educators) seem to abhor anything that smacks of competition -- when in reality the two most important thing people do in their lives are "won" thru severe, intense competition.

"winning" the affection of someone to become your spouse -- and --
"winning" your job thru the interview process.

there is little "cooperation" involved therein.

One of the dangers of overusing Cooperative Learning is it may produce students with no confidence to "try something on their own."

consider this -

A PARABLE ON OUTCOME BASED BASKETBALL

IT HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED THAT ALL HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL TEAMS MUST USE OUTCOMES-BASED BASKETBALL BEGINNING NEXT SEASON.

TO ENSURE THAT ALL TEAMS FEEL SUCCESSFUL, WE WILL NOT KEEP SCORE. IT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAT THE TEAM LEARN THE PROCESS AND FINISH THE GAME AT THE SKILL LEVEL DETERMINED BY THE COACH RATHER THAN BE WINNERS.

TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE MEETS ALL OF THE OUTCOMES, POOR PLAYERS MUST BE GIVEN MORE PRACTICE TIME AND COACHING.

No SCORES WILL BE KEPT AND NO WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED. DURING THE GAMES ANYONE WHO FAILS TO MAKE GOALS, DOUBLE DRIBBLES OR FOULS WILL BE REMEDIATED DURING TIME-OUTS.

THE BETTER PLAYERS MUST SIT ON THE BENCH, HELP COACH THE OTHERS UNTIL THEY DEMONSTRATE THE RIGHT MOVES, OR GO AHEAD AND RUN ENRICHMENT PLAYS ON THEIR OWN. THESE GAMES WILL LAST MUCH LONGER, SO BE PREPARED TO STAY.

ALL TEAMS WILL COMPLETE 12 GAMES AND WILL RECEIVE THE SAME TROPHY. NO RECORDS WILL BE KEPT, NO STATISTICS WILL BE NEEDED, NOR WILL WE NEED ANY PLAY-OFFS, ALL-STAR TEAMS, OR RECOGNITION BANOUETS. TROPHIES WILL BE MEANINGLESS BUT EVERYONE WILL GET ONE. PSYCHO-BEHAVIORAL BASKETBALL EXPERTS FEEL THAT THIS WILL ENCOURAGE ALL TEAMS TO DO THEIR BEST AND INCREASE THE ABILITIES OF EVERY PLAYER WHO WILL FEEL GREAT ABOUT HIS ~ HER ACCOMPLISHMENTS. WE DISCOURAGE PLAYING ANY GAMES AGAINST TEAMS THAT DON'T HAVE THE SAME REGULATIONS. THIS WOULD BE UNFAIR COMPETITION SINCE THEY WOULD BE EMPHASIZING EXCELLENCE AND WINNING.

THE PEER PRESSURE OF NOT BEING PART OF OUR GROUP SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT MOTIVATION TO CONFORM THE "TRADITIONAL" TEAM TO OUR OUTCOMES-BASED BASKETBALL MODEL.

THIS IS OUTCOMES-BASED BASKETBALL, WHERE EXCELLENCE IS RELATIVE, EVERYONE IS EOUAL, EVERYONE SUCCEEDS, AND ALL PLAYERS WORK TO THEIR HIGHEST POTENTIAL.

"ALL BASKETBALL PLAYERS CAN PLAY" IS THIS REALLY WHAT WE WANT FOR OUR ATHLETES.... OR WORSE YET, FOR OUR ACADEMIC PROGRAMS ? IT IS NOW THE LAW IN THE CLASSROOM.

8 / 20s / 95 -- source: a hamburg, n.y. teacher gave it to me -- don't know the author - spring 1995