The Pedo-Cog's Dictionary A Teacher's Guide to Modern Edu-speak

A tongue-in-cheek dictionary of the commonly used 'double-speak' when discussing modern educational issues. For example, the word struggle, is used to describe students who do absolutely nothing. What makes this ironic use of language so funny is that the 'experts' and 'reformers' can say it with a straight face.By 'ensuring the success' of millions of American students the PTBs (powers that be) by forcing teachers and administrators to pass along failing students have actually caused a system wide dumbing down.Finally, by heaping praise on students for substandard performance the educrats have created a generation of, in the words of Thomas Sowell, confident incompetents. In international exams of ability, American students scores have plummeted, while at the same time American confidence in their abilities is at an all time high. It was in my mind to write a tell–all book from the perspective of a teacher who spent more than twenty years fighting a system designed to fail the most vulnerable children in our schools. I wanted to appeal to American’s sense of fair play and the traits that once made our country the destination of choice for those seeking opportunity. Although I can present a valid, pressing, logical argument for the proposals I know could save our schools, I have finally come to accept that people are not swayed by reason. It may seem ludicrous that otherwise: intelligent, educated, literate people cannot see the obvious: The key to improving American education is to place: the focus, the responsibility and the accountability where it belongs, on the child being ‘educated’. You may be thinking, well duh! So try something that the educational reformers apparently have not, think for yourself. Go to ANY search engine on ANY website and type: “student accountability in education” or some variation. I tried the same search today on youtube and had 21,000 results. I checked the first three pages and not one of the videos mentioned students being held accountable. All 30 videos pointed a finger (yes, that one) at who WAS presumably accountable for student learning and NOT ONE of them mentioned students, other than as passive, generic widgets to be manipulated and tested for quality. In defense of my sanity, from the unbelievable absurdity of this strange, hysterical blindness, I had to laugh, and laugh and laugh … until the tears from the decades of frustration and angst flowed. It was then I realized that the only way to save American children and ourselves from the horrors of the Blob is for educators, parents and students to take the path of the tearful, virgin bride afraid of ‘consummating’ her new marriage. We should point at the offending ‘entity’ and laugh at it until it goes away, or at least shrinks back into a smaller, less rigid form. (See – shrinkage, Seinfeld - season 5, episode 20)