Social Promotion Redux

Scott Hardie | September 13, 2006
Disclaimer: I'm not a parent, so tell me to shove it if you are and disagree.

Did anyone catch Newsweek's last cover story, The New First Grade? It makes a case for elementary school and particularly first grade being too difficult these days, and how sensitive parents are removing their traumatized children from these grueling schedules.

When I read that first grade is getting harder, my overwhelming thought again and again was, GOOD. I can't imagine another country on Earth besides this one in which a major publication would pat parents on the back for damaging not just their own children's academic future but that of an entire American generation, all in the name of not making their kids "feel bad." Oh, the kids are crying and complaining that they can't do their homework? Doesn't every kid pull that crap at some point? There are reasons why each generation of American schoolchildren performs worse and worse compared to other industrialized nations, and our parents not demanding anywhere near the academic best of their kids is a friggin' huge one. Let's demand that schools teach better, let's encourage lawyers to file class-action suits against schools that underperform, and let's pressure Congress and (of all people) the President to enact legislation to raise educational standards, but oh please, don't make our kids cry or we'll move them somewhere they can grow up happy and retarded.

Wake up, America. And wake up, Newsweek.

Lori Lancaster | September 13, 2006
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Jackie Mason | September 13, 2006
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