When I was younger, I’d spend many a day watching the television show “Saved by the Bell.” It was a fictitious show that involved six Bayside High School students. Lark Voorhies was one of the actresses on the television show. Besides the crazy antics of the group, she was an important reason to watch. Wasn’t a lot of Sista’s on Saturday Morning shows so she was a big deal!! I always thought it would be cool to go to a school like Bayside High. However, I did stop watching the show once they entered college. How did over 50% of the group end up at the same college? And why did Zack get Kelly? And why did A.C. Slater cut his shag? There were too many questions that couldn’t be answered when I came of age. But in reality it was just a television show. It’s not really possible to go to an imaginary school and receive a real degree??
Oh, excuse me, I guess you can. But don’t tell the folks at www.belfordhighschool.com that. They probably think they are real. They even created their own college like Saved by the Bell!!! What a great deal!! Who wouldn’t want to obtain a GED or High School Diploma without attending classes and studying for exams? And you could earn all of this within 15 days for the low low low price of $249.00 with free express shipping. There is a catch!! You need to have at least 2 years of work of life experience satisfied in the following ways:
Oh, excuse me, I guess you can. But don’t tell the folks at Belford that. They probably think they are real. They even created their own college like Saved by the Bell!!! What a great deal!! Who wouldn’t want to obtain a GED or High School Diploma without attending classes and studying for exams? And you could earn all of this within 15 days for the low low low price of $249.00 with free express shipping. There is a catch!! You need to have at least 2 years of work of life experience satisfied in the following ways:
*Prior job experience in any field.
*Previous educational achievements.
*Employer-sponsored training and attendance of workshops.
*Participation in organizations, both professional and non-professional.
*Employer-sponsored training and attendance of workshops.
*Participation in organizations, both professional and non-professional.
*Personal goals, lifestyle, hobbies, and travel.
*Participation in volunteer activities and community service.
*Independent reading, viewing, listening, or writing.
Sounds too good to be true? I would like to go on record and say: This is a bad thing!!! But before you call me an East Coast Liberal Elite, let me explain why this is bad.
Schools (using the term “school” loosely) that put out these factory degrees circumvent the true spirit of education. They treat education as some sort of product that can be packaged and shipped like a business product. A high school diploma is the minimum amount of education that one can receive. High School classes are made up of subjects that are learned by repetition. After you take the test you can practically forget what you just learned. People it ain’t rocket science!! I’ve seen people sleep their way through high school.
Side Note: I'll be honest and say we do need to fix how and what we are taught in high school.
When did life experience become credit for a WHOLE DEGREE??? I can see you using it for a class subject i.e. paper, test, quiz, project but a WHOLE DEGREE??
It’s amazing to see political pundits complain about our educational system but won’t discuss how America has devalued higher education. The Republican Party spent the end of Bush’s 2nd Term and the 2008 Presidential Campaign badmouthing degreed people (i.e. anyone that has a Bachelors, Masters, PhD). I find that especially funny when the same people making the attacks have degrees themselves. When people refer to any part of the township/city/state/country as elite – it means the residents must be snooty because they attended college (God Forbid someone attending school to improve their lives!!!). Meanwhile the Democrats are too cowardly to call them on this because they want to fit in at the county pork barbecue cook off.
Media darling Sarah Palin (Mama Grizzly) eventually finished college with a degree in communications. Sarah who likes to hunt and fish with the regular folks says nasty things about the media. But that’s interesting considering she was a sports reporter on television. WEIRD!
President George W. Bush (Dubya) attended the finest Ivy League Schools in America. But he’s just a regular guy that you can have a beer with. He also was a former owner of a professional sports team. You know the kind of teams that regular folks own. WEIRDER!!
President Barack Obama (His “O”ness) is a constitutional lawyer but he has been made to look like an unintelligent elitist that doesn’t understand the constitution. But before he was president, he was a community organizer in the inner city. I wonder do regular folks live in “The Hood?” WEIRDEST!!!
America has decided that it would rather spend its money on Never Ending Wars than build new schools. High Schools across America are being shut down because school districts can’t afford to run them. Compared to other countries we have the lowest scores in math and science. And because we don’t build anymore, (Thanks East Asia Trade!!) who needs Engineers and Architects. We pay teachers less than we do pro athletes that work 7 months out of the year. And politicians will not answer any more questions on what type of literature they read. Why? Because that is considered a trick question!!! Politicians dumbed American's down when we created an US vs. Them atmosphere. And now we are paying the price dearly with congressional gridlock.
So if you still want to know, what does this have to do with an on-line high school? How will we find our next Scientist, Doctor or Teacher? Who will design our energy efficient buildings and cars? Who will find our alternative sources for energy? Who will find a cure for cancer?
With the astronomical costs of a college degree and the scorn from politicians that come with it. We don’t want American youth thinking “why work hard in high school? Because in the end, will it really even matter?”
5 comments:
Nothing even matters....at all.
My friend just started her comp classes for a doctoral in urban educational policy here at UIC and she told me just after the first semester she's completely done with the U.S. model of education--she said she was against public education flat out. I think I had had one too many $3 margaritas that night to tell me why she said it, but I value her opinion to say that.
I mean, when kids are graduating at 12th grade and are functional illiterates and possess no higher level cognitive skills than you are I did at fourth grade (although, I think we act like 4th graders when it comes to the Black Church, but that's another blog).
I think you highlight some key points. And personally, yes, the anti-intellectualism of this country is absolutely atrocious. It's gonna take people in their interpersonal connections to challenge one another. And just because you've been challenged doesn't mean that someone's attacking you personally...smh.
God Bless America...and no place else!
I loved my childhood and education in Jamaica. British ways. School wasn't all multiple choice and second chances. You either applied yourself or you failed.
Uppity - That social promotion thing in middle and high school is the worst. I think they need to start gearing education toward the individual. This one size thing doesn't work anymore. If you do something that you like or love doing it won't be a job. Too many people are going to school to work at someones job. I'm not knocking that but think about how many people are unhappy doing that. If they found their true calling they would be happier.
Nik - sounds like tough love. If you move here you will be the smartest person in the room. Who knows, you might be presidential material... *wink*
@CitizenOjo
It's going to take a cultural mindshift towards public education to get that. Most teachers in inner city schools have known this since the late 1960s and good teachers know how to handle this situation. But, it goes against every thing in the system to call up an IEP for every child.
One size fits all stopped working after we moved into a pluralistic society. It's a set-up. I'm over it all.
Dis sum bull!
Uppity - With school systems all over the country closing down schools they must be over it too..ha ha ha
Post a Comment