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He didn't really make 1st grade, but he was promoted to grade 2
anyway because it would be "socially harmful" to hold him back.
It happened again the next year, and the next and...he's a problem.
He hates school. He doesn't like learning. He's a grade 12
student and he can't read beyond 6th grade. But he's very "socialized".
He's been "socially promoted". Now he's about to learn about social
demotion.
He can't command a good salary because he just isn't educated enough.
He can't study so he can't keep up with the constantly changing demands
of our highly technological society. MacDonalds Hamburger maybe?
Construction work? No - you need some math skills for that. So he
settles on something he can do and his future suddenly doesn't look
very bright. In fact, it's a struggle. He is experiencing a social
demotion.
How did this happen? Well, it's really easy. Just have teachers
that don't really care or have a wrong idea about what it means to care.
Just have an education system that really is just there to while away
the time. Just kind of go along with it if you're a parent. Just
decide it's more important that he be "sociable" and that he "fit in".
Oh, he fits in alright. Watches TV, takes drugs, plays video games.
He's cool, man. A little hostile, but cool.
This is a recipe for personal disaster for the students who are
subjected to it. You see, to really do well in life, you have to
be able to grasp concepts, to persuade others verbally and in writing.
You must be able to communicate effectively and know enough about your
world to participate successfully. You have to be able to learn.
This is literacy. It is not a luxury. It's a necessity.
True literacy results from a solid, well thought out curriculum,
a tried and true method of learning, teachers that really care
what happens and parental interest and involvement. Caring means
ensuring that the student really does learn and master the subjects
he is studying and not letting him go on until he has. It means
rolling up your shirtsleeves and working with him until he's
really got it. It means treating him with all of the dignity and
respect that would be given an adult. It is cruel and uncaring
to socially promote someone into a mediocre or worse existence.
I have to tell you - most of the time this "socializing" function schools have gotten
into is nothing more than psychobabble and a refusal to really get
in there and educate. With the exception of serious physical
damage or retardation, all children can learn. The teachers
who roll up their sleeves and and work with them will tell you:
you have to be there when their eyes light up and they really
know they've got it. They are proud and strong and confident and
they know that they have really made the grade.
The Truth About Social Promotion - Copyright © 1996 by Sharlee Plett. All Rights Reserved.
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