Math Scores Lower, Reading Scores Unchanged for Nation's High School Seniors

CPT Jack Durish - Captain; If they haven't learned how to read and figure before they "enter the portals of academia" then they aren't likely to once they get there.

The "problem" of illiteracy and innumeracy BEGIN at the Primary and Secondary levels NOT the post-secondary levels.

COL Ted Mc - You really like to make it difficult, don't you? I have to take you by the hand and explain every little detail. "Academia" is not one level of education, it is any place where education is supposed to occur. Sadly, the indoctrination has filtered down from college and university campuses. (Where do you think our primary and secondary school teachers are indoctrinated?) I could suggest that you read The Devil's Pleasure Palace to learn how this came about but I don't think you're interested in delving into an opposing point of view, are you? No, you'd rather sit back and take pot shots without aiming.

CPT Jack Durish - Captain; in general usage "Academia is the internationally recognized establishment of professional scholars and students, usually centered on colleges and universities, who are engaged in higher education and research.".

I don't have any difficulty if you want to extend that down to "half-day preschool centres" (or even lower), but you MUST make it clear that you are using your own definition when you do so. Otherwise you will simply confuse people.

OF COURSE "indoctrination" takes place in American schools. Why every day young children who don't even know the meanings of the words "pledge", "allegiance", "united", "republic", "nation", "indivisible", "liberty", and "justice" are forced (at the risk of incurring extreme social opprobrium) to recite "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”. [The difference, of course, is that one form of "indoctrination" is something that you approve of and another is not.]

PO1 Tony Holland - PO; That's possibly because military parents realize that "DIS side towards nME" is NOT what is printed on Claymore mines and that it is more than slightly important to actually be able to read and understand what is.

PO2 Mark Saffell You know I respect you and enjoy our discussions on various topics even though we often disagree, but if you are going to post about writing notes and our failing schools, you've got to watch out for the auto correct so you don't say "right a senior a note" instead of "write a senior a note". :)

LTC (Join to see) You are correct. I missed that one. That's what I get for typing these while I'm at work and doing two or three other things at the same time...LOL Thanks for correcting me. And I would still win the bet...LOL Sad to say even my son told me the other day and he is 26 BTW said he cant hardly read cursive. I felt like I had failed him. I remember my days in grade school practicing. I bet all of us older people remember the examples of cursive letters stuck on the walls. Had the two lines with the dashed line in the middle.

PO2 Mark Saffell - PO; I don't c wot d prob iz. I cn rED & wrte v weL & so cn aL my fRnds.