Politicians Elitism & Exceptionalism

Thedrewbert

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Indeed

It is no coincidence that the USA educational system has plummeted qualitatively since the the late 1960's and 1970's implementation of liberal policies, practices, and indoctrination, culminating in college and university graduates who are unable to read, write, or think critically and analytically, and thus hold to liberalism's tenets, and elect Obama

The result was actually explained and foreseen by commentators such Alston Chase, and Allan Bloom

I tried to do critical thinking when I watch Fox News, but when I went to do more research on any subject they were talking about, I found a lot more information that they had left out or had apparently "misread".

But hey, one of their former commentators called the political summer camp in Norway the same as the Hitler youth.... while ignoring the summer camps for children that his organization is organizing.
 

Jason

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We are probably one of the few nations of the world where the people in power making huge policy decisions on economics exempt themselves from the system! (and here I'd like to hear from some of you in other countries as to what happens in your systems).

In the UK there is a fair level of utilisation of "the system" by politicians. For example prime minister Cameron has a lot of hands on experence of our National Health System (his son was seriously ill and has now died). Public transport is extensively used by politicians - for example our MPs will be using London busses and most do a weekly commute between London and their constituencies, many (most?) by train. Politicians should know what it is like to wait in Accident and Emergency in their local hospital because they have actually done it - and they should know what a bus fare costs and what the overcrowding is like on the railways.

The big area where politicians exempt themselves is in education for their children. The vast majority of UK 11-18 year olds go to a Comprehensive school which teaches within a learning framework established in the 1960s and 1970s. I think the figure is 97% of kids go to Comprehensives. Selective schools (grammar schools) are now a great rarity. Most who don't go to a Comprehensive go to a private school (which we call public schools, public in that they are cheaper than private one-to-one tutoring). The tiny percentage that go to a private school end up at the best universities, in the best jobs and indeed running the country (Cameron went to Eton). By any league table the private schools perform better than the Comprehensives, and the money per pupil that goes into them is less than in the state system. The problem really does seem to be educational methodology.

The school I went to (a grammar school) had an authoritarian disciplinary system enforced with severe punishments including corporal punishment (abolished in the 1990s). I'm not approving the capital punishment - too many issues here - but discipline is IMO one of the most important lessons that the private and grammar systems teach. The UK is still a class-based society, and the private/grammar system is the main reason why.
 

dandelion

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I see you are still claiming private schools are cheaper. I found you the figures showing my local education authority gives its schools about half the average fees of a private school. Their better performance is directly related to smaller class sizes and more intensive teaching input. Undoubtedly the ethos is different but this is something you can work on when you have better resources.

I think both the grammar school and the private school start from the position of having better than average motivated pupils, which must help.

Incidentally, I think they are called public schoold because they are open to the the public..so long as they can pay. They often pre-date the state education system.

I would think almost all countries are run by an elite which enjoys perks which those who are ruled do not get. There was a tv show a year or so ago where they persuaded three MPs from different parties to each go and live on a council estate for a week on benefit level income. They didnt have a clue. One didnt seem to understand supermarkets. Another was having great difficulties with his pot smoking landlord and family.