Another side of Andy Borowitz

[Siwsan]

[The Roux Comes First]

1. Oh Indeed!

[Maraya1969]

2. Oh THIS!

[Wounded Bear]

3. It's been my experience that the best comedic minds are quite intelligent...

Not to mention in pretty good touch with the human condition.

[rainy]

63. So true! They simply see too much too clearly!

[Baitball Blogger]

4. We have no influence over private schools

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. Your concern needs to be directed at

religiously based private schools.

Secular private schools tend to be very good and actually teach students science, history, how to write coherently, stuff like that.

[Baitball Blogger]

13. Yes. Thank you for that correction.

[judesedit]

21. Not since having to teach to the test for funding. And Civic classes have been gone for a long time

Public schools have Science, History, Math and English classes, but the students are only taught the answers they should be giving on a test. Sorry. That is called brainwashing as far as I'm concerned. No disrespect intended. Students are going on to higher grades when they still can't speak in correct sentences or spell even simple words. Their handwriting is horrible. And now the schools aren't even going to teach cursive. Won't they need a signature for various legal reasons? Look up, "The Dumbing Down of America". It was intentional and it has worked. That is how and why the GOP has the number of lemmings following their every ridiculous utterance.

[Missn-Hitch]

29. Exactly. Just from my own experience, your words ring true.

The school boards are filled with locally elected idiots born of the same system.

As Judge Schmales once said, "The world needs ditch diggers, too".

[Baitball Blogger]

33. I went to both, private and public schools.

The public school teachers were just superlative at spotting children who should be doing better, and were better at reaching out to them. I am guessing that they understood the challenges that children face, that come from families that are still working their way up the ladder. The private school teachers, not so much. It may not have worked with everyone, but it worked on me. I connected with the public school teachers, far better than the private school teachers.

Though I may agree with you on the handwriting issue. The nuns were perfectionists when it came to cursive writing. On the other hand, my kids went to public school at the time that Florida was hitting public schools with annual tests, and putting teachers through hoops, that the private schools did not have to be concerned with. As a result, my kids did not feel comfortable writing cursive, let alone reading it.

The testing did have an effect on the curriculum. I died when my kids were in the latter years of elementary school and their school dropped spelling from the curriculum. The teacher said, with a smile on her face, "They just become Friday spellers." In other words, they learn how to spell the word for the Friday test. Stupidest thing I ever heard. But, I imagine that something has to give when you have stupid requirements passed down from above.

I didn't learn critical thinking until my college years. I didn't even know that's what was happening until after graduation, because the term "critical thinking" didn't come until years later. I learned it from two sociologist teachers who asked questions in a different manner, and expected answers that were not parroted.

I guess, today, that kind of teaching is only taught in gifted classes, in the public schools.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

36. Yep, absence of Civics classes...

... and as you stated teaching to the test. It amazes me that so many have no understanding of how government works. Many think and have stated for a couple of decades now that anything can be bought off. Hello Nixon and the PAC's and the quasi-legit, "think tanks", that fool people into thinking their paid for opinions are FACTS. I could go on and on but I have a family (just me and my folks, we all quarantine) Thanksgiving meal to go to...

[judesedit]

48. Enjoy your meal. We all have a lot to be thankful for.

And a lot of work to do, especially in the education department. Thankful for President Biden and Vice President Harris to help us with that.

[TexasBushwhacker]

38. You can thank the GOP for high stakes testing

Those tests cost money and that means someone is making more money by pushing for frequent testing. Just Google "Jeb Bush Pearson".

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

50. Great point.

Not the only problem, of course, but plays a part. And, is another example of anything for money. Not to say some Dems aren't that way, but it's a hallmark of the Right Wing.

[soldierant]

57. That sort of deoends

on how you classify a for-profit charter school which mooches tax dollars.

But even a charter school which does teach, can wreak a lot of havoc.

I'm willing to concede that there might be a place for some charter schools, but only for specialized ones, and not that many of them.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

59. For profit charter schools are NOT

good secular private schools.

I'm thinking of the many excellent secular private schools out there. I wound up sending my sons to one of them. The original impetus was that my older son was being bullied in the otherwise very good local public schools. He had some specific issues which made things difficult for him. He had Asperger's which wasn't diagnosed until the second semester of his senior year of high school, although it had been present from the day he was born. He also had alopecia areata, an auto-immune disorder that causes hair loss. He had the most extreme version, universalis, which meant he had no eybrows, eyelashes, any body hair at all. So he looked different.

In the private school his different appearance didn't matter, and the fact that he was very smart was an asset.

He is currently in a PhD program in astronomy on the east coast. He had a lot of stumbles along the way, and seems to have a good life at this point.

I will agree that done right, charter schools have a place, but they should not be for-profit.

[soldierant]

76. We are on the same page.

[azureblue]

27. once upon a time

A students had to pass a test to verify their education, a test that was standardized. Private schools get to dodge that and the ones for public schools have been dumbed down to the point that what once was a test for 7th graders is now the test for HS seniors. There should be no exemption for testing by private schools. Private schools should be reviewed bi tearly to make sure they are maintaining at least the same standards as public schools.

This raises in turn a number of questions and bad side affects, namely teaching to the test. Students are not taught the think and explore the subject, just to make sure they get the correct answers at test time. And what should the test contain, anyway? Should it have questions on demonstrating critical thinking and listening skills? Should it include showing examples of creativity? It's my opinion that the tests should cover not only testing in the core curriculum, but testing in how well the student can think and reason for him or herself. Oh, yeah, and US civics too. But no school should be exempt, public or private, rural or city.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

37. That, too...

... see my post above.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

77. I have long thought that the high-school exit exam

should be the GRE. A student passes that, they get the GRE and essentially an exit school certificate.

Those who take more than what's required for the GRE get a different kind of diploma, depending on what they've taken.

Of course colleges understand these things. That's why AP courses, and especially AP exams, mean a lot to colleges.

The other thing that's not talked about enough is vocational education. Not all kids can or should go to college. We need people in the trades. And there's NOTHING wrong with being a plumber or an electrician or a garage door installer. I understand there are actually serious shortages in some trades because all kids, even the ones who have no business doing so, are encouraged to go to a four year college. Grrrr!

Many times, when I talk to bright young people heading off to college, I tell them to go ahead and major in whatever field they want. But do NOT forget that at the end they're going to have to get a job and support themselves. Not sure if I've ever had any kind of effect on any of them, but I still do my best.

[paleotn]

60. The majority of magats didn't go to private schools...

The vast majority are old enough to have had civics as a requirement for HS graduation, but that's of no consequence. They weren't paying attention anyway. Their problem, among many, is they think "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" only applies to brown people. They feel they should have their parent's and grandparent's lives handed to them on a gilded plater simply because they're white. They feel people who look like them are losing their complete monopoly of the economy and politics and they're pissed about it.

They don't believe in democracy. Never have. Unless they're "more equal than others" they want no part of it. They'd much rather have a corrupt dictator who makes them feel good. And they lie, cheat, steal and believe any cockamamie story to make it so, instead accepting the world we all live in and of focusing that energy on gaining marketable skills. It's really quite pathetic when you get down to it. A whole generation of white Americans rolling around in self pity because they don't get deference anymore simply because their race. And damn near wrecking the Republic in the process. Oh, and they're not done yet.

[CatMor]

5. It will be very difficult ....

not sure it can ever be accomplished.

[Tommymac]

30. The Impossible is tough.

The American people can do difficult in their sleep.

I look forward to the challenge - just give us the chance.

[2naSalit]

6. Yup.

[CaptainTruth]

7. BINGO!!!! I've been saying this for years. The K-12 education system has failed us.

Schools need to teach critical thinking skills. People need to be able to evaluate information & decide if it's true or not, not just blindly believe what they're told.

That willful ignorance & lack of critical thinking ability is one of the greatest threats to our society & if we want to prevent another Trump (& insanity like QAnon) we MUST address it.

[KS Toronado]

9. Should we include MSM could be showing people how to acquire critical thinking skills?

Or do they want to keep the public dumbed down for their rating wars?

[niyad]

8. Yes!! Have been saying this (although about traitor only the last five years) for the last six

decades.

[rickyhall]

10. I believe it is possible with enough money.

But work from the bottom up with the poorest communities, white & minority.

[azureblue]

34. the issue here

is the schools in the poorest areas have fallen so far behind that they will have to catch up, and that could take years. Some of the poor schools do a "get 'em out the door" policy - that is, if a kid has failed a year twice and is now two years behind his or her age group they just kick them up a grade every year to get them out of the system. To fix this will take a lot of money and a lot of sacrifice by the families, like year round schools and tutoring to catch up. And frankly some communities won't do it. And some families, like ones that are barely scraping by, simply don't have the time to comply. If the kid is staying late at school, and the parent can't come pick them up, then how will the kid get home? Can the child study at home? Or does the child have to come home and help take care of the siblings, - cook, clean, etc., instead of studying?

The big problem is in the lower middle class whites - parents that watch Fox and pass that idea that education is stupid, to their kids. They pass on hate, ignorance, racism, and more so you get a kid that does not rise above, but keeps the cycle going. And the kids have peer pressure to deal with, say, if they get "too smart" or ask too many uncomfortable questions. I have hopes that the internet will reduce that, since now a kid can have peers all over the world, but that won't change the people they come in personal contact with every day. There is way too much intentional ignorance, and too much hate of educated.

[rickyhall]

42. I understand, I live in Arkansas.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

49. Great points. I taught for 20 years in public schools and it's not as simple a people want it to be.

It really does take perhaps more than many institutions and families can give to fix the worst schools. But it has been done in some areas. So, there's hope. But only if the will and the resources are there. And systemic racism plays such a large part in creating the problems, so we have a long way to go.

I think your second point is key. It existed before the rise of the great networks of RW propaganda, but RW media and in turn its consumers have successfully fostered a culture of virulent anti-intellectualism. You cannot teach students who refuse, with the support of their parents, to learn.

Trying to teach critical thinking was especially vulnerable to this belligerent ignorance. Focusing on opinion vs facts, for instance, many simply refused to even accept the concept. Their opinion is fact because it's their opinion. No convincing them otherwise.

I saw this phenomenon increasingly common as time went on. I can't say I predicted Trump in particular, but someone like him was the obvious outcome which I dreaded.

[Raastan]

74. + 1

[judesedit]

12. 100% AGREE!

[malaise]

15. The truth

Rec

[peggysue2]

16. Too true!

It's a very sad, frightening reality.

[BobTheSubgenius]

17. And even that gargantuan task is not enough.

There are lots of other areas that need fixing, too.

[oasis]

18. There is no fixing the willfully ignorant. It's their badge of honor. nt

[luvtheGWN]

19. Well, there's that, of course.

But what can you do about the kids who go to school 5 days a week and learn science, and then go to church on Sunday and have their pastor tell them science is wrong?

[oasis]

26. Don't worry, the Galileos of our times will not be denied. nt

[Bev54]

20. I am not certain it is all the failure of the education system

Biden got the young vote, Trump gets the older vote. It is Fox News and other outlets that lie to the American people, who seem to be gullible. People watch and follow reality TV, live in fantasy science fiction movies. It seems that almost half of the population cannot discern truth from fiction. That cannot all be blamed on the education system.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

46. Exactly. Many, probably most, of his cult had access to a good education. However, you know the one

about leading a horse to water. I taught in public schools for 20 years and I can tell you that many people really do refuse to be educated, with their families bestowing and encouraging this attitude. It is anti-intellectualism as a lifestyle.

[iluvtennis]

22. That's keeping it real Andy Borowitz. nt

[DDySiegs]

23. Borowitz's quote is right on target

Americans - ALL of them - need be educated in how to recognize their own (individual) SELF - INTERESTS. For decade after decade, we have seen people in some of the poorest states repeatedly voting for rapaciously wealthy Rs who constantly screw them over and suck them dry. Education of this kind - which has for so long been deliberately denied in this country- would, within a single generation, largely end this baleful situation.

[BarbD]

24. A very complicated problem that can't be ignored.

This is a humdinger of a challenge. "Together" is the magic word here. It will take all of us, all of the time.

Let's go.

[Gothmog]

25. Andy Borowitz is correct

[Stallion]

28. Yet I Know Highly Educated Americans Raised on Critical Thinking who Still Voted for Trump

you don't stop "learning" in school. Unfortunately, we can't blame this all on education because Americans are influenced throughout their lives by such sources as Fox News and its progeny

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

51. Yep. RW media is expertly-delivered propaganda, using all the tried and true techniques.

You can't get away with that in schools if you're trying to in any way challenge to RW narrative. Now, it you just put Fox New on the tv in the classroom 90% of the day, nearly half the parents would be happy.

But, as you say, well-educated people can fall for propaganda, too. Some evidence suggests they're even more likely to.

Psychological research shows that misinformation is cleverly designed to bypass careful analytical reasoning, meaning that it can easily slip under the radar of even the most intelligent and educated people. No one is completely immune. Indeed, there is now evidence that smarter people may sometimes be even more vulnerable to certain ideas, since their greater brainpower simply allows them to rationalise their (incorrect) beliefs. Fortunately, the research also offers us some strategies to overcome those biases.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/01/why-smart-people-are-more-likely-to-believe-fake-news

[StClone]

31. Chicken or the egg

Last edited Thu Nov 26, 2020, 03:04 PM - Edit history (1)

I have always saw the neglect (accidental or purposeful side affect of Libertarianism, austerity, Neo-Liberalism) of education especially one emphasizing logic, science, and Civic/Governmental/history should come first.

But now I see that there may be a hindrance to the best education when prenatal and child development perturbations by poor diet and environmental toxins dampen down health and learning ability. So it may be that environment may need to be right there as a high concern if we want to ever have a populace of robustly healthy learned humans.

[Wednesdays]

35. The plug has to be pulled on Fox News, too.

How does that happen?

[Hortensis]

39. Yes, BUT. WHY did so many discard their education to vote for Trump?

Same for those who believed the unbelievable deceptions of the LW populist leader -- or both in turn? WHY on earth?!

It's not really that schools didn't try to teach them principles of liberal democracies, to seek truth and ways to recognize deception (multiple choice answers with ALWAYS and NEVER in them are ALWAYS wrong). It's that for too many it didn't take.

The problem's much deeper -- in our personalities, both wired in by genetics and imprinted by our societies. Education needs to find out how to implant basic facts and commitment to truth so strongly that more people won't rush to discard them in adulthood for attractive lies.

Understanding that we'll never adequately educate those who will be fooled all the time because of cognitive, and/or moral, deficiencies. Some people, for instance, literally will never be able to differentiate adequately between lies and truth, all input seeming valid, and thus hapless victims for charismatic salesmen.

A special problem is the many who will never believe in equality, popular sovereignty, and other principles of democracy and always long for leaders to give them orders. Or those who will always be fine with election theft as long as it's their side subverting the election.

Those who can be adequate citizens are those we have to do better with.

[WheelWalker]

40. I suspect they skipped a lot of classes.

[Hortensis]

43. Emotionally, sure. But a lot of straight-A students are just fine

with election theft and demonizing opponents -- as long as it's them doing it. And prating their magnificent goals and ideals while they do it. Many even believe themselves, intelligence captive to personality.

Those for whom right is whatever they want have to be outnumbered by those of better judgement and also capable of believing that what others want also matters. Who are aware of what's at stake, in whatever honest terms motivate them.

Unbelievably, many millions once again didn't vote this time. Universal voter laws are credited by many with helping rescue Australia from the brink.

[aggiesal]

41. I don't think it's the education system ...

I think it's the right wing NOISE machine.

And I don't know how we can fix that!

[Victor_c3]

44. And how do we do that when just less than half of people think education is liberal propaganda??

I’ve been thinking a lot about the mentality of the people who support trump. It seems to me that there has always been a faction on the right that has been the conspiracy theory sort of believers, but they had never held much sway in the Republican Party. Things appear to have changed when the fairness doctrine was done away with in 1987, paving the way for networks like fox.

[marie999]

45. My husband and I had what I call classical educations.

That is, from 7th through 12th grades. The Palmer Method of writing using a fountain pen and inkwell. 6 years of English, foreign languages, science, math, history, and pt. Courses in civics, The Constitution, woodworking, art, and typing. English was 2 classes a day consisting of grammar, reading comprehension, public speaking, poetry, and literature. Boys dressed in button-down shirts, slacks, and shoes and socks. Girls dressed in long dresses or blouses and long skirts, and shoes and socks. Through the years, we have seen a steady decline in the educational system.

[moondust]

47. Yup. Some rural school systems

have been decimated for years as corporate farming has replaced many family farms, rural main streets have been boarded up, tax bases have been eroded, and many younger people have moved to cities for jobs, education, shopping, etc. Some rural school systems have had to merge as a result leading to long rides to and from school, more isolation, and less personalized education. I suspect the rural learning experience is not what it used to be.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

52. It's tempting to simplify this very complicated issue, but not productive.

In these ways, we can begin to see how misinformation can be engineered to bypass logical thinking and critical questioning. But do intelligence and education protect us against false claims? The latest research shows it partly depends on your thinking style. Some people are “cognitive misers”, for instance: they may have a lot of brainpower that allows them to perform well in exams, but they don’t always apply it, using intuition and gut instinct rather than reflective, analytical thinking. This thinking style is commonly measured with a tool known as the “cognitive reflection test” using questions such as: “If it takes five machines five minutes to make five widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?” The correct answer is five, but many otherwise intelligent people say 100 – the more intuitive response.

Studies from the US have revealed that people who score badly on these kinds of questions tend to be more susceptible to fake news, conspiracy theories and paranormal thinking. Those who score better, in contrast, tend to be less gullible, because they use their intelligence to analyse claims rather than relying on their gut feelings.

Not all fake news is created equal, though. Some stories may be faintly ludicrous, such as the family who named their daughter Brexit – whatever your background, you don’t need to believe it for it to support your worldview. But other stories may fit with your political identity far more tightly. And for these particularly emotive claims, intelligence and education may actually make you more susceptible to fake news, through a process called “motivated reasoning”.

Consider the “birther” theory that Barack Obama was not born in the US. This has been debunked time and time again, but it became highly ingrained in many people’s political ideology. And greater brainpower did not prevent them from believing the story; indeed, it actually increased their credulity. A study by Ashley Jardina at Duke University in North Carolina, for instance, surveyed the views of the more conservative white Republicans – the kind of people who might have found the former president most alienating. It found that beliefs in the birther theory were strongest among the participants with the greatest political knowledge.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/01/why-smart-people-are-more-likely-to-believe-fake-news

[LAS14]

53. Yes, indeed! I despair.

Some teachers have to be complicit in our turning out truth defying graduates. I wonder if requiring civics, logic and media literacy might aid in the education of those teachers as well.

[Cha]

54. KR.. Brainwashing fox & hate radio

[Alacritous Crier]

55. There needs to be...

a well orchestrated, wide-spread, well funded propaganda campaign directed toward all the big "conservative" talkers and RW news sources. Limbaugh, Hannity, Ingraham, FauxNews, NewsMax, et al. Maybe LP, Meidas Touch and other groups canhelp. We need to begin to shine a big ol' spotlight on these purveyors of falsehood. Call them out for who they really are and expose all of their scandals... and I mean WIDE-SPREAD, every network, web ads, youtube, FB, TWT, everywhere!

[tandgf]

56. Twice

Even after seeing the first 4 years of this idiot sticks behavior

[ALBliberal]

58. Bingo!!!!

[paleotn]

61. If it were education....

younger voters would turn out for Trump in droves. They don't, and they're the ones saddled with this jackass, teach to the test education system. No, Trumpers are mostly of my generation, my race and my socio-economic background. We had basic civics as a requirement for HS graduation. It didn't matter. In my mind, what we have is a whole generation of white people rolling around in self pity because people who look just like them appear to be losing their monopoly on political and economic power. They're losing that race based deference their parents and grandparents benefited from.

They're losing things given to them just because they're white. They're having trouble competing on a playing field that's becoming more level every year and they're pissed about it. They never wanted a level playing field. They want to stay on top and they don't want to do anything to get there. We're moving into an economy where retraining every so often will be the norm, not the exception. Where changing careers due to economics and technology is simply a necessity. And they will continue to fall further and further behind. Scapegoats! That's what they want, and by god Donald J. Trump gives them loads and loads of scapegoats for their troubles.

[sandensea]

65. +1

You see the very same trend - toward an increasingly radicalized white vote - in many other countries with eroding white majorities.

France, Italy, Germany, UK, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Spain, and Argentina (among others) all have that in common: growing communities of color, with white right-wing extremists eclipsing moderate/progressive white voters.

And hard-right candidates gaining increasing ground as a result.

[marble falls]

62. Bingo!!!

[Totally Tunsie]

64. While I've been a Borowitz fan for quite a while now,

I never had any idea until today that he is the creator of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Just happened to notice his name in the credits during the CNN airing of The Nineties, featuring TV of the decade.

A man of many talents, to be sure!

[MustLoveBeagles]

69. I never knew that

[Totally Tunsie]

70. Here's a link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Borowitz

Andy Borowitz (born January 4, 1958)[1] is an American writer, comedian, satirist, and actor. Borowitz is a The New York Times-bestselling author who won the first National Press Club award for humor. He is known for creating the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and the satirical column The Borowitz Report.

[MustLoveBeagles]

71. Thanks

[BigmanPigman]

66. As a former teacher I can say that we teachers KNOW that

"The nut doesn't fall far from the tree". It is environmental and what they are raised around at home and in their community. I taught 6th graders about elections and debates and did not voice my Dem opinion. The year was 1996 Clinton vs Dole. My class of "gifted" students all voted for Dole when we held a mock election (the area was a heavily military based community and very GOP at the time). Go to the source...their parents and community, not the public education in general.

[burrowowl]

67. Hear! Hear!

[MustLoveBeagles]

68. K&R

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

72. KnR...nt

[calimary]

73. No kidding.

[bucolic_frolic]

75. Wow that is something most Americans can agree on

Too many subjects, not enough skills. I never did understand why we were supposed to read great literature that few understood.

We'd be better off with boosting math skills and including personal finance.

Life skills - insurance, basic business and criminal law, technology.

Psychology - to understand people.

Reading and writing. English and history, old time civics. In depth with one book a month. Edgar Allen Poe, Thomas Paine, Eisenhower. A little Henry VIII, western civilization, WWI and WWII.

If we don't do all that in a competent manner to provide understanding of self and world, what has education accomplished?

[Vivienne235729]

78. I totally agree!!! He gets to the core of the problem.