Friday, July 25, 2008

Schools eliminating the SAT

Civilizations come and go. Sometimes it has happened quickly, with some decisive battle. Often, when you look back through history, it seems sudden because it is compressed by the view back through time—but in fact, it was more gradual.

Our culture is in decline. Our people, in comparison to those whom we call "the greatest generation" have weakened (not every person, but in aggregate). Our sense of ourselves has waned. Our material abundance is at a high, but the shadows are growing long on our spiritual and patriotic life.

Not with a bang, but a whimper.

Here's yet another example of our slow slide:

Dumbing Down America's Colleges

...Wake Forest University, Bates, Bowdoin, and a few other small schools have recently decided to make the SAT optional for students applying for admission. Their argument for getting rid of these tests is that it will fling open the doors to “diversity” among the student body. Wake Forest President Nathan Hatch made the ludicrous claim that jettisoning the SAT would help the school, “move closer to the goals of greater educational quality and opportunity.”

Such decisions are less about a selection process intended to serve the best interests of both the student and the school than about marketing intended to put bottoms in classroom seats. It seems the biggest question in college admissions offices today is whether the parents of little Johnny or Jane can afford to pay tuition, even if it includes remedial courses. If the kid has a pulse, he’s in! ...


Can we rescue our culture and return to greatness? Are we too late? When the greatest generation goes, will there be enough people left who get it?

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Interview on KHQ Channel 6 Spokane with Steven Maggi

Check out the video and story of Executive Producer Steven Maggi with Christopher Reaves of KHQ channel 6 in Spokane.

"The documentary started out as examination of the problems with the education system in the U.S. and turned into a story of educators going to great lengths to step up to the challenge and turn their schools around..."

Monday, July 21, 2008

FREE PREVIEW OF FLUNKED THE MOVIE WITH KQNT 590 IN SPOKANE, WASHINGTON

The exciting new education reform documentary Flunked, narrated by award-winning actor Joe Mantegna, is back in Washington! This film will be presented in partnership with 590 KQNT radio on Wednesday, July 23rd, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at:

The Magic Lantern Theatre
25 W. Main Avenue
Spokane, WA 99201

The movie will be followed by a short Q&A segment with members of the film’s cast and crew.

For years we’ve read the stories: Results of national and international educational aptitude tests show that the average American student is unable to compete academically. In short, public education is failing.

Flunked highlights the common threads of successful education: strong leadership, high standards, excellent teachers, and solid curricula. By focusing on schools that are successfully applying these principles, Flunked sends a message loud and clear: Parents, students, principals, and teachers do not have to settle for mediocrity in their own schools!

Flunked follows the stories of ten educational All-Stars—men and women from all walks of life who are making a difference to students across America. These individuals have defied the odds, pressed the system, and succeeded in seemingly impossible situations. Through it all, they have proven that solutions in education are available here and now, if only we will follow their examples.

Flunked Executive Producer Steven Maggi will be in attendance along with All-Star Angie Dorman, a teacher at Warden High School.

For more information, visit our website http://www.flunkedthemovie.com/