"Those who control the present, control the past and those who control the past control the future."

Jack looked at his empty glass,
"My coconut is empty. Can you grab that bottle of Korbel for me?"

I obliged.

"And since you are up, get me some ice, please."

Jack carefully reloaded his glass with brandy and a few ice cubes. After sitting for long spells, his old bones tended to get stiff. I told him some time ago he should see a doctor about the pain he was experiencing.

He brushed me off,
"That would be a waste of time. They wouldn't tell me anything I don't know already. The only thing that would change is how much money I have in my wallet. I'd be out $65.00. If I am feeling any discomfort, the Korbel will take care of it."

To understand this debacle of a math class I walked into in 1981, you have to go back to 1970. I was a sophomore in High School. National SAT scores were a disgrace. The United States was the greatest military and economic power on the face of the Earth. We used to be. This distinction was becoming a memory. The educational gurus in Washington were in crisis. The educational system was broken and it had to be fixed.

No long term solutions were on the table. A short term solution was proposed. Simply eliminate higher educational classes. Instead of requiring a second advanced English Course needed to graduate, give the student an option to choose an "elective" instead. The boys could take a class in Wood Shop or a course in Metal Shop. The girls were offered to take these classes as well. They could have taken a class in Wood Shop, but none of them did. I don't think they liked the idea of being in a room full of boys with electric saws and other dangerous power tools. The girls stuck to a group of classes that were called "Home Economics."

The Home Economic classes were offered to the boys if they wished to choose them. Why take a second, more difficult mathematics course like geometry if you didn't have to? It was a lot more fun to cook things and then eat them.

In grades 10 -11- 12, I took courses in Wood Shop, Metal Shop, a Typing Course, and a Cooking Class. Other classes we had involved exploring our feelings. I can't remember any specifics that came out of these classes. We just sat around and talked about things that students wanted to talk about. It was a total and useless waste of time.

I can't say with any certainty, but he SAT tests themselves had to be made simpler. Questions involving higher mathematics must have been taken out. The subjects were not being taught, so the SAT tests that came after this new "electives" approach had to be altered to reflect this change.

I believe the teachers enjoyed this new curriculum more than the students. Their jobs were easier and they rode the gravy train. SAT scores did not improve. They continued to decline. Things got so bad, the politicians in Washington could not turn a blind eye to them any longer. The United States of America, a once proud Nation of scientific achievement, had become a Nation of idiots. An investigation was conducted and the results were published in April 1983.

Here are some highlights from the Report:

A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform

A Report to the Nation and the Secretary of Education
United States Department of Education
by The National Commission on Excellence in Education

Some 23 million American adults are functionally illiterate by the simplest tests of everyday reading, writing, and comprehension.

About 13 percent of all 17-year-olds in the United States can be considered functionally illiterate. Functional illiteracy among minority youth may run as high as 40 percent.

Average achievement of high school students on most standardized tests is now lower than 26 years ago when Sputnik was launched. *Note. Sputnik was launched October 4, 1957.

The College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) demonstrate a virtually unbroken decline from 1963 to 1980. Average verbal scores fell over 50 points and average mathematics scores dropped nearly 40 points.

Many 17-year-olds do not possess the "higher order" intellectual skills we should expect of them. Nearly 40 percent cannot draw inferences from written material; only one-fifth can write a persuasive essay; and only one-third can solve a mathematics problem requiring several steps.

Business and military leaders complain that they are required to spend millions of dollars on costly remedial education and training programs in such basic skills as reading, writing, spelling, and computation.

The Department of the Navy, for example, reported to the Commission that one-quarter of its recent recruits cannot read at the ninth grade level, the minimum needed simply to understand written safety instructions. Without remedial work they cannot even begin, much less complete, the sophisticated training essential in much of the modern military.

The shortage of teachers in mathematics and science is particularly severe. A 1981 survey of 45 States revealed shortages of mathematics teachers in 43 States, critical shortages of earth sciences teachers in 33 States, and of physics teachers everywhere.

Half of the newly employed mathematics, science, and English teachers are not qualified to teach these subjects; fewer than one-third of U. S. high schools offer physics taught by qualified teachers.

We conclude that declines in educational performance are in large part the result of disturbing inadequacies in the way the educational process itself is often conducted.

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It is hard to believe these figures are from over 40 years ago.

This decline continues to the present day:

June 22, 2023
Copyright 2023 Fort Myers Broadcasting.

Students' Lowest English, Math Standardized test scores in decades

Reading and math test scores for students have not been up to par lately, and in fact, they're the lowest test scores in decades. The National Assessment of Education said you have to go back to the 1970s to see scores as bad as they are now. Reading and math test scores for 13-year-old students nationwide showed the largest declines ever recorded. Math scores dropped by nine points and reading dropped by four points.

How can a great Nation like the United States fall into a pit of ignorance as deep and as pervasive as the one we are currently in?

There is an old conspiracy theory that answers this question. This decline is by design. The elite 2% who control 98% of the wealth of this Earth want to keep people functionally illiterate. They believe that a Nation of citizens who lack "higher order" intellectual skills can be easily controlled.

George Carlin may have been right. Carlin's comedy career began in the 1950s, and he gained fame in the 1960s and 1970s for his countercultural and anti-establishment comedy style. He often tackled taboo subjects and challenged societal norms, using profanity and controversial language in his routines. His comedy was marked by a keen observational eye, a critical perspective, and a willingness to challenge authority.