Are you educated through the public education system? Just a simple answer (YES) or (NO).

[Unkotare]

You do realize at one time Latin was required in some school districts. Think Tx. Reading of the classics was a requirement as well. Schools have been dumbed down so more pass, rather than fix why more don't pass. Many schools today don't even offer algebra II!

the deliberate dumbing down of america

Anti-Intellectualism and the "Dumbing Down" of America

There is a growing and disturbing trend of anti-intellectual elitism in American culture. It’s the dismissal of science, the arts, and humanities and their replacement by entertainment, self-righteousness, ignorance, and deliberate gullibility.

Are you proud of your education, or did you seek more.

Public ed all the way, including my Bachelor Degree, and I am pretty damned smart, imo. They taught me how to read so I could learn some more, and how to question what I hear. We're not dumbing down education. It's a problem of trying to educate everyone to the same level. Can't be done. But America has always had an anti-intellectual bent. None of that European gobble-dee-gook for us. Almost sounds like you, as a matter of fact.

I took Latin my freshman year in HS...but there were only 6 of us in the class so they dropped it the next year and I had to start my foreign language requirements again. Still have some of it after all these decades. And yes, it was a public school...small rural district at the time.

My school also offered Latin up till the mid 70s. There were only a few students who took it
At the time, Latin was looked at as a "universal language"
Today, that universal language is English

I think you mean lingua franca.

 

[Unkotare]

... Why is it that there is now Spanish, Mandarin, and other languages being forced upon US? ....

Huh???????

 

[Unkotare]

the deliberate dumbing down of america

Anti-Intellectualism and the "Dumbing Down" of America

There is a growing and disturbing trend of anti-intellectual elitism in American culture. It’s the dismissal of science, the arts, and humanities and their replacement by entertainment, self-righteousness, ignorance, and deliberate gullibility.

Are you proud of your education, or did you seek more.

educated people don't vote for people like the orange sociopath

Ow! It still hurts!

 

[Lewdog]

Actually I went to public school but because I tested so high on the Iowa Tests... I was picked to join the TAG program where I went to a different school once a week where we got to do all kinds of independent projects and go on special field trips to place like COSI and other museums and planetariums. I also would go to the math and reading classes in the grade ahead of mine. So though it was public education, I did a lot more.

 

[Marion Morrison]

...
I took Latin my freshman year in HS...but there were only 6 of us in the class so they dropped it the next year and I had to start my foreign language requirements again. Still have some of it after all these decades. And yes, it was a public school...small rural district at the time.

Latin class is not the measure of intellectual achievement.

No, but it could be the gateway to learning French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese with relative ease.

 

[Unkotare]

...
I took Latin my freshman year in HS...but there were only 6 of us in the class so they dropped it the next year and I had to start my foreign language requirements again. Still have some of it after all these decades. And yes, it was a public school...small rural district at the time.

Latin class is not the measure of intellectual achievement.

No, but it could be the gateway to learning French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese with relative ease.

Not really.

 

[Marion Morrison]

...
I took Latin my freshman year in HS...but there were only 6 of us in the class so they dropped it the next year and I had to start my foreign language requirements again. Still have some of it after all these decades. And yes, it was a public school...small rural district at the time.

Latin class is not the measure of intellectual achievement.

No, but it could be the gateway to learning French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese with relative ease.

Not really.

How so? All those languages have a Latin base.

 

[Unkotare]

...
I took Latin my freshman year in HS...but there were only 6 of us in the class so they dropped it the next year and I had to start my foreign language requirements again. Still have some of it after all these decades. And yes, it was a public school...small rural district at the time.

Latin class is not the measure of intellectual achievement.

No, but it could be the gateway to learning French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese with relative ease.

Not really.

How so? All those languages have a Latin base.

That doesn't necessarily give a native speaker of a non-Romance language like English much more of a leg up than the experience of learning any other language would. The Latin that is taught in schools is based on the High Latin that well-educated Patricians in Rome would have used for writing. The Latin that formed the basis of many Latinate languages spoken today was Vulgar Latin, which differed in grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary to a significant degree.

 

[Marion Morrison]

...
I took Latin my freshman year in HS...but there were only 6 of us in the class so they dropped it the next year and I had to start my foreign language requirements again. Still have some of it after all these decades. And yes, it was a public school...small rural district at the time.

Latin class is not the measure of intellectual achievement.

No, but it could be the gateway to learning French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese with relative ease.

Not really.

How so? All those languages have a Latin base.

That doesn't necessarily give a native speaker of a non-Romance language like English much more of a leg up than the experience of learning any other language would. The Latin that is taught in schools is based on the High Latin that well-educated Patricians in Rome would have used for writing. The Latin that formed the basis of many Latinate languages spoken today was Vulgar Latin, which differed in grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary to a significant degree.

Fair enough point. I know that once you learn one, it's a lot easier to understand or learn the others.

 

[yiostheoy]

the deliberate dumbing down of america

Anti-Intellectualism and the "Dumbing Down" of America

There is a growing and disturbing trend of anti-intellectual elitism in American culture. It’s the dismissal of science, the arts, and humanities and their replacement by entertainment, self-righteousness, ignorance, and deliberate gullibility.

Are you proud of your education, or did you seek more.

Catholic private schooling here.

Nuns armed with rulers smacking your hands.

Mother superiors who could suspend you for 3 days.

Priests who could swat your butt with a big paddle.

Once I kicked a miscreant Catholic kid from New Orleans in his nuts twice for punching me in the head. That cost me 3 spats. Him too. Then we had to shake hands. We never fought again but never spoke again to each other either.

For math we had to learn set theory in 3rd Grade.

Then in 8th Grade we had to learn Cartesian Philosophy in order to understand Cartesian planes.

These nuns and priests were really smart and they taught us well.

 

[yiostheoy]

...
I took Latin my freshman year in HS...but there were only 6 of us in the class so they dropped it the next year and I had to start my foreign language requirements again. Still have some of it after all these decades. And yes, it was a public school...small rural district at the time.

Latin class is not the measure of intellectual achievement.

No, but it could be the gateway to learning French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese with relative ease.

Not really.

How so? All those languages have a Latin base.

And Latin has a GREEK base. Don't forget it.

 

[Marion Morrison]

...
I took Latin my freshman year in HS...but there were only 6 of us in the class so they dropped it the next year and I had to start my foreign language requirements again. Still have some of it after all these decades. And yes, it was a public school...small rural district at the time.

Latin class is not the measure of intellectual achievement.

No, but it could be the gateway to learning French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese with relative ease.

Not really.

How so? All those languages have a Latin base.

And Latin has a GREEK base. Don't forget it.

Ok, Malakkia

 

[yiostheoy]

Yes, but I was educated in the public schools before they were destroyed by liberalism.

For example we were required to study the Constitution, American History, learn cursive, and even have a test on the Bill of Rights.

Further the 10 commandments was in every class room, and we started our class day with prayer.

Compare that to what kids learn today.

In Catholic private schools they emphasize the teaching of Jesus and NOT the teachings of Moses.

After The Lord's Prayer (which is a part of every Catholic mass on every Sunday) first thing, we then stood and pledged allegiance to the US Flag including "one Nation under God".

 

[Lewdog]

Latin class is not the measure of intellectual achievement.

No, but it could be the gateway to learning French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese with relative ease.

Not really.

How so? All those languages have a Latin base.

And Latin has a GREEK base. Don't forget it.

Ok, Malakkia

Funny... I used to be friends with some Greek guys at Ohio State University... they used to say that a lot. Of course they also would say Poutsa too.

 

[yiostheoy]

The Dumbing down of America.

When I went to school we have prayer, 10 commandments and kids could read, WELL, by the first grade.

Compare that to the ignorants that come out now that think Global Warming is science.

You butthurt liberals are just upset, kids will get real educations like they used to.

Isn't it amazing that the 10 commandments cause children to be able to read.

It is much more fruitful to focus on Jesus' Golden Rule and top 2 commandments than the Jewish 10.

Especially since some of the Jewish 10 are XXX-rated (thou shalt not swap wives) or violent (thou shalt not bludgeon thy neighbor or brother to death). You need to read these in Hebrew to fully understand them. "Adultery" and "murder" are English words that did not exist in 1450 BCE.

 

[yiostheoy]

the deliberate dumbing down of america

Anti-Intellectualism and the "Dumbing Down" of America

There is a growing and disturbing trend of anti-intellectual elitism in American culture. It’s the dismissal of science, the arts, and humanities and their replacement by entertainment, self-righteousness, ignorance, and deliberate gullibility.

Are you proud of your education, or did you seek more.

Public ed all the way, including my Bachelor Degree, and I am pretty damned smart, imo. They taught me how to read so I could learn some more, and how to question what I hear. We're not dumbing down education. It's a problem of trying to educate everyone to the same level. Can't be done. But America has always had an anti-intellectual bent. None of that European gobble-dee-gook for us. Almost sounds like you, as a matter of fact.

I knew it !!!

 

[yiostheoy]

Those who are knocking common core could obviously benefit from more of it

I see the resistance to the science of evolution in much the same way.

Those who deny it are just pissed that it hasn't affected them, yet.

Catholicism has accepted evolution whereas Protestantism has not.

 

[rightwinger]

Our public school system has been the great equalizer in our society

It is the only path for most to improve their station in life

No wonder conservatives are trying to tear it down

 

[Unkotare]

...

No wonder conservatives are trying to tear it down

More empty hyper-partisanship.

 

[Muhammed]

I attended public schools K-12 but since I was a "gifted" child, with the exception of foreign language classes (4 years of Latin, 2 years of Spanish and 2 years of German) the subject matter was just a bunch of stuff I had already taught myself long ago.

The most valuable things formal schooling taught me were during school sponsored sports. Especially football. I played on the school football teams from the 3rd grade through the 12th grade. Football and other team sports focus on using teamwork to achieve goals.. When young students spend several years playing on football teams, by the time they graduate and hit the job market, teamwork is practically second nature them.

Another way that football gave me an advantage in the job market was that the experience of being the defensive captain all through high school taught me leadership skills. I credit my leadership skills honed playing high school football with helping me quickly advance into leadership positions at every company I've worked for throughout my career.

Also, being is good physical shape is never a disadvantage in any career.