During the last decade, we’ve heard 1 million voices talking about bullying, to the point where the talk about bullying is a form of bullying.

Instead of complaining about the fact the kids can’t read, can’t do math, and don’t know much, our education critics lament the overwhelming presence of what they call bullying. Hasn’t there always been bullying? Yes, of course. And one would think that a school could state a policy and enforce it. You have to wonder if the schools really have a policy or really try. Maybe they want lawlessness so they can complain about it all the time. That’s manipulative and should be called what it is, bullying.

All this chatter about bullying got me thinking about who the real bullies are. Here’s my take: the Education Establishment. These people do little to improve education. Their most profound love is for theories and methods that do not work. They lock them in, guarantee bad results, and then complain they don’t have enough money. That’s an artful form of bullying.

And who ultimately is the victim of all this bullying? The children, of course. The fix is in. That’s the real bullying.

What's needed is greater objectivity and candor. Is this or that program working or not? If not, why is it there? Who are the people who protect these bad methods year after year?

Parents don't show up at schools demanding lousy methods. No, professors from Harvard's Graduate School of Education show up at schools demanding lousy methods. (The city where I live actually paid a famous professor from Harvard to come down and tell the yokels how to do things. The professor said teachers must not teach. They must facilitate. They must stand around looking wise, and that's it. Am I the only one who thinks this city is paying for the privilege of being dumbed down?)

The professor recommended constructivist practices only. Of course, his own teaching that day was entirely of the direct-instruction kind. Seems there might be a lesson here.

Related article is titled: "Biggest bullies in the public schools: the Education Establishment"

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