Tests

I read a Blog today and the Blogger stated in her profile, that she was, among other things, a certified SAT (Standard Achievement Test) tutor. This is an important test for College placement.
In a way this scares the hell out of me. What we have here is a person who has been trained to allow undereducated and unprepared students to enroll in a better College.
If they couldn’t learn the basics on their own in High School, how at they going to learn anything at a College level? Perhaps God will give them the “Divine Inspiration” to learn at a College level. I doubt it! This tutoring actually cheats the student by ranking them a level above their academic achievement rating. It impedes the student’s progress rather than helping them.
Back, many years ago, when I was a senior in High School, it was mandatory that we take the SAT’s. I scored in the 86 percentile group. My verbal skills were much better that my math skills. This allowed me to enroll in most any University with the exception of Notre Dame, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford or Yale. I was looking for a scholarship, just to prove to my Dad that I knew “Shit from Shinola”.
I never studied for the SAT’s; I relied on what my 1960’s Chicago Public School education had taught me, or better yet, what I decided to learn while attending High School. I never had a tutor, nor did I need or want one. I didn’t cheat nor was I cheated.
Today’s higher educational system has regressed rather than progressed. Admission standards have been lowered to the point that any idiot or moron can attend a College, especially if they can play Basketball or Football. The schools need the money to continue to pay their tenured professors. What a system, it’s almost as good as the church’s hierarchal system.
Years ago, I attempted to teach and disseminate my knowledge to the younger generation. I didn’t stand a chance. I became frustrated with the lack of my student’s interest and desire to learn the basics. Unfortunately, my former students probably are now College graduates and some of them are in the teaching profession. This is a frightening thought!
Teaching a student is one thing, but tutoring students to get higher test scores is another thing, which I cannot readily accept. Silly me, but that’s the way it is in today’s society and something that I’ll have to live with!

The Beach Bum