HONEST REPORT CARDS AND CONFERENCES ARE ESSENTIAL FOR STUDENT IMPROVEMENT AND INDEPENDENCE

HONEST REPORT CARDS AND CONFERENCES ARE ESSENTIAL FOR STUDENT IMPROVEMENT AND INDEPENDENCE 

By Domenick J. Maglio Ph.D. Traditional Realist

When a student, teacher and parents meet together, many positive things can take place. By honestly interacting with each other, pertinent information can be exchanged that will be an accurate snapshot of the child’s present strengths and weaknesses. This picture will certainly change over time although the strategy developed by the process will hopefully keep the student moving in the positive direction.

Most parents want their child to do well from the beginning to the end of their education. They often have difficulty accepting teacher conference statements and report card comments. When their child does not do as well as the parent’s expectations, most parents view it as a negative reflection on their parenting.  A student receiving outstanding grades provides the parent with bragging rights to put a decal on their bumper that says  “My child is on the honor roll.” Most modern parent wants their child to be a winner in every endeavor attempted.  This is unrealistic and unfair for the child’s emotional development. No one can be the best in everything.

Report cards in preschool are not the same as transcripts for college. The type of courses and grades are evaluated by college search committees to decide on students who are acceptable for their college. However, preschool through eighth grade is the interval for the development of social, academic, time management and critical thinking skills, which are essential for doing well in future endeavors including academics.

When the child complains that he received lower grades than he expected, instead of the parent saying work harder and your grades will go up, the modern parents become an advocate for their child’s grades.  The parents want a grade to be changed upward to make the child happier for being recognized. These parents fail to understand that the lower grades than they expected can motivate students to do better the next marking period. Starting the first marking period with high grades can result in student complacency and grade inflation for a student and eventually for the entire class.

Besides the fact that no one is perfect, the parents who expect and demand their child be straight A in all subjects is missing the point that we all have to learn how to overcome our shortcomings. These are healthy challenges. The straight A student will hit a wall in learning in a particular subject. It is up to the student to figure out a beneficial means of getting to the other side of the wall. These self compensation experiments might not be emphasized or even mentioned on the report card although in the long run is often more important than a GPA (Grade Point Average.) In the lower grades report cards are more subjective than they are in higher grades where there is more objective subject material. In the lower grades skills, attitude and discipline issues have to be taken into consideration too.

The student needs to view the report as an honest assessment of his improvement as a student. A report card to parents should demonstrate their child’s actual growth in all areas not just how well he is doing compared to fellow students. Growth, not bragging rights should be the criteria of the evaluation of their child’s educational development. They are insisting on high grades for their child from the first day he enters school. Parental rages have been the impetus for bureaucratic appeasement.

Inflated grades have become a disincentive for students.

Students need to realize their effort and studying have a direct impact on their increased comprehension of the subject matter. Each person involved in the conference deserves the respect of being part of this process especially in the higher grades. An honest attempt to present the student’s behavior and attitude in an accurate manner encourages everyone involved to view this educational event as a productive and positive one.

The evaluative process is a necessary one to keep everyone on the same page. It informs the child that there are real consequences for his effort and attitude.  Parents and teachers become aware of the growth of the student’s academic attributes and maturing behavior. This feedback assists everyone. It keeps everyone on his toes to motivate the student at home and at school.

Ultimately it is the student with or without the support of his parents, teachers or administrators who has to take control of his own education. Becoming an independent learner even with the help of others is a decision made by the individual.

Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. Dr. Maglio is an author of weekly newspaper articles, INVASION WITHIN  and a new just published book, entitled, IN CHARGE PARENTING In a PC World. You can visit Dr. Maglio at www.drmaglio.blogspot.com.

UNIVERSITIES SHOULD PROMOTE DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT NOT PROPAGANDIZE

UNIVERSITIES SHOULD PROMOTE DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT NOT PROPAGANDIZE

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist

Some educators have begun to call for the abolition of federal, state, and non-profit money going to higher education propaganda mills. Many qualified students, especially males, are choosing to bypass higher education. These potential students realize their traditional moral values and inherent maleness are under direct attack. Female as well as male students are realizing that you either conform to progressive ideals or you will be penalized with lower grades, mental frustration or administrative punishment.

Most progressives are obsessed with Russian interference in President Trump’s election while they have conveniently forgotten about the Soviet’s infiltration and entrenchment in our entire educational system. This re-education process has been going on for many decades although it has accelerated in the past decade. Radical/ socialist student have now been empowered to shut down opposing speech. Students expounding traditional conservative viewpoints have been shouted down and physically attacked to intimidate them into silence. Professors have exploited the authority and tenure of their position to ridicule and demean traditional conservative ideas and proponents while glorifying utopian ones that sound spectacular but do not work.

Radical students, including Antifa followers have been shielded from any consequences for threatening or actual violent behavior. Universities have gone a step further by coddling any student who has been exposed to any ideas or philosophical systems that offend them. They have created “safe spaces, crying closets and soothing animals” to pet to deal with people of different ideas that disturb them. Too many of them are so intolerant of different viewpoints that they appear to be on the brink of insanity.

The ability to rationally and openly discus opposing viewpoints is no longer allowed to exist in universities. Students were expected to learn and debate different philosophies to stimulate critical thinking. Indoctrinating naïve minded students with only one way of thinking is the antithesis of a university’s mission. Reeducation of young adults with taxpayer money has no place in our constitutional republic.

Educational institutions should be immediately reformed. The citizens of the USA deserve to have their young adults learn different viewpoints to be better prepared to face and shape theirs and the country’s future and the reality of life. They should be taught the good and bad analysis of our nation to make informed decisions. Indoctrinating students through revisionist history to hate their country’s flag, founders, institutions and entire history as a nation leads to anger and disrespect for all its accomplishments. American students should be able to be proud of their nation without reprisal from professors and anti American students.

Diversity of thought not diversity of the “protected ‘privileged’ classes” should be the expressed aim of education. This concept of protected students is a product of attempting to create a socialistic nation based on dependency of accepting the professor’s statements without critically challenging them. This social engineering encourages compliance not individual thought and merit.

We are witnessing many young progressive political stars pathetically displaying their academic ignorance and simplistic arguments. Universities will only change when their revenue is based on the quality of education not on state and federal guidelines and mandates. Students should receive financial aid based on merit not on social justice mandates. Professors should sign a pledge to allow both sides of an issue to be expressed as well as respect students who believe in our traditions.

Conservative traditional professors should no longer be blackballed but should be on a 50-50 basis with progressive teachers. Diversity of ideas should be encouraged or the educational institution should be penalized financially or lose their licensure for not doing so. A university that does not promote critical thinking is not fulfilling its mission.

Our current university system is not preparing our young citizens to continue the US leadership role in the world. Instead it is only developing an ignorant class of socialists who do not understand our generosity, sacrifice, and greatness rather than detest our country.

Brainwashing our future leaders to hate our laws, institutions and constitution is a direct path to disunity and civil war. This would be a disaster for everyone: traditionalists as well as progressives. Diversity of thought along with the protection of everyone’s freedom of speech results in a vibrant society.

Our nation is great enough to be able to accommodate all points of view through the first amendment, Freedom of Speech, also results in freedom of thought.

Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. Dr. Maglio is an author of weekly newspaper articles, INVASION WITHIN  and a new just published book, entitled, IN CHARGE PARENTING In a PC World. You can visit Dr. Maglio at www.drmaglio.blogspot.com.

VOTING IS THE CIVIL WAY OF SETTLING POLITICAL ISSUES

VOTING IS THE CIVIL WAY OF SETTLING POLITICAL ISSUES

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist

Children understand the importance of choosing teams in an orderly manner.  Most groups choose two individuals to be captains. They use a simply way of determining who goes first to pick a team member, this is followed by the other captain choosing until all team members are selected. This is sportsmanship. This civil process eliminates potential arguments or fights.

The USA has been a civil, stable and prosperous nation from its inception because our founders established a constitutional republic. After critically studying history these wise men realized a total democracy leads to instability and eventually to chaos. Hence, they built buffers in their system of governance to decrease the incidence of violence and mob rule. Senators, house representatives, Supreme Court justices and the Electoral College shielded the nation from citizen’s popular, impulsive decisions. Voting was a privilege, not a right.

We are not a pure democracy although our elections have serious consequences. We have seen this with the election of President Trump and the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh as Supreme Court judge. To the chagrin of progressives the voters elected a republican senate, house and president, which reversed the direction of President Obama’s administration.

When President Obama was elected in 2008 and 2012 there were many stunned and disappointed American citizens. They were adamantly opposed to the progressive, socialist policies but when the votes were tallied they were shocked but accepted that they lost. Even though they were depressed, they did not even think of physically attacking their opponents or destroying property. Under the banner of the Tea Party they organized and educated grass root voters to vote for pro-American candidates.  They “woke” up a continually growing segment of the population to join their movement.

The election of President Trump, the leader of the Tea Party, was as much of a surprise to the progressives as President Obama was to the traditional right. The progressives deluded themselves that they had a birthright to ultimate power in Washington, D.C. They are focused on mobilizing mobs to attack and destroy the opposition, not to persuade them.

The Trump election was such a traumatic event to the progressives but they did not apply their energies to refining their political message. Instead their rage overwhelmed their rational capabilities. These negative emotions to resist, search and destroy anything that supported the Trump administration became their strategy. These violent tactics are to target and harass opponents in their homes, restaurants, offices, on the street or anywhere at all to make their life a living hell. There is a policy of revenge as Hillary Clinton stated: “ we cannot be civil with them until we win an election.”

Some progressive politicians like congressional representative Maxine Waters, Spartacus- Cory Booker and Eric Holder are explicitly inciting riots and violence. House majority whip, Steve Scalise, was shot and critically injured while practicing for the annual charity baseball game. James Hodgekinson , a leftist activist shot at congressional members for ten minutes before he was stopped. This deranged leftist participated in the Bernie Sanders campaign and had a history of violence and hatred for republicans. He said, “The road to hell is paved with republicans” and “Donald Trump is not my president.” This rhetoric of hate easily boils over into violence. 

Ted Cruz, Pam Bondi, Elaine Chou, Kirstjen Nielson, Sarah Huckabee and others were attacked in restaurants by hostile mobs. Antifa vandalized a republican office in New York City and has rioted in many places. Leftists are verbally and physically confronting and even attacking citizens who support President Trump. Progressives are saying “if they go low, just kick them,” ”Get into their faces.” “We cannot be civil.” Their rallying cry is for uncivil violence or outright civil war.”

It is apparent these progressive leaders and supporters do not believe in our constitution and Bill of Rights. Free speech is no longer sufficient to convince

citizens to vote for the progressive candidates and policies. Currently they want to halt the speech of rivals on college campuses and even in the public square. Intimidation has replaced it. The progressive “fake news media” even had the audacity to use group-speak to insist that a threatening “mob” in a restaurant is the same as a civil protest.

Intimidating citizens into silence does and has worked in many nations but is not going to work in the USA. Our belief system in standing up for our liberty through the ballot box is still part of the American psyche. A “soft coup” or hostile political environment is not sufficient to stifle citizens from voting in the midterm elections.

The vote will always be the just and fair method of determining the political direction of the USA. Gestapo tactics are intensely anti American and need to be stopped.

Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. Dr. Maglio is an author of weekly newspaper articles, INVASION WITHIN  and a new just published book, entitled, IN CHARGE PARENTING In a PC World. You can visit Dr. Maglio at www.drmaglio.blogspot.com.

COMMUNITY SERVICE TRANSFORMING INTO STUDENT ACTIVISM

COMMUNITY SERVICE TRANSFORMING INTO STUDENT ACTIVISM

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist

The US public education function has changed radically. Initially it was the Three Rs: to read, write and learn arithmetic. The teacher’s main purpose was to assist the students developing of academic skills, learn basic history and develop good character. This presented them with tools necessary to be future learners and critical thinkers.

During LBJs presidency “The Great Society” viewed schools as a means to equalize educational opportunities for disadvantaged students. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act passed under LBJs presidency federalized education through federal grant monies. Before this federal intervention the individual states were primarily responsible for public education.

After this became law public schools proceeded rapidly to fill in the economic gaps of the lower income families. Nourishment through providing full breakfast, lunch, some dinners, backpacks of food for the weekends and even food during the summer became a reality. Currently in most county school districts financial means testing is no longer required for free food. The important moral values of family life were taught by being together at the table but were suddenly taken over by government schools. As these programs grew, the autonomy and authority of the family over their child’s life has diminished.

Psychological and social needs of public school children have gradually expanded as new services provided to students. Divorce, drugs, death, sex education, bullying and various other counseling groups took students out of their academic classes. Special education classes proliferated for all types of behavioral and educational deficiencies. Parents were even directed by school personnel to place their children on psychotropic medication even when mental health professional did not prescribe it. This drastic change in the decreasing influence of parents is the impetus for the Home School explosion and the “School Choice” movement.

Community service requirements have been institutionalized by the public school for non-profit groups supposedly to give students knowledge of the work world.

Currently many school districts are experimenting with directly indoctrinating students as community activists for social justice.

The seemingly innocuous community service program has morphed into “student activism.” The community service hours can now be used for being involved in social change issues. Progressive advisors are empowered to encourage activities such as identifying and addressing social issues. Their tactics range from walkouts, empowering students to organize on social media and even protesting specific policies locally and in the state capital. Strategies from the book, Rules for Radicals of social activism are used but not underscored.

In essence, these students become the unpaid soldiers of the social justice march to socialism in our nation. Students are politically unsophisticated and too young to understand the political and social implications of these advocacy tactics.

Just like the Stoneman Douglas school shooting, after the horrendous mass shooting of innocent youths some were elevated by the media to instant experts on most social ills. These students were empowered by the media, teachers and parents to speak on many issues of which they had limited knowledge.  Many students on social media from all over the nation made their simplistic and naïve opinions heard online. David Hogg and others of the school shooting celebrity status have been exploited by the political elites to rally adolescents to progressive causes without understanding the opposing side of the issue.

These terrible events feature immediate progressive spokespeople focusing on their feelings about the traumatic experience but shining little light on positive and realistic solutions. These social justice student converts in our public schools have been teaching revisionist history. U.S. civics and history have been drastically reduced or eliminated in our public schools in order to minimize any possibility of critical thinking skills forming.

The US public educational system on the elementary, secondary and university levels should cease and desist from incentivizing students by community service credit and questionable future fame to recruit teenagers to be radical protestors. Instead they should teach strong basic academic skills, moral character traits, unbiased history and drawing logical critical thinking skills from provable events.

The return to this comprehensive agenda is essential for the appreciation, health and stability of the nation. The objective of producing social change warriors by propagandizing students should be outside the realm of US public education. Indoctrination programs do exist in dictatorial centralized nations but should not exist here.

Our students should not be taught pipe dreams of socialistic/communistic utopian ideals that have never born fruit. Rather they should focus on the factual history that shows failure after failure of socialist experiments and the exceptionalism of America.

Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. Dr. Maglio is an author of weekly newspaper articles, INVASION WITHIN  and a new just published book, entitled, IN CHARGE PARENTING In a PC World. You can visit Dr. Maglio at www.drmaglio.blogspot.com.