ABSTRACT
A reader sent in a list of teacher education courses at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, along with a note: "This explains why 59 percent of prospective teachers in Massachusetts flunked a basic literacy test." The courses listed were: "Leadership in Changing Times," "Social diversity", "Embracing Diversity," "Diversity and Change," "Educating the Asian," "Multicultural Education," "Native American Education," "Latino Education," "Classicism," "Racism," "Sexism," "Jewish Oppression," "Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual Oppression," "Oppression of the Disabled," and "Erroneous Beliefs." The reader was referring to a basic tenth-grade test in language, math, and other subjects, given to 1800 would-be teachers in Massachusetts. Among other things, the 59 percent who failed often couldn't spell simple English words like "burned" and "abolished." The education schools take for granted that education must be "child-centered," which means that children decide for themselves what they want to learn. People should be able to qualify as teachers simply by passing rigorous tests in their area of competence.
