Going Mobile

Mike Petrilli wonders if schools can spur social mobility. Good question! At Brookings Ron Haskins has some evidence about this (pdf).  And this NCES chart gives a sense of just how much room for improvement there is.

2 Replies to “Going Mobile”

  1. Re: Petrilli article. I wasn’t aware Charles Murray was to be listened to by anybody about anything for any reason. As for NCES or any other use of stats–the numbers show what people do, why they do it is open to interpretation.

  2. Social mobility?
    Income level mobility?
    Geographic mobility?

    David Frum has an interesting rebuttal to Murray in the Daily Beast.

    I say let these liberal arts goof balls duke it out. At least then they will stay out of the way of the more productive mathematicians and scientists.

    I think the ACLU and some guy or gal somewhere ought to sue the entire edu-reform movement for violating his or her civil rights. For years the liberal arts have LIED TO THE PUBLIC and DECEIVED THEM AND THEIR YOUNG by co-opting the title social “SCIENCE”.

    They have abused the scientific method, used questionable results bordering on FRAUD to drive social policy in this country, and have pushed political agendas that FORCE the rest of us to march to their opinions.

    We need a class action lawsuit that strips the word “science” from social science. And it must include a ban on any think tank research that would drive national policy.

    The reasoning is simple: If public policy schools worked this country would NOT be in the mess it is politically. And if economics worked then our economy would NOT be in the mess it is.

    Honestly, economists are now flooding the edu-reform movement with a major “FAIL” badge on their chests: The failed to predict or warn consumers about the housing crisis; They failed to warn investors about the internet bubble; They failed to warn about the crippling inflation of the 70’s; They failed to warn about the Great Depression.

    The field of economics is known more for what it CANNOT do right, than for what it can. Economists cannot even manage to agree on what has happened in the past.

    For these reasons, the field of social science should be renamed “social stuff”. Let’s hope the ACLU steps forward for the little guy and takes this on.

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