Psychologist, author shares views on flawed education system
David C. Berliner spoke about problems in the public education system in French Auditorium on Wednesday night.
The educational psychologist shared his views on the flawed education system which are reflected in his book — “Myths (and Lies) that Deceive the Public and Harm American Public Education." A lot of what is learned through data relating to the education system is misinformation, Berliner said.
“If we do not have more conversations about our public schooling, we are at risk of losing them,” Berliner said.
Cadillac freshman Brianna Maturen said she was interested in what Berliner had to say because she is going into the education field.
“I didn’t do a lot research prior to (the event) and I don’t have a lot of information, but I’m just really open to learning something new,” said Maturen.
For example, the ongoing push to implement Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in school because of an excess of open positions within that career field is false. As it stands, there is a surplus of 165,000 graduate students in the STEM field with no positions to fill career-wise, he said.
Hartland senior Emily Montroy, another student going into the education field, said she came with an open mind, hoping to take what Berliner said and apply it to her professional career.
“It’s really nice being on campus and being able to (learn from) these kind of people who know what they’re talking about,” said Montroy.
Another point Berliner highlighted on was that proficiency of the students dealt more with the nature of the students, their surroundings and income, as opposed to who is teaching the students.
Lake Orion freshman Rosemary D’androsio said she thought it was interesting how significant of a role a student’s environment could play in the prosperity of their test scores.
“I find it applicable,” said D’androsio. “Looking back at my hometown and where I was raised and how we did in school was similar to what (Berliner) showed in his charts.”
Lake Orion freshman Emily Miller said she had a slight idea about the quality of education but did not know of its extent.
“I had previous knowledge about the testing based off of income and poverty, and how it plays into the quality of education, but I hadn’t really seen actual data,” said Miller.
