The Quest for the Golden Trout: Environmental Loss and America’s Iconic Fish

4 | Educating the Masses

chapter four Educating the Masses Rivers and the inhabitants of the watery element were made for wise men to contemplate, and fools to pass by without consideration. ~ Izaak Walton, 1653 92 Ournationisatacrossroadswithoureducationalsystem.Ispend sleepless nights wondering what is best for my daughter. Politicians and parents complain about low achievement in public schools. Private schools are scrutinized from social and economic perspectives.At places like the institution of higher education where I teach, tuition prices reach new heights that raise the ire of cash-strapped families. For-profit colleges surface with questionable classroom practices and requirements. People wonder if knowledge gains justify costs for various steps up the educational ladder. Does all this supposed knowledge equate to wisdom? The conclusion reached by many segments of the population seems to suggest that improvements are required. We need smarter kids and better schools. Congressional candidates talk about educational needs of future generations. Fixes are proposed, funds are allocated, and systems implemented. The methods to improve student learning in elementary and middle schools revolve around national standards with high-pressure testing. The first big standardized test I faced occurred in high school. The sAts had both me and my fellow comrades shaking in our shoes. We knew that our own future would be heavily influenced by a few simple numbers produced by black and white ovals carefully filled in with yellow number two pencils. Now, my daughter and other elementary school children take tests that decide the fate of teachers and schools. Stories of educators systematically cheating to improve scores underlie the seriousness of the ordeal and types of extreme pressures placed on young minds; minds that really should be given more freedom to simply enjoy learning about something fun. The national outcome of all this poking and prodding of the immature intellect reveals disappointing results. News of failing schools blankets the media. Meanwhile, high schoolers feel the pressures of gaining access to the best schools. Entrance exams, personal essays, and admissions interviews loom large in their junior and senior years. Long lines of high school scholars and their parents arrive at colleges and universities to hear an official spiel.I often look out my office window and watch as they dutifully follow back-peddling college students around a preordained labyrinth of walkways designed to impress. Our campus and others they visit must seem as unearthly as the moon-walking tour guides with eyes in the backs of their heads. Few faces express the joy admissions staffers so desperately try to impart. The stresses of their undecided future weigh heavily on their expressions. Those who are accepted and admitted must then survive the last stage of educational sorting. Educating the Masses ~ 93 When the latest class of first-years arrives to the campus where I work, they face an entirely different set of challenges than they did in high school. Teenage rebellions are no longer necessary and parents’ frustrated faces are secretly missed. New responsibilities and opportunities arise. A college experience currently represents much more than a simple list of classes. Collegians endure endless inner battles as they decide between spending more time with friends, joining a club with some idealistic mission, or working on assignments that must be completed. Peaceful moments of introspective reading and carefully crafted writing samples are contrasted with all-nighters and cramming. Momentary appearances in theater productions, singing groups, and sports teams compete for precious free time against parties, web surfing, and just hanging out. In the end, most complete their coursework and don a cap and gown. As they sit in the crowd of black robes on graduation day, they hear a learned orator talk about a bright but perhaps slightly vague future. Eventually, each graduate stands and walks toward a stage populated by dignitaries and board of trustee members, knowing that life will never be the same once they accept the diploma being offered them by the colorfully clad administrator. Remarkably, they knowingly extend their hands and take on the challenge. Row by row, I watch them sit back down with freshly minted, leather-framed documents on their laps. Most fidget slightly and watch fellow classmates bravely arrive at the same conclusion. All must silently wonder what the future holds. Did all the time and effort prepare them for the real world? Hatcherytroutcertainlydonotpondertheirfutureinthewayournation’s youth do at commencement. Still, the tests trout face when they are released are no less daunting. Unfortunately, research shows that...