Hello, Mr. President? It’s me, Roger Ebert

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:08:00 +0000

I would ask the president for an emergency education program. Our students at every level are below American historical norms and global standards. We're importing the best and the brightest from overseas, from nations that may not spend as much money on education but seem to produce better-prepared students.

I attended a Catholic grade school for eight years in the 1950s. When my class graduated, all of us (even the "slower" students) whizzed through public high school rhetoric so easily our new teachers remarked on it. Our school was poverty-stricken and had only basic facilities. But every one of us could read, write and do math. I believe we could read and write better than many of today's high school graduates, and some of today's colleges graduates.

Reading is the key to self-education. Let me give an example that has been obsessing me. Nearly 50 percent of all Americans reject the Theory of Evolution and believe Man was "created" pretty much in his present form some thousands of years ago. Anyone who believes that hasn't been paying attention.

Salon.com > Brooklyn Castle

Hello, Mr. President? It’s me, Roger Ebert