One of the reasons I do the polls is sometimes people add answers that I would not have known about. Someone answered “Harrison Bergeron” to the poll about the movie that resembles the Obama Administration’s policies.
It is interesting that ShowTime would have made a movie that slams TV watching as dumbing down people.
The fallacy of the movie’s plot – and egalitarianism in general – is that you could raise the “below average” to become “average” by lowering the “above average” to “average”. An analysis of the Head Start program shows that by 2nd grade, low income children who went through Head Start to make them equal with their average income peers quickly return to the limits of their natural ability.
Cato Institute story
Putting leg weights on your legs would not make me able to run faster.
They recently remade that film last year; Tammy Bruce played the villain.
You’re right about Head Start, except that there’s no evidence that the level they return to is their “natural ability”. It’s probably more accurate to say that they return to the average in their surroundings. When they’re living in an area where academic success is seen as a betrayal of the community and its values, most students will deliberately avoid that success. You won’t change that with Head Start or with teacher bonuses.
I read up a bit more on Head Start after writing that. I was “shocked” to learn that Head Start is very strident that the teachers are NOT allowed to teach skills (knowing your colors, counting from 1 to 10, language development, etc…). It is mainly a deficient parenting compensation plan. Feed the kids, check them each day for bruises, and let them run around screaming. Saying “No” to the child or enforcing any kind of discipline is apparently highly prohibited.
We’ve only spent $100 billion on this since it was created. But at least it keeps the kids out of the house while mom is having sex with her crack dealer.