expert witnesses for the Salazars, broughtrnin to testify on a variety of relevant legalrnand professional issues, finally had to returnrnhome. What should have been arnclear-cut case of parental rights became arncircus orchestrated by educrats who arguablyrnhad a greater stake in the outcomernthan either Daniel or his parents. If thernSalazars managed to overturn the “emotionallyrnhandicapped” determinationrnand remove their child from the SEDrnclass, other parents would be emboldened.rnSuch a precedent could not be tolerated.rnThe school district, of course, had anrnenhre arsenal at its disposal—the teachers’rnunion and a cottage industry of mental-rnhealth specialists consisting of socialrnworkers, special-education resourcernagencies, behavioral-research institutes,rnand the American Psychological Association,rnall of which stand to benefit financiallyrnand politically from a burgeoningrn”at-risk” population. Teams of legal advisorsrnfor the school district worked to disallowrntestimony from any expert witness forrnthe Salazars who might threaten theirrncase (for example, pediatric neurologistrnDr. Fred Baughman, on the grounds thatrnhe wasn’t an expert in learning disabilities).rnLike most people, the judge was notrnexpected to know much about the behavioralrn”sciences.” A pediatric neurologistrnshould have been a shoo-in as an expertrnwitness since the school’s own “psychoeducationalrnevaluation” had justifiedrnmassive intrusions into Daniel’s familyrnon the grounds that neurological factorsrnmight be contributing to the boy’s problem.rnBut Dr. Baughman’s testimony wasrndisallowed just as he was about to take thernwitness stand.rnThe Salazars’ ace-in-the-hole was arnprofessional tutor, Barbara Rivera, a petite,rnblonde dynamo who has never metrnan “uneducable” child. Having successfullyrnhomeschooled her own children,rnshe discovered that they enjoyed seekingrnout the least fortunate and bringing themrnhope and concrete educational, financial,rnand social opportunities. Dozens ofrnbig stores contributed surplus items tornthe Riveras’ literacy project. Within fivernyears, the Riveras were taking in thernhomeless, stocking the bare kitchens ofrnpeople they hardly knew, nursing otherrnpeople’s sick children back to health, andrnenlisting the enthusiastic aid of dozens ofrn”uneducable” kids to do likewise.rnA down-home woman with a sense ofrnhumor, Mrs. Rivera explained to therncourt that Daniel Salazar didn’t have arnlearning problem. He was simply overwhelmedrnby a large campus; a seeminglyrnunpredictable environment; and hundredsrnof little bodies running all over thernplace. For a child who is already a bitrnflustered, she explained, the first task hernhas trouble mastering can sometimesrnshake his confidence and compromisernfurther learning. Rivera’s successes centerrnon recapturing that first botched assignment,rnthen moving on in a small,rnnurturing environment.rnIf the school had paid attention to itsrnown case-study evaluation, Mrs. Riverarnpointed out, someone would have capitalizedrnon Daniel’s strengths, such asrnhigher-than-normal computation skills,rnan aptitude for music, above-average roternmemory, successes with drill and repetition,rnand increased comprehensionrnwhen concrete examples are used to explainrnsomething. Daniel also had goodrnspatial orientation and above-average auditory’rnmemory. The problem was visualrnperception. But because the old skillrndrills of previous eras have been discreditedrnby the education establishmentrn(workbooks, for example, are no longerrnused), teachers have forgotten how tornbuild the self-confidence of kids likernDaniel —specifically, by having him repeatrntasks he did well in a variety of formats.rnPunctuation and grammar, for example,rnimprove markedly when childrenrnwith good sight memories rewrite sentencesrnso that just the nouns or verbsrnchange each time, rather like practicing arnfavorite football play using different scenarios.rnBut prospective teachers don’t learnrnthese techniques in their universih’ classesrnnow. Proficiency and excellence arernnot priorities. Indeed, teaching childrenrnhow to learn isn’t a priority. Instead, thernprimary focus in education is psychologyrnand its close relative, social work. “Edrnpsych,” as education majors call it, indoctrinatesrnnaive college students into therncult of group-think, a scheme that playsrnout in the classroom as “cooperativernlearning,” “social promotion,” “gradeflation,”rn”process orientation,” and “interdependence.”rnThe Salazar case underscores the wayrnin which education policymakers perceivernstudents —”labor force management,”rn”human capital,” and “human resources.”rnThese labels, like the onesrnapplied to Daniel Salazar, equate humanrnbeings with inanimate objects which occasionallyrn”malfunction.” Conversely,rnthe ubiquitous surveys, questionnaires,rnand opinion polls disseminated by thesernsame officials are so personal in naturernthat children and parents believe thatrnsomeone important cares what ordinaryrnpeople think. But the tests and surveysrnare only marketing tools, implying an autonomyrnnobody possesses any longer.rnA whole range of characteristics neverrnbefore viewed as destructive, such asrnstrong religious conviction, today are regardedrnby survey analysts as markers (riskrnfactors) for mental illness. Every raisedrneyebrow and grimace is scrutinized forrnsome sinister meaning by battalions ofrnprofessional paranoids who call themselvesrn”scientists.” Red-flag behaviors,rnsuch as rocking in a chair or swingingrnone’s foot, are matched against arbitraryrndesignations on a checklist drawn up byrnany one of dozens of behavioral-researchrninstitutes. These psychological screeningrninstruments are sold to school districts,rngovernment agencies, and corporationsrnto help them “assess” their “human resources.”rnBeginning at an increasingly youngerrnage, those with unfashionable beliefs andrnunique character traits are treated as “defectives”rn—rigid, uncooperative, or unstablernblobs who either must be rehabilitatedrnor weeded out of the job pool.rnElementary and secondary school-teachersrnplay into the hands of bloated bureaucraciesrnvying for government tax breaks,rncontiacts, grants, or partnerships to helprncarry the unfunded mandate of politicalrncorrectness.rnThus, schools today promote successrnwithout achievement, ethics without religion,rnand character without morals. Educatorsrnproclaim the message of self-esteem,rnbut any attempt to pull ahead ofrnthe crowd is discouraged (except in sportsrnand entertainment) because it mightrnmake everyone else feel deficient. Amidrnall the noisy chatter about “relevancy”rnand “real-world” experiences, ourrnschools have obliterated the concept ofrnfailure.rnClinical-sounding labels such asrn”emotionally handicapped” may makernfailure more palatable. They certainlyrnmake it more permanent.rnMeanwhile, the common pantheon ofrnheroes and villains, poems and stories,rnpaintings and documents that gave a diversernpeople unity and a common voicernand heritage are disappearing. Even basicrnreading and computation have beenrnmade so convoluted and controversialrnthat average parents can no longer followrnSEPTEMBER 2000/41rnrnrn