Some schools stress feelings and opinions–anything but actually teaching facts. Teachers are trained to say: “Students don’t need to memorize anything. They can look it up!” A slogan which is carte blanche for teaching less and less.

I recommend a superior slogan: “Facts are fun!” For pleasure and for profit, students need to know fundamental information about the world they live in.

I have just added The Quizz to Improve-Education.org. This is a fast, fun exam consisting of 100 easy questions that every high school graduate should be able to answer: What is 9 times 9? Where are the Pyramids? How many pounds in a ton?

How good is your school? Take The Quizz and find out. Any high school graduates who can’t answer at least 80 questions should sue their schools.

One of the oddest tenets of modern educational theory is that children can engage in “critical thinking” without knowing any facts to think about. Sort of like playing tennis without a ball, swimming without water, or conducting chemistry experiments without chemicals. These activities are properly called make-believe. Common sense says that students should first learn facts, then learn to analyze those facts.

The Quizz is Essay #20 on Improve-Education.org.