Fri 10 Jun 2005
June 10, 2005 at 11:09 am
As one observes the current trends in the educational system in America today, it doesn’t take but an honest viewpoint and realistic judgement to see that it is worse off than ever. It has become a politically driven, popularity driven, money driven institution which is robbing our children and therefore our country of the greatness upon which this country was founded.
Of course, no school in this world, (please, prove me wrong, I wouldn’t mind in the least) is without its weaknesses, shortcomings, faults, or even failures. But the system of today is in serious need of reform.
This reform will not come from government. This reform will not come from educators. It won’t be born of school boards, administrators, or tax increases. Those things, among others, are some of the biggest contributors to the downward spiral that has seemingly taken on a life of its own lately.
No, reform will only truly happen by the forward thinking, historically observant parents of this society who are committed in fulfilling their own duty in providing a positive learning environment for their children. Today, the definition of “education” has become somewhat of a transmogrification on a theme. Times tables on a white board. Dates, places, and names committed to memory. Values taught by 9th grade sex education teachers. Cramming for a test, forgetting for a lifetime. Learning results, avoiding guilt.
“Education” as we know it today has become an overzealous measuring stick whereby the memorization of facts is dubiously compared and rewarded. That’s right. A more befitting title for the current educational system would be the current memorization system. The single most intrinsic element of education that is missing from education today is the element of students learning how to learn. They are being taught every day what to memorize, what to know, what to repeat. This even goes so far in many schools today, especially in higher level education, as to teach the student what to think. This process of teaching students how to learn does not come from a curriculum set by experts. This comes from mentors, close to the children, encouraging the child to locate and collect as much information as possible for a topic to which the child is already naturally inclined.
There is an old addage, “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime”. I think this first phrase describes so well what we are doing to the minds of our students. We are teaching them that it is ok to be dependent. It is being ingrained in their entire being. We live in a system where only TWO TESTS are considered adequate to measure the thinking abilities and stored knowledge of millions of bright, unique young minds. Approximately fourty-seven million children are currently enrolled in elementary and secondary schools this year. And of those 47 million students, two and a half million will graduate from high school with diplomas, with yet more (unreported) receiving GED’s and the like. There are more ways to tie your shoes than there are to prove that you are intelligent, according to the current system of testing. I find this rather alarming.
So, what is the answer? If the entire educational system is doomed to failure, and we are even now watching the sinking ship while standing stranded on the shoreline, then what kind of hope can we hope to have?
Charter schools.
That’s right. Charter schools. The current school boards, teachers, administrators, cities and counties hate these schools. It is not because they are a bain to the education of small children, either. It is simply because they are stealing the limelight, and the money. You see, the charter school is possibly the greatest thing that has happened to public education since it’s inception over 300 years ago. While the current public system allows so many parents to feel it ok to take a backseat, (or even the trunk), when it comes to the education of their child, charter schools place the responsibility more squarely on the shoulders of the parents. This is not a problem, since more and more parents are seeking out ways to have a strong voice throughout the learning process of their children.
This new system of charter schools allows for smaller classrooms, higher levels of attention and comprehension, more personalized education, and an increase in overall parent involvement. Oh, and let’s not forget choice. That’s really what has made this new definition of education so successful. It has given parents, and children, the choice of what type of learning is best for them. Now students can find an environment where they excel individually, rather than collectively lagging behind.
The major problem with this nations educational system is not money. It’s not regulation. It’s not teachers. The major problem is individuality. Generally speaking, the public school system is not for those students who have the potential excel in one or more areas, but for those who know how to skim by in many areas. It does not promote individuality, but rather uniformity. If you are the Beavus of test-taking but the Edison of science, you will perform poorly by the schools standards. You will then be relegated to that dark corner room to practice your basic reading, writing, math or comprehension skills. The current system for standard learning is not one that allows you to be unique.
The educational system of today has no room for those who have the potential to be a genius in any given field. It is more geared toward the congruity and assimilation of the student into normal society. The only problem with this system is that this nation has not become great by an excess of normalcy. It is rather individual greatness that has given this nation it’s firm stance and sparkle over the rest of the world. We stray further every day from the type of education which allows the mind of the student the freedom of direction that it so chooses, and in fact is destined for. Instead, we force the student to think broadly enough to know a little about everything and much about nothing. It is no wonder that we are seeing a generation of professionals who are expert in generalities.
We need students to set their own course, to map their own future with the passion of mind and heart, rather than the list of pre-req’s and majors. There is no major for inventor. There is no major for self-employed. There is no major for mother. There is no major for space explorer. Why are we limiting our children, who, out of all of us, have the most hope, creativity, passion, and blindness to the possibility of failure, and therefore blindness to the fear which would impede our progress in things we dare not try in the first place? We should be giving them the resources and the encouragement to keep that spark of curiousity and belief in the impossible lit, and glowing brighter and brighter each day. We need to learn today how to stop filling their minds with stuff, and begin pulling from their hearts passion. This is the only true path which our children have to fulfill their greatest potential.
Data source: The Common Core of Data (CCD), “State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education,” 2001–02.
2 Responses to “Education vs Popular belief”
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June 22nd, 2005 at 12:29 pm
I am right along with you and your persepective on education. I feel that parents are not involved enough. Who is going to teach our children principles and values if we don’t? I for sure don’t want society teaching my children what correct “values” and “morals” are(that is pretty scary). I think parents need to be more involved in their childrens lives and helping them learn how to learn. Too many parents today are sending their children off to day care to be raised and taught. I would just like to quote Dr. Laura- “DON’T HAVE THEM IF YOU AREN’T GOING TO RAISE THEM.” Having children is a big responsibility and I agree with this quote that if parents aren’t going to take the time to teach their children and raise them then why are they having them. Parents need to be more involved in their children’s lives and see what they are learning in school(or not learning) and make sure that their children are learning the tools necessary to live and survive. I think we are not teaching our children how to be well rounded. I think of the founding fathers and the knowledge they had. They were brillant men-but not just in one subject. What happened to our way of teaching that children leave high school knowing a little bit about nothing? Look at Thomas Jefferson he knew leaps and bounds about so many subjects(he was well rounded). I think we need to teach our children through the reading of classics and with mentors, this way children will learn how to learn and they will also be well rounded. They will be taught the same way Jefferson was. What an important task and responsibiltiy we have to teach our children!!
June 23rd, 2005 at 9:39 am
Yes, parent involvement is important. Charter Schools are helping. Must consider, however, the “car wash” mentality of many American parents as described in William J. Bennett’s book, “The Educated Child.” Quoting Diane Ravitch of New York University, the “car wash” mentality is as follows: “School is like a car wash where you drop the child off at one end and pick him up at the other. ‘Here are our children. They’re in your hands now. Let us know how it turns out.’ Parents need to realize that, to get a good student, you have to be involved in the washing.” (See Page 16 of “Educated Child” Bennett, Finn, Cribb, Touchstone Book, 1999)
Bennett’s book summarizes ten principles for parents of educated children. Take them to heart!
1. Parents are the first and most important teachers. 2. Parental teaching must not stop when schooling starts. 3. The early years build the foundation for all later learning. Make it sturdy. 4. American schools are underperforming. Do not just assume that your school is doing a good job. 5. Learning requires discipline; discipline requires values. Too many kids have not been taught (at home) the virtues necessary to succeed in school. 6. Follow your common sense. It doesn’t take a special degree to know if a school is doing a good job. Pay attention, talk to teachers, other parents, trust your instincts. 7. Content matters: What children study determines how well they learn. Some things are more important to learn in school than others. 8. Television is an enemy of good education. Shut it off from Sunday evening until Friday evening during the school year. 9. Education reform is possible. If you are interested and engaged, there is much you can do to ensure that your child receives an excellent education. 10. Aim high, expect much and children will prosper. No parent, school, or child is perfect, but we all rise toward the level of expectation. The surest way to learn more is to raise standards. (See: Educated Child, Bennett, Finn, Crib, Touchstone Book, 1999 p. 18)
Most parents want to be involved but don’t know how. My experience as a parent was that I was not welcome at school unless I was bringing cupcakes on Valentine day!
One last comment. Taken from Washington Post Writer, George F. Will, and published in Deseret News Feb 1, 2001, entitled: “School Reform Based on False Assumptions”, Mr. Will says this: “Five variables contribute to 90 percent of the differences among the proficiency of public schools. Those variables are: number of parents in the home, days absent from school, hours spent watching television, quantity and quality of reading matter in the home, amount of homework done. Of the five variables, schools can only influence the last and now there is a movement to abolish homework, partly because it widens social inequalities by disproportionately benefiting children with attentive parents. Another appalling reality pointed out by Mr. Will is that only 38 percent of American teachers had college majors in academic subject (History, English, Math, Science, etc.) Most teachers’ degrees are in education. “[This is] one reason there is scant evidence that much good is done by lowering class sizes as that simply increases the attention each pupil gets from an inadequately trained teacher,” quotes Mr. Will. He sums up his article with this thought experiment from a 1934 critic of American schooling: “If you were ill and could miraculously be treated either by Hippocrates or by a young graduate of the Johns Hopkins medical school, with his modern technologies and techniques, you would choose the latter. But, if you could choose to have your child taught either by Socrates or by a freshly minted holder of a degree in education, full of the latest pedagogic theories and techniques? Socrates, PLEASE.”
(See: “School Reform Based on False Assumptions”, George F. Will, Deseret News , Feb 1, 2001)
In the early days of the first Charter School in our area, our principle told the teaching team that they would be laying aside 90 percent of what they learned in college about teaching children to read, and that the Charter School would teach them precise teaching methods. Some teachers would not change and left the team.
My experience with trying to bring the first Charter School Choice to our community is that most parents think that schools are not “broken” and that teachers are doing a “great job.” The fact that their child wasn’t reading well, or writing or doing math well was of little concern to most of the parents we were working with. “Maybe lack of funding, or too large of classes,” was the excuse most parents used when asked why they thought their little Johnny couldn’t read. Most parents saw our attempts for a Charter school as a threat to the existing public schools. Parents asked us why we didn’t just put all of our efforts into trying to make the existing schools better. In the beginning stages, we heard horrible stories about how children were coming home from their neighborhood school telling their parents that the field trip had been cancelled because the Charter School took all the funding! It was a rare group of parents that were willing to look more closely and research the funding of Charter Schools and the methods that most Charter Schools are employing so that children can learn best. Existing schools and seasoned teachers were unwilling to look at precise methods either. One Cache County curriculum staffer said to us, “We’ve spent millions of bucks on our five-year reading plan–workbooks, etc. The plan seems to be working for 80 percent of the first graders. It must be okay.”
Yes, we need more choices. Charter Schools are part of the answer. The problem of public education in America is vast and needs the best attention of parents and educators alike.