The philosophy of the school room in one generation
will be the philosophy of government in the next.
Our system of public education in the United
States has been a “political football” for over a hundred years. Liberals, progressives, democrats, and socialists
have tried to use the schools as an agent of change to usher in a radically
different society. Republicans and other
conservatives have hoped that the schools would serve as a bulwark for
traditional values to maintain the status quo.
The politicizing of our public schools is
contributing to division and polarization in our society. Currently, many people feel that the schools’
influence on our children has moved too far to the left. At other times, some people have felt that
the schools’ influence was regressive and was not doing enough to motivate
students to carry out needed social change.
In short, when the schools are politicized there will always be people
who are unhappy with the educational system.
The matter is further complicated by the
underperformance of our public schools as measured by international academic
achievement test scores. Unfortunately,
truly current data on comparative academic achievement test results is
difficult to find. According to PEW Research, the 2015 PISA (Program for
International Student Assessment) scores of US 15-year-olds ranked 34th
of 71 nations measured in Mathematics, and 24th in Science and in
Reading.
The public school system is funded by taxes
paid by Americans. Clearly, we are not
getting our money’s worth. It is
presumptuous of public education to think the schools can do a better job of
socializing children than their parents can.
A little humility on the part of Educators would be appreciated. Until our schools can show that they are
providing the best education in the world on basic subjects like Mathematics,
Science, Reading, and Writing we cannot believe they are competent to teach
values to our children that parents do not agree with. We all would
benefit if both sides of the political spectrum would stop using our childrens’
education to further their own political ends.
When I think back
On all the crap I learned in high school
It's a wonder
I can think at all
If you are headed in the wrong direction, it
is difficult to find your way to the right destination. To change that, here are some recommendations
that I hope the candidates I vote for will act on.
A democracy cannot endure without an informed
electorate. Our schools must teach their
students how to inform themselves.
I once heard Victor Davis Hanson say something to the effect that the
role of the university was to teach students how to think, not what to
think. The same should apply to the
primary and secondary education our children get in the public schools.
We live in a very competitive world. It is important that the schools equip our
kids with the abilities needed to effectively participate in the workforce. The entire idea of preparing students for the
job market has been lost in a quest to turn out graduates who are “well
rounded” people. If employers must
reeducate and retrain new employees from “ground zero,” it will become too
costly to hire them. Businesses and
government will then look elsewhere to find a workforce that comes to the job
equipped with the proficiencies employers need.
Many school districts have adopted a
subjective approach to measuring students’ progress. I am here to tell you that “Exceeds Expectations,
Meets Expectations, and Does not Meet Expectations” do not provide an adequate
measure of a child’s mastery of subject matter.
Schools have cast off objective grading: 90 percent and above earns an “A,”
80 to 89 percent earns a “B,” 70 to 79 percent earns a “C,” and so forth. “Passing” or “Not Passing” tells us virtually nothing. The schools are saying that objective grading
discourages students who are having problems.
However, how well they meet performance requirements will be the standard
students will be evaluated by in the real-world workplace. The schools discourage competition because it
makes the losers feel bad. Competition
is a fact of life in the environment students will encounter when they leave
school. They will either “cut it,” or
they won’t, and nobody will care if it makes them feel bad. Children need to learn to compete, and compete
effectively, if they are to thrive and prosper in any society – socialist or
capitalist.
Schools should teach students how to conduct a
job search, prepare a resume, apply for employment, add value to their skillset,
and keep a job once they get one. There
is a right way and a wrong way to inform managers about problems, make suggestions for workplace improvement,
and relate to coworkers. Students must
be taught the importance of networking, and how to get help with difficulties
without appearing to be incompetent.
Many professionals and skilled workers find
themselves in business. Lawyers, health
care providers, electricians, plumbers, those in the building trades, and those
who repair everything from automobiles to computers may find themselves in need
of the skills necessary to set up and operate a business. Even when I was in school (many years ago),
the public education system had an anti-business bias. The profit motive was regarded as greedy, big
business executives were portrayed as “robber barons,” and college was
presented as a way to avoid having to get dirty working in the trades. There is dignity in all honest work. Good business skills are needed by managers
and workers alike.
The exportation of American capitalism since
the end of World War II has done more to raise the standard of living of people
around the world than anything else. Rather
than portraying capitalism as a vehicle for upward mobility, schools portray capitalism
is a system that exploits the many to make the few rich. If America is to remain competitive in
today’s world, her people must understand how to prosper in a capitalist
economy by helping others to prosper as well.
Our schools are not safe - for students or
teachers. The ACLU has removed many of
the tools that school staff need to maintain good order and discipline. Gangs and drugs compromise student
safety. Bullying and assault are
common. Parents cannot send their
children off to school without fearing for their safety. Despite repeated active shooter incidents, we
have failed to harden school security enough to protect our children from mass
murder. Respectfully, I submit that it
is difficult for learning to take place in that kind of environment. The government must give the schools the
legal and financial resources needed to provide a safe and orderly learning
environment. If we, as a society, cannot
even provide for the most basic of needs … safety … for our school kids, then
we should not permit the schools to be used as a divisive and abrasive
instrument of social change.
The schools must be required by statute to
respect parental rights and authority.
The family is a child’s primary support system, and their ability to
trust their parents’ judgement to provide for, protect, and nurture them must not
be undermined at school. Parents are
not perfect. At times, families may be
dysfunctional. It is the duty of school
personnel to report child abuse and neglect to the proper authorities. It is, however, true in most cases that the
family is a better resource for the child than anything else that others may
try to provide.
Americans do not know how to manage money. The public schools should be educating
students about the pitfalls of debt, how to save and invest, and how to control
impulse buying. Consumption must not be
a form of recreation. In the future it
may not be viable financially for employers to provide adequate retirement
plans. Our children should be learning
how to create and maintain the financial resources needed to provide for their
financial security and retirement.
W. Edwards Deming has been widely quoted for
his unique perspective on management. He
is reported to have said:
Eighty-five
percent of the reasons for failure are deficiencies
in the systems and process rather than
the employee. The role of management is to change
the process rather than badgering individuals to do better.
The
worker is not the problem. The system is the problem. If
you want to improve performance, you must work
on the system.
Most classroom teachers are good people who
are doing the best job they can, while working in a broken educational
system. In most cases the problem is
with the system, and not the teachers.
The federal Department of Education is part of
the Executive Branch of Government, and there lies the greatest need for
reform. Where the Executive Branch
abuses its authority, it must be restrained by the voters and the Legislative
and Judicial Branches. That is why
Education is an important issue for both the 2022 and 2024 elections. For our nation to survive, the way public education
is provided must be rebuilt from the ground up.
Please vote for candidates who will take a pragmatic, outcomes-based
approach to public education that will promote the development of useful and
productive citizens … not a generation of ideologues.
NOTE: Please see my post on Education dated,
July 17, 2020.
