Where do we go from here? (Part I)

Today’s post is a bit of a divergence from my usual format. Rather than rant about current events or point out the failings of the current administration and congress from my admittedly serious left bent, I want to toss around some ideas. I’d like to focus on what we could, what we should be doing in this great nation of ours. The first subject I want to tackle is the U.S. educational system.

There is perhaps no other single issue that will more clearly define the future of our country than the quality of our educational system. And the sad truth is the current condition of our nation’s education system is abysmal. Despite the Republican’s silver bullet of “No Child Left Behind”, our schools are continuing to fail, and we remain far behind the rest of the industrialized world in the areas of math and science – perhaps the most important educational disciplines in today’s, and more importantly, tomorrow’s world.

I believe the U.S. educational system needs a complete overhaul, from the ground up. It’s more than just setting standards and trying to boost test scores. It should also be about engaging students in the educational process. Too many children in our schools remain unengaged, unenthusiastic, uninvolved. School has become a chore to our students, or even worse, just a place to pass the time. We need to make the educational process something more than just glorified childcare.

Teaching methods need to be revisited. And our nation’s educational facilities need to be modernized, or even completely rebuilt. The focus must be on interactive education, getting students active and involved in the learning process. We humans are born students of the world around us, and we are naturally inquisitive beings. Educators should take advantage of this from an early age, and seek to instill a lifetime love of learning and discovery. This should be reflected in teaching methods, materials, and facilities. Making education fun is not a new concept. It is simply a severely underused one. School should be an ongoing voyage of discovery, with students able to build on their strengths and learn to overcome their weaknesses. You want a kid to learn something? Don’t just give him the answer; teach him how to discover it for himself.

One area that seems to be “off the radar” in America’s educational system is the subject of parental involvement. Encouraging parents to take an active role in their children’s educational process is something that all educators should do. Sadly, and I speak from personal experience here, many teachers and administrators only pay lip service to the idea of involved parents. Publicly, they “encourage” parental involvement, put in reality; they just want parents to “stay out of the way”. I suppose some of this attitude comes from being defensive about having people tell them how to do their job. But I think if they gave the concept a chance, educators in this country would discover they have a valuable ally in the parents of their students. I’m sure that there are teachers and administrators out there who have figured this out, but this needs to become the rule, not the exception in our country’s educational system.

Access to higher education is still too exclusive in our country. For many students and their families, the only option available for a decent college education is going into massive debt, with the possibility of later defaulting on that debt, which benefits no one. Let’s face it; with college tuition at an all-time high, the average American family can’t easily afford to send even one child to a four-year school. It can be argued that the purpose of elementary and secondary education is to prepare a young person for life in the “real world”. I would argue that the purpose of higher education is to prepare a young person for success, and sow the seeds of the nation’s future. Why then, would this country offer anything less than a higher education to every student who desires it? Without the threat of long-term financial hardship. Without the requirement of military service. Without the need to be a star athlete. The only requirement should be a desire to learn, and evidence of academic accomplishment. This is after all, the future of our country we are talking about. Shouldn’t we, as a nation, be willing to do everything we can to make that future bright?

Critics of overhauling the education system in our country might argue that the system is fine, now that “No Child” is on the books. Let’s stay the course. Now, where have I heard that argument before? The educational system in our country is broken. It has been for a long time. Closing our collective eyes and hoping the problem will just go away will never fix things. Others might ask, “Where are we going to get the money?” My response would be, let’s get our priorities straight in this country. We waste entirely too much of the taxpayers’ money on unnecessary bureaucracies, questionable programs, and needless pet projects. You’ll never convince me that the money isn’t there, it is. It’s simply being used for the wrong things. Perhaps we waste so much money because we don’t care. More likely, it’s because we’re not as good at math as the rest of the world – and the test scores prove it.